i have never come across a person who just does not like pizza. what is not to love? fresh baked dough topped with tasty tomato sauce, gooey cheese and your favorite toppings? thing is, there are so many different styles of pizza, and people seem to be pretty adamant about which is the best. seems to depend a lot on where you grew up and what you enjoyed throughout your childhood. though i was born in chicago, i grew up an east coast girl, and i am a fan of ny style pizza. there is nothing like those big greasy slices you can get in nyc after a night at the bar. really just hits the spot.

featured recipe: pizza pizza

in stamford, where i grew up, there is nothing like mario’s pizza on high ridge road. every time i was home from college visiting my parents it was the first thing i wanted to eat. i have friends who have carried pizza on the airplane to bring back to their girlfriend who could not make the trip with them. i looked into having some overnighted to a friend from stamford as a birthday gift….i thought it was really that good. now i have had the opportunity to try an array of pizza styles and i no longer have one favorite. i know there are a lot of tasty pizzas out there and i just like to keep tasting all of them.

i have to say though that i am still a thinner crust person. i love you chicago, but i just cannot do the deep dish. i tried for a while to find ny pizza in chicago, but it just never stacked up. must be something in the water. i have found some great alternatives, however, including making it yourself at home.

one place that i love and was unable to visit for the podcast is called great lakes pizza in andersonville. they just have the best crust!!! it has a bit of a ciabattaness (new word) to it but is thin and stays crispy for a long time. we ordered a couple of pies and after eating half of one, we let it sit for about an hour. the crust was still crispy on the bottom and nice and chewy in the middle. amazing. turns out the owner spent years developing this awesome crust, logging the subtle changes as he worked towards perfection. if you are in chitown, go check it out. it is a tiny little place with a tiny little menu but i promise the crust will make you smile.

i had the pleasure of meeting some folks from spacca napoli at the time out eat out awards this year, when they won the readers choice award for the best pizza in chicago including the owner jonathan. though i had heard great things, i had never tried their pizza before so i asked if i could come by and see what all the hype was about.

spacca napoli is proud to serve true neapolitan style pizza as approved by the accademia italiana della cucina, the associazione pizzauoli napoletani and l’associazione vera pizza napoletana. i am not going to pretend that i fully understand all of the certifications and memberships that they have received (you can visit their website to get more information), but i do know that this pizza is truly that which you would get in naples. the awesome wood burning oven that the pizzas are baked in was even built by italians that jonathan flew in and had as house guests for eight days while it was built. the oven burns so hot that the pizzas are done in under a minute, which just blew me away. maybe those companies that used to say delivery in under thirty minutes or it is free could have benefited from an oven like his.

it was fun to see the whole process from start to finish. i even got to try my skills at making a pie without a rolling pin and certainly without tossing it in the air. it takes a delicate touch and the goal is to disturb the dough as little as possible, leaving it light and crisp and delicious. the simple toppings of san marzano tomato, fresh basil and a little mozzarella were all i needed. delish.

i had recently had some great pizza at my friends’, karen and valeska’s house. it was thin and crispy just as i like it. karen was nice enough to share the dough recipe with me, which i decided to make with some young friends of mine. jaimeson and shelby are the adorable kids of one of my business partners for the drunken goat. i had never hung out with them before, but i figure all kids must love pizza.

they were so cute and anxious to help out with their little aprons and chef hats ready to go. i was most impressed when we took a little break while the dough was rising and they showed me their dance and yoga skills. jaimeson can balance on his forearms and hold his entire body vertical to the floor. when he said, ok now you try, i had to explain there is no way, no how that this body was going to do what he just did. future olympic gymnast is my guess.

i had not made a whole lot of pizza before so i was pleasantly surprised when it came out quite tasty. the dough is just spot on with a hint of white wine and honey in it that give it a little depth of flavor. for the sauce, i added in a little green apple to add to the sweetness in the tomato. it was a fun thing to make with my friends because we could each make our own pizza with our favorite toppings…no arguing over which toppings to get from dominos. i think it is a great way to spend some time with your kids in the kitchen. or in my case, great way to spend time with kids i borrow for the day.

enjoy!