Pizza and Beer

Friday night. I'm exhausted. Long week at work. What I want is a little comfort. Pizza and beer pop into my head, and it seems so right.

On the way home, I swing into New Seasons to pick up some supplies. Lagunitas IPA, pizza crust dough, some fresh mozzarella, spicy Italian sausage, a bulb of fennel, and a little Pastaworks marinara. Oh, and a cucumber for a little salad. It ends up being a pretty full bag of food.

So, once I get home and get the mail, I put on some music. My friend J.R. has recommended 2 bands for me to check out, The Hold Steady and The Walkmen. I like the Walkmen better, and put them on to cook to. To me, the sound a little like French Kicks, but good...

I preheat the oven, put the sausage in a pan to cook, and get to chopping. I'm tempted to pull out the mandolin to cut the fennel, but I still fear this tool after a mishap years ago that left me, at least temporarily, without a fingerprint on my right index finger... I end up with my big, trusty chef's knife instead. I don't get the fennel as thin as I'd like, but I think it'll be good enough.

Next, I slice up the two balls of mozz I have. I wonder if this is going to yield to much cheese, but it ends up being just right.

Finally, I knead and roll out the dough on my lightly floured counter. I pull out the oven rack (which is supporting the pizza stone) and assemble. Crust, light saucing, mozz all over, thinly sliced fennel, Italian sausage, salt, pepper, and oregano.

I put the whole thing back into the oven, and 15 min later, I have a tasty little pizza.

I've been debating buying a peel for making pizzas. Any one have experience with these at home? Is it worth it? I find that by dressing the pizza on the stone, the crust gets a little hard on the bottom before the top is crisp and the cheese in melted.

I eat the pie with a few beers and watch the excellent, riveting documentary Unknown White Male.

All in all, a nice evening.