Did I forget about the pizza?

I did! I forgot to blog about the pizza.
You see, I have been craving pizza and nothing but pizza for awhile. Well, pizza and onions.
So I found a recipe for deep dish pizza. One might say, Chicago style pizza. I had immediate flashbacks to the last time I was in Chicago and stopped at Gino's East.
Gino's East is clearly the best pizzeria in Chicago. I dare you to challenge that. I heard it was put up as a wager against the mayor of Indianapolis on the outcome of the Colts/Bears superbowl. I hope he enjoyed it. Yes, I'm still gloating.
Anyway, the point is, Gino's is amazing and I wanted some of that immediately. But of course I can't just drive to Chicago and bring one home. (Can I?)
So I found a recipe online, as I do. It was for whole wheat crust, but what can you do. I just used regular flour, and it was fine.
Also, I was very impatient and didn't let the dough rise for the required amount of time. Screw it. The parts covered in toppings turned out just fine, if the crust sticking out over the top was a bit...crispy. And by crispy, I mean rock solid.  Oh well.  My boyfriend ate three slices in one sitting.

Recipe:

Ingredients

Crust: 
1 envelope quick-rise yeast 
1/2 tsp. sugar 
1 C. water 
Approx. 1 lb. whole wheat flour (added in small increments until mixture reaches dough-like consistency) 

Sauce: 
1 6-oz. can tomato sauce 
1 Tbs. oregano 
3 Tbs. parsley flakes 
1 tsp. dried basil 
4 tsp. onion flakes 
1 tbs. minced garlic
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2-3 Tbs. tomato paste or enough to thicken (I didn't have tomato paste, I used flour.)

Pizza: 
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced 
1 pkg. shredded mozzarella cheese 
sauteed mushrooms (or toppings of your choice)

Directions

To Prepare Crust:

In a small cup or bowl, mix together yeast, sugar and water. Let stand 10 minutes to allow the mixture to react and bubble. Add the yeast mixture to a large mixing bowl. In small increments, add whole wheat flour until the mixture reaches desired dough consistency (should be thick and not too squishy).

Dump dough onto floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes. Once the texture feels right, roll into a ball. Grease an oven-safe bowl with shortening. Drop ball of dough into greased bowl, making sure the dough gets greased with the shortening as well. Cover the bowl with a towel and place in a 170-degree oven for 30 minutes.

Prepare Sauce, mix and set aside.

Assemble Pizza:

Saute mushrooms for pizza and set aside. Cut brick of fresh mozzarella cheese into thick slices and set aside. Remove pizza crust from the oven. Grease a 9-inch round pizza pan with cooking spray or butter. Spread crust out over bottom and sides of pizza pan, making sure the crust is thick along the sides.

Place slices of mozzarella cheese at the bottom of the pizza. Layer with sauteed mushrooms (or topping of your choice) and shredded mozzarella cheese. Continue with another layer of sliced mozzarella cheese. Spread pizza sauce to your liking over the top.

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Slide the pizza out of the pan onto a cookie sheet with a spatula and let cool.

{End.}

I didn't use any mushrooms, of course, because I HATE them.  So I just used cheese and pepperoni.  Also, I made it in a pie pan, because I don't have a deep dish pizza pan.  I don't even know where you would get one.

Anyway, it was really good.  You should make it!  And put whatever toppings you want in it.