Rollin' In the Deep...Dish Pizza.

I made Chicago-style deep dish pizza, because of course I did.

I make my own regular pizza crust at home when the mood strikes, but never thought to go deeper*.  But thanks to the internet, and Alton Brown's twitter account, I happened upon a picture of deep dish pizza. Inspiration in the form of a tweet. I have lived the future, and it is now.

Inspiration is only half the battle these days...what recipe do I use? How much should I buy? How can I do this on a budget? Turns out the internet was there for the conception of this idea, and helped throughout the entire gestation and birth with the help of a Google search and this website/recipe.

While it may appear to be a humble website, it makes up for what it lacks visually by being actually informative (I think I stumbled upon the only remaining earnest website on the planet, it was refreshing).  It's a perfect lesson in that whole "don't judge a book by it's cover" thing, and further proof that good food doesn't have to come from flashy sources (like my favorite--CHOW).   Anyway, I loved this website as it simplified a process that seemed anything but.

The difference, I observed, in making "regular" pizza dough and "deep dish" pizza dough is the oil and leavening ratio.  Namely, the dough calls for twice that of the average homemade regular dough.  It also intrigued me that salt was left out of the equation.  I felt a little flavor would not hurt the process any, so I added salt.  I fully understand that this might not make my dough "authentic" but it just seemed right.  

The only other difference in "regular" pizza and Chicago-style is the assembly process.  Instead of sauce-toppings-cheese or sauce-cheese-toppings (whichever you prefer), it's cheese-sauce-toppings.  Cue Shatner: "Everything. I. Know. Is. False. Dear Mother. Help me."

I was trying to make this on the cheap, so I used as few ingredients as possible.  I followed their sauce recipe about 90%, as I added more salt/pepper and herbs than called for.  I used hot italian sausage that I browned in a pan and crumbled, and shredded up the last of a small block of leftover parmesean cheese. Finally, I added some leftover pine nuts in the sauce and at the end with the olive-oil drizzle.

The result? I would put this in the top 5 best things I've ever made in my life.  The recipe yielded a pizza that we ate for days; I ate it for as many meals in a row as I could--this coming from the gal that stated she hates leftovers.  I ate it cold, I ate it hot.  In a box with foxes, you get the idea.

I found it so pleasing to the palate, I am now afraid to make it again, for fear that I'll just be chasing the deep-dish pizza dragon down a culinary pit from whence I will never return.

Nay, I'll have to settle for marking this one as a "favorite" and come back to it on a rainy day.  If you make it, please send me photos.  I love knowing I've inspired people on their own crack-pizza journey.


*I can't stop making Inception references and jokes. This is my cry for help.