Monday Morning Open Thread 11/8/21
Topping Time
Welcome to this week’s Wordloaf Monday Morning Open Thread. Continuing with our Pizzember program, I thought today would be a good day to discuss our favorite pizza topping combinations and approaches.
While I have private thoughts about what does and does not belong on a pizza, I don’t think it is my place to say what others should put on theirs. If buffalo chicken chili pizza is your thing, go for it!
That said, I do think there are useful rules for how to top a pie, both in terms of how much stuff to put on there—not a lot, but make it intensely flavored, mostly to avoid overloading the crust—and how many & what different types of things to use—I like either a single item featured all by itself, like the roasted maitake mushrooms on the slice above, or two or three items that complement one other, such as a salty cured thing (like anchovies), a bitter thing (charred broccoli rabe), and a sweet thing (roasted red peppers).
I’ve gone into these theories in great detail already here. Today, I’d love to hear how all of you like to top your pies. What are your favorite topping combos? What about sauce and cheeses? Post-bake add-ons? Share it all below!
—Andrew
in the '80s until maybe five years ago, there was a pizza joint in Birmingham, Alabama (where i grew up) called Cosmo's that made some amazing pies (and introduced new ideas about sauces and toppings to Alabamians). one of their signatures was a roasted yellow pepper "pesto," the recipe for which i managed to get my paws on (and can share here if you like). we love this sauce topped with green olives, radicchio, and goat cheese---just like your recommendation of salty-bitter-sweet! yum yum yum!
Mamma Mia's on the Beach on Lake Worth Beach, Palm Beach County, FL serves my favorite pizza: Bianco with spinach, mushroom, ricotta, mozzarella, and garlic. I would love to learn how to make it without the crust getting all soggy.