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pizza
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- 1 Frozen pepperoni pizza
- to taste Cayenne Pepper
- to taste extra pepperoni — Always slice your own. The pre-sliced are gross. The big Bertolino logs you can find in the Walmart snack aisle are not bad, but I think it's worth it to use a high-quality pepperoni.
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/2 12 oz tub of marinated mozzarella balls
- 1/4 cup torn or sliced fresh basil leaves
Ingredients
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- Slice red onion thin (I use a mandolin). One onion is good for 2 pizzas, so save half. Take the remaining half and cut into quarters. Put in bowl, add a generous pinch of salt, and toss/mix well and set aside. Don't skip the salt - it teases the water out of the onions which helps them brown better.
- slice each mozzarella ball in half along it's longest pole and set aside.
- preheat oven to the temperature called for on the pizza box or wrapper
- Get any remaining ingredients ready (mise en place).
- Take the pizza out of the freezer. If the pepperoni slices are not well distributed, correct that.
- Sprinkle some cayenne pepper over the pizza.
- Add your own pepperoni to taste - I like a LOT.
- Arrange the red onions evenly over the pizza
- arrange the basil evenly over the pizza
- Arrange the mozzarella ball halves evenly over the pizza, cut side down.
- Slide the pizza into the oven and cook according to instructions. If the mozzarella and/or the onions have no significant visible browning, give it another minute and check again.
- When properly browned. remove from oven and cool at least 5 minutes. Slice and serve.
If your oven has a convection/fan feature, use it. And start checking for proper browning at the low end of the recommended cooking time.
FOR THE OVERACHIEVERS:
Preheat oven with pizza stone on mid shelf of oven at 500°F for 1 hour (yes, 1 hour). When you are ready to add the pizza, turn the temp down to the recommended level and slide the pizza onto the stone.
Half lb Sliced mushrooms.
3 fresh cloves garlic sliced thin
half cup sliced black olives, well drained and arranged on paper towels to further dry.
Add the sliced garlic to the already sliced onions
Brown mushrooms under weight in a dry or lightly greased pan. Cover with a sheet of aluminum foil and put a heavy pot on top. 4 or 5 minutes a side, pretty hot. Leaving them uncovered in the pan to cool slowly afterwards can help dry them a bit too. They should finish niceky browned and dry but not crisp or black. Think "leathery".
Add these ingredients to the pizza after the onions but before the mozzarella balls. Then cook.