For the Love of Pizza....

Anything with cheese is so good; this love includes pizza. The other day I had a predicament...I had NO sausage in the house (oh-oh). How could one have pizza without sausage (and one could not run to the store on such a short notice)? :( I googled (oh the wonderful world of google!) how to make my own using hamburger. The recipe I found actually turned out so good...and close to the real thing I may just do this from now on. I would like to share that recipe too.

Homemade Sausage from Hamburger

to see the orginal click the link: http://www.suite101.com/content/homemade-sausage-from-lean-ground-beef-or-turkey-a65552

1 pound extra-lean ground beef (again, I used elk)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t onion salt

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t pepper

1 t ground cumin

1/4 t dried basil

1/4 t dried oregano

Brown meat in saute pan, as you would with regular sausage. Before the meat is fully cooked, throughly mix the spices into the meat. Do NOT drain. mmm...

For the pizza I often followed one of my favorite recipes (almost exactly) that Mom shared with me.

Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza by Emeril Lagasse

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/chicago-style-deep-dish-pizzas-recipe/index.html

Pizza Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 pkg (or 1 T) yeast

1 t sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup semolina (whole wheat) flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I sometimes use olive oil instead)

1 t salt

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Watch the yeast begin to work. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour, the semolina, oil and salt, mixing until all incorporated and mixture is smooth. Continue adding flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is slightly sticky. Knead dough 3-5 minutes.

Place dough into large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to rise until almost doubled.

Pizza Sauce

2 T olive oil

1 T chopped fresh garlic

1 t dried basil

1 t dried oregano

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4 t red pepper flakes

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (mushed up as you cook them)

1 T red cooking wine

1 t sugar

In a medium saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring for 30 seconds (do not brown). Add the herbs, salt, and black and red peppers, and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, wine and sugar, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool completely before using.

Pizza Toppings

1 T olive oil

1 pound mozzarella cheese, grated

8 oz pepperoni

8 oz fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1 bag (16oz) pepper strips

1 onion, cut into thin rings

1 cup thinly sliced black olives

1 pound crumbled (browned) Hot Italian sausage - use homemade sausage recipe

1 cup grated Parmesan

Oil 2 seasoned 12-inch round deep dish pizza pans (or I use 2 9x13 pans) with olive oil. Press 12 of dough into each pan, pressing edge and stretching about 1 1/2 inches up the sides. Let rest 5 minutes.

Layer the mozzarella cheese all over the bottom of the pies. Top each with half of the pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, onions, black olives and sausage. Ladle the sauce evenly over each pizza and top with Parmesan. (NOTE: this is 'backwards' from the normal pizza you get which the sauce is on top of the dough...believe me this recipe's way is much superior)

Bake at 475 about 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle on additional mozzarella if desired.

1 - 9x13 pan serves 8