Indecisive Flavor: Pizza Margherita

New York or Chicago? While I've only gorged on Chicago deep-dish I can confidently tell you that I prefer neither of America's pizza powerhouses. That's right, the two headlining pizza cities can piss off. I tell you the best pie resides in St. Louis, Missouri! St. Louis pizza dons a thin, crispy crust loaded with toppings; leaving little to no room for an outer crust. The cracker like crust demands that the pie be cut into squares; not triangle shaped cuts like a normal pizza. If you're a fan of thin crust, STL style pizza is a must. If you're curious and conveniently find yourself in the Overland Park/KC area do yourself a favor and check out Imo's Pizza. I've sat here drooling for too long, dreaming of my perfect pizza. With a lack of *great* pizza joints in Manhattan, I set off to build my own pie.

I knew from the get go that I wanted a classic pizza. What's more classic than a pizza margherita? Nothing. Except maybe peanut butter and gumball pizza. A margherita pizza is simple. Fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and olive oil. Perfection. It's real deal, authentic pizza. The way they made it in the old country.

With toppings out of the way, it was time to focus on the crust. This was the nerve racking part. If I duke the crust then the pie is ruined. I found solace in this website, http://www.pizzamaking.com/thincrust.php . The website is great, with a lot of helpful hints and years of pie making experience. I should've felt comfortable cranking out a stellar crust. But I wasn't. I've never been into the whole baking thing. But I mean how do you make a bad pizza? Pizza rules! No matter what kind of funk possesses it. I used the dough recipe on the webpage and had a fine time whipping up the dough. The only downfall was that I had to wait 24 hours to see how it turned out.

Well, 24 hours later, after rolling out and docking the dough I was ready to prep my pie for the oven. I drizzled the dough with olive oil and proceeded to layer tomatoes and mozzarella. Once prepped, I threw the pie into a scorching 500 degree oven and waited. About 13 minutes later I was staring at a beautiful homemade pizza margherita. Almost too sexy to eat. ALMOST. So snarf I did. The pizza turned out great and much better than anything I could've had delivered. If you're ever in the mood for a damn good pizza pie, forget ordering, and make your own.