Pizza! Pizza! [Photograph: María del Mar Sacasa]
I can eat pizza every day of the week. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner; fresh out of a wood-burning oven, lukewarm after being delivered via bicycle on a chilly night, congealed from the box the morning after. I have favorite spots and varieties, like the Neapolitan pies at Motorino, but I'll take a slice from the corner joint or even the freezer (ahem, Stouffer's French bread boat) to satisfy a craving.
How does the flavor combination of gooey cheese, bread, and tomato sauce never induce palate fatigue? You know, I really wish it would because then I'd be freed from the devilish temptation to stop at the multiple pizzerias that dot Manhattan's streets. And also cut down on the amount of antacid I ingest.
This week for Sandwiched, I translated my slice obsession into a sandwich. Instead of a bakery roll, I begin with ready-to-use supermarket pizza dough and baked it on a sheet pan. As an ode to my adoration of Pizza Hut bread sticks, the dough that will act as the hat on these sandwiches is brushed with butter and sprinkled with a mixture of green can Parmesan cheese, dried oregano, and garlic powder.
I know I'll get grief from some of you over using convenience products, but the crumbly Parm is a staple condiment at many a pizza palace and I simply could not give it the cold shoulder here.
Not to worry, ingredient purists, I'm also using fresh Italian sausages, a chunky red sauce with fragrant basil leaves, and crumbles of whole milk ricotta to make this pizza-sandwich perfect, even if you decide to nix my trashy cheese topping.
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Grilled Sausage and Ricotta Pizza >>
About the author: María del Mar Sacasa is a recipe developer, food stylist, and author of the food blog High Heels & Frijoles. Behind her girly façade lurks a truck driver's appetite. Read about her cravings and suffer through her occasional rants on Twitter @HHandFrijoles and Pinterest.
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