Modern leftovers -- and of course, a pizza stone.
I love pizza. I am a pizza purist. I eat thin crust, margherita pizza, preferably with fresh basil. Nothing fancy, nothing weird, nothing fundamentally fattening. I’m talking fresh mozzarella, imported parmigiano reggiano, real tomatoes. I don’t even like pepperoni. And even if I did, I wouldn’t eat it on pizza.
I don’t eat it all that much pizza – which is probably why I still think of it as special, and honestly, there’s also usually a huge salad involved. I’m a nutritionist’s dream. I eat the best takeout pizza I can find.
In the New Haven area with some of the best pizza anywhere, that generally means sending my husband tearing out to Modern Apizza. It’s not that I don’t like Pepe’s pizza, I do. It’s not that I don’t like Sally’s Apizza, I do. But I’m really not a big fan of abuse on my pizza, and Modern seems to have left that, mercifully, off it’s menu. Not so much the other guys.
Many years ago I invested in a pizza stone after equally many years resisting a pizza stone. What was I waiting for? Who knows?
I stick the stone in the middle of the oven, crank up the gas to about 500 while my husband heads out for take-out pizza. When he gets back – in go the slices; I turn off the oven, which is still super-hot; and minutes later – fresh crispy pizza.
A pizza stone absolutely is worth it. It’s not expensive and it’s great for baking and/or heating bread and a whole host of other things. And of course leftover pizza. Tastes like fresh – so go for it.
Remember though – NEVER put a stone in a hot oven. Put the stone in a cold oven and let it heat up with the oven. Let it cool down in the oven before washing. Wash with hot water and a steel scrubber. NEVER use soap.
And if I’ve offended anyone at Pepe’s or Sally’s – too bad. They should learn to be nice to their customers.