If you've been following from the beginning, you know that I am obsessed with pizza. It's way beyond just a favorite food for me. Pizza is a form of expression. Pizza is how you show love. In fact, I care more about your favorite pizza place in the city than I do your opinion on most controversial topics. (I get "irrationally" angry that Shlitz & Giggles still gets votes in the Best of 225 awards over NY Pizza and Pasta...or really ANY pizza place in the city.)
What did I do in my spare time when I went to a conference in New York? Not the touristy stuff other first time NY visitors did. I did a pizza tour. What do I do when I go to Chicago? Eat as much pizza as I can. 95% of the cooking classes I take? All from different pizzaiolos around the world. Have I paid to take a class on the history of pizza? Yes. Best part of my study abroad program? The time I spent in Italy sampling pizza that would have me questioning what it means for something to be a pizza, and truly expand my mind to what pizza can be.
I give you all of that background to tell you that when Lit Pizza said they were going to let the customers compete to create the August Pizza of the Month, I felt that my time had come. All of this obsession and hard work had paid off. It was time to put all of the knowledge I had stored up to good use.
How should I tackle this challenge? Should I go with something I know that everyone will love? Should I branch out and try to offer something different that people would order because it was the POM but not necessarily order on their own? What pizza have I had that was so unique that I want to bring something similar to the table?
I opted for a pizza that is not my standard order. The pizzas of the month, to me, are pizzas that you enjoy, but only for the novelty of them. It's the thing you see on that chalkboard that makes you pause before you go into your order. It's special.
So with that as my criteria, I tried to think of the most original pizza that I had eaten. The one that I was nervous about trying because I didn't think I would enjoy it. The one that, despite not being what I would ever order, I liked...for the time I was eating it, and I was glad that I had tried it.
Artichoke Basille's artichoke pizza. I don't like artichokes. I'm not an overly big fan of spinach. But when I did my pizza tour in NYC, this was one of the stops on the way. But the combination of them with the cream sauce made it work for me. Would I order this often? No way. Did I enjoy it for the moment? Absolutely.
So I decided to also do a play on an appetizer on crust. I decided to go with one of my favorites - a jalapeno popper. The first issue was with sauce. I knew marinara would not work, and white sauce and my stomach do not get along. I knew I was going to have to figure out a way to make this work, but I was limited to what was on the line at Lit. I opted to go with no sauce, but used ricotta, fresh mozzarella and cheddar cheese to try and replicate a creaminess.
Then I topped it with fresh jalapenos and bacon, and finished with a drizzle of ranch and some parmesan cheese. Simple, but classic flavors, and still interesting.
Decision Time. I'll admit, I didn't watch the judging. I couldn't do it. I had a gut feeling that this guy would come in third and I didn't want to see it. After all, my reputation in my social circles was at stake here!
Side note: As someone who has been a judge in competitions like this, I know how much personal taste can come into play when you are judging. It's hard to leave it out. If they just didn't like the idea or the concept, I didn't want to hear it.
So, I'm a Lit loser. I did come in 3rd, but I did still get a $100 gift card out of the whole thing. I probably won't use it for a while because my pride is wounded ... but it's either help my pride heal with cheesy carbs I pay for, or cheesy carbs on Lit. I'm not sure I'm ready to let them back in. But come September, we'll be back on speaking terms.
Please note that I still love Lit, and my bitterness is purely exaggerated to tell a better story...somewhat.
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