Pizza and a Poem

I hope everyone is doing really great this Thursday! Sometimes we need to get back to basics so I'm keeping things short and sweet with my pizza and poem today.

flour on marble

blooms into flames crisping dough  

bubbling cheese cools

— N.H. Liao

I've always had a soft spot for haikus, something about how they translate grand ideas into the smallest of syllables just really excites me. I could not find the title of this particular haiku but it still remains one of my favorites. The poet does a really great job of creating sensory details the reader can feel. Who knew three lines about pizza could be so deep? Coincidentally I like my poems deep and pizzas thin, and finally have figured out how to make a tasty classic thin crust pizza. Hope you guys like this recipe as much as I do, and as always please request food and poems that you'd like to see!

For the crust:

Erm, I was going to include my own personal favorite thin crust recipe but it ended up taking up a whole page so I will just link it here instead (feel free to use pizza crust mix and follow the directions instead)

http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2013/07/31/thin-crust-pizza-recipe/

For the pizza:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin oil, plus more for the pan

4 garlic gloves (crushed and minced)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves

1 tablespoon dried basil leaves

Sea salt and black pepper

As much mozzarella cheese as you want 

8-12 cherry tomatoes halved

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

1. Start with your prepared crust. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, crushed garlic cloves, and herbs. Brush this mix onto the prepared crust.

3. Thinly slice shreds of mozzarella cheese. Use as much as you want, but at least enough to cover a good majority of the pizza. 
4. Top your pizza with the halved cherry tomatoes and the cheese. Sprinkle with the salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. 
5. Bake in greased pan for 15-20 minutes, checking periodically until the cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.

In case you haven't noticed I usually like to omit tomato sauce when I make pizza just because I like eating the olive oil and garlic mixture as a base. The cherry tomatoes burst and make for a really sweet little make-shift sauce, but definitely feel free to add a sauce if your tastes require it ^_^