Sausage, Red Onion, and Wild Mushroom Pizza

Usually I find a way to relate the food I'm blogging about to the prevailing mood in which I prepared it or some story about my life that's been on my mind. Unfortunately the thing that's been on my mind lately is how crappy my high school days were and wishing I could tell that little nerd that everything's going to be okay. Anyway, it's too dark, and while that hasn't stopped me before, I'm trying to focus on positive things. So instead, before this excellent recipe for sausage pizza that I picked up from Bon Appétit's "What America Eats" issue (if you have to buy only one issue of BA a year, make this the one), I'm going to answer two very short memes from my (physician) colleagues, Dr. Claire(bear) and Dr. Em Dy, MD. I won't tag anyone, because as you all know, No Special Effects is where tags go to die.

The first one from Dr. Claire is just a playlist of my favorite (or mix-tape-worthy songs). I think people misunderstood my previous post: while I do listen to the stuff, they are by no means my favorite group or even my favorite type of music. The thing is, I like all sorts of music-- I don't write off an artist or genre until after I hear a few songs. However, as a result my playlists are so disjointed. Here's my special Manggy-mixtape (links are to Youtube pages, except Chem 6A which is a download page):
Side A (oh, how archaic!):
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine by The Killers · You Already Take Me There by Switchfoot · Supermassive Black Hole by Muse · Speakerphone by Kylie Minogue · Raspberry Swirl by Tori Amos · Cruel Summer by Ace of Base
Side B:
Chem 6A by the Vitamin String Quartet · You and I Both by Jason Mraz · Only Hope by Mandy Moore · Learning to Breathe by Switchfoot · From Now On by Basia (uh, that's not Basia in the video... And the guy is barely connecting to the song.) · Fragments of Memories by Nobuo Uematsu
Obviously I like listening to string quartets. I don't know why. And can you tell what my favorite band is?

The second one is from Dr. Em and it's the 123 Book Tag. I'm supposed to take the nearest book, turn to page 123, and post sentences 5-8. This is from the actual book I'm reading:

Additionally, there are several proofreading and repair mechanisms that correct mistakes that are made spontaneously or by environmental insult. Transcription of DNA into RNA occurs in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells by three distinct RNA polymerases, each synthesizing a different class of RNA. In eukaryotic cells, RNA is synthesized as a precursor that is converted to mature RNA in the nucleus by a number of steps collectively known as "processing". (From: USMLE Step 1 Review)

Oh my God, I've killed you all with boredom. Sorry. To make up for it, I'm going to add another book, "Waking Up Just In Time" by Abraham J. Twerski, a therapist. It's an interesting and enlightening read.

We give lip service to other people's basic rights, but in the very same breath we say that what they are doing isn't right at all, so it is not protected by our respecting their basic rights. This is a very flimsy rationalization for our wish to dominate other people or, at the very least, coerce them to accept our values. If we took the "Live and let live" motto literally and without rationalizations, we would all be much happier.

Blogging whiplash: back to the pizza!

I prepared this last Valentine's Day together with the Sole Meuniére, Frasier, and some Potatoes Anna. Even without tomato sauce, it's still really good. My only regret is that I didn't cut up the sausages small enough, so they look uncomfortably chunky to me in the picture. As it turns out, rolling pizza dough with a rolling pin is not a bad way to go. It's not as fluffy and aerated as my previous pizzas but it does retain its shape better.

Sausage, Red Onion, and Wild Mushroom Pizza adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine March 2005 issue

• 2 pizza dough balls, each weighing 350g or 12oz


• 2/3 cup finely grated Piave or Parmesan cheese


• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided


• 1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 2 hot Italian sausages, casings removed


• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced


• 7oz (200g) fresh wild mushrooms (I used shiitake and oyster mushrooms)


• 7oz (200g) coarsely grated whole-milk mozzarella cheese

Place a baking stone on the oven floor. Preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F) or the highest temperature your oven can manage. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the sausage and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes, breaking them in the process with the back of a spoon. Transfer the sausage to a bowl. In the skillet, sauté the onion until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add to the cooked sausage. In the same skillet, sauté the mushrooms together with half a teaspoon of rosemary for about ten minutes, or until the moisture from the mushrooms has mostly boiled away (I have a small skillet, sue me). Add to the onions and sausage.

Work with one ball of dough at a time (don't start with the second until you're done baking the first). Stretch out a ball of dough into a 6-inch round. Sprinkle with half the remaining rosemary, red pepper, and Piave cheese. Roll out the round into a 12-inch round (roll in all directions), pressing in the seasonings. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella cheese and half the sausage mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch plain border. Bake on the hot oven stone for about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.