Upside Down Pizza

So, those of you familiar with pizza in Easton will probably think of several fine institutions in the area growing up that contributed to our love of pizza. Forks Township will probably think of Sal's, or maybe one of the pizzerias on Cattell Street on College Hill. Palmer Township has Steve's Pizza, and their Sicilian sans cheese is pretty rad. Southside dwellers will doubtlessly think of my personal childhood favorite, Pino's in the old Laneco shopping center, which I maintain makes the best pizza in the world. Before going vegan, I remember planning that my last non-vegan food item would be a whole large pie from Pino's. Not to shit on the other places in Easton, but Pino's is insane. Across the river in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, there's a pizza place that makes pretty awesome pie as well. Nicholosi's has been around since my dad was a kid, and it shows that they've got experience. However, none of these places were the inspiration for the subject of this post. That inspiration comes from a joint in downtown Easton, Colonial Pizza. Probably the priciest pizza in town per square inch, what sets them apart is the fact that they put the cheese on first, and then the sauce on top. My grandfather told me there was another place in Easton years ago that used to make za like this, so maybe Colonial stole the idea from them. Either way, Colonial makes awesome pie, and this post is a tribute to them.
I started with normal pizza dough, rolled thin, stretched across a warm (not hot) pizza stone, and applied a dash each of the following: parsley, garlic, and crushed rosemary leaves. I'm probably imagining things, but I think the direct application of herbs to the crust adds a pleasant touch of flavor.

Then, I added a whole block of shredded Follow Your Heart Mozzarella spread over the crust. Nothing fancy there. Just make sure the cheese is evenly distributed, because if it's in clumps it won't melt properly and you'll end up with lumps of uncooked cheese. No one likes that. No one.

Next, the sauce. It's a sauce I made myself earlier in the day, and before I applied it I let it cool down some. I spooned it on and spread it out over the cheese, making sure that the pie was evenly covered. Make sure you get sauce over the whole pie, because it tends to dry out in the oven easily.

I cooked it on a stone at 475 for 20 minutes, and let it cool for another 10 before cutting it. Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5. The sauce was good. Surprisingly good, I might add. The cheese melted fine under the sauce, so that was a plus. However, the crust was a) too thick for a pie like this; because of all the cheese I added and all the sauce, a thinner crust would have been better I think, and b) because I cooked it on a stone, the crust was way too crisp on the bottom. I suspect I cooked it too long for a pizza stone, so I'll adjust for next time.

shouts to region of ice fanzine.