Sprint Cup

Are you ready to dive???

So NASCAR has been interesting this week! From Saturday night’s race to Monday night’s penalties it was a really interesting week. Oh man. I still can’t believe that things got so far and intense at the end of the race and how that all played out on Monday. While I totally think that strategy is part of any sport it’s just unfortunate how it all played out during the last laps of the last race before The Chase with a suspected purposeful spin-out to bring out a caution and pitting when it was not needed just to help another teammate move up in the points to get into The Chase. And then the penalties on Monday were record setting with docked points that resulted in drivers moving in and out of The Chase, suspending the team GM indefinitely, a $300K penalty for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Basically, I’m going to be really interested in how all this plays out for the drivers in the effected team for the rest of the races. Will people try to get back at them? Will they under a high powered microscope? Or will everyone play nice? Doubtful! But then it wouldn’t be the intense racing I love.

Anyway…

Last year I surprised Price with a trip to Chicago for his 30th birthday. Totally surprised him. He didn’t know where we were going until we got to the gate. It was so awesome to plan something that big and surprise him with it. Also, it was so great to walk, sight see, and eat our way through the Windy City (which has nothing to do with wind).

Of course we had to have deep dish pizza. And of course it was INCREDIBLE! Since then we have been hooked on it for it’s thick buttery crust, it’s ooey gooey cheesy layer that is topped off with meat and/or veggies and a chunky sauce.

This weekend’s kick off to The Chase is at Chicagoland Speedway so I just had to whip up a deep dish pizza for this week’s edition of Sprint Cup Snacks.

Once you have the 14-Inch Deep Dish Pizza Pan it’s really easy to whip up since you can do the crust an hour before you need it (or make it in the morning like I did) and then it’s not all too different than making a regular pizza, but some extra baking time but it’s worth it. I filled our pizza with a combo of sautéed fresh veggies and a layer of sliced pepperoni. Soo delish!

How can you resist?!?!?!

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

Makes 1-14″ deep dish pizza/12 servings

Ingredients

Crust

• 4 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 1 3/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 3/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or salad oil
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water

Filling

• 3/4 lb. mozzarella cheese, sliced
• 1 pound total of Italian sweet or hot sausage, cooked and sliced and/or chopped cooked meatballs, or pepperoni; or about 3 cups of the sautéed vegetables of your choice (mushrooms, onion, zucchini, broccoli, etc)
• 28-ounce can plum tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced, optional
• 1 tablespoon sugar, optional
• 1 to 2 teaspoons of mixed dried Italian herbs (oregano, basil, rosemary), to taste
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese

Process

To make the crust:

1. Mix all of the dough ingredients together, and knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a smooth crust. This will take about 7 minutes at medium-low speed in a stand mixer.
2. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel, and let rise till very puffy, about 60 minutes. (It can hang out all day, if needed)
3. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and prepare the 14-Inch Deep Dish Pizza Pan by spraying it with non-stick vegetable oil spray and then pour in 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, tilting it to cover the bottom of the pan, and partway up the sides.
4. On a lightly greased countertop or baking mat, stretch and roll out the dough to make a circle large enough to cover the bottom and up the side of the pan.
5. Place the dough in the pan and gently push it up the sides of the pan to stay in place. (It’s okay if some olive oil oozes over the edge of the crust) Let the crust rest for 15 minutes or so.
6. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until it’s set and only just starting to brown. While it’s baking, prepare the sauce.
7. Drain the tomatoes thoroughly, remove the tough part where the stem connects to the tomato, then chop up. Combine the tomatoes with the herbs and garlic. Add the sugar and some salt and pepper to taste.
8. Cover the bottom of the crust with the sliced mozzarella, fanning it into the crust. Add the meat/sautéed vegetables filling evenly over the cheese. Then top with the tomatoes and then sprinkle with the grated Parmesan.
9. Bake the pizza for another 25 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust edge is golden brown.
10. Remove it from the oven and allow the pizza to cool for about 15 minutes (or longer, for less oozing) before cutting and serving.

Sourced from King Arthur Flour