My love of pizza is….maniacal

Ever since I was old enough to appreciate solid food, I've had a deep, unwavering, unyielding love of pizza. To this day, it's my single favorite type of food. I am enamored by all the forms that good pizza can take - especially the thin crust classic NYC slices, the iconic coal fired taste of New Haven 'apizza', and Greek style pizza from Cape Cod. That's just the beginning of the list... 

Anytime I move to a new city or visit a place I've never been before, discovering new pizza spots is always on my radar. If you name a city or town I've traveled to, I could probably tell you the best, most authentic joint in town. My taste-testing journey focuses only on plain cheese slices or pies - in my view, this is the ultimate barometer to compare and contrast all the great pizza out there. Plus, I'm obsessed with the simple, pure flavor - no frills, no unnecessary or distracting toppings - just deliciousness.

Over the last several years, I've channeled my love of pizza into my own kitchen as I dabble in the art of making homemade pizzas. My tools of choice are pizza stones, pizza steel, a gigantic restaurant-grade pizza cutter, and the all-important pizza peel. When it comes to the ingredients, I keep things simple, using quality pizza sauce from a jar and fresh dough from a local pizza shop. Low moisture whole-milk mozzarella is also an essential piece of the puzzle. The journey continues to perfect my pizza-making process - from switching up ingredients, equipment, cook times, and prep.

Check out the gallery below for some of my successful experiments (and those that went completely awry) from recent years.