Illinois’s Date of Statehood – December 3rd, 1818
When talking about making something that honors the great city of Chicago, it was a toss-up between the Italian beef sandwich and the deep-dish pizza. In the end, I couldn’t think of anything more iconic to a city (aside from a Philly cheese steak, of course) than a real-deal Chicago deep dish pizza. And boy, am I glad I did. This has been a household favorite so far and I can see these pizzas being made MANY times in the future. If you’re going to eat pizza with a knife and fork, THIS is the way to go!
Tips and Tricks
- You can use shredded mozzarella cheese and the end result will be just fine. But if you REALLY want a delicious pie, but the fresh, slices mozzarella and lay down a THICK layer.
- Don’t skip the draining step with the crushed tomatoes. It is important to get as much moisture out as possible. When the tomatoes are draining in the fine mesh strainer, gently tap on the strainer. It’ll help the water drip out.
- Also, don’t skip the resting step. The pizza has to cool a little and set up, or it’ll be impossible to cut and get out of the pan.
- You can add any toppings you want, under the sauce. Just make sure, if they are wet, that you dry them off first. For example, I made a pineapple pizza with a can of pineapple chunks. I took the fruit pieces out of the juice and patted them as dry as possible before adding them to the pizza.
Chicago-Style Deep Dish Sausage Pizza
Makes 2, 9-inch Deep Dish Pizzas
Dough
- 2 2/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2/3 Cup plus 2 Tbs Lukewarm Water
- 1/4 Cup plus 2 tsp Corn Oil
- 1 Envelope Rapid Rise Instant Yeast
- Pinch of Sugar
- Pinch of Salt
- 1 Tbs Corn Oil, to grease the proofing bowl
Pizza
- 16 oz. Sliced Mozzarella
- 2 Large Links Mild Italian Sausage, raw with casing removed and chopped
- 1 Can (28 oz) Crushed Tomatoes
- 2 tsp Dried Basil
- Grated Parmesan Cheese, to sprinkle over the top
Step 1: Start by making the dough. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast and the pinch of sugar into the lukewarm water. Allow the yeast to bloom for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Add half of the flour, the 1/4 cup plus 2 tsp corn oil, and the pinch of salt to the yeast water. Mix on lower until a smooth batter is formed. Then, add the rest of the flour and mix on low until the dough comes together into a smooth ball, no more than 2-3 minutes.
Step 3: Place the 1 Tbs corn oil into a large clean bowl and swish it around to coat the inside. Place the dough ball into the greased bowl and turn it over as few times to coat the dough in oil as well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dark place for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk.
Step 4: When the dough has about 40 minutes left to rise, open the can of crushed tomatoes and pour it into a finer mesh strainer that has been set over a large bowl. Allow as much water to drain away as gravity will allow.
Step 5: Move the two racks of your oven to the very bottom and very top positions. Place a pizza stone, if using, on the bottom rack. Place a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil on the top rack and preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Step 6: Once the dough has doubled and the oven is hot, take the dough ball and punch it down and divide it into 2 equal portions. Grease JUST the bottoms of 2 9-inch cake pans with more corn oil or cooking spray.
Step 7: Take 1 dough portion and press it into the greased pan until the bottom is evenly covered and you can pinch the dough up the sides to make a paper-thin lip about 1 1/2 inches tall all around.
Step 8: Lay a thick layer of overlapping mozzarella slices on the bottom of each pan until they are covered. Then, add a layer of uncooked sausage to each pizza. Sprinkle each pizza with an equal amount of dried basil. Take half of the crushed tomatoes and spread it out evenly over 1 pizza, making sure that everything is covered in sauce. Repeat this with the other pizza. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top of each pizza.
Step 9: Turn the oven down to 450 degrees and place the pans directly onto the pizza stone.
Step 10: Bake for 35 minutes. If the pizza starts to burn, cover with aluminum foil and continue to bake.
Step 11: Once baked, remove from the oven and allow it to sit, undisturbed for 5 minutes.
Step 12: Serve hot with a knife and fork.
Green Salad with Grapes, Feta, and an Orange Vinaigrette
Serves 4
Salad
- Spring Salad Mix
- 1 Cup Sugar Snap Peas, cut into strips
- 1 Cup Red Grapes, halved
- 1/2 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
Dressing
- 5 Tbs White Wine Vinegar
- 5 Tbs Orange Juice
- 2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Tbs Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
Step 1: In a small bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning until well combined and the sugar and salt are dissolved.
Step 2: Gently toss together the salad greens, sugar snap peas, red grapes and feta until mixed.
Step 3: Serve the salad cold with the dressing on the side.
Fun Facts about Illinois: 1. Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th amendment to abolish slavery. 2. The Ice Cream Sundae originated in Evanston, IL. 3. The Nabisco factory in Chicago is the world’s largest bakery in the world at 1,800,000 square feet! 4. Aurora is known as the City of Lights because it was the first U.S. city to use electric street lighting throughout the entire city. 5. The term “jazz” was coined in Chicago in 1914 by Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa.
Edible U.S. 