artichoke gouda pizza

Who says you need to wait for Friday to enjoy pizza?

I understand Taco Tuesday, because alliteration is fun for marketing, but the origins of Pizza Friday are a bit obscure to me. And honestly, I don’t give enough of a shit to look it up, so if ya’ll want to explain, have at it.

We’re doing pizza on Wednesday because this weekend I went hard and baked pizza twice, once as an initial test and the second time because I wanted to throw all of my weight against a window after a particularly rough day. Figured making pizza was a healthier coping mechanism. And ya’ll this baby is a real good one, and simple as hell – so if you want pizza twice in a week, it’s perfectly doable.

The best part about this pizza is that garlic butter brushin’ on the crust. Because we’re not using a proper sauce here, this lends a lovely amount of moisture to the base and works with the cheese for an ultra gooey, melty experience. I find that you can taste all the individual components really nicely and not one thing overpowers another.

Make this when you’re happy, when you’re stressed, when you just randomly want pizza (probably not random for most of us, pizza is a normal thing to crave. No need to see a doctor), or when you need to feed a crowd. You can easily double up on the components to make multiple pies as needed. Pretty much is the perfect recipe for any fucken day you please.

The Art of Choke

Alright, alright, mind out the gutter. Ain’t none of that happening in my virtual house.

First, choose your pizza dough. You can buy some or make some at home if you have a recipe you love, both approaches are great. I fucked up my first batch of dough when I made this and almost canned the whole affair, but thankfully try #2 went swimmingly. I even took the dough to The Day Job so I could ensure it’d come out of the fridge on time to properly rise to room temp.

“Take Your Dough To Work” Day?

Heat your oven real hot – 500 degrees is ideal. If you’re using a pizza stone, pop it in to preheat. I grabbed a trusty sheet pan for my job. Use what you have and which can stand up to the temp.

When the oven is preheated, prep your dough. I kneaded mine directly on my sheet pan since I didn’t preheat it, but if you used a stone, form it on some parchment sprinkled with cornmeal before carefully transferring the dough to the hot stone. Push and press your dough to your desired shape on your desired vessel. I used 1/2 pound of dough since I didn’t need a ton of servings and I like a thinner crust, but adjust this to your needs.

Assembly Line

When the dough is ready to receive its toppings, make your garlic butter: just melted butter, garlic, dried parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread about half the allotted amount on your dough, from center to the tip of the crust.

Sprinkle on shredded gouda cheese – you can use regular or smoked here, your choice – and plop on your marinated artichokes. I prefer marinated to water-packed since the flavor is typically much nicer. Dot the pizza with some cubed mozzarella and drizzle with extra garlic butter. You can use the rest or save some for serving.

Throw your pie in the oven until shit melts, the crust browns, and your house smells like a trattoria. Glorious.

Yep. Real talk: that’s all there is to this goodness.

I dress my pizza with some basil and maybe fresh parsley if I have it around, and of course extra garlic butter if you left a bit in reserve. A good green salad is never a bad idea to counterbalance the rich flavors.

Final suggestion? A good crisp beer. Suited the occasion for me just fine.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

Pizzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa:

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