Slightly Off Center

I found an old box of oil pastels while looking for my watercolor palette, so Denise tried them in place of crayons on her last sheet. Very bright, very resistant to the paint wash. And they seemed to take the wax coat all right as well.

Heart-shaped deep dish pizza!

Rocky Rococo's in La Crosse used to offer heart-shaped pizzas for Valentines. They also used to have a really good whole-wheat crust, though no longer offer that. Since the nearest Rocky's is in Spokane, I've had to reconstruct the recipe myself. This is not really a Chicago-style deep dish, maybe more Detroit? But it's soft and gooey and delicious.

Deep-Dish Pizza (per Rocky's, ca. 1981)
Sized for a 12-inch deep dish pizza pan, or heart-shaped or 9x13" cake pan.

Crust
1 cup warm water (120-130°F)
1 T honey

1 packet (2-1/4 tsp) dry yeast
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup melted butter
2 T olive oil
1 large egg

1/2 plus 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour

Heat water in microwave until warm. Add honey. Whisk together the first set of flours, yeast and salt. Place in stand mixer with paddle attachment, and add water. Mix on low; add butter, oil and egg. Continue mixing on low 5 minutes.

Switch to dough hook, and stir in remaining flour. Mix until it forms a dough, then continue another 2 minutes. Turn out onto a floured board and knead gently four or five times. Form into a ball and slip into a clear cylinder (a large plastic pitcher works well) that you've prepared with pan spray. Cover, and mark the height of the dough with a dry-erase marker. (This makes it easy to see when the dough has doubled in volume.)

When the dough has doubled, press down, cover, and begin preparing filling.

Sauce                       
1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce           
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste           
12 shakes oregano               
14 shakes basil              
10 shakes red pepper flake       
1 or 2 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp olive oil

Toppings
1/2 lb. mozzarella, divided
5-6 button mushrooms, white or cremini
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Whisk together sauce and set aside. Shred about a third of the mozzarella; thinly slice the rest. Slice the mushrooms.

When dough has doubled in size the second time, press out into a buttered 12" deep-dish pizza pan, flat all the way to the edges. Arranged sliced mozzarella on bottom in a single layer. Spread sauce over the entire bottom, cheese, crust, everything (there will probably be some sauce left over). Lay on the mushrooms, distributed evenly, then add the sausage, arranging little blobs every inch or two. Top with shredded mozzarella, then sprinkle the parmesan on top of that.

Bake 40 minutes at 375°, until golden. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing. It will be wonderfully messy and gooey, with a thick, soft crust.