Capicola & Kalamata Olive Pizza

Are you the type of person that dabs their grease off of their pizza, or you do embrace it with all you have? While I normally don't jump for joy when my pizza has little pools of grease, this smoked meat-olive mixture is the perfect combination of thin, crispy crust and classic savory flavor. The saltiness of the capicola and olives are a real treat, especially when you wash it down with my all-time favorite beer, Four Peaks Pumpkin Porter. I used a smoked cheese, which I would suggest shying away from, since it is a drier cheese and does not melt like your typical pizza should. Stick to a classic fontina or cheddar for a gooey result. I hope you guys whip this up for this weekend's games, have some friends over, and cheer on your favorite team over some homemade pie. 

Also, how amazing is this floormat that I used as my backdrop? I got it for Andrew for his 1/2 birthday (yes, we celebrate those in our house!) and I couldn't NOT use it! 

Capicola & Kalamata Olive Pizza

Ingredients:

• cornmeal for sprinkling
• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tbsp. pizza seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded fontina cheese
• 5 oz. sliced capicola
• 1/2 cup sliced, pitted kalamata olives

Preheat oven or grill to 400 degrees F. 

Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza stone, then stretch out the dough to the size of the stone. Drizzle the olive oil over the dough and sprinkle the pizza seasoning.

Bake/grill the crust for 5 minutes. Then spread the marinara all over the crust, sprinkle the cheese, then top with the capicola and olives. If you are baking, bake for another 20 minutes until the crust is golden and firm. If you are grilling, grill for only another 10 minutes or so until the crust is golden.

Allow the pizza to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Tastes best with a cold beer, I promise.