As I've mentioned before, I worked at Jimbo's Pizza in Grinnell Iowa for a couple of years during college. I mostly worked in the kitchen making pizza and prepping for the other stuff on the menu.

I've been nostalgic about the whole Jimbo's experience recently because there's a new group on Facebook dedicated to the restaurant. It was a really fun place to work, with lots of yummy fatty foods to enjoy; but one of my favorite flavor combos is one I've been making at home ever since-- the Angry Samoan. This was a pizza (not on the menu) invented by one of the mangers there, a riff on the Hawaiian pizza-- it featured pineapple, ham, pickled jalapenos, and crushed red pepper flakes. It's best hot with each bit dipped in a dab of ranch dressing (the ranch is one of those weird Iowa foodways I picked up in my four years there).

I used to make my own dough, but for the past few years I've taken to buying the pizza dough at the grocery store. It's really easy to make your own pie, even if you don't know how to throw. And then you can make your own ridiculously spicy pizza, and load it up with as many toppings as you like.

I have a pizza stone, which I highly recommend.

Heat the stone in a very hot oven (450+). Meanwhile, lay down some flour on a large surface. Place the dough down and punch it down into a circular shape, and then push it slightly apart with your fists. Lift it up on your two fists underneath and move around slowly, pulling your hands slowly apart but mostly letting gravity do the work. Once the stone has been in the oven for 20 minutes or so, remove it (carefully) and dust with cornmeal. Place the dough down once it is the right size. Top it with canned crushed tomatoes, shredded mozzarella, and the toppings of your choice. Put it into the oven and bake until it's slightly brown and bubbly.

In addition to the above, I love to top with crushed raw garlic and chopped onions, or sundried tomatoes and fresh spinach (in the case of spinach, put it under the cheese). Easy as pie. Heh.