You learn.

I recommend biting off more than you can chew to anyone (I certainly do)  I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at any time (Feel free)

—Alanis Morissette, You Learn

I am a dedicated lifetime learner. I love learning. There is, however, one problem with learning. I am also deeply committed to knowing, to being right, to not showing the weakness by asking for help much less making an actual mistake. You know what compounds that? Doing it on television or doing in print. There is nothing more devastating than learning you have erred with a permanent, public record.

This, this right here, is why I stated the fifth episode of my upcoming TV show by welcoming chef Amy Riolo into my home and saying, “I’m so excited to be cooking this pizza with you today. This recipe may be in my book but you are the brand ambassador for Pizza University so you know how to cook this better than I do.”

Together we made the pumpkin and lamb sausage pizza from my cookbook, Seasons to Taste. As Amy taught me more about pizza, we changed the recipe from what is enshrined in print in 5,000 copies of the book. You know what? I still believe in the original recipe. It’s good and I didn’t put it into print lightly. But, I keep learning and there are changes I’ve made in how I make it today.

So go visit that farm-market or butcher. Hit the kitchen and get cooking. And practice saying, “I don’t know.” Those three powerful words are the foundation of learning. And they aren’t a display of weakness, but of intellectual curiosity, awe at the beauty and complexity of the world, and great strength.

Pumpkin Lamb Sausage Pizza

Serves 8 – 10

This started as a mistake, but it turns out that pumpkin makes a delicious topping for pizza. Amy taught me to simplify the number of toppings and I love the simplicity that allows each ingredient - rich pumpkin, spicy MErguez sausage and sharp, salty Feta cheese - to shine.

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pizza dough, see below, or two 12” pre-made crusts

• 1 tbs olive oil

• 2 Merguez lamb sausages

• 1 1/2 cups Hubbard squash or pumpkin purée

• 1 cup crumbled Feta cheese

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

• 1/4 cup toasted pepitas - hulless pumpkin seeds

• Cornmeal for dusting a wood peel

Directions:

• Place pizza stone in oven on a rack set in the middle and preheat to 550 F for one hour.

• Warm olive oil in a 10” skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausages and cook for 6-8 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove from heat and slice thinly. In a bowl, season pumpkin purée with salt and pepper to taste.

• Press 1 ball of dough into a disk then push out from the center to form a 12” crust that is slightly thicker at the edge. Place on a pizza peel that is lightly dusted with cornmeal.

• Time to top the pizza. Err on the side of undertipping. a pizza with too many toppings becomes to heavy to slide off the peel and prevents the crust from crisping up properly. Top crust with about half of the pumpkin mixture followed by the sausage, feta, onions and pipits.

• Slide pizza into oven and cook for 7-9 minutes, until crust is brown in spots on edges. Let cool for a minute or two, then slice and eat!

Ellen Wells’ Pizza Dough

Makes 2 12” pizza crusts

I’ve tried many recipes for pizza dough but my favorite is one developed by my friend Ellen Wells. It’s got great tooth, is easy to work with and the ingredients are simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups water

• Yeast (see note below)

• 3 cups flour

• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• Olive oil

NOTE: There is lots of reading to do on the internet about how long to rise pizza dough. Ellen has figured out amounts for a room temperature rise. Letting it rise in the refrigerator overnight will give you more nuanced flavor and texture and is worth it if you’ve got the time, but the one hour rise is delicious! -

• Heaping 1/2 tsp yeast for 6 hours proofing

• 1/8 tsp for 24 hours

• 1/4 for 12 hours

• Ellen said she typically uses heaping 1/2 tsp for 6 hrs of proofing 

• A heaping 2 tsp works for a one hour rise.

Directions:

• Stir yeast into 1/4 cup warm water. Let sit 10 minutes while yeast foams. If the yeast doesn’t foam, sprinkle in a pinch of sugar. If it doesn’t foam in the next couple of minutes it’s time to buy new yeast.

• Stir in remaining 1 cup water, flour and salt. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and lightly tacky, about 6-8 minutes. If dough is sticky, knead in additional flour. NOTE: I typically do all of this in the bowl of my stand mixer and turn it a few times at the end.

• From dough into a ball. Set in a bowl and drizzle with about 2 tbs olive oil. Turn the dough in the oil to coat and roll around to oil the sides of the bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour in a warm location, 75-85 degrees is ideal. Divide the risen dough into 2 pieces. This is the time to preheat your oven to 550F with a pizza stone or sheet pan. You want the oven to preheat for an hour to get good and hot.

• When dough has doubled in size punch it down and divine into two pieces. Shape one piece into a ball, press into a disk then push out from the center to form a 12” crust that is slightly thicker at the edge. Top and bake on a pizza stone or baking sheet in a 550 degree oven for 7-9 minutes.

Tip: Don’t be afraid of the dough when shaping it. I’ve never had an evenly round crust and I always tear a hole in it. Just close the hole and top the pizza. You can call the shape “rustic” and say you do it on purpose.