The Rise of Pizza Friday

Let's start with my current obsession: pizza.  It is actually a lifelong pursuit nurtured by spending my formative years in Connecticut.  With Pepe's and Sally's only 20 minutes away, and great local joints including Jerry's, Apizza Center and the Brick Oven, I have eaten more than my fair share of pies.  It is the  thing that I miss most of all, more than 15 years after decamping to the west coast.  Thankfully there has been a surge of interest in what I call "real pizza" in the last few years.  Delfina in SF.  Diavola in Geyserville.  Pizza Antica in San Jose and Tiburon.  They all make delicious pizza that has no relationship to the doughy mess that is served at places like RoundTable.  Still, the pizza of my youth has eluded me.  And so, I have started Pizza Friday to try and capture the taste of pizzas past.  It started slow with store-bought dough and jarred sauce.  I have progressed to making my own dough (using Chris Bianco's recipe and Italian 00 flour).  Talk about a challenge.  I cannot claim victory with the dough, but the toppings are great.  My current favorite is italian sausage, red peppers, cremini mushrooms, and thinly sliced red onions.  Proscuitto and portobella is another crowd pleaser.  The secret is the fontina Val d'Aosta.