Farmer's Market Veggie Pizza on a Beer Bread Crust

Rolling up to an innocuous new Germantown pizza joint last Sunday in Hunter's Hummer H3 with Lord T and Eloise's unreleased-as-of-yet album blasting, we had a sentimental moment. Oh, G-town: we kind of miss you now! How safe you are, and how you never jar our eyes due to your strict signage codes and tasteful, neutral colors. We felt like we were back in 1993, when we itched to get the heck out at any cost. Only this time, we were back, wondering what kind of pizza your gorgeous, empty new shopping center might have on offer. Well, one word just about sums it up: soggy. Before we arrived, Dad ordered two veggie pizzas, which is really never a good call. The Chubby Vegetarian has a few rules about pizza: three ingredients at the most, and if you are trying out a new joint for the first time, it is best to order just cheese.  A plain cheese pie will allow you to taste the three most important ingredients: crust, cheese, and sauce. However, they did look promising at first: at least there was no broccoli, a sight unwelcome on ANY pizza. Once we picked up a slice, the waterworks began. All over the pan. Wet crust. Too many vegetables that were not relieved of their moisture in some way -- any way! 

So tonight, we tried it ourselves. We knew we could do better. A Stella Artois  made its way into the crust and TCV sweated out the veggies (zucchini, pattypan squash, eggplant, and tomatoes -- all local, praise the bounty of August) on low heat in the oven for a couple of hours. Toss your dough and make sure to pinch the edges for a perfect circle (this is a trick I picked up in NYC.) Lay the deydrated vegetables out in a single layer on top of the cheese; add arugula, spinach, cannellini beans, parmesan, and a handful of herbs from the garden. Throw it in a 550 degree oven for a few minutes, and you're set.  Simple, but effective. (The H3 issue, however...not so easily fixed.)

For the best Pizza in Memphis (apart from TCV's):

Lou's Pizza Pie

Fire & Stone

Pete N' Sam's