When I was in the Navy in the early '70s, they used to serve something they called a cheeseburger pizza. It was dough sauced with catsup and topped with sauteed ground beef and either cheddar or American cheese, (I don't remember which.). There were spices too, and maybe some onions or something else, (50 years was a long time ago.
)
In the early '80s I decided to see if I could make an improved version. We invited 3 couples over, and I made the pizza. I bought two dough balls, a jar of pizza sauce, ground beef, and a tube of hot breakfast sausage. I also bought green peppers and yellow onions as well as mozz, provolone, and Munster. All the cheeses were sliced, not grated.
I sauteed and crumbled the ground beef, (1 lb per pie), the sausage, (1/2 lb per pie), and diced the onions and peppers and sauteed them too. I also had some canned mushrooms that I diced.
I stretched each piece of dough and put them on pizza pans. When people arrived it was time to cook - one at a time. I sauced a dough, added the sausage and a layer of cheese. In the hot oven it went. When the cheese started to melt, I added the veggies and more cheese. When that started to melt I added the ground beef and the rest of the cheese, and cooked until it looked done, (and, surprisingly, it was done
). Then I cooked the next pie the same way. Everyone loved it, and with 1.5 lbs of meat and 1.5 lbs of cheese plus the other ingredients, it was a thick, heavy pie. Two slices each filled everyone up. And they all loved it. I still get complements on those pies. However it was a lot of work and I did not get to do much socializing while I was cooking.
We "owe" some friends for taking my wife with them to Disney early this year, so I decided to make that pizza again for the couple who attended the first pizzafest along with their children and grandkids. However, I wanted to do a trial run to make sure I could duplicate those pizzas. I bought a doughball along with a jar of sauce, (different brand), and everything else so I could make one last night. SWMBO wanted fish, so I was just cooking for myself.
First, the dough would not stretch to the 12" I wanted. I finally got it to ~ 10" after the doughball rested for two hours on the counter, and then trying to stretch and resting for another hour. I built and cooked the 'za the same way as before and it turned out good - not great. It was well cooked, but the flavor profile was off. It was OK, but not what I wanted. I would not serve that pie to guests. I may try again with homemade dough and sauce.
My cheese runneth over.
![Click image for larger version Name: 20230513_182612[2].jpg Views: 0 Size: 1.79 MB ID: 1420517](filedata/fetch?id=1420517&d=1770502764&type=medium)
The crust turned out OK.
![Click image for larger version Name: 20230513_184440[1].jpg Views: 0 Size: 1.13 MB ID: 1420518](filedata/fetch?id=1420518&d=1773297466&type=medium)
And the crust bottom.
![Click image for larger version Name: 20230513_183910[1].jpg Views: 0 Size: 2.19 MB ID: 1420519](filedata/fetch?id=1420519&d=1773297605&type=medium)
)In the early '80s I decided to see if I could make an improved version. We invited 3 couples over, and I made the pizza. I bought two dough balls, a jar of pizza sauce, ground beef, and a tube of hot breakfast sausage. I also bought green peppers and yellow onions as well as mozz, provolone, and Munster. All the cheeses were sliced, not grated.
I sauteed and crumbled the ground beef, (1 lb per pie), the sausage, (1/2 lb per pie), and diced the onions and peppers and sauteed them too. I also had some canned mushrooms that I diced.
I stretched each piece of dough and put them on pizza pans. When people arrived it was time to cook - one at a time. I sauced a dough, added the sausage and a layer of cheese. In the hot oven it went. When the cheese started to melt, I added the veggies and more cheese. When that started to melt I added the ground beef and the rest of the cheese, and cooked until it looked done, (and, surprisingly, it was done
). Then I cooked the next pie the same way. Everyone loved it, and with 1.5 lbs of meat and 1.5 lbs of cheese plus the other ingredients, it was a thick, heavy pie. Two slices each filled everyone up. And they all loved it. I still get complements on those pies. However it was a lot of work and I did not get to do much socializing while I was cooking.We "owe" some friends for taking my wife with them to Disney early this year, so I decided to make that pizza again for the couple who attended the first pizzafest along with their children and grandkids. However, I wanted to do a trial run to make sure I could duplicate those pizzas. I bought a doughball along with a jar of sauce, (different brand), and everything else so I could make one last night. SWMBO wanted fish, so I was just cooking for myself.
First, the dough would not stretch to the 12" I wanted. I finally got it to ~ 10" after the doughball rested for two hours on the counter, and then trying to stretch and resting for another hour. I built and cooked the 'za the same way as before and it turned out good - not great. It was well cooked, but the flavor profile was off. It was OK, but not what I wanted. I would not serve that pie to guests. I may try again with homemade dough and sauce.
My cheese runneth over.
The crust turned out OK.
And the crust bottom.








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