An Informal Survey: If you could only have one...

[CharlieKilo]

If you could have only one pizza topping for the rest of your life, what would it be?

(...sauce and cheese don't count!)

For me? Anchovies.

You?

[fryerlover]

Mushrooms

[Toni6921]

sausage and pepperoni

[Jasz]

Feta cheese—makes everything tastier.

[easyonthesalt]

prosciutto cotto. delicious.

[CDouglas]

Pancetta.

Pizzeria Paradiso in DC offers this topping and it has become my favorite. They also offer bottarga, capers, mussels, marinated artichokes and pine nuts but since I can only choose one...

[mamachef]

Margherita made with insane Summer tomatoes; or good old pepperoni with lots of cheese, kinda blotted but not really.

[mariacarmen]

i'm a non blotter too. love it when oil gathers in pepperoni cups.

[gaffk]

I am afraid to offer this as a tip, as I am sure mama knows it already (but since others may not, I'll share). There's a local pizza place with amazingly non-greasy pepperoni pizza. They were nice enough to share the secret: nuke the pepperoni between two sheets of paper towels for ten seconds before placing on pizza. I have used this for home made pizza and it works.

[Passadumkeg]

I'm just curious. Anyone know if offal is used in pepperoni recipes? Just food for thought for offal haters.

[c oliver]

I've read that most commercial sausage does have offal. Another reason to like it.

[gaffk]

I think pepperoni is like scrapple--everything but the oink.

[basketwoman]

just pineapple, but it has to have a nice crust, and decent sauce

[PegS]

I'm prosaic when it comes to pizza topping. It would have to be pepperoni.

[FoodFuser]

Chard.

Given fresh from fall garden
chopped and then charred
in a really hot oven.

In amidst all that glory of good melted cheese
charred chard ranges in textures that tease
from crunchy to crinkled to burned for tongue please.

[Wtg2Retire]

Pepperoni

[jaedalaurez]

Pepperoni, but the good kind, like they serve @ Bocce's in Buffalo.

[jeanmarieok]

That is some pepperoni at Bocce's ! Pepperoni is my first choice, too....

[Gio]

Fried eggplant...

[linguafood]

mmmm. that's a great one, gio!

[Passadumkeg]

Lingua, not curry wurst?

[linguafood]

Gross.

[Passadumkeg]

At Pat's Pizza, a popular Maine pizza chain, it is possible to get sour kraut and hot dogs.
I'll stick to lobster rolls, thank you.
http://www.patsyarmouth.com/Locations...

[Gio]

... and a nice chianti...

[dbscandy]

Oh my gosh, it's 2 AM and too late for delivery!!!!!!!! This column was torture but I have to say really good Sausage!!!

[FoodFuser]

If it's pizza that comes from the home cook's hot oven
Choice of toppings aren't one, but more like a dozen.

Anchovies cradled in soft melted cheese
Coarsely chunked garlic floating on soft tomato seas
Fungi abundant and totally fragrant,
herbs sauced and embedded, and chiffonaded and spreaded...

Each piece of my pizza must say:
I'm open to a full and a multiple array.

Any unused ingredients are used the next day
in salada Nicoise,
another app that gives beg to a dozen.

[gaffk]

When I first read this, I was thinking about this local place that makes chorizo pepperoni (sliced pretty thick) that I could eat every day. But that pesto posting has me rethinking that position.

[Passadumkeg]

Get reindeer for the Xmas spirit!

[FoodFuser]

I'm curious, what kinda cheese they must do
from milked udders of those migrating herd Caribou.

We could celebrate Pie
when the sun hangs so high
and also in times
of deep Midnigtht.

It;s gotta be tough milk
as dang both the boys and the girls grow antlered horns.
Migrating, ranging, on Alaska's cold prairie,
or herded by Laplanders in north Scandinavia

I would give it good usher
as a cheese in my pie..

[Passadumkeg]

Mozzerella. As every god Norwegian knows, it is the same distance from the southern tip of Norway to northern Lapland, as it is from the southern tip to Rome!

[Passadumkeg]

You got it! But no turkey on Thanksgiving?
Lobster make an interesting topping on a white 'za.

[rHairing]

CURSES! I WANT to say fresh basil but reading other posts, I'm leaning to sausage!

[ipsedixit]

Fresh basil.

[tatamagouche]

Wow. That's a really, really tough one. But probably pesto, because then I get basil, oo, pine nuts, and parmesan all in one.

[CharlieKilo]

Good call.

[Veggo]

My dream pizza would be OO, garlic (ajo), and fresh conch, but these cuisines have not yet collided into a critical mass explosion of deliciousness, that I know of. Willing to travel.

[DoobieWah]

I'm with the OP.

Make mine anchovy.

And BTW, what brand of anchovies are we using these days? I have found that I don't much care for the Morroccan ones, and they seem to be predominant.

I have found a Greek one I like a lot called LaBarca, (I think). I was finding the flat tins with a "spicy sauce" that were just wonderful. They tasted just like the ones we had decades ago. The tins seem to have disappeared, but I can still find the small jars of LaBarca which is what I've been using.

I recently bought some from Peru, but I haven't tried them yet.

[CharlieKilo]

I just bought some Moroccan ones called Bellino, but haven't tried them yet.
The flat ones in the tins just don't seem to be as good as they once were.

[Novelli]

Guanciale without a doubt in my mind!

[BiscuitBoy]

free range, heirloom,locally sourced, hormone free, organic, heritage, I'm sure

[BobB]

Don't forget house-made!

Or if you're Sweeney Tood - house-maid pizza!

[Novelli]

and thoroughbred, smart ass! LOL

[c oliver]

I'm changing my vote to guanciale.

[Perilagu Khan]

And I'm changing mine to Chef Boyardi Ravioli. The stuff makes a knockout pizza topping.

[Passadumkeg]

I'm changing to Hatch green chile w/ red chile instead of tomato sauce.

[Perilagu Khan]

CharlieKilo is gonna have a helluva task on his hands trying to keep our orders straight and make our pies.

[CharlieKilo]

All your pies will me ready by noon on the 16th. Don't all show up at once, and keep the noise down.

[c oliver]

Now you're talkin'. Real Italian anyway.

[Passadumkeg]

Scallops on a white or reindeer on a Norsk nostalgia.
ps green chile in NM.

[Veggo]

Reindeer pizza? You sleigh me.

[mariacarmen]

ahahahaha

[Perilagu Khan]

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzziiiiiiiiiiiiing!

[Passadumkeg]

Honestly, the Norwegian had some pretty funky fresh pizza toppings; reindeer meat, mussels & shrimp, and fresh asparagus.

[Veggo]

It sounds glorious, what a combo! As the richest nation in the world, Norwegians can do things that I can't.
Where I live off-and-on in Mexico, I will defend the ham-pineapple-jalapeno pizza until the vacas come home. I guarantee it outsells pepperoni there, even though the ham there really sucks but the flavors meld nicely.

[EWSflash]

+3

[bagelman01]

onions

[visciole]

+1, good old simple onions.

[theoreticalphenogroup14]

...i always order extra cheese + onions....

[jbsiegel]

Ground beef

[mrbigshotno.1]

Sausage made with heavy cracked fennel and black pepper.

[c oliver]

I've been reading this and trying to decide. Yours gets my vote. I make my sausage that way and would top my ultimate pizza that way.

[kellylee]

Make the cheese italian fontina and my topping choice caramelized leeks.

[Breadcrumbs]

Wow, so difficult.

Regular Pizza: I so love hot Italian sausage but if it was all I could ever have, I worry I may tire of it so I'll go with mushrooms.

White Pizza: Sliced potato

[jhopp217]

I don't think I've ever heard of sliced potato on a pizza. Don't the carb police come out when you order this?

[BobB]

Potato pizza is a classic Roman dish, and my melted-cheese-hating wife's favorite. It is hard to find in the States, so I make it for her as a special treat from time to time. Fresh thin crust, good olive oil, thinly sliced potatoes, S&P, and a sprinkling of chopped fresh rosemary. Yum!

[Perilagu Khan]

"Potato pizza is a classic Roman dish"

Indeed. The emperor Domitian was furious that the potatoes on his pie were sliced too thickly, so he sent it back and had the chef fed to some lions.

[Veggo]

I heard there were grumblings from the lion's den, too.

[BobB]

But did he cover the chef with potato slices first?

[BobB]

Hah! The anomalous aspect of this just struck me (OK, I'm a little slow sometimes). Potatoes weren't introduced to Europe until the 16th century. And here I thought you were a serious history buff. ;-)

[Passadumkeg]

The romans loved their tomato sauce too!

I was "authentic".

[Perilagu Khan]

Not only anomalous but nonsensical into the bargain. ;)

[Passadumkeg]

And potato moussaka in greece.

[mariacarmen]

One of only maybe two good pizzas i had in 5 months in Italy was in Torino and was chunks of sausage and thin slices of potato and rosemary. Fabulous.

[Breadcrumbs]

First of all . . . 5 months in Italy!! Oh how I dare to dream!!! Lucky you mc!

As for the pizza, that's the exact pizza I order. I had my first slice with this scrumptious combo in Rome. There's a place I go to in Toronto that also adds a little gorgonzola to the mix. So delicious and of course, wine-friendly!

[mariacarmen]

yep, tried to become an expat, but it didn't work out. we spent a total of 9 months in Europe.

i've never had it since, but i still dream of it... gorgonzola would be amazing on that pizza.

[Breadcrumbs]

No doubt those 9 months will stand out in your memory forever! What a phenomenal opportunity mc! Good for you!

[Avalondaughter]

Pepperoni or sausage. Either one would make me happy for the rest of my life.

[iheartcooking]

anchovies. easy

[linguafood]

Greenpepperonionmushrooms. hey, one word = one topping :-D

[BobB]

Sehr Deutsche! Land of the kreuzkopfschraubenzieher.

[linguafood]

Jawollowitsch! Great excuse, too. For anything haha.

[laliz]

Pepperoni

or

Roasted Galic

or

sausage

[BiscuitBoy]

Pepperoni.
And it looks like sanity prevails here (mostly)...haven't seen the pineapple, potato, or cheeseburger kooks chime in yet

[kattyeyes]

Hush, you...what, no bacon?! If I have to pick a forever topping, that is mine: BACON.

[Veggo]

Fresh shucked clams. And kattyeyes, you lie, you want it all :)

[BiscuitBoy]

! ! !

[kattyeyes]

Busted. You speak the truth. ;)

[fourunder]

Fresh shucked clams for me too...

[mariacarmen]

damn you, beat me to it.
ok, an egg.

[EWSflash]

Done how? I'm curious.

[goodhealthgourmet]

ha! your comment reminded me of a scene in an episode of the new Hawaii Five-O. Jersey boy (Danno) was horrified at the thought of ham & pineapple on pizza :)

[hill food]

ahh but throw some pickled jalapenos on it with the pineapple and it's something else all together.(and oddly good)

but that's too many ingredients.

[invinotheresverde]

Husband and I live on that combo.

[BiscuitBoy]

Love the new five-o

[goodhealthgourmet]

i'm surprised by how much i'm enjoying it - they're doing a great job with it so far.

anyway, i loved that scene in the car when he schooled McGarret about the very distinct guidelines that define pizza. it reminded me of the first time i went to a CPK with a college roommate who had raved about their food...i couldn't wrap my head around half the stuff on the menu, nor could i understand why anyone would want to bastardize pizza like that!

[hill food]

CPK DOES have severe boundary issues. I've never been able to get past the menu, so can't comment further.

[Whinerdiner]

Can I have extra sauce, extra cheese, and pepperoni?

[thew]

but sauce and cheese and nothing else are my preferred toppings

[hill food]

well if you're forfeiting your topping then can I have 2?

[Breadcrumbs]

Hah! That made me laugh out loud!

[invinotheresverde]

Pepperoncini.

[liu]

Pepperoncinis...yes!

[rednails]

Oh boy. I'm really partial to the Goat Cheese/Roasted Pepper pizza from CPK (which is not a commentary on CPK itself) so I'll go with goat cheese/roasted pepper.

If it's any other place, then pepperoni. Then again, North Beach Pizza in the Bay Area does a great spinach/pesto/onion/feta cheese.

Sigh. So much great pizza, so much dieter's guilt.....

[TooLooseLaTrek]

Sausage

[sedimental]

I can't do it, I tell ya!
Okay, if it were a red sauce pizza...then I would choose goat cheese. White sauce pizza....fresh tomatoes.

[jhopp217]

I usually order white slices, so If I had to pick a topping for that, I'd go with spinach. If it has to be a classic slice, I'll take pepperoni.

[Harters]

Mushroom

[ediblover]

Depending on the type of pizza, the topping would be either basil or sausage. Since basil wouldn't be good on all types of pizza, I'll go with sausage.

[Perilagu Khan]

Genoa salami

[LulusMom]

Kalamata olives.

[smartie]

too cruel this survey. I like mushrooms and black olives. So it has to be 2 toppings.

[EWSflash]

What Smartie said. People have moods, you know!

[SOBoston]

Whole roasted garlic cloves. Yum.

[hill food]

me? I'm feeling hypothyroidal these days so anchovies are just fine. but then Margharite (sp.) or just pepperoni sound good too.