What I Had for Lunch Today: Artichoke, Olive, Caper, and Mushroom Pizza

Here's a pizza made from scratch with homemade dough. I topped it with homemade marinara sauce, marinated artichokes, black olives, capers, sautéed mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. I made another one with homemade pesto instead of sauce--because I didn't have enough sauce and because pizza doesn't need tomato sauce to be pizza.

I have all kinds of special pans, pizza stones, etc., but I didn't bother with any of them. A thinly-rolled crust, olive oil plus a sprinkling of stone-ground cornmeal on the pan, and high heat (450 degrees) made this pizza deliciously crunchy.

It's also important, I think, to cook vegetables before sticking them on the pizza. I can't stand those veggie pizzas people are always trying to order for me, with onions, green peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, etc., etc., thrown on raw. They cook right on the pizza, exude all their juices, and make for a soggy mess. Yuck.