Welcome!!

Welcome and thank you for checking out my blog. For the record I want to mention that I did not name the blog Pizza Aficionado because I think I am some kind of connoisseur of fine pizza though I do have a honed opinion on the subject. I just think the name has a good ring to it and also this blog is not just about pizza, its about the pursuit of pizza at the highest level. For every endeavor out there there is at least one person that looses sleep obsessing about it and I am one of the many people that lives for the ethereal slice. So if your freinds and family keep telling you that you have an unhealthy obsession with pizza this blog is for you.

I have several subjects that I cannot wait to tackle here starting with dough. There are a lot of resources for all kinds of pizza dough recipes out there and I will share some of my favorites but my main focus will be to show you how I came up with mine and help readers develop a special dough formula that they can call their own. Another subject that I will cover is ovens. I will talk about some off the ovens that have inspired me, how to make pizza in your oven at home and I will take you with me as I try to build a "more practical" wood-fired, hearth oven specifically for pizza.

As well, I will spend some time blogging about all of the crafts that come together to make pizza what it is. As I have mentioned I have a pizza infatuation but this is not just because I love a great slice. A large part of it is because I have a true appreciation for the artisan traditions that amalgamate to make this internationally loved food. I will talk about hearth baking and its importance to great pizza. There will be a section on dry-cured meats that I think I will call "a bunch of great stuff to do with a dead hog". In it I will talk about finding a great heritage breed hog from a local hog farmer and then I will take you with me as I turn the beast into an assortment of salamis, hams and other dry-cured delicacies. Next we will move onto one of my newest endeavors, home cheese-making. Believe it or not making cheese at home is really quite simple, once you have the right ingredients, and the results will blow you away. After cheese making we will move onto gardening. In this section we will cover some gardening basics, tomatoes and sauce (of course), getting inspired at the farmers market and starting and indoor, year-round herb garden. Lastly, there will be an ever-expanding recipe section where we will cover recipes for great pizzas that are and great pizzas that will be. This section will be a great place for me and all of the blog followers to post their great dough accomplishments and to talk about all of the other possibilities that pizza can inspire. 

Other subjects may come up as it goes. For instance I may have to devote a section to my favorite pizza accompaniment... lager. But whatever the case may be I really hope to spread the good word of good food and to inspire people to realize the importance of it in our lives and of course I hope to make a growing legion of pizza junkies that will ensure that a good slice or pie is available wherever we all might end-up. Cheers and happy pizza making!