When Amy and Gern are willing to come over for supper and socializing, it’s wise to clear that calendar and plan a decent menu. The canine caretaking kept me from a grocery run but I had an alternative that could work last Sunday night for what was on hand: deep dish skillet pizzas in two variations.
The easy prep of the pizza dough the night before, the long simmer of New York-style pizza sauce, the sous vide cook of prepped barbecue-spiced chicken thighs…I think we enjoyed both the barbecue chicken pizza (with bacon and sautéed shallots) and the standard pepperoni with that homemade sauce.
We retreated upstairs after supper, for a bit of pool-playing. As seen in this shot, Amy made it quite the competitive match with Gern, although in the end he emerged triumphant.
The next day, I decided I did not feel too bad for selfishly reserving the two leftover slices, as they made for a fine quiet lunch.
With a weighty oppression and unforgiving persistence, that Sunday morning felt undawned under full gathered storm clouds, sporadic flashes of lightning and muted rolls of thunder less audible for the steady drumming of fat raindrops. Here in downtown Winston-Salem, it set the course for an all-day affair in the key of blah *and* humbug. For a guy who is constitutionally incapable of taming his distaste for being in the rain, it proved inconvenient to be a two-dog household.
While a limited set of sporadic breaks did occur, it was nonetheless a steady rainfall for very nearly 24 hours, with those bands forming and reforming from the south.
That mucks with my otherwise even-keeled state of being, but add a dog to tend to and then also add a new puppy who is not yet well-trained, and it stretched me pretty thin. There was an ugly breakdown at day’s end that I am glad had no witnesses, and then I had to spend time trying to make it up to the precious pups.
I can love the pooches and loathe the precipitation, and with the bright spot of warm fellowship with that companionable couple of Amy and Gern for our dinnertime hang, a most reprieving cure was achieved for my sour disposition, at least for a few hours. Our sequestered day in began, as shown above, with the old men’s chairs occupied by one of each, and me on the hearth with a hearty warm cup of coffee. When it reached nearly bedtime, our day ended very much as it had begun: with each in a fireside chair and me on the hearth, looking at them both.
Pizza Crust based on "Fool-Proof Pan Pizza," by J. Kenji López-Alt, culinary consultant for SeriousEats.com. [Updated 30 March 2023]
"Homemade NY-Style Pizza Sauce," by J. Kenji López-Alt, culinary consultant for SeriousEats.com. [Updated 17 February 2023]
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