Roy's Pizza

Roy's Pizza

Whenever I think of my brother Roy, who passed away in 2003, a lot of memories come to mind. He died in Hong Kong. He was working on contract setting up systems to generate power using the gasses produced in landfills. Our mom was watching his dog Squeeky for him while he was there. Roy died in his sleep at the age of 39. It was quite a shock to say the least!

I guess you can say I inherited Squeeky from Roy, and she has been my constant companion ever since. I remember the first time he visited my house with her. She was so shy and skittish. Little did I know that within a year, Squeeky would be a member of my household. Often when I look at Squeeky, I think of Roy. Hard to believe that its been more than ten years!

My fondest memories of Roy relate to when he would come in from California to visit for a couple of days. He would stay at my mom’s house. Usually at least once while he was there, we’d all gather for an evening of beer and pizza. He’d make the pizzas right on the kitchen table while we’d laugh and tell stories. 

His pizzas were simple basic pizzas that he’d make using his homemade pizza dough and canned pizza sauce. He’d always make a crispy thin crust and the pizza was guaranteed to be delicious. He would roll the pizza dough out thin and pre-bake it a little. Then he’d add the canned sauce, cheese, sometimes sausage and sometimes not. Then he’d bake it to a golden brown and the crust would be thin and crispy.

I’ve always had my own weakness for pizza and I make them often. At times, I make them thin like Roy’s, as well as about every other way imaginable. Hand tossed medium thick crust, pan pizza, stuffed pizza and even double decker pizzas are all in my repertoire. 

Pizzas are great to serve when you have a large group over. I often do this. I start out with the first two, usually one plain cheese and one sausage. When these come out of the oven, I keep making them one at a time until everyone is full. I suggest you encourage your guests to have a piece or two after they say they are full. You can usually get them to have at least one more. It is fun to watch them after the ate too much. The look on their faces when they say “Oh my goodness, I ate too much!” is priceless. I make a ritual of it.

Tonight, however, in memory of Roy, I’m making his thin and crispy pizza that I came to love. The only thing missing will be his sharp wit and knowing smile which were as enjoyable as his pizzas.