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When Michael crawled into bed at 3:30 last night smelling of double malt whiskey, ashtrays, and downright debauchery, I knew that something was up.

He had an episode of Iron Chef to film in the morning.  And if there’s one thing I’ve learned about my adorable, bald, alarmingly imaginary husband.  It’s that nothing comes in the way of Iron Chef.  In a “bros before hoes” kind of way.

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“Where have you been?”  I demanded.  In as insisting a voice as I could muster at half past three am.

Followed by, “Did you know that alcohol decreases your sperm count?  How are we supposed to have cute, bald, alarmingly imaginary children if you are going to be out drinking until all hours of the night!  I might as well just cover you in spermicide.  It would be just as effective and at least it wouldn’t ruin your liver.”

I was irate. In case you couldn’t tell.

I really want cute, bald, alarmingly imaginary children.

He grunted some incoherent response.  And then rolled over and spooned me.

Sigh.

That man.  I just can’t stay mad at him.

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The next morning, I woke up before him (shocker) and went to check my email.  Only to discover a message from my best friend telling me that rumor had it, Michael had heard that Batali and I had been cooking together the day before.  And, in a fit of rage and jealousy, took to the local bars like the good Eastern European that he is.

Oh my poor baby.

And so.  Like the cute, not-bald-at-all-in-any-way, alarmingly imaginary wife that I am. I  made him some morning after food.

Pizza covered in salty fatty delicious cured meats, fresh mozzarella, and this sweet tangy spicy shasha sauce that his grandmother used to make.  The perfect hangover cure.

Do I know how to appeal to a man’s senses, or what?

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This is not only for those who have imbibed to excess and thus have woken up feeling slightly  less than par, however.  Oh, no.  This is good for just about any morning after.

The morning after you receive an email informing you that, guess what!  School is starting on Monday and – what luck – you can go pick up your first set of lecture notes on Friday at 10AM, for instance.

Or, the morning after you spend two hours waiting in a doctor’s office just so he can point to a black line on a screen and say things like, “Here is a picture of where your stress fracture used to be.”  And then send you on your merry way.

Or, and here’s my favorite. The morning after.  Period.  Because really, any day is a good day to make this pizza.  (Even though, I should note that Symon originally intended for it to be a sandwich.  But I have problems with my inability to not mess with a good thing.)  So do it.  Now.

And while I’m already on the subject of ordering you around.  Please send me your entries to Regional Recipes: PUERTO RICO!  They are due by Tuesday at midnight!

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Soppressata Pizza with Fried Egg and Shasha Sauce
Serves 4, adapted from Symon’s Live To Cook

For the pizza dough:
3 cups bread flour
1 tbsp yeast
1 cup water
2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil

1. Mix the yeast with 1/4 cup lukewarm water.  Add in a pinch of sugar.  Allow to foam (approximately 5 minutes).  If it never foams, then the yeast is probably dead/defunct – not good.  Get a new jar of yeast.

2. In a stand mixer, mix the flour with the remaining water, sea salt, and olive oil.  Add in the now-foamy yeast.  Mix on setting 2 for 2 minutes to knead.  If too wet, add more flour.  If too dry, add more water.  Turn into a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth.  Allow to rise for at least two hours.

Shasha Sauce:
6 hot banana peppers (I used random hot peppers from Whole Foods since I couldn’t find banana peppers.  Really they were labeled as “mixed peppers”.)
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup yellow mustard
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3/8 cup sugar
1/6 cup AP flour

1. Slice off the top of the peppers and remove the seeds.  Coarsely chop them.  Toss them into a food processor with the garlic, mustard, and vinegar and puree.

2. Pour the puree into a nonreactive saucepan.  Add the sugar and bring to a boil over high heat.  Love the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Mix the flour and a quarter cup of water into a smooth paste.  Whisk it into the simmering liquid and return the mixture to a simmer.  Cook, stirring regularly, until very thick.  Let the sauce cool, pouring it into a nonreactive container and refrigerating for up to a month.

Sandwich:
1/2 red onion, sliced paper thin
3 oz soppressata (dry-cured Italian salami), sliced thin
4 large eggs
3 oz prosciutto, sliced thin
1 ball fresh mozzarella, approximately half a pound, sliced thin
1 batch pizza dough
1/2 cup shasha sauce
1 medium heirloom tomato, thinly sliced

1. Soak the onion in a small bowl of ice water for 2 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 500.  Spread the pizza dough out on a sheet of parchment paper to desired size and thickness.  Spread the shasha sauce over the top of the dough in a thin layer (it’s incredibly spicy so a little goes a long way).

3. Layer the pizza with the red onion and tomato slices.  Place the salami on top of the tomato.  Place the mozzarella on top of the salami.  Place the prosciutto on top of the mozzarella.

4. Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until bottom is browned and cheese is melted.

5. Fry eggs in a small pan on the oven, sunny side up.  Cut pizza into four slices and top each with an egg.

This is my submission to Symon Sundays hosted over at Veggie By Season and it has been yeastspotted!

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You are reading this post on Eats Well With Others at https://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author and or owner of Eats Well With Others. All rights reserved by Joanne Bruno.
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91 Responses to Symon’s Soppressata Pizza with Fried Egg and Shasha Sauce

  1. Shannon says:

    As always, thank you for keeping me seriously entertained… and hungry.

  2. I’m sure he would be forgiving of you turning this into a pizza rather than a sandwich. After all, you did forgive him for the late night ordeal. You, Michael and the pizza make an awesome family!!!

  3. Pam says:

    I’m jealous too, Batali! 😉 Your pizza would be the cure for about anything, it looks delicious!

  4. Simply Life says:

    ha, I don’t know where you come up with this stuff but i love it! Good luck with school!

  5. brandi says:

    Beautiful! I love eggs on pizza.

  6. With the legg on top this becomes breakfast food which is due any minute:D

  7. elra says:

    That is one luxe pizza. It makes me hungry.

  8. That sauce is so interesting!! The fried egg looks heavenly over your pizza. Hangover or not I would dive into this doughy, cheesy, eggy greatness! xo

  9. Perfect! I love that you made pizza out of it. You are brilliant!
    Glad to hear that things are okay between you and Michael. I don’t want to miss out on imaginary step-grandchildren.

  10. Beth says:

    I love Michael in all of his wiley Eastern European ways! Thanks for the Friday morning laugh 🙂 And this pizza looks ridiculous. And by ridiculous I mean outstanding. Batali, eat your heart out!

  11. Ashlee says:

    You’re officially a GENIUS!I love this idea!! I’m torn now, the reason I chose it was the sourdough bread… but pizza… hmmm. I’m going to attempt homemade mozzarella tomorrow to make this. I’m a little nervous!

  12. Dawn says:

    Awww…I wish you and Michael many years of happiness and bald headed babies.

    And keep rocking the photography skillz. That looks like a perfect hangover cure to the point I almost wish I was hung over right now.

  13. Marisa says:

    Hahahah – looks like I’ll have to speak to Michael about his drunken late nights! 😉

    Pizza looks uh-mazing! You should try baking the egg into the pizza base – pre-bake the base until almost done, then crack the egg on top and return to oven until just set. It. Is. Divine.

  14. Julie says:

    when are you cooking for me. WHEN. we’ll get curtis stone, rocco & of course michael and have a big honkin food party and i’ll just sit back and watch you all cook. and of course eat the goods after 🙂

  15. Michael’s a lucky man to have a fabulous woman like you cooking for him 🙂 As an aside, I’ve never seen egg on pizza but I am intrigued!

  16. This is the third pizza post I’ve read this morning…. I SO want to make some homemade pizza tonight! I love the idea of putting a fried egg on it. Yum!

  17. Pam says:

    You are such a great imaginary wife… he’s a lucky guy.

    I am absolutely LOVING this pizza. I have been having a love affair with eggs lately and can’t get enough of them.

  18. I sincerely hope that Michael Symon finds and reads your blog at some point. Amazing things would happen! But he might get horribly jealous that this pizza looks a million times better than his original recipe!

    Sues

  19. Victoria K. says:

    You’re a very sweet imaginary wife 🙂 Yummy pizza!

  20. I just made a sopressata pizza last week. I guess great minds do think alike.

  21. Amy says:

    Iron Chef taping or not, a good imaginary husband always puts his imaginary wife first. I’d withhold imaginary sex and kitchen tools for at least a week.

    Mozzarella, prosciutto, heirloom tomatoes, and eggs? SWOON. I am printing this out and making it on Sunday. For real. Not imaginary.

  22. tigerfish says:

    Sexy Shasha…I have not tried fried egg on a pizza but I do like fried eggs so ….give me that, ok? ;p

  23. An excellent pizza, love the Shasha Sauce!

  24. Jen says:

    nomnomnomnonmonm!! I wish you would cook for me one day 🙂

  25. Mary says:

    This looks incredible. I’ll have to give it a try. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary

  26. Katerina says:

    I loved your story, very funny! Everything that contains the name pizza is perfect for me. I am an unrepentant lover of pizza.

  27. Shannon says:

    what a wife 😉 when is pizza not delicious??

  28. Mimi says:

    I saw the real Michael on the Ohio episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. He has an annoyingly high-pitched keening giggle. You are so funny that he would probably be giggling constantly. I’m sure it would annoy you. Please make sure that the imaginary Michael stays ideal so that you don’t have to put up with that.

  29. I so glad you spooned and made up but, I’m sorry, I still don’t approve of the match. I do approve of what you did with his recipe, though! Delicious!

  30. Debbie says:

    I love your stories Joanne….you have a great imagination! Delicious recipe too!!!

  31. Bridgett says:

    Glad you aren’t mad at your guy anymore and you happily worked it all out 😉
    Your pizza looks divine.

  32. The perfect dish for a bald, imaginary husband who hangs around in smoke-filled bars until half past three in the morning!! You are a dutiful, imaginary wife!

    Best,
    Bonnie

  33. If Michael ever stumbles onto this site, I’ll smack himself over the imaginary life he’s been missing out on. Pizza is really not so different from a sandwich except with one less layer of bread, right? You’re right, this looks like a great start to the morning after anything.

  34. Who could resist the melted mozzarella on a yummy home-made pizza? Definitely not me! Lunch, breakfast or midnight snack, it does not matter!!

  35. You are so funny Joanne!

    Love the pizza, and I can do egg on pizza pretty much every day, so I would never get tired of this!

    Have a wonderful weekend!!

  36. Kim says:

    How dare Michael keep you waiting….

    Your pizza dough has such a gorgeous color and looks so tender! You and Natashya really amped up this recipe with the homemade bread and pizza dough. (I cheated and bought my sourdough). I love your idea to serve this as a pizza- great idea! Can’t wait to try it out tomorrow.

  37. Chef Dennis says:

    I have come to the conclusion that you are the perfect food blogger, you never fail to make me laugh with your accounts of the daily activities, your photography is amazing and you can cook anything and all of your food looks incredibly delicious and you blog all the time….how do you do it? I am in awe…….
    thank you so much for being there, you are truly appreciated!
    Dennis

  38. Brilliantly funny post – with tantalizing food and photos! It definitely perked me up after my Friday from hell. That sauce looks quite intriguing, too. Thanks for cheering me up!

  39. Stella says:

    Hey Joanne, you have an imaginary perfect man image in your head too?! Yeah! Oh, and I like the Eastern European aspect. That’s sexy. Mine is an Arabian night that looks a lot like Oded Fahr in the first Mummy movie. You know, the dark haired guy with a pony tail that warned them about waking up the mummy. Yeah, my guy’s like that;)
    This pizza looks wonderful by the way. I’m trying to cut down, but these photos make me not want to do so!

  40. LOL!

    …and fried egg on a pizza?!! brilliant idea!

  41. Debinhawaii says:

    I think making into pizza is brilliant. I am loving the egg on top. 😉

  42. Pam says:

    The pizza looks fantastic, but I really love that cute fabric in the first couple of pics! What is it?

  43. Lori says:

    Dont yah hate when you cant stay mad at them. My husband has a similar affect on me.

    This pizza looks marvelous and what a lovely way of saying good morning, I love you… lets make babies now. he he he

  44. The egg on that pizza looks divine. You and Michael have a great thing going there!

  45. Your stories are so funny! This pizza looks fabulous. The sauce sound intriguing, and I love the that it includes two different cured meats. Michael is brilliant.

  46. Monet says:

    Hilarious. This looks amazing, but it is your prose that keeps me coming for more (and that is really saying something since what you cook is always kick ass) Thank you for sharing!

  47. Ameena says:

    You and Michael will have the cutest kids. Bald or not.

    You crack me up!

    I am dying over this recipe! Thers is an Italian restaurant here that makes something similar. I’ve never had it but I am so tempted!

  48. sophia says:

    LMAO. You really have a very active imagination, my dear. But hey, I’m sure a man better than Symon (gasp!) will turn up soon. 😉

    you know I love my fried eggs. I’m drooling.

  49. grace says:

    alarmingly imaginary children–ha! so i guess he’s forgiven you for flirting with mario? 🙂
    great pizza–the egg on top is the clincher.

  50. girlichef says:

    Pretty sure this made up for everthing…looks fabulous! 😉

  51. Chris says:

    This was an alarmingly funny post, Joanne. I can’t believe he would think you would even have anything but culinary interests in Mario, silly guy.

    Now if you will excuse me, I have to go. Nigella Lawson is coming over tonight and Alexis and I are going to cook goose livers with her in a menage foie gras.

  52. I am totally with you that this could be for any morning after! This is not only a great cure after hangover but also an effective good mood boost.

  53. Megan says:

    I laughed out loud at this post! Somehow morning after food always seems to be awesomely delicious. This looks like the perfect way to start the day!

  54. You crack me up! I mean, seriously, do you think it would be fun to be married to a chef? Talk about clash of the egos!
    Love that pic of the egg sitting on top of the pizza and thinking of that sopressata is making me swoon!

  55. Deborah says:

    You are seriously too funny! I hope he stumbles across your blog one day! I have a serious thing for fried eggs on anything, so this one is really calling out to me.

  56. Kristen says:

    Too bad a sandwich like that wouldn’t cause alarmingly imaginary inches to form on my thighs and hips as I ate bite after bite of salty yumminess!

  57. You should have been the next Food Network Star for healthing cooking. I’m trying to decide on what to make for a vegetarian dinner tonight. I see possibilities here. The sauce is one I’ve never heard of, and it looks amazing.
    Beautiful photos, too!

  58. Lea Ann says:

    You are too funny! This pizza looks absolutely wonderful and I have to make it soon! SOON!

  59. I would like a bite now please…now! That imaginary husband of yours…he’s too much, you’re a trooper!

  60. Jen says:

    pizza pizza pizza! I love any kind of pizza!
    pizza with a chuckle lol

  61. Sophie says:

    A delightful & special tasty looking pizza!

    MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM,…!!! Love it!

  62. teresa says:

    you CRACK me up! what an incredible pizza, michael would be lucky to have you make this for him!

  63. Reeni says:

    Love that you made a sandwich out of it! I always wonder what a fried egg on a pizza tastes like – it looks pretty darn delicious! I bet Michael loves when you cook him his own food…Did I tell you how happy for you I am that you’re fracture is healed? I remember reading it but may have spaced out on the comment…

  64. Martha (MM) says:

    No fair – you have been doing massive delicious posts without me having time to keep up – just catching up now.

    I think you should dump Michael, you are too good for him! 🙂

  65. Elizabeth says:

    I think soppressata makes anything better, don’t you?

  66. very different but a yummy pizza…

  67. Kelsey says:

    i adore anyone clever enought to top their pizza with an egg!!
    i find it weird how much i enjoyed your sample life of ur imaginary marriage and relationship spats. Michael has some growing up to do.. unfortunately 😉

    xoxo

  68. Fimère says:

    très appétissante cette pizza et doit être drôlement délicieuse!!!
    j’aime beaucoup
    bonne journée

  69. I heard that Tyler was looking for you. Or was it Bobby?

    Great recipe. Feed the men.

  70. Faith says:

    You are seriously hilarious Joanne! And what better way to appeal to a man’s senses than with pizza, but not just any pizza…his (fabulous!) recipe for pizza! Amazing.

  71. i’ve been on a big egg kick lately. that first recipe = LOVE!

    xo Alison

  72. Mo says:

    Joanne… one of these days I’m going to actually die because I’m laughing so hard while reading one of your posts, and when I die your blog will be the last page I was on and you might kill a couple of investigators when they read it. And then you’ll have to be arrested because of being a danger to the general public. So please, stop being so funny. Lives are stake, woman!

    PS: Symon’s cute, but Alton’s cooler. 😉

  73. Barbara says:

    I could have used a slice of this when I found out I have three more weeks in a brace for my wrist. 🙁
    I had a broken leg once that healed faster. But then I really haven’t taken very good care of it: example: I am typing with both hands.

  74. Excuse me while I put my tongue back in my mouth. This just looks so freakin’ good!

    Eggs are something that have taken a while to grow on me… but, now that I’ve been purchasing organic, free-range eggs, I’m hooked.

    Putting this one on my list!

  75. Carolyn Jung says:

    I can never resist a pizza with a runny egg on top. It just gilds the pizza lily. 😉

  76. Raina says:

    Wow! Amazing breakfast pizza! You are such a good wife..lol

  77. gaga says:

    Oh wow, that looks delictable!

  78. Biren says:

    That shasha sauce sounds really tasty. The pizza looks delicious.

  79. Kerstin says:

    LOL, your posts are always just the best. I like your pizza twist too 🙂

  80. theUngourmet says:

    You funny girl! ;D What a fun and creative pizza recipe! Love it!

  81. Natalie says:

    brilliant call on making it in pizza form. in my opinin, everything is better in pizza form!

    …and your writing is way too entertaining!

  82. katiez says:

    I love eggs on pizza – called a Vesuvius in local pizzeria’s (you know, poke the yoke and it runs out over everything). Try it on a tuna pizza….

  83. Karen says:

    Cute post! That sauce sounds really wonderful!

  84. sweetlife says:

    oh goodness you really crack me up, every post is better than the one before…great pizza, I love the idea of egg on pizza, super yummy

    sweetlife

  85. Tammy says:

    This is possibly one of the most Fun blogs I have ever read, I salute you dear heart!

    x x x x x

  86. Joanne says:

    Tammy – Thanks so much!

  87. Very cute post and very delicious pizza!

  88. That shasha sauce sounds really intriguing!!

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