Sweet + Spicy Bee Sting Pizza

I am OBSESSED with podcasts. If you've been following along here for a while, I've probably told you this. I love learning and picking up weird and interesting facts, mostly about cooking, chefs, and the world of food. Mostly. I actually got pretty into Sword and Scale, a podcast dedicated to murder and creepy things. Something you may not know about me: I'm weirdly fascinated by dark and horrific historical events. I get sucked into documentaries (hello, Making a Murderer, anyone?) about murder, serial killers, and other creepy activity. But there is a limit. I realized listening to Sword and Scale was affecting my mood and made me feel anxious and uneasy all the time so I shut it down. Like, I deleted it off my phone. Bye. So, I try to just stick to more light-hearted subject matter now. Like why is there no pie emoji and David Chang's super-exclusive Nike sneaks. You know, important stuff. Also, I feel like if I'm going to multi-task and listen to a podcast while going for a walk or cooking, as I often do, I may as well be learning something useful and fun. Are you into podcasts? Tell me your favorites!

One of my new favorites as of late is Radio Cherry Bombe, Cherry Bombe magazine's podcast. I was listening to an episode the other day and host Kerry Diamond was discussing the fact that their studio in NY is right behind a pretty famous pizzeria, Roberta's, who's known for their spicy pizza drizzled with honey. I was instantly sold on the idea and knew I had to make my own version. It's lightly sauced, covered in creamy burrata, real spicy from both the spicy sopressata and cherry peppers, and a little sweet with the honey. I hope you enjoy it!

16 oz (1 lb) store-bought pizza dough, room temperature (you can also make your own if you'd like)
1-2 T olive oil
1/2 t dried oregano
flaky sea salt, for sprinkling on crust
1/4 c crushed tomatoes
8 oz burrata (fresh mozzarella is great, too)
10 thin slices hot sopressata salame (or any kind of spicy cured sausage you'd like)
8-10 pickled cherry peppers (I love the ones from Trader Joe's)
small handful fresh basil leaves
1-2 T honey, for drizzling

Preheat oven as high as it will go and let it heat for about an hour. My oven goes up to 550 F. On a lightly floured surface, gently stretch the dough out into a large circle, about 1/2 inch thick, leaving the outer edges a little thicker for the crust.

Flip a baking sheet upside down and lay the dough on top. Brush generously with olive oil, paying special attention to the outer edges. Sprinkle entire surface with dried oregano and flaky salt. Bake in the oven for about 3 minutes, until crust just starts to puff.

Take the crust out of the oven and spread on the crushed tomatoes using the back of a spoon. Tear the burrata into chunks and arrange on the pizza. Add the sliced of salame and nestle the cherry peppers into the dough and cheese. Return pizza to the oven and bake about another 10 minutes or so, until the crust is a deep golden brown, the cheese is melty and bubbly, and the salame has curled up around the edges slightly.

Remove from oven and immediately add the basil leaves on top, so they wilt into the surface. Drizzle with as much honey as you'd like and allow to cool a few minutes before slicing.