We had other plans for dinner, but the ham from Sunday night called to me all day. “Make me into something delicious!” it said. Halfway through the day, I scrapped the intended dinner plans and IMed Shane to tell him we’d be having pizza for dinner again.

While we were quite happy with Saturday’s pizza, the crust never really crisped up, so tonight I cranked the heat on our totally unreliable oven up to 450 (according to the thermostat), rolled the dough out thin, rubbed it with olive oil and rosemary, and set the kitchen timer for 7 minutes. After 10 minutes total, the edges were beginning to go golden, and the dough had puffed up in a couple of places. I popped those lovely air bubbles, spooned on the tomato paste, and topped it with mozzarella and leftover bits of ham. Back into the oven for 7-10 more minutes, then whisked to the table and topped with a few handfuls of arugula. It was still missing something, so we drizzled the amazing balsamic crema (thanks again, Janet!) over the top. Shane suggested more tomato paste next time, or perhaps making a tomato-balsamic reduction for the sauce. Either way, I was totally pleased with tonight’s pie.