Asparagus Pizza

Since I now spend my days reading nothing but legal principles, food has become one of my few pleasures in life.  When I saw a recipe for shaved asparagus pizza on Smitten Kitchen recently, I knew I had to take a break from the books and try it out.  The thought of turning the oven on to 500 degrees in the middle of summer made me hesitate at first, but, oh my goodness, was it worth it!  I basically followed her recipe (see the link above) with a few exceptions.  

First, the dough.  I do not have time to make pizza dough.  As much as I wish I could, it's just not realistic right now.  Luckily, The Nugget (known everywhere outside of Davis as Whole Foods) has a fabulous and delicious dough in the pizza section of their freezer aisle.  With only five ingredients (flour, water, yeast, salt, and sugar), it's the closest I'm going to get to homemade dough until July 29.  Plus, it's only $2.99 and you can keep in your freezer for as long as you like (well, not really, but you know what I mean)!  Just follow the cooking directions on the package and you're all set.

Next, the pizza stone.  I don't own a pizza stone.  I don't even know what this is (a stone, I guess?).  I just used a large baking sheet and sprayed it lightly with cooking spray.  The pizza still turned out perfectly so don't fret if you don't have a pizza stone either.

Finally, some spice.  I think we've established I like spicy food.  Since I add crushed red pepper flakes to most dishes, I didn't want this one to feel left out.  Careful not to add too much, though - a lot of spice might over power the light, crisp flavor of the asparagus.