Spicy Pizza. The Very Hot Harold’s Leap.

Why am I writing a blog?

There are two people who are directly responsible.

The first is JC, who writes The Vinyl Villian. TVV is the first music blog I ever happened across. About 4 years ago I was searching for the lyrics to Breaking Point by Bourgie Bourgie. The Vinyl Villain had the most information about Paul Quinn that I had ever seen. Actually, JC provides an unbelievable wealth of information about so much of the music I have loved since the 1980s. Since that first visit to TVV, I felt like Jim was my complete music soulmate. And he is.

Lucky me got to meet Jim when I traveled to Scotland last year. He might be one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life. JC gave me and my family a guided tour of Glasgow which extended over a two day period. One afternoon Jim and I took off alone and he showed me a bunch of the music venues that our favorite bands played and still play. I even got to stand onstage at King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and pretend I was Clare Grogan belting out a tune. We had so much fun.

Here is an intro I did for the Contrast Podcast, way back in March of 2009, explaining how I found The Vinyl Villain.
Songs Which Offer Advice

You can listen to the rest of that podcast and all of the other themes over at The Contrast Podcast.

The second person that I have to credit for my entry into the blogosphere is Tim Young, the mastermind behind the fantastic Contrast Podcast. I learned about The Contrast Podcast when I linked over from The Vinyl Villian. This was so up my alley. Different themes are chosen and contributors offer up songs and introductions related to the topic. You definitely want to check it out.

I am hooked on The Contrast Podcast. Over the years I’ve forged friendships with many of the podcast’s contributors. I love this crowd of funny, dynamic, music adoring people.

But, I love Tim the most.

I joke to Tim that I’m a bit of Mel where he is concerned.

So, guess what? Tim’s band, Harold’s Leap, has a cd out titled ‘Too Much Time’ and it is Fantastic.

Evidently,’Too Much Time’ was about 5 years in the making. No matter. The music sounds vibrant and fresh. These are the kind of guitar driven songs that make me want to drop everything and join a band. Tim’s band. :)

You all know how crazy I am for well written lyrics. Harold’s Leap has that covered. Convincing someone that you love them, desire, suppressed feelings, disappointment, hurt. Even Jelly Belly Heaven. It’s all there. All the themes I love in songs.

When I asked Tim what kinds of food the band liked, he said that most mixing sessions involved a spicy pizza or two.

Spicy pizza it is. I tried two different recipes and they were both super delicious.

Spicy Sausage and Gorgonzola Pizza

Ingredients:

Your favorite pizza dough, or recipe below
3 Italian hot sausages (about 12 oz), casings removed
1 1/4 cups purchased refrigerated marinara sauce
1 1/4 cups grated mozzarella cheese (about 5 ounces)
1/2 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, halved
4 thin rounds green bell pepper, halved

Directions:

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 425°F.

2. Sauté sausage in large skillet over medium-high heat until just cooked through, breaking into 1/2-inch pieces with back of spoon, about 10 minutes. Drain off fat; set sausage aside.

3. Place pizza dough on baking sheet or pizza stone. Spread 1 cup sauce over crust. Top with 3/4 cup mozzarella, 3/4 basil, sausage, 1/2 cup Gorgonzola, olives, 1/2 cup mozzarella, bell pepper and 1/2 cup Gorgonzola. Drizzle remaining 1/4 cup sauce over.

4. Bake pizza until crust is crisp and topping is heated through, about 13 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining basil.

Recipe from Epicurious.com

Spicy Jalapeño Salami Pepperoni Pizza

Ingredients:

Pizza dough, purchased or recipe below
1 cup pizza sauce
12 slices Genoa salami, thinly sliced
24 slices pepperoni, thinly sliced
1 cup sliced italian sweet sausage
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup sliced pickled jalapeño peppers
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.

2. Spread the dough into pan or stone.

3. Spoon pizza sauce over the crust.

4. Layer the salami and pepperoni over the sauce, followed by the mushrooms.

5. Cover with 1 cup of cheese and place raw sausage and jalapeños evenly over the cheese. (I only put jalapeños on half so the non chile lovers would be happy)

6. Cover with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

7. Place pizza on middle rack and cook for 20 minutes.

8. Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of sugar

Directions:

1. Add a pinch of sugar to the cup of warm water.

2. Sprinkle yeast on top of the water and let sit 10 minutes until frothy.

3. Add flour, salt, and olive oil until dough is formed.

4. Knead the dough for 8 minutes.

5. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in the bowl and cover with a dish towel.

6. Allow dough to rise for one hour.

7. Remove dough from bowl and cut in half. You will have enough to make 2 pizzas.

Recipe from Food.com

I had a hard time narrowing down my choice of which songs by Harold’s Leap to share. I really love them all.

In the end it had to be the title track, Too Much Time.

As far as catchy hooks go, it doesn’t get much better than this.

“I won’t lay awake
just wondering about my fate”

Harold's Leap-Too Much Time

Hearing Tim is wonderful, but seeing him sing is twice as good. This is the opening track to ‘Too Much Time’. It is uptempo on the cd, but this version is lovely.