Over the weekend I told Jake I was finally getting around to writing my post on URBN with their crazy mashed potato pizza. He casually suggested that I should try and remake that mashed potato pizza. He also hinted that he thought I could do a little better.

He is definitely a keeper.

One of the things I remember from our outing at URBN is that our waitress wisely suggested the addition of the Cholula sauce as a topping on the pizza. She was so right – it had given the pizza the extra “oomph” it needed and I ended up devouring a few slices. Not long after I was contacted by a rep asking if I’d like to sample their line of Cholula sauces. It all came together over the weekend when I received the samples and tried my hand at creating my own version of the mashed potato pizza.

[There’s more than one kind! From left to right: Original, Chili Garlic, Chiptole and Chili Lime]

A) Before being contacted, I had no idea there was more than one flavor and B) I had never had Cholula before we went to URBN.

I always thought Cholula would be “too hot” or “too spicy” for me, but actually it’s not that bad. It doesn’t have the kind of heat that lingers and then beats you up – it’s a gentler heat, more of a spice and kick of flavor than anything else.

Jake and I both tried each sauce with a spoonful of mashed potatoes to see what flavor we liked best. I balked a few times at the amount of sauce he poured on. He’d give me a look that said, “You’re kind of a wimp.” But he’d eat half of it so there was less sauce and then I was amiable to eating it again. Of the four, I like Original and Chili Garlic the best. The Chili Garlic has a good punch of garlic flavor mingling in with the original spice, making it one of my favorites. The Chipotle was a little too spicy and bold for me while the Chili Lime was just okay. Not being a huge fan of lime to begin with, I might have been a little biased against it.

[unbaked mashed potato pizza, ready for the oven]

Onto the pizza making! I bought my pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. I am determined to do my own dough soon, but it was not this day.

It’s best to let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes before handling (I do it while the oven is coming up to temperature). Spread a bunch of flour over a cutting board and just let it rest out of the package. It’ll be easier to work with once it gets rid of a bit of the chill.

I slowly flatten the dough once it’s been rested and then use my hands to gently spin it in the air. I don’t toss it around or anything, I just use my knuckles and keep moving it in a circle until it stretches out nicely. I find that doing it in the air is the easiest way, letting gravity do most of the work.

[mmm, pizza]
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