My Friday Night Pizza Ritual… but Make It Upside-Down

Friday is pizza night. Always has been. But lately, I’ve been into the drama of an upside-down cast iron pizza. It’s bold, it’s cheesy, it’s slightly dangerous, and yes — it’s worth heating your oven to 500 degrees like a maniac.

Here’s how it went down.

I preheated the oven with my cast iron skillet inside (because that’s the move) to a raging 500°F, then lowered it to 425°F before loading it up. You’d think a seasoned cast iron wouldn’t stick, but trust issues are forever, so I still sprayed it down with oil.

First, I laid down the deli pepperoni — because the prepackaged kind just can’t compete — then my canned mushrooms (yes, canned, and no, I do not care about your internet mushroom conspiracies). Then I started grating my fresh mozzarella right into the pan, only to realize I completely forgot my beautiful garden-grown jalapeños. So I shoved the cheese aside, sliced them up, tossed them in, then got back to business.

Next up: sauce. I used Mids this time (Rao’s girlies, calm down, it was on sale), and seasoned it with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and a good shake of parmesan — or as I call it, Farmer John, just to see who’s listening.

For the dough, I used Publix fresh pizza dough — rolled it out bigger than my pan so it would seal the whole party inside — and, because I’m me, I smashed in some Italian seasoning and parmesan right into that dough for extra flavor.

Into the oven it went: bottom rack for about 20 minutes, then moved to the top rack for about 5 to get that perfect golden crust.

The finale? Let it sit for a minute, flip it out onto a plate, give it a few motivational pats (yes, that’s a thing), and let gravity reveal your gooey, crispy, upside-down masterpiece.

It’s pepperoni-packed. It’s mushroom-loaded. It’s unapologetically cheesy. And it might just replace regular pizza forever. Or at least until next Friday.