Recipe: Gentleman Jim's Cavalier Pizza (Washington Post, 1980's)

CAVALIER - GENTLEMAN JIM'S PIZZA

"Back in the '40s and '50s, when teen-age boys paid the check if they took teen-age girls out on the town, the Cavalier pizza parlour on 14th Street was not only cheap and filling, it served the most unusual--and many said the best--pizza in town. The cynical insisted it was made with American cheese; in any case, one of its secrets was that it dripped, oozed and leaked cheese, the thickest layering of cheese one ever saw. In 1961, the Cavalier moved to Rockville, and later was sold to be renamed Gentleman Jim's. The secret recipe was part of the package. And though it contains not one shred of American cheese, here it is."

FOR THE PIZZA SAUCE:
1 2/3 garlic heads, peeled and minced
3 1/2 cups whole tomatoes
2 1/2 teaspoons oregano
Pinch dried red pepper (cayenne)
Pinch black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar*
Salt, to taste
4/5 ounce (weighed) cornstarch mixed with 4 tablespoons water
FOR THE PIZZA DOUGH:
1 package yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup flour
FOR TOPPING:
10 parts grated swiss to 1 part sardo cheese (substitute parmesan for sardo)

TO PREPARE THE PIZZA SAUCE:
Mix the ingredients for the sauce, except the cornstarch mixture, together in large pot. Bring to simmer and let cook for 40 minutes.

Turn off heat. Add cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly, breaking up tomatoes at same time.

IN THE MEANTIME, MAKE THE PIZZA DOUGH:
Combine all ingredients for the dough. Use extra flour as necessary to knead into a smooth ball. Coat with olive oil and let it rise until it doubles, about 45 minutes. Punch down and let rise again.

Grease 10-by-15-inch pan. Roll out dough and fit into pan. Let rise a third time.

Put pizza on lowest rack of oven at 500 degrees F for 3 minutes. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees F.

Top pizza with sauce and cheese, return to 400 degree F oven on lowest rack. Bake until cheese is bubbly and brown, about 10 minutes.

*Note: Upon testing, we found this to be a very sweet sauce. The sugar may easily be cut to 1 tablespoon."

Enough for 1 pizza
Adapted from source: Phyllis C. Richman, Washington Post, March 4, 1982