Recipe: New York Style

`INGREDIENTS:`
TOMATO SAUCE: 1 can (28 ounces) Italian plum tomatoes	2 tablespoons tomato paste	1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 teaspoon dried basil or oregano	salt	freshly ground black pepper
Basic Pizza Dough, New York Variation	cornmeal, if using a pizza peel	about 1/2 cup olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed	Toppings, choose one or a combination: Italian sausage, anchovy fillets, sauteed sliced fresh mushrooms, sliced pepperoni, sliced cooked Italian meatballs, sliced green or red sweet pepper, sliced green or red sweet pepper, sliced red or yellow sweet onion, ripe olives, crushed dried red chili pepper (all optional)	1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/3 cup (about 1-1/2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese

`1`	To make the tomato sauce, seed the tomatoes, if desired, and crush them with your hands or a fork in a heavy nonreactive saucepan over medium heat. Stir in hte tomato paste, garlic, basil or oregano, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, until thick and flavorful, 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from the heat. (The sauce may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 4 months.)
`2`	Prepare the dough and preheat the oven as directed in the basic recipe.
`3`	Roll out or stretch the pizza dough as directed for thin-crusted flat pizza in the basic recipe. Place the dough on a pizza peel generously sprinkled with cornmeal or on a lightly oiled pizza screen. Brush dough all over with olive oil, then add the mozzarella cheese, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edges. Top with the garlic and cover with the tomato sauce. Add one or more of the toppings, if desired, and sprinkle with the oregano and the Parmesan cheese. Drizzle evenly with olive oil.
`4`	Transfer the pizza to the preheated baking surface and bake until the crust is golden brown and puffy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven to a cutting tray or board and lightly brush the crust with olive oil. Slice and serve immediately.