Too Many Cooks: The Perfect Slice (and a Giveaway!)

You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 every week in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.

This week, we're giving away five Emile Henry pizza stones to celebrate one of our favorite foods. Read on, weigh in, and enter to win below!

Pizza may be the most perfect food in the world. As New Yorkers, we're a little biased, but it's hard to argue with the happiness a simple, warm, gooey slice can bring. So this week, driven by hunger and an undying love for a good pie, we're asking:

How do you like your pizza?

Do you go for thin, blistered neapolitan pies or inches-thick Chicago deep dish? How do you feel about Merrill and Kristen's great pineapple debate? Tell us in the comments, and you could win a pizza stone of your own! 

More: Try your hand at Jim Lahey's genius no-knead pizza dough.

Amanda: Neapolitan style -- thin, crisp, slightly salty dough. Margherita ftw!

Bryce: I love any kind of four-cheese pizza, artichoke pizza, or a spicy/sweet mix, like the ones Paulie Gee makes in Greenpoint, with hot honey.

Lauren: Deep dish Chicago-style with spinach and mushroom, preferably from Gino's East. And you only need one piece!

Kenzi: I love ricotta, so that's always a winner. Or a white pie. Should we go to Pizza Suprema for lunch? 

Amanda Li: Second Amanda's pizza choice!

Christina: If I'm ordering in, then italian sausage. If I'm grilling it at home, then I get a little crazy -- I love feta, olives, and pickled onion with some fresh lemon and olive oil drizzled over the top. Greek pizza!

Ryan: I like pizza. Topping choices dictated by style:
NY slice: Mozz and sauce only.
Neapolitan: Light sauce, cured meat, blend of cheeses.
Homemade: Fresh mozz, sauce, fresh basil.

Marian: I categorize the way that Ryan does. Neapolitan usually preferred, chewy, blistered, and thin: margherita, or vegetables if I'm feeling crazy. NY-style slices are always cheese, happily eaten from any old place at any time of day (or night).

Jennifer: I'm with team Amanda & Amanda Li -- with olio piccante of course!

Brette: I dream about Roman pizza a taglio -- pizza rossa (with a thin layer of tomato sauce) or pizza bianca (with nothing on it). I had it every single day for lunch when I lived in Rome. 

Merrill: All of these pizzas sound delicious! But if someone held a gun to my head, I'd probably go for a tangy New York slice with the perfect amount of droop -- "plain" all the way.

Michael: I have a childhood love for Cheese Board pizza in Berkeley, CA. It's a white pizza with a sour crust. There's only one type made per day, and it's always awesome.

Karl: I also think of pizza in different categories, but if forced to choose, I'd also go with wood-fired Neopolitan, eaten minutes after taking it out of the oven. 

Maddy: +1 Neapolitan-style margherita made in a wood oven. The more blistered, the better!

William: Preferred toppings are pepperoni and garlic, or mushrooms and onion. Preferred style is wood-fired!

Lindsay: Yet another vote for the Neapolitan style margherita!

Stephanie: I lean towards a good blistery Neopolitan. I think my all-time favorite is anything with sausage, though. Too hard!

Kristen: I can't choose! Roman-style potato or fresh tomato pizza a taglio. Or neo-Neapolitan with mozz, broccoli rabe, fennel sausage, and chili flakes. Or straight-up pineapple (no ham!), slumber party-style.

Merrill: No HAM?? What is a pineapple pizza without ham, I ask you -- other than soggy and sweet?

Kristen: Sooo good, that's what. It's more tangy than sweet.

Merrill: Okay, I can be open-minded...

Kristen: Me too. A truce!

It's giveaway time! To celebrate our love for pizza -- and our love for making it at home -- we're giving away five Emile Henry pizza stones. Be sure to share your favorite type of pie in the comments before Monday, April 8 at 4 PM EST, and we'll pick five winners at random.

Inspired to make your own pie?
Stretch your dough.
Make your Mozzarella.
Add some bacon.