Pizza with truffle oil, mushrooms and fresh mozzarella

Before I tell you the story, let me just say this was still an exceptional pizza.

Here's the moral of the story: truffle oil eventually loses its truffle smell.

Yesterday, I was searching for pizza inspiration. I wanted to use some of the fresh bufalo mozzarella I found at Costco. I also had some baby portobello mushrooms and a handful of spinach. Then I saw the tiny bottle of truffle oil, and I thought YES. TRUFFLE OIL.

When I opened it, it smelled like regular vegetable oil, gone slightly sour.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, I thought. All the nice truffle smell has evaporated. Apparently it pays to pay attention to the expiration date.

Well, no matter. I used it anyway, but fresh truffle oil would have been so much nicer. I poured what was left into my jug of olive oil and swished it around to mix it in. It's still oil, even if it isn't so truffley anymore.

So, truffle oil pizza:

1 pizza crust
A few tablespoons of truffle oil
Two balls of fresh bufalo mozzarella, thickly sliced
Two handfuls of mushrooms (preferably wild), sliced
A handful of fresh spinach
A scant handful of fresh parmesan, grated

Drizzle the oil over the crust. Gently saute the mushrooms in some butter until browned; throw the spinach in at the last minute and cook together until just wilted. Add both to the pizza. Top with the cheese, good salt, and fresh pepper. Bake at 475 for 15-20 minutes.

Another caveat: the cheese melted all over my oven. Be sure to add a cookie sheet or something under the pizza stone in case this happens to you.