Pizza

[Tanked]

As soon as they were old enough to operate a spatula, I encouraged the kids to help cook on weekends.  They didn't know what an omelet was, but when I said it was breakfast pizza, they pulled up their chairs and got busy.  

These days I occasionally  make refrigerator pizza.  Who knew you could put Brussel Sprouts or pickles on a pizza?  I'm primarily interested in learning to make a consistently reliable crust, so  I will be checking out the premier instructions  again soon.

[Fish Folk]

On 7/1/2021 at 1:06 PM, Tanked said:

premier instructions

Reference opening post. Make the world a better place. Make real Neapolitan pizza! 

[Patrick_G]

On 7/1/2021 at 11:36 AM, Fish Folk said:

Reference opening post. Make the world a better place. Make real Neapolitan pizza! 

I’m glad that so many Neapolitans emigrated to NYC where they were able to improve on their tasty recipe! 🙂

[Streetwise]

@Fish Folk, please sit down and take a deep breath.

I just learned that Domino's Pizza in Japan created Fish and Chips Pizza.

Someone on Twitter accused them of making a food that "insults both England and Italy!"

[Fish Folk]

On 7/14/2021 at 2:30 PM, Streetwise said:

@Fish Folk, please sit down and take a deep breath.

I just learned that Domino's Pizza in Japan created Fish and Chips Pizza.

Someone on Twitter accused them of making a food that "insults both England and Italy!"

My goodness... all I can suspect, though, is that in Japan it will be well-engineered and clean! 

Edited July 14, 2021 by Fish Folk

[dasaltemelosguy]

Oh my. While I do love fish & chips and of course, pizza, I think the two should combined presents a serious risk of heresy in their calling it a "pizza". 

So all I can say is, here's some more heresy! ;

 

Detroit Style Pizza:

Amazing, almost blackened, a focaccia-like crust and a special combination of cheeses known as Provel which in most instances is a blend of Swiss, provolone and cheddar.

After they build the pie, they line the entire square baking tray with mozzarella such that it extends well past the edges. They fold the cheese over the crust, bake it some more until entire thing caramelizes around and enclosing the crust in 'blackened cheese' turning it into something truly unique. 

 

Saint Louis Style Pizza:

Not unlike Detroit Style in that it uses the same sauces and cheese but it's spread out on what could be vaguely referred to as a thick, rigid tortilla. It could even be thought of as a Detroit Style pie on a giant cracker. 

 

My heresy knows no bounds. My 4 grandparents all came from Italy. My fathers parents from Napoli & Rome, my mom's I don't know the towns but the regions were Foggia and Calabria. So Neapolitan pies were made regularly when we were growing up. Yes, one could argue that unless you use the exact tomatoes, the exact flour and the exact cheeses, it's not pizza. 

To make matters worse, here in LA we are fortunate enough to have one of the very few alternative locations of the worlds first pizzeria, L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples which I believe opened in 1870.

Julia Roberts wasn't the only one to go. I went too as well as attending the World Pizza Cup!  Yes, there's a World Cup of Pizza in Napoli. 

And yes, as sited above, to qualify you must adhere to very specific techniques and ingredients or as it has been said above, "it's not pizza". 

However let that limitation not lead you to believe the Italians are so narrow minded as to ignore pizza's often spectacular variations nor from where they hail as the Italians certainly do honor the greats. 

I was immediately struck by the huge, kitschy gold statues of pizza legends and titans which included Frank Pepe, Ike Sewell and Lou Malnati. And yes, if you don't know these names, you're pizza education requires eating more pizzas! 

And I believe (I may be wrong but it's close) that American Tony Geminiani has one the World Pizza Cup in Naples more than any single chef in the world. 

So with heresy on my lips but caution to the wind, and with the only L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele in the USA only 40 minutes from my house, and a grandfather from Naples, well, Neapolitan is nice but after 150 years, or after a slice from Joe's in Greenwich Village, De Fara's in Brooklyn or a deep dish from Giordano's in Chicago, fuggettaboutit!

[Betsy]

On 6/30/2021 at 9:39 AM, H.K.Luterman said:

My fav is from Mellow Mushroom

Oh....their Maui Wowie (no longer on the menu, but still order-able!) is THE BEST.  Jerk chicken, pesto, bacon, banana peppers, and pineapple...yummmmm!

[Fish Folk]

On 7/14/2021 at 3:21 PM, dasaltemelosguy said:

Oh my. While I do love fish & chips and of course, pizza, I think the two should combined presents a serious risk of heresy in their calling it a "pizza". 

So all I can say is, here's some more heresy! ;

 

Detroit Style Pizza:

Amazing, almost blackened, a focaccia-like crust and a special combination of cheeses known as Provel which in most instances is a blend of Swiss, provolone and cheddar.

After they build the pie, they line the entire square baking tray with mozzarella such that it extends well past the edges. They fold the cheese over the crust, bake it some more until entire thing caramelizes around and enclosing the crust in 'blackened cheese' turning it into something truly unique. 

 

Saint Louis Style Pizza:

Not unlike Detroit Style in that it uses the same sauces and cheese but it's spread out on what could be vaguely referred to as a thick, rigid tortilla. It could even be thought of as a Detroit Style pie on a giant cracker. 

 

My heresy knows no bounds. My 4 grandparents all came from Italy. My fathers parents from Napoli & Rome, my mom's I don't know the towns but the regions were Foggia and Calabria. So Neapolitan pies were made regularly when we were growing up. Yes, one could argue that unless you use the exact tomatoes, the exact flour and the exact cheeses, it's not pizza. 

To make matters worse, here in LA we are fortunate enough to have one of the very few alternative locations of the worlds first pizzeria, L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele in Naples which I believe opened in 1870.

Julia Roberts wasn't the only one to go. I went too as well as attending the World Pizza Cup!  Yes, there's a World Cup of Pizza in Napoli. 

And yes, as sited above, to qualify you must adhere to very specific techniques and ingredients or as it has been said above, "it's not pizza". 

However let that limitation not lead you to believe the Italians are so narrow minded as to ignore pizza's often spectacular variations nor from where they hail as the Italians certainly do honor the greats. 

I was immediately struck by the huge, kitschy gold statues of pizza legends and titans which included Frank Pepe, Ike Sewell and Lou Malnati. And yes, if you don't know these names, you're pizza education requires eating more pizzas! 

And I believe (I may be wrong but it's close) that American Tony Geminiani has one the World Pizza Cup in Naples more than any single chef in the world. 

So with heresy on my lips but caution to the wind, and with the only L'antica Pizzeria Da Michele in the USA only 40 minutes from my house, and a grandfather from Naples, well, Neapolitan is nice but after 150 years, or after a slice from Joe's in Greenwich Village, De Fara's in Brooklyn or a deep dish from Giordano's in Chicago, fuggettaboutit!

Heresy perhaps, but a welcome post on this thread.

Yet someday, after your culinary wanderings, I have faith that you will repent and come home to Nonna. 

[Patrick_G]

My family’s originally from Michigan and I was probably seven before I discovered pizza wasn’t always square. I still like a good slice of Detroit style when I can get it. 

[lefty o]

On 7/14/2021 at 1:30 PM, Streetwise said:

@Fish Folk, please sit down and take a deep breath.

I just learned that Domino's Pizza in Japan created Fish and Chips Pizza.

Someone on Twitter accused them of making a food that "insults both England and Italy!"

if you fold the slices, it becomes a soft shell fish taco.

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 6/30/2021 at 8:49 AM, Fish Folk said:

Out in the Midwest there was a small chain called Punch that made good pizzas. Twin Cities, etc.

I'll be buying from them tonight! 

The owners are so paranoid that any single pizza will not meet the standards they have set, they have a camera in each of their locations that every single pizza must be placed under.  The pizza can not be served to a customer without the approval coming from this electronic pizza judge.  The staff is well trained, and I've rarely seen pizza tossed at this stage, but it does happen. 

Before Punch, I thought I knew pizza.  I had strong opinions and favorites.  Punch was my first true Neapolitan-style pizza. It's had to go back.  Fortunately, I don't have to currently.  I'm hungry already! 

[Fish Folk]

On 7/15/2021 at 7:40 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said:

I'll be buying from them tonight! 

The owners are so paranoid that any single pizza will not meet the standards they have set, they have a camera in each of their locations that every single pizza must be placed under.  The pizza can not be served to a customer without the approval coming from this electronic pizza judge.  The staff is well trained, and I've rarely seen pizza tossed at this stage, but it does happen. 

Before Punch, I thought I knew pizza.  I had strong opinions and favorites.  Punch was my first true Neapolitan-style pizza. It's had to go back.  Fortunately, I don't have to currently.  I'm hungry already! 

Excellent! Bad pizzas may result in comprehensive staff cancellation. Try the Margherita Pizza

Edited July 15, 2021 by Fish Folk

[kingchris20]

Pizza Memery

[Jungle Fan]

On 6/27/2021 at 12:51 PM, KBOzzie59 said:

I have to admit, the best Italian food I have ever eaten has been in Italy.

When I studied in West Berlin I shared a kitchen in the student dormitory with a Chinese-Indonesian, a Frenchman, a Polish guy, and three Italians from Napoli, Tuscanny, and Sicily, learnt how to cook French, Indonesian, and Italian food and the arguments over Sicilian vs. Napolitan pizza were epic, and wildly gesticulated, by the time the flamed crepes were ready for dessert generally though all ruffled feathers were smoothed and the Chianti was flowing freely. 

Edited July 19, 2021 by Jungle Fan
Had to perform a miracle and turn the desert into dessert,

[Jungle Fan]

After spending some time in Greece I brought home the recipe for Greek Pizza:

Flatbread pizza with a Marinara style sauce, red onion rings cut very thin, crumbled Feta cheese, pitted and sliced Kalamata olives, thin sliced cooked ham, pepperoncini if you like them, sprinkled with a mix of oregano, thyme, sea salt, granulated garlic, and black pepper, followed by some olive oil, and some red wine vinegar, then baked.

As the Greeks say, Opa!  (and we're not talking the German word for grandpa here)

Edited July 19, 2021 by Jungle Fan

[Fonske]

Pineapples? Pineapples on pizza are fine. As well as fish, chips, seafood, duck, beef, Spam, etc..

Sweet potatoes on pizza are bad.

Although some disagree with me on this. 

[OnlyGenusCaps]

On 7/15/2021 at 6:46 AM, Fish Folk said:

Try the Margherita Pizza

I've had that and many of the others.  I'm not a purest, and the margherita is not my favorite.  Good, just not my fav.  Pretty well all of their pizzas are delicious. 

Re pineapples: Thankfully, I think Punch bans even images of pineapples from entering the store.  "Your aloha shirt must remain outside, sir."  😉

[dasaltemelosguy]

My dad used to make a cheese-less (almost) pie he (and all of my family) called "Abeetz". It is widely considered to be the 'invention' of the great Frank Pepe but, at least my relatives say, they've always had it and think it's much older than Pepe's claim but they really have no idea of it's origin.

In New Haven CT., where abeetz pies are on the menu of almost every pizzeria in the city, generally it's a thin crust with a spicy tomato sauce and no cheese except for Romano sprinkled on top. The latter is added after it's cooked or it would vanish and melt into the sauce. 

One place (I wish I could remember which one in town) raised abeetz to a new level with a truly creative technique. He cooks the pie about 75% and then covers it with Locatelli Romano (the zenith of Romano's) . To prevent the Romano from burning or being diluted by melting into the sauce below, he places ice cubes on the pie and bakes the final 25%. I would imagine using the right amount of ice is the difference between a tomato swamp or culinary glory but in using just enough cubes, the ice melts and keeps it moist and cool enough not to burn. But what happens is amazing in that the Romano forms a hard, shell-like crust on top of the sauce and it's in the sense of pure flavor, it's seriously amplified such that it's Romano to the power of Romano! 

I can't remember which New Haven spot did this trick, despite having been there a half dozen times at least...oh man I'm getting old.

 

 

[Streetwise]

When you object to a topping:

Sometimes you want a couple of slices to-go:

[Patrick_G]

On a recent trip to Taos we ordered takeout from a Local Pizza Shop…

The absolute worst pizza! The crust was sort of like a biscuit and was stuck to the cardboard. It looked like it had been sliced with a weedwacker. Most of the toppings fell of when we would pick up a slice. We were really hungry so we ate some but it was pretty bad. 

[Guppysnail]

Ok so i had tontry it out of curiosity.  This whole cauliflower crust thing. I made a real pizza because i was guessing this thing would be to weird to eat.  I got caulipower margarita.  I was shocked it wasn’t outstanding but not to bad

[Fish Folk]

Within the next several days, I intend to get a few somewhat decent slices of pizza at a place up near my hometown. I will upload photos. Stay posted…

[Streetwise]

After we test @Fish Folk with crimes against pizza.

<previous video>

Edit: It was the final scene from the Dark Knight, with Gordon saying some words. The clip is offline without an ad-feed.

 

[Jungle Fan]

I have seen many different pizzas that were unusual, very few that would arise to the claim of "crimes against pizza," but I wish I could say the same for calzone. I have yet to have anything worth the title "calzone" that wasn't produced in Italy, or at the very least by an Italian owned and operated pizzeria in Germany, or elsewhere in Europe, and that includes several home tried disasters of my own.

[Streetwise]

@Jungle Fan, thank you for volunteering to start a thread on savory pies, such as calzones and empanadas.