Let's Make a Pizza

Freestyle Pizza

Pizza is a great dish to make because it is the sign of imperfection. No pizza is alike - unless you buy DiGiorno. The human element is so vital in pizza making. Human hands are needed to stretch the dough. The shape and thickness of the crust and the amount of sauce, cheese, and toppings is totally up to the discretion of the chef.

But what I love about pizza making is the ability for chefs to manipulate the dough. Sometimes, though, chefs get a little bit too creative.

With that being said, here are the tossing the dough BLOOPERS!



(I love the random scream at the end.)



(Homer Simpson trying to get slice. Why would you give a dog a piece of pizza anyway?)



(Yellow ascot spins the dough like it's nothing.)



(Check out this video from a British Domino's Pizza. The guy rests the dough on his knee, drops it to his foot, and kicks it back to the station? Amazing.)



(Tony Gemignani can put any pizza chef to shame with those skills.)

NBA Pizza

I love the National Basketball Association. When I was little, it was my dream to become an NBA player. Then I realized I wasn't coordinated enough for that career path, but I still follow the NBA religiously. And now there is a product for NBA fanatics and pizza lovers alike.

The NBA came up with the genius notion that NBA fans want to eat their favorite logos, USA Today reports. The NBA will sell edible logos of its 30 teams to 1,200 pizza shops across the country.

The logos will be made of a combination of sugar, starch, and food coloring. The logos are placed on top of the pizza after it is baked.

(I love the Lakers, but come on.)

NBA execs think that this measure, along with other new licensing ideas, will increase the league's revenue this year.

Really?

I cannot picture many pizza/NBA lovers paying an additional $5 so their pizza has a sugary version of their favorite team's logo.

There is an app for that

Love getting delivery, but hate actually talking to someone? Can't put down your smart phone for more than a minute at a time? Don't worry, there's an app for that.

The OrderPizza app has a simple interface that allows users to order pizza at the drop of a hat.

When you first access the OrderPizza app, you are required to create and confirm a four-digit pizza code to prevent anyone from ordering pizza from your phone.

Next, the app takes you to a listing of area pizzerias. Select your shop of choice and how you wish to place your order. Add your address if you want to place delivery. In the next window, you build your pizza.


It's amazing that you can order a pizza from anywhere so long as you have a smart phone or the phone number of a pizzeria saved into your contacts.

Apps and web tools like the OrderPizza app take out the human aspect to ordering pizza, allowing someone to checkout the menu, order, and pay without ever having to say two words to another person. Is this a good thing? That's up to the user to decide.

Pizza for Breakfast

Ever wake up with a hankering for a slice? You don't have to wait for lunchtime. Make a simple breakfast pizza.


What you need
pizza dough
shredded mozzarella
eggs (although the number depends on the pizza size)
toppings

How to make it
It's honestly very simple. First step is to prepare the pizza dough. In the morning, you won't want to spend a lot of time making dough and waiting for it to rise, so purchase a prepackaged dough. Next step is to scramble the eggs. Prepare six or seven eggs to be safe. The eggs will serve as the sauce in this pie, so you want enough to cover your dough. Add your shredded cheese on top of the eggs and any toppings you want on the pizza. You can also add the toppings while making the scrambled eggs. Bake at 400F for 20 to 25 minutes.

-OR-

You can try this recipe. This woman replaces the pizza crust with one made with shredded hashbrowns. This will be a little bit more time consuming because you have to prepare a hashbrown crust.

The Pizza Style Guide

Trying to define pizza by the country is simply impossible. Variety is the name of the game. The dish comes in all shapes and sizes, from the tiniest pizza bites to Goliath pizzas that require a palette and forklift instead of a cardboard box.

It's especially problematic stereotype American pizza because every city has it's own interpretation.

Let's check out some of the most popular pizza styles in the US.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a pizza ranking list, this is a guide.

California
Unique. Think California Pizza Kitchen. California-style pizza experiments with different, non-traditional toppings. Mozzarella and tomato sauce are just too boring. Think goat cheese and vegetables. The pizzas serve usually one or two as opposed to a traditionally large pie.


Chicago
The deep dish. Picture UNO. Chicago-style pizza has a deep crust - usually several inches high. Chefs load the pizza with cheese and chunky tomato sauce, but the crust typically rises above it.
The thin crust. Chicago loves the thin crust pizza as well. A thin crust pizza is typically thin and crunchy.


Detroit
Square. Don't think Little Caesars. Detroit-style pizza is a square, Sicilian style pizza with a thicker crust. The sauce is added last and the pizza is twice baked. Despite the pizza chains like Little Caesars that call Detroit home, these chains do not reflect Detroit's style.


Hawaii
Fruity. Think anywhere but Hawaii. Pineapple, ham, and bacon typically top a Hawaiian-style pizza. But this style did not originate in Hawaii. The first Hawaiian pizza was supposedly made in Ontario in 1962, according to the Toronto Sun. Hardly Hawaiian, but still popular in many circles.


New Haven
Apizza. Think Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana. New Haven-style pizza is minus the mozzarella cheese. Apizza consists of crust, tomato sauce, oregano, and Romano cheese. Mozzarella would be a topping. The crust is thinner and cooked in a coal oven as opposed to the typical brick oven.


New York
Big and mobile. Picture Sbarros. New York-style pizza is big and greasy. Slices are much larger than typical fare so the pizza can be eaten on the go. Fold the pizza in half to make it easy to eat while walking the city streets.


St. Louis
Crispy. St. Louis-style pizza requires a think crust made without yeast and Provel cheese as opposed to your typical mozzarella. Most restaurants cut St. Louis-style pizza in squares. Chefs load the pizza with oregano and salt.

Grilling the Dough

Typically when we talk about pizza, we assumed that it is baked. But that is not the only way to make a pizza. An alternative would be grilling the pizza.




Grilled vs. Baked
fast, 10 min. vs. slow, 20 min.

thin-crust only vs. any crust you want

minimal sauce vs. no limit to sauce

handful of toppings vs. bucket full of toppings

grill marks vs. bake burns

cook pizza outside vs. hot kitchen

tastes good vs. tastes good

use your hands vs. use a pizza peel

personal pizza vs. world's largest pizza

cook next to a burger vs. cook next to a hoagie