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

What to do with all this dough?

So you decided to make a fresh batch of dough to make a fresh pizza. But the problem is that you just made too much.

What can you use all that excess dough for besides tossing the dough (get it because that's the name of the blog. Alright, that was a pretty lame joke)? Easy, a calzone.

(Every once in a while, you can take a break from pizza.)

A calzone is an Italian-take on a turnover. Picture a pizza pie that is folded in half and sealed. That is essentially a calzone.

A calzone has all of the ingredients of a pizza, but it can be less greasy on the hands because all of the greasy mozzarella is on the inside.

(A tasty alternative use for pizza dough.)

What do you need?
Again, it's a simple grocery list:
-One canister of pizza dough (do not buy a prepackaged crust like Boboli for a calzone because the dough needs to be fresh enough to fold before baking). Size will depend on how big you roll out of the dough before folding (12" dough will feed should two about two people, 14" will feed three to four).

-Handful of flour

-Mozzarella cheese

-Ricotta cheese (if you do not like ricotta, substitute another cheese or just lose the second cheese all together)

-Garlic butter (more for garnishing, this is not a necessity)

-Parmesan cheese (again, this is for garnishing, but you can do without it)

-Pizza sauce or marinara sauce for dipping

-Something to stuff it with (pick your favorite pizza toppings and throw them together)

Something to note: What is the difference between a calzone and a stromboli? A calzone has ricotta cheese and a stromboli does not. If a restaurant offers both, their take on the calzone will likely have ricotta, but ask before ordering to be sure.

(Stuff it with whatever you wish.)

How do you make it?
1. Spread your flour on a bread cutting board (a wooden one). Coat your hands and the dough with the flour. Roll out the dough to your desired length (I recommend 12" because it's easier to manage than 14"). To roll the dough, lay the dough ball on the cutting board. Use your hands to spread the dough out, being sure to rotate the crust so you don't end up with an oval.

2. This is the stuffing part. Place whatever you are stuffing in the center of the crust. Add your cheese(s) and whatever you are stuffing the calzone with. I personally love sausage calzones, so I'm going to add my mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. Then, I'm going to add grilled sausage that I have cut into small cylinders, red and green peppers, and onions.

3. Close it. Take the half of the crust without stuff and fold it over the stuffing. Firmly press down on the edges of the folded crust to enclose the stuffing.

(This is how your folded dough should look.)

4. Take a knife and make three slits on the top of the calzone. These slits help the stuffing cook and give you an idea of how the inside is cooking.

5. Place it in the oven at 450F for 20-25 minutes.

6. When the crust is cooked (it will look exactly like the crust of a pizza), take it out of the oven and add your garnishes (garlic and Parmesan cheese).

(The crust will be dry on the outside, but very moist within. Serve with sauce to combat that dry outside.)

7. Serve with marinara or pizza sauce and enjoy.

3 Tips for a Healthier Pizza

Many people are turned away from pizza because it's simply not a healthy meal. Consider the carb-filled dough, sodium-packed sauce, fattening shredded cheese, and an array of toppings.

How do you fit all of this bad stuff into a 2000 calorie diet?

Easy, swap out that greasy, meat lover's pizza for one of these three alternatives:

1. Lose the meat, or just go green.
The easiest way to cut some of those unwanted calories from a slice is to order a plain pizza. Toppings add a good flavor to the pizza, but you don't always need them. If the cheese and the sauce are fresh (meaning that you ordered from a pizzeria, not your local franchise shop) the pizza should have more than enough flavor.

But if you can't sacrifice toppings all together, just switch the meat for some veggies. Green pepper, red pepper, spinach, mushroom, olives, and tomatoes are some great alternatives.


2. Lose the sauce, just go white.
White pizza has become very popular in recent years. In making a white pizza, you essentially replace the pizza sauce with garlic and oil.

Here are the steps:
1. Roll out your dough.
2. Sprinkle garlic on the dough.
3. Add a small amount of olive oil. You just need enough oil to make the pizza moist.
4. Sprinkle mozzarella .
5. Bake.
6. Garnish with herbs, namely parsley.

Yes, it's that easy.


3. Lose the dough, give whole wheat a go.
Whole wheat is a nutritionally healthier option of bread than your traditional white. Whole wheat uses every part of the wheat grain, the bran, endosperm, and cereal germ. Whole wheat is a better alternative because it provides the consumer with B vitamins and fiber.

What do you need for whole wheat crust?
- sugar
-water
- active dry yeast
- oil
- salt
- whole wheat flour
- all-purpose flour

How do you make it?
Dissolve the sugar in the water. Add the yeast and let the dough sit.
After the mixture foams, add salt, oil, whole wheat flour and most of the all-purpose flour. Knead the dough and place it in a warm area for an hour so it can rise. Once the dough doubles in size, it's ready for baking.

Nutritional Information

So last night I wanted to order pizza from a chain. I eventually narrowed the decision to Papa John's and Pizza Hut. But in the back of my mind, I didn't want to feel like a total pig. Let's be honest, pizza is not exactly the healthiest food (shocking, I know). Granted, you can make a healthy pizza. But national chains do not. This pizza is less pizzeria, and more fast-food.

I decided to check out the nutritional information for both restaurants and, ultimately, decided against either.

Still curious as to which restaurant is the healthier choice, though, I decided to do a little comparison.

Here is what I have found.



First, I compared the calories in each menu item for both restaurants. Pizza Hut clearly has more calories across the board.

Not surprisingly, Pizza Hut also has more calories from fat than Papa John's. Calories from fat is important because the more calories you intake from fat, the less you get from protein and carbohydrates (obviously). You do not want to cut fat from your diet, but you do not want your daily caloric intake reliant on fat.

Finally, I compared the amount of sodium in each menu item. The differences are minimal except for a breadstick. Pizza Hut has 190mg more in a breadstick with sauce than Papa John's.


By comparing these important nutritional categories, it's clear that Papa John's is actually a slightly healthier alternative than Pizza Hut.

World's Largest Pizza

Lately I've become addicted to the Travel Channel show "Man v. Food." Basically, this show consists of Adam Richman traveling across the United States to compete in various food challenges at restaurants. Richman is not a competitive eater.

This show is incredibly addictive. Some of the food that Richman eats is so massive, yet so appetizing.

For example, at Randy's Wooster St. Pizza Shop, Richman tried the Hartford Stuffed Pizza Challenge. The challenge required him to eat a 22-inch, 10 pound stuffed pizza in an hour with the help of a teammate.



Shockingly enough, Richman and company defeated the unbelievable challenge.

http://www.travelchannel.com/travelchannel/TV_Shows/Man_V_Food/Video/Adams_Hartford_Press_Conference

But, judging by Richman's face after this competition, I think the stuffed pizza may have won after all.

I mean, I love pizza, but I could not imagine making a dent in a pizza that big.

What's going on at Pizza Hut?

This week Pizza Hut began an advertising campaign to announce their new simplified menu with this set of commercials:



Oops, sorry. Not that one. Moving on.

The new menu options are designed to make it simpler for customers to order a pie - was it honestly that difficult - and move Pizza Hut ahead of its competitors.

Here is an abbreviated version of the new menu:
Medium Pizza (up to three toppings) = $8
Large Pizza (up to three toppings) = $10
Stuffed Crust = extra fee
Medium Specialty Pizza = $10
Large Specialty Pizza = $12

The pizza chain even offered an interesting dining room deal. Customers a free order of breadsticks with the purchase of any pizza if they wore a sports jersey with the numbers 8, 10, or 12. Don't grab that Troy Aikman, Chipper Jones, or John Stockton jersey just yet. The deal ended September 12.

Although I don't think ordering from Pizza Hut was that difficult, this is a cool move by the chain. They essentially shortened the menu without discontinuing any options.

I just wish they would bring the 4-for-All Pizza back.

The pizza you eat backwards

I'll admit, I am dying of hunger right now. I've got night class during my usual eating time, so I need to find something quick and easy to fill my stomach.

Not enough time for pizza.

(Aw, grilled cheese again?)

But, what I'm really in the mood for is some stuffed crust pizza. Pizza Hut made this type of pizza famous, calling it "the pizza you eat backwards." To be honest, though, I love to eat this pizza regularly. Instead of following a tasty slice of pizza with a dry crust, you can follow it with a cheesy one. Can you honestly ask for anything better than that? Ok, world peace would be pretty awesome.

(So hungry.)

What is a stuffed crust pizza?
A stuffed crust pizza is not particularly special to be honest. Simply place a filling inside the outside crust, typically string cheese. That is the key to a pizza. Some pizza companies will play the cheese right in front of the outside crust, but a stuffed crust pizza is meant to have the crust literally stuffed inside the crust.

(The crust is actually the best part.)

What do you need?
The recipe is very simple.

You will need everything for a basic pizza and string cheese.

grated mozzarella cheese
pizza sauce
oregano
pizza dough
string cheese - stick with mozzarella to maintain a uniform taste between the slice and the crust

Here is a simple how to:


(Easy as 1, 2, 3.)

Now, I recommend experimenting with the crust. You never know what interesting flavors you can combine with pizza, but it's always fun to try to find new ones. Instead of using cheese in a stuffed crust, add another topping to the crust. It will make the dish a combination of a pizza and a Stromboli, giving you the best of both worlds.