Pizza Blog from pizzatherapy.com

This is an amazing recipe and a wonderful way to cook eggplant. I need to give credit to the Denver Food Guy for sharing this great recipe. Most of my eggplant is the eggplant parmesan style . That's what was served at our table almost every night. I learned from my mom, who learned from her mom. And so eggplant parmesan was a family tradition. I have used it as a pizza topping as well as in sandwiches. Here is a very uniques way to serve this wonderful recipe. Chef Matteo Carboni from the Academia Barilla Culinary School teach us how to prepare an easy Mediterranean antipasto: eggplant and prosciutto rolls . Eat, eat! Here are some other eggplant recipes you may enjoy: eggplant on the planet, albert grande Pizza Therapy Will Teach You to Make Pizza

I just recieved the following and thought I'd share this with the Pizza Therapy community... Television show producer, JD, is looking for reality pizza stars ... If you know of anyone who fits the bill as a pizza making family who is a "really fun and friendly bunch and one that's totally "New York" , you can contact J.D. This is how stars are made! Hey Albert, I was lucky enough to stumble onto your directory this morning and thought I'd reach out about a project that I'm working on. Since you seem to have quite the working knowledge of all things pizza, I thought you might be able to help! I'm looking for a family-owned and operated NYC/NJ pizzeria for a new TV project that I'm casting, and I thought you might have a couple favorites or maybe some recommendations of local pizza joints that might fit the bill. We're looking for a really fun and friendly bunch and one that's totally "New York". Does anything come to m...

From our friends at Forno Bravo , here is an incredible method to make Ciabatta Bread . This bread has a good crust with lots of taste. The process is not that difficult. However as with most great breads, this one starts with a poolish. Ciabatta Italian Hearth Bread Poolish (the starter dough) By weight 300 g general purpose flour (Caputo Tipo 00 works well) 300 g room temperature water 1 g (pinch) yeast By volume 2 1/4 cups general purpose flour (Caputo Tipo 00 works well) 1 1/4 cups room temperature water 1/8 tsp yeast Mix to a pancake batter consistency, cover with plastic wrap and let ferment for 3-4 hours, or overnight. Refrigerate after 3-4 hours. The Finished Bread By weight, The poolish, plus: 700 g flour 20 g salt 9 g yeast 430 g water (73% final hydration) By volume, The poolish, plus: 2 7/8 cups flour 1 Tbs salt 1 1/4 tsp yeast 1/2 cup water Mix the dough until it is well hydrated (it is very sticky). Stretch and fold (like a letter) a...

If you have a garden, you may be wondering, what do I do with all of these zucchini? If you don't have a garden, you should be able to find zucchini plentiful at any farmer's market. From my old friend, Maria Gentile from her timeless recipes, The Italian Cook Book, The Art of Eating Well, here are some zucchini options. Ripe and Ready Zucchini from Pizza Therapy STUFFED ITALIAN SQUASH (Zucchini ripieni) To make the stuffed zucchini first cut them lengthwise in two halves and remove the interior pulp, leaving space enough for the filling. Take some lean veal (quantity in proportion to the squashes) cut it into pieces and place it on the fire in a saucepan with a hash of onion, parsley, celery, carrot, a little corned beef cut in little pieces, a little oil, salt and pepper. Stir it often with a spoon and when the meat is brown pour in a cup of water and then another after a while. Then rub the gravy through a sieve and put it aside. Chop the cooked meat fin...

  Slice , creator Adam Kuban, recently had a sit down interview with Albert Grande, of Pizza Therapy. Here's what happened: Pizza Therapy is probably the first pizza-obsessed website I saw on the web. It's like it was always there. But when did you start it? Pizza Therapy started in 1999 on a free hosting service. It ran that way for about a year. I purchased the domain in 2000. After I registered the domain, I moved the site to our own Internet server. It's been evolving ever since. Why did you start it? The site came about as a way to honor my dad. As we were growing up my dad would make pizza for me and my friends. This continued right through high school, college and beyond. He became known as quite a good pizza maker. (He was no pro, this was homemade pizza). He loved making pizza for me and my friends. Soon his pizza making became well known and it turned into a regular event. My friends and I would hang out while my dad made pizza. The conversations an...

The Iceman Cometh and the Ice Woman Cometh. When they do come, they are bringing with them Italian Ice and Gelato. It's hot out there. We need gelato and ice cream recipes to help beat the heat. The following recipes are from the legendary cookbook: The Italian Cook Book, The Art of Eating Well by Maria Gentile You will not find any preservatives or additives in any of these recipes. Just pure and wholesome ingredients. Isn't that the best way to enjoy food? There is a simplicity and elegance to all of the recipes contained here. Simple to make. Simple to create. And simply good. A cool refreshing glass of pure water with lemon, from pizzatherapy.com Italian Ices (Gelati) Although it is in America that there is a greater consumption of ice cream, it is in Italy that it was first made, and in various European capitals it is the Italian gelatiere who prepares the frozen delicacy. A few Italian recipes of gelati will then be acceptable, we bel...

I was recently contacted by Sky , who just returned from a year in Italy. She has beeen working on a series of short films about the spitituality of food. Here is what she explained: Dear Albert, My name is Sky and I'm a young filmmaker from New York. I recently returned from a year in Italy, where I made a feature-length film, divided into 12 short episodes, on the spirituality of food. The last episode, on la vera pizza napoletana and featuring Naples' most expert pizzaioli, is complete. I thought you'd be interested in seeing it and putting it on Pizza Therapy . Thanks. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think - Pizza love, Sky My response: Sky your film is fantastic.  I am very excited about sharing your incredble film. Thanks for this great film...you have showed us an nmatched passion and love for food. And a love for pizza "You've got to put your heart in it... we call that passion..." Here it is: If you are interested in mor...

Hybrid Pizza Box You can listen to an interview with Mike Sudia of DMS Innovation. Mike was frustrated with the billions of used pizza boxes thrown away each year. As a result, Mike invented the reusable pizza box. What is a reusable pizza box? Here is the answer from DMS Innovation: "The Hybrid Pizza Box, HPB, is used for take-out or delivery of pizza by customers. Not only reduce your carbon footprint -but get a better quality pizza? YES - A reusable box can eliminate over 125 pounds of one-time use cardboard over its life and 100% recyclable at "end-of-life". Our line of multi-use boxes are all made in the U.S.A. The Hybrid Pizza Box has similar heat retention qualities to a traditional cardboard box without the disposal hassle." Mike explains: •Why he invented the hybrid pizza box •The 7 steps that cardboard boxes go through leaving a large carbon footprint •Why card board pizza boxes cannot be rec...

Keste Pizzeria & Vino Photo by Eugene This exclusive review comes from Eugene, our man in New Jersey. Eugene reviews an incredible pizzeria, Keste's located on Bleeker Street, in New York City. Eugene shares the following: I recently took a Pizza Tour of my own making in NYC. I'm going to recap my experiences for you to add to your website. Having spent the last 45 years searching for excellent pizza the World over gives credence to my remarks IMO. Keste, Bleecker St, NYC I had made it my 'destination pizza place' on this trip in to NYC. As is my custom I like to be there when a place opens for the day to see how the place looks before it gets busy. I met Mr. Roberto Caprusioti , an owner and Pizzaiolo of Keste's , as he was dashing out to drop something off down the block. He quickly returned after I had been seated along with my friend at the head table for 2 closest to the Pizza making station. Roberto was kind enough to spend a few minu...

Believe in your pizza, believe in yourself... In my car, I have a battered copy of The Magic of Believing by Claude Bristol I have read this book many times and I always seem to get something new out of it. If I know I need to wait in a line, such as at a bank or food shopping, I will take the book along to read. This seems to make the line move faster. Simply put, The Magic of Believing states, the energy of the subconscious mind can help individuals achieve any goal. If you believe it, it will happen. This book contains countless examples of the hidden power of the subconscious mind and how it can influence our lives. Bristol speaks about two people cooking an item using the same ingredients, and the same recipe. One item turns out to be a failure while the other is a successful culinary achievement. The successful cook, saw the finished product in their mind's eye. This successful cook, baked their heart and soul in to the finished dish. They created a spiritual li...

Alain's Pizza from pizzatherapy.com I love getting positive emails from pizza fanatics describing their pizza adventures. That is what Pizza Therapy is all about. Make pizza, eat pizza, be pizza The following email from Alain, was particularly touching and humbling: Albert, what can I say your the best! The dough was so easy to make. The taste, I must say, was great.  I did 2 batches one with oil and one without and found that the one without oil was softer and nicer. My wife is Italian and she usually made Pizza for the family. Three years ago she suffered a brain stem stroke, and we relocated to India for treatment. Yesterday was the first time we had Pizza after so long, and we baked and sang your praise all day as your Dough tasted like my wife's. My kids loved it. We had a couple of Indian Doctors come over and tasted the pizza and they thought it was fantastic and told me that I should open a Pizza shop. In all Albert we had the best pizza day and you broug...

I’ve got some news for you. When you go on A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tour you don’t just get a Slice, you get the whole pie … You experience Brooklyn from the inside out. And I do mean experience. I’m proposing that they re-name this tour. Let me explain; Sure we ate pizza. But we got so much more. There was history, stories, clips of movies filmed in Brooklyn, and even a little romance. At one point we rubbed shoulders with a Brooklyn Wedding . (I’m not kidding). Our guide, Paula was simply amazing. Her energy level and spirit added to our entire experience. She is from Brooklyn and is half Italian and half Jewish. What a combination! She gave insights to the cultural melting pot that makes up all of the different neighborhoods. Who could ask for more? And she fit right in with the whole spirit of the tour. She was able to give inside information about all of the hot spots in Brooklyn. Her knowledge was extensive. Her passion for the borough of Brooklyn was unmatched. Wh...

This report comes from our correspondent Rob, in Seattle. Rob is currently on assignment searching out incredible pizza. He shares the following review about Tutta Bella exclusively for Pizza Therapy: Rob reports: "We had an awesome pie in a place we've been hearing about, Tutta Bella . It's right around the corner from Walter's place, which I've got for the summer. Wood fired, the read-out said 759 degrees F. They use double zero "OO" flour. The crust is light as a feather and quickly attains a fluffy crispness in no time. Hand shaped, of course, and beautifully burned, the dough is mouthwatering when fire roasted and married with fresh juicy spices and toppings. All the toppings we had were fresh and tasty. We started with the namesake "Tutta Bella", it seemed right. Above a bright and saucy pomodoro, were spread melting platters of fresh mozzarella. Dashed with juicy bits of Italian sausage, roasted fresh mushrooms, and roaste...

Sally's Bacon Pizza from pizzatherapy.com So, what’s the big secret of Sally’s Apizza ? Simple: great pizza. If you want to have excellent pizza you need to search it out. And that is exactly what we discovered during our latest visit to Sally’s Apizza on Wooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut. An inside trick is to get there early. Sally’s opens at 5:00 P.M. (They are closed on Monday’s). We got there at 4:30. There were only two parties in front of us so we knew we would make the first seating. Another trick is to know what you want before your waiter or waitress comes. Make sure you decide what you want. The pizzas at Sally’s come out as they are ordered. Each pizza is lovingly constructed by hand, and that takes time. So the quicker you get your order in the quicker your pizza will come out. A visit to Sally’s is like stepping back in time. You will find the interior to be exactly as it was in the 50’s. Sure there are numerous plaques and diversions on the wall...

Shhh. Listen: It's me, Albert Grande, The Pizza Promoter . I try to keep a low profile. Sure sometimes I tend be a little loud. And I have gotten carried away occasionally...but that is my personality. I can't help it. I'm Italian. I guess its a genetic thing. Most of the time, I just try to remain anonymous. Now don't get me wrong, I love eating pizza. I love writing about pizza and I love making pizza. But most of all, I love talking about pizza. Hey, don't get me started.  For most of my pizza adventures, I quietly enjoy my pizza. Anonymously. The other night while eating pizza with some friends I got a tap on the shoulder.... "Are you that Pizza Therapy  ( http://pizzatherapy.com/ )  guy?" "Well, yeah", I answered sheepishly. "I have to tell you... you changed the way I look at pizza." "Are you kidding me? I changed your pizza perceptions?   Pizza Therapy , changed the way you look at pizza? I asked. "Absolu...

Learn to Make Pizza at: http://pizzatherapy.com/ Let’s face it, when you go to Pepe’s you expect a quality pizza. You know your pizza will contain top quality ingredients. You expect the pizza to be cooked in a coal fired oven. You know you are in a for a positive pizza experience. So when 11 members of the official Pizza Therapy Taste Testers descended on Pepe’s we were expecting nothing less than a high quality pizza experience. And Pepe’s did not disappoint us. Because of the diversity of the group (both ethnically and ethically) we decide on three different pizzas. For the seafood lovers (hey, everybody in the group was a seafood fan), we ordered the original clam pizza. This was Frank Pepe’s signature pie. Hey, Frank Pepe invented the clam pizza. you can see the whole story right here. (BTW, you can also listen to more pizza interviews at this link) . The standard clam is not made with “mootz” (mozzarella), just a sprinkling of Parmesan. The pizza just oozes with cl...

"Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today..." OK I'm not leaving today for The City, but soon. (We'll be there in June...) And one of the Big things on our agenda is to go on The Brooklyn Pizza Tour . Honestly I can't wait. I'm looking forward to spending some quality pizza time with Tony Miura, the genius behind the tour. As a matter of fact, our friend, Adam Kuban , over at Slice , reminded us that Tony was featured on the Today Show . This is not the first time I have bought a ticket for The Brooklyn Pizza Tour . But it will be the first time I get to go. Let me explain. We had tickets to go last summer, but  Pizza Therapy  got banned from Brooklyn by Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan.  True story, you can read about it here. I just got an email from Tony and he assured me all things are go for our tour date,. We're locked, loaded and ready! Here's a video of the tour: Honestly, I can't wait to try Neapolitan-style pizz...

Our friend in Glasgow is at it again.... Watch   Domenico Crolla  on an episode of The Hour Show. Chef Domenico Crolla shows a step by step method for creating his incredible tasting Spaghetti Alla Carbonara. What I found most interesting in this video is the simple step by step instructions he provides. He takes you by the hand so that you will be able to re-create this amazing dish in your own kitchen. I think the important point he makes is worth repeating. For quality, elegent dishes, you must use quality ingredients. For example note that Chef Dominico only uses Extra Virgin olive oil. Also, instead of bacon he uses Italian pancetta. pancetta is "a type of dry cured meat, similar to bacon. It is pork belly that has been salt cured and spiced." He does explain though,you can also use other meats if you wish, as well as using no meat at all. He insists that you should not use bacon due to all of the additives. I love this recipe and I look forward to s...

Our friend Gail recently won the Ultimate Recipe Showdown on the Food Network. Her prize? $25,000 in cash, plus a $5,000 bonus in other prizes. I knew I had to interview her and get all of the inside secrets of how she did it. I was able to record an exclusive interview for Pizza Therapy . She explains: •How she came up with the recipe •What she did to enter the contest •What she asked Flo Consiglio, wife of Sal Consiglio •Her secret ingredient that she took from Sally's Apizza on Wooster Street in New Haven, Connecticut •Why this helps her make award winning pizza •What goes on behind the scenes at the Food Network •What she will do with her $25,000 •Her other $5,000 bonus prizes as part of her winnings •Inside pizza tricks and tips •Her secret hobby and passions •Why you should enter your own recipe You can listen or download the entire interview at this link: The $25,000 Pizza Recipe Interveiw with Gail. pizza all over the planet, albert Legend...

Checking Out Pizza with Chicago Pizza Tours Chicago Pizza Tours Will Take Care of it for You! Chicago’s Hottest New Pizza Tour Allows Participants to See Chicago One Slice at a Time! Chicago, IL, May 21, 2010 -- The Windy City. Wrigley Field. The Bears. The Magnificent Mile. Chicago has its share of icons, but one of its most famous attractions – delicious world-famous pizza – is receiving special attention with the launch of Chicago Pizza Tours, LLC. The brainchild of Chicagoland native Jon Porter, the concept for Chicago Pizza Tours began with a gourmet foods walking tour his wife participated in with coworkers. While the group sampled a number of items from the city’s various neighborhoods there was one specialty missing from the list: pizza. Porter quickly got the ball rolling, surveying dozens of friends, family and even strangers to identify their favorite pizza venues.  “I felt it was important to get a wide array of feedback in order to provide a good variety o...

Say it Ain't So... Recent news out of Naples allege that some pizzerias in that city are using coffin wood to fuel their pizza ovens. This was reported in Il Giornale, a local Italian daily. Police have been investigating reports that some of the smaller pizzerias may have used stolen coffin wood to keep their wood fired ovens going. In recent years there has been a rash of grave robbers in the city of Naples. According to reports last year 50,000 flower pots were stolen. As a pizza maker, I am in utter shock and disbelief. All of the pizzas made in Naples that are DOC certified are made to exact specifications.  For more information check out this resource: Associazione Verace Pizza Neapolitan .   Another pizza organization is:  Verace Pizza Napoletana Americas The idea that pizza made under such stringent conditions would get woods from coffins to me is outrageous. I find it hard to believe that anyone would willingly violate the trust placed in these...

Pizza Vending Machines Come and Go...But the Pie-O-Matic will live forever... Marty sent me the following article from the New York Times about Pizza Vending Machines in Italy. "Is Europe bringing back the automat? Claudio Torghele hopes so. Over the last decade, Mr. Torghele, 56, an entrepreneur in this northern Italian city who first made money selling pasta in California, has developed a vending machine that cooks pizza. The machine does not just slip a frozen pizza into a microwave. It actually whips up flour, water, tomato sauce and fresh ingredients to produce a piping hot pizza in about three minutes..." The article goes on to explain how through various testing different devices the developers of Let's Pizza  were able to create a viable machine that will actually make pizzas... You can read the entire article here . According to the Let's Pizza Website : Let's Pizza is the only machine able to create pizza by kneading it on the spot and add...

Noted pizzaiolo Dick Cami shares the following pizza tale, exclusively for The Pizza Therapy Pizza Blog : Hiya Albert...here's a story that happened to me when there were only about four or five pizzeria's in the Bronx...that's going way back: White Pie We opened the Daiquiri Palace about twenty two years ago in Palma, Majorca and my partner's son Gil Davis runs it now as a seasonal business, besides daiquiri’s we serve fresh made pizza’s on the beach. I'm a transplanted New Yorker that moved to Miami in '59 and I've been in the nightclub and restaurant business all my life, I now live Portland, Oregon My grandfather was a chef who came over from Faenza, Italy to work at the Ritz Hotel in New York City in the early 1900’s and when he retired he still kept his hand in the business by making sauces for local restaurants in the upper Bronx and he also made a lot of specialties for Mercurio's market in Mount Vernon, an Italian specialty store. A...