Pizza Blog from pizzatherapy.com

The Mario Pizza Oven I just recieved the following email from Rick: "Hello Albert: If you want to see something really revolutionary in making pizza, check out this oven I am bringing into the US from Italy. It is all electric (220 volt, 16 amps); 2 feet square, weighs 100 pounds, and heats up to 830 degrees F. It cooks a pizza in under 2 minutes. I have demonstrated this to several professional chefs here in Houston, and all of them want it. Please check out the video on my website and watch the demo. It will take you to my partners site in Italy. I would like to have your thoughts. The end product is a perfectly crafted pizza that has the char, texture, flavor, aroma of a pizza made in an expensive and high maintenance wood burning oven. I am also bringing the dough and sauce in from Italy as well (fantastic product). I do know my pizza, having lived in NY, been to the great ones in New Haven, CT , ( Albert's side bar: Pepe's , Sally's , Modern ) and of course, Ita...

On Spiritual Pizza Making... (From the Pizza Therapy Archives) Robert writes: In your article on spiritual pizza making you say: "Spiritual pizza is made when you connect with yourpizza on a higher level. You put a part of yourself into each pizza. Make all of your pizza, Spiritual Pizza. Your pizza will taste better. Your pizza will be better." That really hit home with me, you wouldn't believe what I put into my pizza making and it really shows inthe pizza. If I'm making a pizza for company and really want it to be its best I will turn on the ovenlight and keep looking in at it to make sure it is just right, my wife laughs at me but the pizza isalways great. I've spent years now trying to perfect the crust, after all it's the crust that makes the pizza, everything elseis just toppings, right?. A couple of very important things I have learned along the way. If you are going to experiment away from a recipe,WRITE DOWN THE CHANGES YOU MAKE! Otherwise who canrem...

I have always stated: line up 10 different cooks, Italian or otherwise and asks them how to make pizza sauce / gravy and you will get 10 different answers. That said, we turn again to The Pizza Therapy Forum for some answers. VICIII asks: I cannot make a good sauce: what's the secret? I can buy better sauce than I can make. That is the only thing that is sold where I can not make it better at home. Whos got a good basic sauce. A sauce that would be used at a pizzeria.. Anyone? Paul explains: The secret: Fennel and anise. High-quality canned tomatoes. This recipe for marinara sauce almost nails Toronto-style pizza sauce: Marinara with the following changes - - drop the garlic - double the basil - add 1/2 tsp fennel seed (crushed between your palms) - add 1/2 tsp anise seed (crushed between your palms). I have also discovered that "local" canned tomatoes are miserable. When I switched to using only tomatoes imported from Italy ("Mastro" brand, Italian plum tomat...

Pizza Rustica This recipe is from the Pizza Therapy Pizza Forum from our good friend, Bean. The dough would work great for a “croissant” style pizza because the crust is so flaky! A keeper around here for sure! Pizza Rustica Crust 4 c. sifted flour 1 1/2 c. lard 1 t. salt 1 egg 1/2 c. water 1 T. vinegar 1 t. sugar Mix flour with lard and salt until flaky (large lumps) In another bowl, whip egg and water, vinegar and sugar. Add liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and together well. Roll out crust and line baking pan (cookie/jelly roll) 10” x 15” with crust. Lining over the sides of pan also. Center Mixture 1 lb. Italian sausage 1 lb. ricotta 1 lb. mozzarella, shredded 8 eggs 2 oz. chopped prosciutto or pepperoni 1 T. chopped parsley Brown sausage, drain. Set aside to cool. Mix ricotta, mozzarella, sausage, eggs, prosciutto and parsley. Thoroughly blend. Pour mixture in crust, fold over excess crust from sides onto top of center mixture. Bake at 400º for about 35 minutes until top ...

For this leg of The Pizza Therapy East Coast Pizza Tour 2009 we headed to New York to sample some of the World's Best Pizza . We hopped a train and headed to Spring Street to hook up with Scott Wiener, host of Scott's Pizza Tours . What can you say about a kid from New Jersey who has a passion for all things pizza, and in particular New York pizza? You gotta love the guy. He has the heart of pizza. He has energy. He tells great stories. He has done his homework. He even has a pizza pen. Scott truly loves sharing all he knows about pizza. I immediately connected with him. How could I help it. He is my pizza brother from a different mother. The tour began at the exact spot where pizza started in America. The home of the original location of Lombardi's pizza . ( Albert's Side Bar: For more information on the history of Pizza, please check out Legends of Pizza, Volume 3, The Lost Interviews of Evelyn Sloman Parts 1 and 2, here .) We started our trek, by heading to an Ita...

pizzetta pizza: it's all about the crust. Louie and Mark Esposito had raved long and hard about a pizzeria in Mystic, Connecticut. They were so persistent about how good the pizza was, I listed pizzetta on the Best Pizza in Connecticut page . Here is what Louie said about the pizza: "thin crispy crunchy and the combination of toppings are mouth watering delectable. The first bite literally stopped me in my tracks. Truly the guy makes an exceptional pie.." Mark echoed his words by explaining: " Chris Owens certainly is on a noble mission and makes an equally noble pie. Chris makes a thin crispy crust that holds up very well with all the fresh and natural toppings. Pizzetta Pizza is a cut above, another star in the constellation of great pizza pies." As part of The Pizza Therapy East Coast Pizza Tour 2009 , I stopped by and ordered a pizza. The Espositos were not exaggerating. The pie was thin, crispy, and excellent. I was most impressed with the simplicity o...

A slice of Pepe's clam pizza What can I say about Pepe's ? Pepe's pizza is like returning to an old friend you haven't seen in a while. You've both been through some new adventures but you still maintain that connection. The spiritual bond remains. And so it is with the pizza. Pepe's Pizzeria Napolitana was the third stop on the Pizza Therapy East Coast Pizza Tour 2009. We knew what we wanted before we arrived. We were all dreaming about clam pizza. We talked about the clam pizza in the car on the way down. And not just a casual mention. It was the main topic of conversation. Pepe's is the home of clam pizza. Frank Pepe invented the clam pizza. You just hope against hope, that they are able to have clams on the day you arrive. They usually do, however, clam pizza is so popular, they sometimes, run out. Pepe's Pizzeria is all about the pizza and tradition. Pepe's continues to carry on the legacy of Frank Pepe by serving incredible world class pi...