Scott always seems to be halfway to an enthusiastic grin. He's also pretty clear about his enthusiasm for this new gig. “When they asked me if I want to teach a class with Peter, there's a no-brainer. That's like a dream situation.” Peter, who also exhibits an enviable level of preternatural happiness, says, “I think there are people that just have a passion for it, and they have the means and the time to be able to do this, and there are folks who just want to gobble up knowledge and experience.” NEWSFLASH: Two of the nicest guys in the entire pizza ecosystem are getting together and teaching a 3-day course in pizza dough at the world-famous Pizza University, based in that garden spot of pizza, Beltsville, Maryland. And now you’re asking yourself the right question: In what bizarre world of homemade pizza would you be thinking, “Hey, I should travel to that greater Baltimore school for pizzeria operators and take that 3-day course about mixing together water, flour, salt and yeast?”
0 Comments
“The potatoes are so, so creamy!” Not the first thing you expect to hear about a pizza? Stick with me, and you’ll hear all kinds of things about pizza you didn’t expect. And the first thing is: you can feel good about putting clam chowder on a homemade pizza. Really. Are you one of those people who’s glancing at me sideways now? I recommend letting the scales fall from your eyes along with the clam shells and any other rigid protective coverings worn by sea creatures in an effort to stave off predation by a threatening beast like, oh, me. As you know, a lot of people out there enjoy living by a credo of “That’s not pizza.” And a simple fact is that yes, clams on pizza is genuinely a thing, both here and abroad. (If you already know this, just bear with me. You might find out about a different pizza you’ll also want to try, though leftover soup will not be involved.) The word “meatloaf” often seems like the punchline to a joke. The word “pizza,” not so much. But if you mash them together into “meatloaf pizza,” it’s more confusing than anything. And yes, it actually happened. I did it and accept full responsibility. But there was an actual chef involved, and he didn’t seem to be bothered by it at all. (Though he won’t return my calls.) Several friends have recently sent me the new Yelp list of “Top 100 Pizza Spots according to Yelp Elites 2024.” (This is NOT a complaint. Keep sending me lists and articles. I love them.) After a cursory perusal of that list, I once again find myself thinking that a list like this is almost meaningless for most people. “Hey! Here are 100 joints across the 3.5-million square miles of the United States, most of which you’ll never get to try! Massive FOMO for you, my friend!” There’s no regional context to this list. It's nationwide. There’s no context relating to style of pizza. And there’s no clear authority related to the people who are making the judgments. Thank you all for rising to the challenge of “Pizza Toppings You’ll Hate Until You Try Them.” A couple of your suggestions made me laugh. Nobody elicited a gag reflex—which is both reassuring and appreciated. And the bad-idea pizza toppings were thoughtful and delightful. For my favorite reply, we have a tie. And contrary to my “fried grasshoppers on pizza” suggestion, neither of these pizzas involve insects. Fave #1 is from Paul, a technically-minded gent in Southern California. He lives within easy reach of a legendary pizzeria and brewpub in Solana Beach called Pizza Port. (The place is special. It has a natural-wood/chalkboard-menu/SoCal-hippie-surfer vibe that makes you say, “I don’t care what that pizza tastes like as long as I can eat it in here.”) The pizza topping that Mr. Paul believes doesn’t belong on pizza is… We’re going to get to the fried grasshoppers on pizza in a minute. (I was eating the fried grasshoppers from a galvanized bucket on the street in Cholula Puebla, Mexico. ¡Hola, food-safety standards!) Earlier this week, I was having an unusual conflict on social media. I’d posted about a delightful mango. A proud Cuban-American warned me away from putting the mango on pizza, as it would be an insult to the mango. Getting ready to make that first pizza can be daunting. So can making the second, the third—heck, it’s pizza anxiety and it can be debilitating. I’ve known people who can’t start any new kitchen project with a process because they’re freaked out by the possibility of making mistakes. And pizza is one of those kitchen projects with a process that inspires with fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of making mistakes. Fear of handling dough. Fear of ending up with a freeform calzone. How can you mitigate the fear? To some degree, it’s merely about preparing well and then just making it so. Right now, there’s a loaf of rye bread cooling in my kitchen. You know how many times I’ve made rye bread? Last week, I made some of the best pizza ever by screwing up my dough, and you can do it, too.2/23/2024 I was fresh off a cross-country flight. I’d arrived at our host's house and started making dough so it would have time to ferment properly. And in the process, I made a mistake. A small one. And I decided to live with it just to see what would happen. It ended up being some of my best pizza ever. A lot of pizza newbies get caught in a trap of believing that great pizza is about great dough recipes. But really, great pizza is more about what you do with those recipes and how. One of Free The Pizza’s apparent fans is a guy named Dean. (That's not his full name, and I don’t want to assume that he’s interested in being identified for all the pizza world to see.) I need to thank Dean for sending me a quote from a book he’s reading: The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth About Food and Flavor. The quote about skinny, food-loving Italians was interesting, so I bought the book. The Dorito Effect is about the evolution and societal impact of the flavor industry. Let’s call them Big Flavor. (My words, not the book's.) The book’s undeniable entertainment value belies a serious note about Big Flavor, modern food science, and how it all impacts you, me, and everyone else. Last week’s anti-political rant about the Detroit pizza served to reporters on Air Force One got me thinking: how many people even understand the thrill that is Detroit-style pizza? It’s easy to make, comes with an element of crunchy, caramelized high like none other, and it’s a total surprise how much people love it. I’ve made over 1,000 round, flat pizzas recognizable as some evolution of Neapolitan tradition. And people love them. One guy I know says my pizza has ruined him for any other. But the few dozen Detroit-style pizzas I’ve made are the ones that make people’s heads snap around in surprise. |
AuthorBlaine Parker is the award-winning author of the bestselling, unusual and amusing how-to pizza book, Free The Pizza. Also known as The Pizza Geek and "Hey, Pizza Man!", Blaine is fanatical about the idea that true, pro-quality pizza can be made at home. His home. Your home. Anyone's home. After 20 years of honing his craft and making pizza in standard consumer ovens across the nation, he's sharing what he's learned with home cooks like you. Are you ready to pizza? Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|
© Copyright 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. All rights reserved.
As a ShareASale Affiliate and an Amazon Associate, we earn a small percentage from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
When you click those links to Amazon (and a few other sites we work with), and you buy something, you are helping this website stay afloat, and you're helping us have many more glorious photographs of impressive pizza.
When you click those links to Amazon (and a few other sites we work with), and you buy something, you are helping this website stay afloat, and you're helping us have many more glorious photographs of impressive pizza.