Slice

Pizza Hut Strikes Again, Unveiling 'Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas'

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:15:00 -0500

[Photograph: Pizza Hut]

If you're generally outraged by Pizza Hut's continued riffs on pizza crust, you might enjoy hearing that the company is taking a bare-bones approach and rolling out a line of Firebaked Style Flatbread Pizzas.* Or, you might, you know...not.

*What, you ask is "firebaked" style? Honestly, we're not remotely sure. Connoisseurs of misleading pizza terminology are encouraged to speculate.

The announcement follows close on the heels of more outlandish creations, like Pizza Hut Canada's recently released Cheesy Beef Poutine and Creamy Butter Chicken pies. Clearly geared toward customers disinterested in such far-fetched experiments, the flatbreads "can be topped three different ways with up to three toppings each," and come six to a box for $11.99. Considering that the Hut has continuously tried to push the crust boundaries to their absolute limit, forging new, often questionably successful, frontiers in the art of pizza edges, this latest development verges on boringly simple.

For those pizza fanatics who want their every morsel to push the envelope, regardless of negative health effects, the chain offers more than its fair share of options. But healthy fast food is in right now, and the company seems to be taking note. Kurt Kane, Chief Marketing Officer of the chain, notes, "We wanted to give our fans a lighter crust experience." Looks like Pizza Hut's ready to join the fast food industry's quest to appeal to more health- and weight-conscious consumers. Oh, and yes, we'll be giving this guy a try sometime soon, so stay tuned!

About the authors: Sam Bresnick is a Serious Eats intern, rising junior at Brown University, and dumpling addict. Niki Achitoff-Gray is the Associate Editor of Serious Eats and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education.

My Pie Monday: Squash Blossom Pizza, Potato Pie, and More!

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:00:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Squash Blossom Pizza, Potato Pie, and More!

Come feast your eyes on some My Pie Monday action! This week's round-up of homemade pizzas run the gamut—we've got red pies, white pies, and pretty much everything in between. Click through the slideshow to see them all!

As always, if you're making pizza at home, we wanna see. Send us a shot for next week's My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please title your email "My Pie Monday" and make sure to include your Serious Eats username!

Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations in our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions.

Even if you're not baking your own pies, we definitely want to hear about the ones you're eating. Submit to My Best Slice to help us spotlight the great pizza being enjoyed across the country. We don't care whether it's a super-simple corner slice or a fancy-pants pie, so long as its memorable. Send a photo and short description to pizz[at]seriouseats.com!

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the associate editor of Serious Eats and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

Pizza Hut Canada Mixes it Up with Cheesy Beef Poutine and Creamy Butter Chicken Pizza

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 15:00:00 -0500

[Photographs: Courtesy of Pizza Hut]

If the promises of pristine wilderness and endless outdoor fun haven't lured you to the Great White North just yet, the new additions to Pizza Hut Canada's menu surely will. The geniuses who brought you the Crown Crust Pizza are at it again, and this time they've dreamed up new exploitations of the slice that will stagger even the most loyal Pizza Hut connoisseur. That's right, as part of its "new innovative menu," the chain is introducing the Cheesy Beef Poutine Pizza, a creation featuring their take on the famous Québécois combo. But they don't stop at boring ol' poutine—these mozzarella cheese fries and gravy get a nice dose of beef and tomato sauce to boot. Delish.

Americans have historically yucked Canada's yum, but it appears the friendly northern neighbor is ready to bust out of its creative shell with the help of Pizza Hut. The company is throwing down four other pizza novelties, the most notable of which is the Creamy Butter Chicken flavor, replete with Indian-inspired chunks of seasoned fowl. Though not as outlandish as this, it still packs an inventive, if potentially misguided, punch.

The menu is designed to celebrate "Canada's cultural diversity." We'll just have to wait and see how your taste buds fare in the process.

About the Author: Sam Bresnick is a Serious Eats intern, rising junior at Brown University, and dumpling addict.

Top This: Brussels Pie (à la The Privateer Coal Fire Pizza)

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:15:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Top This: Brussels Pie (à la The Privateer Coal Fire Pizza)

[Photographs: Kelly Bone]

Coal is a different sort of beast. Standing before the red and black embers, awash in the steady, direct heat, Chef Stephen Reyna explains all the intake and exhaust points of the EarthStone oven. His father, Executive Chef Hector Reyna, is behind us, overseeing the kitchen prep and reviewing the night's specials. Since opening 8 month ago, the father-son team behind The Privateer Coal Fire Pizza has served blistered pizzas with modern, chefy toppings in their hometown of Oceanside, CA. Stephen moved down from San Francisco after two years at Pizzeria Delfina to open The Privateer with his father and partners. This may be Stephen's first time at the helm of a coal fire oven, but he is clearly a quick learner.

I approached The Privateer interested in their Red and White pie (an homage to Delfina's Panna) but Stephen insisted on also sharing the current special: the Brussels Pie. I've learned to always trust the chef, and this pie is no exception. The creamy white base is scattered with ribbons of pancetta and finished with a slaw of lemon vinaigrette-tossed Brussels sprouts. This pizza has similar elements to another Top This favorite, but the execution is entirely different—and thoroughly delicious.

What You'll Need

1 portion of dough
Brussels sprouts, shredded
Fresh Mozzarella
Shredded Provolone
Cream
Pancetta
Lemon vinaigrette

The Privateer Coal Fire Pizza

1706 Pacific Coast Hwy, Oceanside, CA 92054 (map)
760-453-2500; theprivateercoalfirepizza.com

About the author: Kelly Bone lives in Los Angeles writing The Vegetarian Foodie. She spends the rest of her time designing office cubicles...you might be sitting in one right now! Follow her on Twitter at @TheVegFoodie

Gluten-Free Tuesday: Skillet Flatbread

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:30:00 -0500

From Serious Eats

[Photographs: Elizabeth Barbone]

If you're in the mood for bread but it's too hot to turn on the oven, then I've got the perfect recipe for you. Hearty but delicate, this flatbread goes well with whatever lands on your summer table, from barbecue to the simplest garden salad.

Leavened with baking powder rather than yeast, a batch takes under thirty minutes to make. You simply whisk together a flavorful gluten-free flour (like sorghum, teff, or quinoa), tapioca starch, baking powder, and xanthan gum. Stir in an egg, olive oil, and water, and the dough is ready for a hot skillet.

And it's worth noting that a hot pan is key. When baked in a lightly smoking cast iron skillet, the delicate flat bread puffs up and develops a crisp outside, dotted with little dark brown blisters all over the surface.*

*If necessary, you can use a nonstick frying pan instead; since nonstick pans can't be heated as hot as a cast iron, the finished flatbread won't have lovely dark spots, but it'll still be delicate and tasty.

You can change up the flavor by trying out different flours, or feel free to experiment with seasonings; sometimes I like to add a generous sprinkle of chopped herbs, or sautéed garlic or onions to the dough before baking. Other times, I take the bread in a sweet direction—a tablespoon or two of granulated sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon make the flatbreads a perfect base for a fruit dessert. Take a warm flatbread, top it with a spoonful of warm fruit compote and a dollop of whipped cream and you're all set!

Get The Recipe!

Gluten-Free Skillet Flatbread »

About the author: Elizabeth Barbone of GlutenFreeBaking.com joins us every Tuesday with a new gluten-free recipe. She is the author of Easy Gluten-Free Baking. and "How to Cook Gluten-Free".

Get the Recipe!

Pizza with Fresh Clams, Garlic, Mozzarella, Romano, and Basil

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:30:00 -0500

I grew up bouncing back and forth between New York and Boston, which, conveniently, put me right in the path of the pizza behemoth known as New Haven, home to some of the world's finest pizzas (or apizza in the local vernacular, pronounced uh-beets), and originator of the clam pie.

Now, at most of the great pizzerias in that neck of the woods—Pepe's, Sally's, and Modern being the big three—fresh clams have taken a back seat to pre-shucked clams. Don't get me wrong, the pies are still great. I love the way the clam juice leaks around and mixes up with the cheese, olive oil, herbs, pepper flakes, and garlic that are standard on a clam pie. But something certainly gets lost when the clams are pre-shucked. Need proof? Just visit Zuppardi's in West Haven, where the clams are shucked fresh to order before being spread onto the pies. The flavor is better, the clams are juicier; it's just a better eating experience.

Clam pizza is the kind of pie that you need to start eating immediately after it's cut into slices, before the copious clam juices have a chance to render the crust completely soggy (though some degree of sogginess is inevitable—some people even consider it a feature).

Even so, roasting a clam in the open heat of an oven is still not the ideal way to do it, even if its been freshly shucked.

Want to know the secret to the absolute tenderest, most flavorful clams and juiciest clam pizza around? Place the whole, unshucked clams on that pie before baking. It may look strange at first, and it will definitely look strange when it comes out of the oven, but the clams will be insanely tender and you won't lose a single drop of those precious juices.

I place the clams on the pie with their hinges pointed down, and then bake the pie as I normally would (in this case I did it on my KettlePizza-converted grill). If all goes well, and there's no reason it shouldn't, the pizza will finish baking just as the clams start to crack open, spilling their juices over the top of the pie.

You can serve the pie as-is and let people pull out their own clams as they eat, but I prefer to be nice about it and finish prying the little guys open, shucking out the meat, and depositing them, along with their juices, into the wells left behind from the shells.

Get The Recipe!

Pizza with Fresh Clams, Garlic, Mozzarella, Romano, and Basil »

About the author: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt is the Chief Creative Officer of Serious Eats where he likes to explore the science of home cooking in his weekly column The Food Lab. You can follow him at @thefoodlab on Twitter, or at The Food Lab on Facebook.

Get the Recipe!

My Pie Monday: Deep Dish, BLT, Spicy Soppressata and More!

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:45:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Deep Dish, BLT, Spicy Soppressata and More!

If you like pizza, get ready for a blissful My Pie Monday. Come on in and check out this week's array of 17 homemade pies! Click through the slideshow to catch 'em all!

As always, if you're making pizza at home, we want to know! Send us a shot for next week's My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please title your email "My Pie Monday" and make sure to include your Serious Eats username!

Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations in our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions.

Even if you're not baking your own pies, we want to know about the ones you're eating. Submit to My Best Slice to help us spotlight the great pizza being enjoyed across the country. We don't care whether it's a super-simple corner slice or a fancy-pants pie, so long as its memorable. Send a photo and short description to pizz[at]seriouseats.com!

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

Father's Day Giveaway: Win a KettlePizza Pro 22 Kit

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:15:00 -0500

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

I first started testing the KettlePizza after-market Weber kettle grill insert a couple years ago, when the product was still in its infancy and, frankly, not all that impressive. Since then, it's gone through several iterations and has now reached a point in its life where I can safely say that it's one of the best, easiest-to-use options out there for anyone wanting to make real, wood oven-style pizzas at home. I'm talking 750°F floor-temp, 1,200°F air-temp, three minutes-or-less-bake, smoky, blistered, crisp-on-the-outside-tender-in-the-center, poofy-lipped, best-pizza-you-ever-made-at-home level stuff here.

Don't believe me? Take a look at a few of the pizzas we've made using it and see for yourself.

And now's your chance to win one for yourself! Not just any model, but the top-of-the-line KettlePizza Pro 22 Kit, which comes complete with the KettlePizza insert, the new Prograte and tombstone-shaped stone setup (which allows for easy launching and retrieval of pies, along with the ability to reload coal without disassembling the insert), and an aluminum pizza peel for inserting and retrieving your pizzas.

It's a $300 value, and you can enter* just by answering the following question:

What's the greatest pizza-related mistake your father has ever made?

*Unfortunately, this contest is open to contiguous United States residents only.

Atlanta: Cibo e Beve's Pies Fail to Impress

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 14:30:00 -0500

[Photographs: Todd Brock]

Cibo e Beve

4969 Roswell Road, Suite 245, Atlanta, GA 30342 (Map); 404-250-8988; www.ciboatlanta.com
Pizza type: Neapolitan-style
Oven type: Gas-fired w/wood
The Skinny: Swanky bar scene with imaginative pizzas that don't always live up
Price: Smoked Duck & Mushrooms, $17; The Brooklyn, $16

On the north side of town, Cibo e Beve gets a good bit of buzz for being a hip, cool, cozy, sleek little hotspot with a killer bar scene and some tasty pizzas that fit the bill after an evening out. As a fortysomething dude with two grade-school daughters and a minivan in the picket fence-lined driveway, the words "hip", "cool", and "killer bar scene" have almost zero relevance to my everyday life. But tasty pizzas? Now you have my attention. After a sampling of Cibo e Beve's (supposedly) most popular and (arguably) most talked about pies, I can say I've found a new restaurant to add to the date night rotation... but probably not a pizza destination worth going out of your way for.

The name on the marquee roughly translates to "eat and drink," and it's pretty clear that Cibo e Beve takes the "beve" part really seriously. The drink menu is just as long as the food menu, with more items and one of city's top mixologists behind the bar. It was by far the more active half of the restaurant during my visit, and sure seemed like the kind of place where you and a few friends could spend a fun night sampling wines and cocktails and playing guess-that-clip from the edited movie montage of food- and drink-inspired scenes playing on the overhead TV.

But I was here for pie, and I went straight for the one that gets mentioned most often, the Smoked Duck and Mushrooms. I'm not a duck connoisseur by any stretch, but it's one of those ingredients that you see on pizzas so rarely that I couldn't not try it here. The meat was thinly shaved, and in the low lighting of the space, hard to discern from the Madeira-roasted mushrooms. Plus, it was all under a gooey blanket of fontina and herbed ricotta, making for an extremely rich pizza.

Yes, duck tends to be a little greasy, and this was no exception. But for me, the predominant taste was that of smoke. It was smoked meat of some sort, to be sure, but if you had just dropped this pie off at my table with no ID, I would never have been able to name that protein in any reasonable number of guesses.

That's not to say it was a bad pie. I polished off three-quarters of my 12-incher and brought the lone soldier home for leftovers, but when I'm ordering a topping as unique as duck and paying 17 bucks for the privilege, I do want to come away with an impression more memorable than "a rich white pie that mainly tastes like smoke."

Sadly, the other pizza at my table was even more generic. The Brooklyn ($16) features a San Marzano sauce, with Italian sausage and caramelized onions beneath the mozzarella. I am a big fan of tight sausage crumbles, but this was just underseasoned pork with little to no real flavor behind it.

Cibo e Beve's crust, hand-tossed upon ordering and sporting some decent char from its 2-3 minute stay in the gas-fired oven (with oak and hickory providing some smokiness), was nicely chewy, with some sour notes and an almost buttery component to it that I rather enjoyed. I just wish the toppings had lived up to the crust they sat on.

There are some interesting choices on the other pies, too: crispy kale, goat cheese, rapini, ghost pepper salami. And if you and your friends are looking for a hip nosh to work off an evening at the bar, I suppose you could do worse. But when date night next brings me to this part of town, I'll venture into Cibo e Beve's other cibo offerings and leave the pizzas for someplace that packs a little more punch.

About the Author: Todd Brock lives the glamorous life of a stay-at-home freelance writer in the suburbs of Atlanta. Besides being paid to eat cheeseburgers for AHT and pizzas for Slice, he's written and produced over 1,000 hours of television and penned Building Chicken Coops for Dummies. When he grows up, he wants to be either the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys or the drummer for The Gaslight Anthem. Or both.

Father's Day Giveaway: Win a Baking Steel!

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 10:45:00 -0500

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

By this point, you've all seen what a baking steel can do for your home pizza-making. It works on the same principal as a baking stone, storing heat energy and conducting it into the bottom of your pizza to give you faster bake, a crisper crust, better flavor, and a more tender crumb. The difference is that the steel has superior heat capacity and conductivity, making it all the better at delivering the kind of crisp, well-browned crust that you used to only be able to get from commercial pizza ovens.

Looks good, right?

Now's your chance to win a 1/4-inch baking steel, absolutely free in time for father's day!* All you've got to do is answer this one question:

If your father was a pizza, what pizza would he be?

*Unfortunately, contest is open to contiguous United States residents only.

Top This: Cavolfiori (à la Stella 34)

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:15:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Top This: Cavolfiori (à la Stella 34)

[Photographs: Erin Mosbaugh]

Located high above midtown on the top floor of Macy's department store, Stella 34 serves Neapolitan pizza that's worth talking about. Executive Chef Jarett Appell has earned the two Wood Stone gas-assist pizza ovens at his disposal—schooled in pizza making in Italy, he went on to work at Union Square Cafe, Craft, and Donatella before tackling his current gig at Stella.

It's in those 900-1000 degree ovens that he bakes the Cavolfiori: a white pie with a base of creamy cauliflower purée, strewn with thinly sliced Meyer lemon and roasted cauliflower florets, and finished with golden breadcrumbs for texture. Although your kitchen may not have the same stunning view of the Empire State Building as the Stella 34 dining room, you can still recreate the restaurant's Cavolfiori pie at home.

Chef Jarett Appell's badass pizza tattoo.

What You'll Need (for one pizza)

1 dough portion (Watch this video to learn how to make Neapolitan-style dough)
2 heads cauliflower
Heavy cream
1 Meyer lemon
1 loaf stale bread, crust removed (Chef Appell gets his bread from Italian bakery Il Fornaretto in Bensonhurst)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper

Stella 34 Trattoria

151 West 34th Street, New York NY 10001 (map)
212-967-9251 patinagroup.com

About the author: Originally from Los Angeles, Erin Mosbaugh writes Je Blague, where she captures her food adventures in NYC and beyond. Erin also writes dining and nightlife features for Robb Report's New York City and First We Feast.

My Best Slice: May

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:45:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Best Slice: May

It's time for another round of My Best Slice! We asked you to submit photos and descriptions of your favorite pies and slices from around the country (and abroad). Click through the slideshow to see what Slice'rs had to say about the best pizza they enjoyed in the month of May.

Want to contribute to next month's round-up? It's quick and easy! Just send us one photo* to pizza@seriouseats.com, with the subject line "My Best Slice." Include a brief description of what makes it special, along with the name of the pizza (if it has one), and where to find it. We don't care whether it's a humble corner slice or a fancy-pants pie, so long as you can tell us what makes it memorable. We'll select the highlights for a slideshow at the end of the month, and, with any luck, even pay some visits to these pizzerias ourselves.

*Please limit yourself to one submission per month. Self-promotion from businesses or their employees will not be accepted, nor will a single location be represented more than once in any slideshow.

Making your own pies? Then be sure to contribute to My Pie Monday! Take a snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ. Be sure to let us know your Slice or Serious Eats username!

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

My Pie Monday: Scottish Haggis Pizza, Chicago Deep Dish, Bar Pie, and More!

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 15:30:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Scottish Haggis Pizza, Chicago Deep Dish, Bar Pie, and More!

I hope you're hungry for some My Pie Monday! This week, we've got a jaw-dropping collection of 20 homemade pizzas. Click on over to the slideshow for a taste!

Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations in our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions.

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

The Pizza Lab: Is The New KettlePizza Short Model Worth The Upgrade?

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:00:00 -0500

It's time for another round of The Food Lab. Got a suggestion for an upcoming topic? Email Kenji here, and he'll do his best to answer your queries in a future post. Become a fan of The Food Lab on Facebook or follow it on Twitter for play-by-plays on future kitchen tests and recipe experiments.

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

We write an awful lot about the KettlePizza—the after-market insert that converts your Weber grill into a pizza oven—here on Slice, and with good reason. After a few initial hiccups getting the thing to work, we eventually managed to get it to produce some of the finest pies we've cooked at home with only a couple of very minor hacks.

Since then, we've also met with Al Contarino, the maker of the KettlePizza and worked with him on improving its functionality straight out of the box. To his great credit, he has been extremely open to modifying the design and taking our feedback into account.

His past innovations include a tombstone-shaped stone to bake the pies on for easier launch and retrieval and a new rack for the stone, allowing for quick re-loading of coals and wood (without having to disassemble and reconstruct an 800°F grill in the middle of a pizza party).

The newest model of the KettlePizza is yet another step in the right direction.

I'd mentioned in the past that one of the KettlePizza's biggest drawbacks is the size of the airspace above the pizzas as they cook. Because of the insert's tall profile, along with the high domed lid of the Weber kettle, getting the top of a pizza to cook efficiently has been a struggle. It's for this reason that I found covering the top opening of the KettlePizza with an aluminum foil-coated grate can vastly improve the quality of your finished pies.

Hambone examines the new KettlePizza insert

The new KettlePizza insert is a good 20% shorter and features a thermometer that's been shifted to the side of the launching mouth so that it doesn't get in the way when you're moving pies in and out.

The important questions: How does this improvement affect the final product? And will it preclude the necessity of the foil cover?

I fired it up a couple weeks ago to find out.

Test 1: KettlePizza Alone

First off, I fired it up straight out of the box, no hackery whatsoever. I was impressed to see that with a single chimney of coal and no assistance from foil or extra stones, I was able to get the base temp up to above 500°F (the photo is bit misleading; Most of the rest of the stone was at around 500°F—there happened to be a hot spot when I snapped the shot) with a dome temp in the 700 to 800°F range. With the older model, this required over 20 pounds of coal to achieve.

I launched a pepperoni pie into the mouths of the beast and watched as it cooked. It took around 5 minutes total and came out looking like this:

Not bad. A little pale, but nice and puffy with a few darker spots. The underbelly was even better:

Near picture perfect.

But that demonstrates again the issue that remains with the out-of-the-box KettlePizza: the tops never cook enough.

I'm not saying the pizza was bad by any means. A few years ago, I would have been pleased as punch to pull a pie like this out of my oven. But now that I've seen the power of the slightly-hacked KettlePizza, other cooking methods pale in comparison.

Test 2: KettlePizza with Aluminum Foil

The difference a couple square feet of foil can make! By covering the top of the kettle pizza with a foil-wrapped grill rack, you can effectively cut the air space above the pizza down to about half its original height. The flames lick up and over the pie, and air-flow is increased, delivering fresh hot air to your pie constantly. The pizza cooks in just 3 to 4 minutes, and comes out with a burnished brown crust on top and gorgeous leopard spots underneath.

Test 3: KettlePizza with Foil and Baking Steel

Finally, I cooked one using my recent go-to method: combining the heating power of the KettlePizza and its stone underneath while using the heat-retaining and re-emitting properties of the Baking Steel above, along with an aluminum foil roof to manage airflow.

Gape into the mouth of the oven and you can see how blazing hot it gets. The floor temperature hovers at around 700 to 750°F, but the roof temperature buries the needle on both my IR thermometer and the dial thermometer on the KettlePizza. I'd guess it's in the 900 to 1000°F range.

As you can see, it's still a superior finished product to either the KettlePizza-only pies or the KettlePizza-plus-aluminum foil pies.

Moral of the story? The KettlePizza and Baking Steel combo remains the very best way I know of to cook pizza at home without building yourself a wood-fired oven, and now's a better time than ever before to pick one up. But if you've already got the original Kettle Pizza, there's no need to upgrade just yet, the performance increases exist, but they're still just tweaks.

NYC Pizza Crawl: Where Do You Take Out-of-Towners?

Fri, 31 May 2013 14:45:00 -0500

[Photographs: Jessica Leibowitz]

So, I've got a couple of friends staying with me for a few days in New York. One has been here before. The other is an English boy living in Los Angeles who is here for the very first time, which, to me, means one thing: we need to get this guy some pizza, stat.

Sure, we have a couple of best-of-NYC lists including our Top Ten Pizzas in New York, our New York Quintessentials, and Adam Kuban's Eight Great Slices in New York, but trying to hit those is an all-day affair, and we've got a much more limited schedule on our hands.

My basic question is this: If you had 3 hours and $30 a head, where would you take a complete pizza noob in New York, starting with Manhattan as your home base? Do you go the new-school route and grab a sit-down table for neo-neapolitan pies at Motorino or hop the subway to Paulie Gee's? Do I do a double duty tour and walk them through Times Square (because well, every tourist has got to see Times Square) on the way to amazing burrata and fried pizza at Don Antonio?

Or do we need to start real old school with the original coal oven New York City quintessentials like Lombardi's or John's?

Maybe we blow our entire time and budget by heading out to Di Fara in Midwood, for Dom's legendary pies. Doesn't everyone have to try it at some point in their life?

I guess I could also take them on a little slice crawl in the West Village and Soho, hitting up Bleecker Street Pizza for a fantastic grandma slice, Joe's Pizzaa for their top-notch New York slice, and Famous Ben's for their unique bread crumb-topped Palermo slice.

Oh damn, and then there's the new Prince Street Pizza with their best-in-class square pies.

So much pizza, so little time. Where do I start? Where would you take them?

What's Up in Pizza: Patrick Stewart's First Slice, Delivery Man's Elevator Scandal, and More!

Wed, 29 May 2013 16:30:00 -0500

What I wouldn't give to be that slice.

Pizza is certainly off to an entertaining start this week. But come on! AS IF Patrick Stewart needed to do virtually anything else to worm his way into my heart and melt the core of my very being into a puddle of reverent, space geeky adoration. How he survived this long without pizza, I will never know; now that he's had it...I guess we are soulmates. Well played, Mr. Stewart. Well played. I hope they cut his pie with this guy:

Star Trek Enterprise Pizza Cutter

Yes, I know we've nerded out about this guy before. But let's be real. This thing is freakin' brilliant.

Then, of course, there's the viral video of a delivery man in Russia who was caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar—or the literal pizza box—thanks to a well-placed elevator camera at the delivery site. The fact that he decides to snack on a customer's pie is actually less remarkable than the practiced speed and grace with which he unzips the bag, opens the box, and plucks his preferred toppings off the pie—all in time to close up shop, stifle a yawn, and then make the delivery. Also, his choice to do all of this in an elevator.

In all seriousness, though, it looks like the guy actually realizes he has the wrong order and decides to eat off the extra topping rather than suffer the consequences.

Snack Time!

Rounding out the headlines is this charming piece on enjoying a good old-fashioned, fresh-from-the-oven cicada pizza. Personally, I'm intrigued. Any takers out there?

Cicada Pizza

[Video via USAToday.com]

My Pie Monday: Fiddleheads, BBQ Chicken, Deep Dish, and More!

Tue, 28 May 2013 13:00:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Fiddleheads, BBQ Chicken, Deep Dish, and More!

We're back from the long weekend with a belated dose of My Pie Monday! This week, a slew of new contributors join the ranks. Take a look through the slideshow to see the inspiring array of homemade pizzas, courtesy of Slice'rs around the country and overseas.

If you're making your own pies, don't forget to send us a photo for next week's My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please title your email "My Pie Monday" and make sure to include your Serious Eats username!

Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations in our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions.

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

Dear Local Pizzeria: Ranch is NOT Tuscan.

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:00:00 -0500

The word "Tuscan" has been abused and misused on the menus of everyone from The Olive Garden to Subway and can generally be translated to mean "vaguely Italian and probably but not necessarily grilled and maybe it contains chicken but it definitely has some sort of dried herbs on it and melted cheese and doesn't this sound healthier than the other things on the menu because it's all mediterranean and stuff?" ~~Appealing~~ Appalling, right?

But today marks a bold new day in the New York pizza scene. I have borne witness to not one, but two watershed moments that will, for better or for worse, forever alter my perception of what is true and right in the pizzascape.

For lunch today, Ed and I headed out to check out a new pizzeria a few blocks from the office. In the display case was a pie they called the "Tuscany." It was a white pie topped with chunks of fried chicken, bacon bits, basil, and ranch dressing.

Repeat: fried chicken, bacon bits, basil, and ranch.

In case it isn't obvious, none of these things are particularly associated with the cuisine of Tuscany, a central Italian region known more for its peasant soups (the home of minestrone), grilled steaks, and sand people.*

*strike that, that's Tusken

Now we could, perhaps give it the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps they are referring to a ranch out in Tuscany, Texas. Maybe the pizzaiolo's beloved but recently deceased chinchilla—who had an affinity for bacon, fried chicken, basil, and ranch dressing—happened to be named after the Italian region and the pizza was given his name as a tribute.

And maybe, just maybe, one can find ranches in Tuscany that serve a tangy blend of buttermilk and mayonnaise seasoned with black pepper, herbs, and spices that serves as a perfect complement to your Tuscan iceberg, Tuscan chicken nuggets, or even Tuscan pizza.

Maybe. But I doubt it.

To be honest, the Tuscany was the best of the four different slices of pizza we tried, which says more about the ability of ranch dressing to hide the deficiencies of mediocre-to-poor food than it does about the skills of the piemakers. In another watershed New York Pizza moment, I realized that despite seeing ranch pizza all over the midwest, this was the very first time I'd seen it as a default topping in the display case of a New York pizzeria. To be honest it made me feel a little sad.

It seems to me that for the last decade or so—ever since the dollar slice showed up on the scene—the difference in quality of the average New York slice has been widening. The worst these days—and there are plenty of places vying for that spot—are pretty deep in the hole, while the best continue to hold up the high standards of my youth.

If you want to step on the next rung down on the declining end of the New York by-the-slice pizza scene, by all means check out the new slice joint on Cleveland Place where the pizzas are cooked on screens, the underbellies are simultaneously deep brown and flaccid, the cheese adds nothing but fat, and the ranch dressing is Tuscan. But if you actually want good pizza in the Nolita neighborhood, you're better off walking the few blocks over to Prince Street Pizza whose square pies are as good as any New York has seen.

If I ever open a pizzeria or a second rate Italian-esque restaurant chain, we will have Tusken pizza on the menu, and our breadsticks will be served single file to hide their numbers.

Brooklyn: New Franny's Going Strong

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:45:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Brooklyn: New Franny's Going Strong

[Photographs: Niki Achitoff-Gray]

Franny's

348 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11238 (Map); (718) 230-0221; FrannysBrooklyn.com
Pizza type: New York-Neapolitan
Oven type: Wood-fired
The Skinny: It turns out that surprisingly little has changed at Franny's new location—if you're hungry, the wait is still uncomfortably long; it's also still entirely worth it.
Price:$9 - $18 for generous personal pies.

As a Brooklynite myself, I'll admit to a tinge of favoritism when I declare that there's no better borough for pizza. Or, to be a little more diplomatic, let's say that it's home to the city's greatest concentration of top notch pies. We've got the classics, like Totonno's, Grimaldi's, and Di Fara, along with a slew of (relative) newcomers—Roberta's, Paulie Gee's, and Best Pizza, to name just a few. And, of course, there's Franny's. Not only has the pizzeria been canonized by most major news outlets, but you know this place is special because even the freakiest of pizza freaks love it—it has the Adam Kuban seal of approval, it's a pit stop on contributor Scott Wiener's famed pizza tours, and it graces more than one of our 'Best Of' lists here at Slice.

But this is all old news; let's talk new Franny's. We told you back in March that owners Francine Stephens and Andrew Feinberg were changing things up, moving Franny's a few doors down, with a plan to renovate and re-open the original storefront as a new (pizza-free) Italian restaurant, to be called Marco's.

The operative term here is MORE. More space, more seats, more menu items—even more ovens. With a new private event room downstairs, seating for 100 (to the original space's 32), and two enormous wood-burning ovens, it's an impressive upgrade for the eight-year-old pizzeria. And theoretically, all that 'more' means a whole lot less of that notoriously long wait.

Last week, I finally made it over to the new spot. And it turns out that surprisingly little has changed—if you're hungry, the wait is still uncomfortably long; it's also still entirely worth it.

A $3 slice of bread, misleadingly dubbed "Bruschetta."

At least, it's worth it for the pizza. Our three appetizers were stunningly over-priced and remarkably disappointing. A $3 Bruschetta was in fact a lone slice of garlicky, olive oil-soaked bread, and I've definitely been served our diminutive $6 plate of Marinated Olives entirely gratis at similar restaurants. The Pork Cheek and Beef Tongue Terrine was the best of the bunch, but that's still not saying much. For $12, I expect more than two slices of bread and a thin sheet of fatty, unseasoned meat purée.

Luckily, our pies more than made up for the disappointing first course. We lucked out and snagged a Ramp Pizza ($18). That said, the menu description—fava leaves, ramps, calabrian chilies, and pecorino sardo—wasn't entirely accurate. I'm not sure whether the pizza gods were smiling upon us or somebody made a beautiful, beautiful mistake, but when the pie emerged topped with a glistening soft-cooked egg, I shot straight up to cloud nine, where I remained happily perched for the rest of our meal.

As anticipated, the crust was pretty stellar. Great char, just enough salt, and a seriously beautiful hole structure to the crumb. It's definitely Neapolitan in style, but not quite as soupy at the center. As with any number of newer Brooklyn locales, it seems more accurate to dub Franny's style of pies New Yorkapolitan, Neo-politan, or Neapolitan-American.

Having never ordered Franny's Sausage Pizza ($17) before, I was in for another surprise with pie number two. Sweet, tart tomatoes, generous dollops of milky buffalo mozzarella, and...pepperoni? Nope, that's sausage you see. And I'm a tough customer when it comes to the stuff. I expect juicy, tender, flavorful meat scattered across my pie. Not this thin-sliced business, curling at the edges. That said, those thin slices tasted pretty damn good. Once I accepted that my fantasy sausage scenario was off the table, I squared my shoulders, grabbed a second slice, and grudgingly admitted my delight.

I don't like to play favorites, but let's be real. Franny's Clam Pizza ($18) is off-the-hook amazing. Fresh, briny clams, a bright hit of parsley, and some hot chilies are apparently all it takes to send me into throes of ecstasy. I'd say more, but really you should just get on the train (or plane) and go eat it.

Click through the slideshow to see more shots of the food and the new space »

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the Associate Editor of Serious Eats and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

NASA To Fund 3D Space Food Printer; First On The Menu: Pizza

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:15:00 -0500

When I was in school for architecture back in the late 90's, 3D printers were state of the art, expensive as all get-out, and really, really finicky to work with. We're not quite at consumer-level pricing yet, but we're already close enough that legislation to stop individuals from 3D-printing firearms.

Here's a better idea: don't print guns, print pizza. That's exactly what Systems & Materials Research Corporation recently received a $125,000 NASA grant to do.

Using a series of powders and oils with various nutritive properties, the printer will print out the pizza in stages, reports this story from rt.com.

The printer will first print a layer of dough, which will be cooked while being printed. Tomato powder will then be mixed with water and oil to print a tomato sauce. The topping for the pizza will be a "protein layer" which could come from any source - animals, milk, or plants.

The cartridges are intended to have a lifespan of 30 years, allowing astronauts (or earthlings!) to enjoy freshly printed meals even on long voyages.

I'll have one pizza, please, extra protein layer. And if it's not printed in 30 years or less, you'd better deliver it free.

Los Angeles, CA: Hit-or-Miss 'NYC Style' Slices at Clover Takeaway, Los Angeles

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:30:00 -0500

The first NYC Style slice, so promising... [Photographs: Kelly Bone]

Clover Takeaway

8384 West 3rd St West Los Angeles, CA 90048 (Map); 213-763-6123; the-churchill.com www.cloverjuice.com
Pizza type: NY-Style
Oven type:Wood-fired
The Skinny:Great ingredients that sometimes yield a good slice, but usually fall short.
Price:$2 for a slice, +$1 per topping

In March, an odd and unused window on the side of The Churchill took on new life as the food and cold-pressed juice purveyor, Clover Takeaway, set up shop. Tucked away at the bottom of their menu is the NYC Cheese Pizza Slice, at a tempting $2.00—a steal given the talent and ingredients on hand in The Churchill's kitchen. For another dollar, you can add a topping of pepperoni, mushrooms, or extra cheese. And while the up-charge is on the steep side for a single slice, it's still one of the best deals in town.

That is, if you get one of the good slices.

My very first slice of "NYC Style pizza" was fantastic. It's not quite NY-style—the sponge-started, overnight-fermented crust has more finesse than your average New York doughs, and the simple DiNapoli tomato sauce is free of dried herbs. But tucked under a blanket of bubbling aged mozzarella, covered in a light oily sheen, the slice hits an even balance of crispness, sweet acidity and oil. The bottom of the slice didn't droop, folding easily into a that classic New York pose. Even better, Clover Takeway is cooking up these pies in The Churchill's wood-fired oven.

I slipped on my shades and leaned back on the hood of my car, casually enjoying my NY-style slice in the California sun. It was a perfect moment of cultural fusion.

Sadly, my next visit told a completely different story. For starters, my order was clearly forgotten. Left standing on the sidewalk for 40 minutes, I sustained myself on apologetic Clover juice samples until someone finally slapped together some dough, sauce and cheese into a pizza-like blob. It felt like the kitchen was giving the Clover Takeaway window the shaft. They generously offered me the entire pizza, but the pale, misshapen slices were completely off balance. Worse, the lava-like flow of extra cheese—which, to be fair, I did request on one of my slices—turned out to be a nauseating sight.

If my prior visit hadn't been so promising, I would have cut my losses and walked away. But I was determined to relive that first wonderful slice, so I kept on trying.

Thinking that perhaps a $1 topping would improve the pizza, I got a slice of pepperoni and a slice of mushroom. The Zoe's pepperoni delivers some decent heat, once you plod through the puddles of paprika-colored oil. But if you're going to spend the extra money on a topping, the wild mushrooms are far and away the best choice. Tender chanterelles, generously applied, offer a delicate flavor that helps cut through the blubber of cheese.

But on the topped slices, the moisture and oil caused the sauce and cheese to meld into a glossy pink base. It still tasted good, but it was a wholly unappetizing sight.

When the pies are on point, Clover Takeaway's NYC Slice is one of the best pizza bargains in town. The crisp-tender crust holds up to gently sweet tomato sauce and a smattering of mozzarella. But when the execution flounders, the pizza is quickly downgraded to a sloppy if affordable lunch. If you have the time—and enjoy a good gamble—it's worth your $2. But if you want guaranteed success, you'll have better luck dining at The Churchill and ordering a whole pie.

About the author: Los Angeles native, Kelly Bone writes The Vegetarian Foodie and spends the rest of her time designing office cubicles... you might be sitting in one right now! Follow her on Twitter at @TheVegFoodie

My Pie Monday: Ramps, Queso Fresco, Detroit-Style and More!

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Ramps, Queso Fresco, Detroit-Style and More!

It's a beautiful day for another round of My Pie Monday!
Come on through for a look at this week's collection of brilliant homemade pizzas.

If you're making your own pies, be sure to send us a photo for next week's My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please make sure to include your Serious Eats username!

Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations on our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions.

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

What's Up in Pizza: Kitchen Nightmares, Pizza Compass, The Latest From Domino's, and More!

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:00:00 -0500

Pizza Compass wants to be your new best friend. The recently released iPhone app, tag-lined "No Frills, Just Pizza" is designed to perform one simple and essential task: Find all the pizza, all the time.

Introducing: Pizza Compass

[Video: Pizza Compass from Oak Studios].

If you have somehow missed the viral and utterly enthralling coverage (here or here, for instance) of the massive and extremely public meltdown of Amy's Baking Company owners Samy and Amy Bouzaglo, you're in for a real treat. The Kitchen Nightmares couple now claims their expletive-filled facebook freakout was the product of hackers. Then again, there is this video, in which a man ~~barely escapes with his life~~ tries to leave without paying, after waiting over an hour to never get his pizza...So yeah, I'll let you be the judge!

Kitchen Nightmares: Amy's Baking Company

Domino's has done it again. And by "it," I mean yet another profoundly perplexing foreign marketing campaign. This time, Brazil's the lucky recipient of the brand's inventive tactic. Using thermal ink and what I can only imagine is fancified scratch and sniff technology, rental stores in Sao Paulo and Rio have joined up with the pizza chain to distribute DVDs that look and smell like pizza—but only after they've been played! You can watch the magic below, though Domino's regretfully has yet to figure out a scent delivery method that will provide the full sensory experience.

Domino's Stinky DVDs

[Video via TheVerge.com]

So This Exists: Ravioli Pizza at Rosa's in Huntington, Long Island

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 -0500

A couple weeks ago, my wife and I were scheduled to go on a romantic hot air balloon ride out above the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. Unfortunately, the wind and weather had a different plan for us. Our balloon was grounded, so we packed up the dogs and drove off to make our own adventure, searching for dog runs and pizza in charming Huntington, Long Island—a town, we discovered, that seems to be populated mostly by SUVs and high school girls. It also just happens to be the hometown of Cereal Eats columnist Leandra Palermo.

Naturally, I texted her to see what's up. Aside from the obvious (that'd be the cold cheese slice from Little Vincent's, about which I have many thoughts to share at a later date), she also pointed us towards Rosa's Pizza on Main street. It's an old-school-looking slice joint from the outside. The kind of place you'd sneak out to during middle school lunch hour, offering your friends snap bracelets in return for pizza since you're the only kid who never got an allowance. I like this kind of place, I thought to myself. I will do well here.

We got inside and queued up behind a group of high school girls (like I said, they are everywhere) and scanned the display case. Just looking at the plain pies in the display case, you can tell the pizza is cheesy. Unrelentingly and unrepentantly so. You know those pizza joints that started cropping up in New York in the late 90's that would serve Caesar Salad on top of their pizza? This is one of those places. How they reheat those slices, I still can't figure out.

We'd already made up our minds to order a chicken roll based on Leandra's recommendation (that'd be thin-cut strips of fried chicken rolled up in pizza dough, baked, and served with sauce for dipping). But then we heard one of the girls in front of us—the skinniest one, no less—order a "ravioli pizza please."

Uh... what? Surely she means "ravioli, pizza, please," right?.

Nope. She meant ravioli pizza. As in ricotta ravioli baked on top of pizza. As in cheese-stuffed carbs, placed on top of carbs, covered in more cheese, topped with some extra cheese for good measure. Oh, and then baked.

The girl assured us that it was the awesomest thing on the menu, and who am I to argue with a local? We ordered one and braced ourselves.

The pizza was placed on our tray, heavy as the hammer of Thor. I had to pass my drink off to my wife so that I could use two hands to lift it, knowing that if I accidentally dropped the slice on the floor, at least two or three of the high school girls would get swept away, casualties in a river of molten cheese (though I wouldn't be surprised if for every one that was taken out, two more would rise in their place).

There's honestly not much to say about it that the pictures don't already show. The crust at Rosa's is decent. Crisp on the bottom, tender, not too thick. The sauce is sweet, as sauce in this type of place tends to be. But really, none of that matters. It's the cheese you taste, and the cheese alone.

Even the ravioli, which sit as balloon*-like blops underneath their heavy winter comforters of cheese, get lost in the mix. A touch of dryness from the ricotta is all that really registers.

*Hey, looks like we got our hot balloons after all!

Pasta on pizza is something I've seen in a few places, even relatively successfully in some, but for me, in order for it to work, the pasta has to crisp up and brown a bit—it's a textural effect more than anything. Soft ravioli on top of soft crust doesn't add anything to a slice but bulk. To be fair, it seems like bulk is really what Rosa's is after.

My wife and I made a valiant effort to put away some of the pizza, but gave up after only a couple of bites, instead turning our attention to the chicken roll, which was (comparatively) delicious.

I have a feeling that when we finally re-book, our hot air balloon is gonna be doing a bit of extra straining to keep us afloat after this particular adventure.

Rosa's Pizza

313 Main Street, Huntington, NY 11743‎ (map) 631-425-7694

The Pizza Lab Presto: Vodka Pizza

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:45:00 -0500

[Photographs: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt]

Our office is at the epicenter of the vodka pizza universe, what with both Pomodoro and Rubirosa a couple blocks away. The former is not worth a damn (despite some rave Yelp! reviews)—overly greasy, unspectacular crust, and candy-sweet sauce—while the latter is spectacular. Crisp and charred with a pleasant chew like all great pizza, it's got a creamy vodka sauce that is just rich enough that you know you're not eating regular pizza, but not so rich that you feel like your stomach may fall out or involuntarily empty itself in protest by the time you're done. It's a great alternative when you've been stuck in a pizza rut, and a recipe that's good to have in your own home arsenal.

Spectacular is what we're after at home.

What's the secret to their success? A few things.

#1: Great Crust

A pizza, no matter how interesting or excellent the toppings, is only ever as good as its crust. While Rubirosa makes thin, thin Long Island-style bar pies, I prefer the slightly less crackery chew of a good New York-style crust, for which we, luckily, already have a pretty stellar recipe.

Baking the pizza on a baking steel will help ensure that you get the crisp bottom and nice charring that gives crust flavor (a stone will do, but not quite as well). With that in place, you've already got a huge leg up over the pale, wan slices at Pomodoro.

#2: Great Sauce

Making vodka sauce is not quite as simple as adding cream and booze to basic marinara sauce, but it's pretty darn close. In order to counteract the palate-dulling richness provided by the cream and slight sweetness of the alcohol, you need to season a vodka sauce with salt a little more aggressively than you normally would, and add a significantly larger amount of heat in the form of crushed red pepper flakes.

This spice, along with the back-of-the-throat heat that the alcohol provides, gives vodka sauce its characteristic punch.

And in case you were wondering, yes, the vodka really matters when you are making vodka sauce.

The recipe I use for my pizza is largely based on Josh Bousel's Vodka Cream Sauce recipe, though it's been tweaked a bit with some more cream and different seasoning.

#3: Get The Right Cheese

Early in my testing, I made a number of vodka pizzas with regular old grated dry mozzarella—the cheese of choice for a standard New York slice. It didn't come out so hot. What with the richness of the vodka sauce and the fattiness of the cheese, the pie proved overwhelmingly greasy, despite having decent flavor.

It sliced alright, but as soon as I lifted it up, the entire sloppy contents of the surface poured off in a hot, wet pile. Yuck.

A much better bet is to use fresh mozzarella that's been lightly drained. It melts into creamy blobs instead of a greasy slick.

#4: Apply Sauce Sparingly (But Not Too Sparingly)

A normal tomato sauce can be applied sparingly because nothing really happens to it when it loses moisture as it cooks. It reduces and concentrates in flavor, but that's about it.

I tried making a vodka pie using the same amount of sauce I'd typically use for a New York pie (about two-thirds of a cup for a whole pie) and found that by the time the pizza was cooked, enough moisture had evaporated from the sauce that the cream broke, turning into a greasy pool with little curdled bits of milk solids floating around. You need to apply just enough to keep it from breaking, but not so much that it weighs down the pie.

It's not tough, just a few small details. Get all of this right, and you've got a vodka pizza really worth eating.

Get The Recipe!

Vodka Pizza »

Get the Recipe!

Italian Easy: How To Make A Stromboli

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:45:00 -0500

[Photographs: Deborah Mele]

Stromboli can be a somewhat contentious term, and depending on who you ask, definitions vary somewhat drastically. We know what it's not, but while stromboli is neither calzone nor submarine sandwich, it's also a little bit of both. The calzone, essentially a pizza folded into a half moon, can be found in pizzerias across Italy; the stromboli was created in the United States and is about as Italian as Caesar Salad.

So, what is it?

Making stromboli begins with a dough—sometimes pizza, sometimes bread—that's stuffed with various cheeses and Italian cured meats. The fillings are encased in the dough—sometimes braided, sometimes rolled—then baked, and finally sliced to serve.

Though there are many variations now sold across the US, most often a stromboli is filled with a selection of Italian deli meats and cheeses (while calzones can be filled with just about any toppings found on top of a pizza). It's said that the first stromboli was created in the early 1950's by Romano's Pizzeria & Italian Deli in Philadelphia, and that it's name was inspired by the eponymous Rossellini film starring Ingrid Bergman.

It is perhaps ironic that I've just returned to Umbria, where I'll be living for the next 6 months, and I'm sharing an Italian-American recipe that can't even be found here in Italy. But I do love this dish and I make it often, whether I'm in the United States or abroad. It's a very versatile and accessible recipe, easily tailored to your personal preferences. It makes a great finger food to serve for casual family dining, entertaining, or outdoor picnics—not only can it be prepared ahead of time, but it travels really well.

Since this column is all about easy Italian recipes, I will keep the preparation of this Stromboli quick and simple—I'll even recommend that you buy prepared pizza dough. Look for dough in the bakery department of your local grocery store, in the refrigerated section. If you can't find it, ask! Every grocery store with its own bakery will have it on hand, and I've never found one unwilling to sell it to their customers. If you do want to make your own dough, you can find some of my own pizza dough recipes here (or use Kenji's NY-Style dough recipe). A word to the wise—whenever I make my pizza dough at home, I usually double the recipe and freeze the extra dough in 8-ounce balls for future use.

You can include any of your favorite Italian cured meats in the dish, although pepperoni, salami, soppressata, and ham are most commonly used. For your choice of cheeses, I find that provolone, mozzarella, Fontina, or Asiago cheeses work well, though any semi-soft or soft cheese should be fine. For my stromboli, I love to add a little basil or sun-dried tomato pesto, finely chopped olives, or fresh basil leaves for some extra flavor.

When cutting your dough in preparation for braiding, leave at least a 1 1/2 inch border around the filling ingredients to prevent all the cheese from oozing out. Though I dusted my stromboli with sesame seeds after brushing it with an egg wash, you can sprinkle about a teaspoon of mixed Italian seasonings over it instead.

I prefer sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil—they're softer and have more flavor than the regular dried variety—but be sure to drain them well before you chop them. Any great-tasting olives will work, such as Kalamata, Gaeta, Castelvetrano, or Cerignola. Avoid the bland canned varieties, which won't add the punch you're looking for.

One of the most important things to remember when using pizza or bread dough for recipes such as this one is to allow the dough to come to room temperature. If the dough is too cold, it will constantly retract as you roll it, taking you twice as long to complete the task.

Get The Recipe!

Stromboli with Olives, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Ham, Salami, and Cheese »

About the Author: Deborah Mele is the owner of Italian Food Forever, an Italian recipe blog, as well as Recipe Rebuild, a healthy recipe blog she shares with her daughter Christy, an RD. Deborah lives 6 months a year in Umbria, Italy where she oversees her guest house Il Casale di Mele.

Get the Recipe!

Eating Pizza? Send in Your Favorites to 'My Best Slice'!

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:30:00 -0500

[Photographs: Robyn Lee]

Help us explore the wonderful world of pizza! We're currently collecting submissions to My Best Slice, a memorial to all the great pizza being enjoyed across the country (and beyond). We want to hear about your favorite pizzerias and slice joints, whether they're the simplest of corner spots or the fanciest-pantsiest restaurants in all the land! So if you're eating pizza this month—and you had best be eating pizza this month—take a snapshot and send it on over, along with a few short sentences about what makes it memorable. Is it a regional specialty that deserves recognition? Your childhood favorite? Or, quite simply, a damn fine piece of pizza? We don't care, as long as it's worthy of your praise.

Ready to get started? Send one horizontal or square photo of a great pizza you've had this month to pizza@seriouseats.com, with the subject line "My Best Slice." Include a brief description of what makes it special, along with the name of the pizza (if it has one), and, of course, where to find it. We'll select the highlights for a slideshow at the end of the month, and, with any luck, even pay some visits to these pizzerias ourselves.

Curious about how this all works? Come take a peek at 'My Best Slice: April' »

Making pizza at home? If so, head on over to My Pie Monday and share your creations with our fellow Slice'rs! Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please make sure to include your Serious Eats username!

Self-promotion from businesses or their employees or representatives will not be accepted; for the same reason, a single location will not be represented more than once in any slideshow. Please limit yourself to one submission per month.

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the editor of Slice and a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

Top This: The Village Deep Dish Pie (à la Union Pizza Company)

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:30:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Top This: The Village Deep Dish Pie (à la Union Pizza Company)

The Village, stuffed with pepperoni, sausage, smoked ham, sautéed mushrooms, five cheeses, and rich tomato sauce [Photographs: Kelly Bone]

People come to Los Angeles to fulfill their dreams. Some find success in films; others find success in kitchens. Few find it in both. While Bruce Markoe claimed the helm of a Hollywood editing bay, he longed for one of LA's shortcomings: deep dish pizza. After years cultivating his recipes, an irresistible opportunity opened up adjacent to his offices at Marvel Studios, so he took the plunge. With a firm but supportive push from his friends and family, Markoe opened Union Pizza Company.

A Bay Area native, Bruce cites hometown favorites Zachary's and Little Star as his inspiration. His own deep dish pizza is held together by a thin but supple crust, filled to the brim with layered toppings, a five-cheese blend, and a thick, pulpy sauce—this is literally a pizza pie.

The Village is loaded with Zoe's natural pepperoni, Marisa's Italian sausage, smoked ham, sautéed mushrooms, thick sauce, and a pound of cheese. Bruce pays special attention to the meats, with a technique that ensures his pie stays crisp and light. As light at a five pound pool of pizza can be, that is.

What You'll Need

Deep dish pizza dough
Pepperoni
Sausage
Smoked ham
Sautéed mushrooms
Thick tomato sauce
Shredded cheese

Union Pizza Company

1570 Rosecrans Ave. Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 (map)
310-536-9888; unionpizzacompany.com

About the author: After nearly a decade in Brooklyn, Kelly Bone landed back in Los Angeles where she writes The Vegetarian Foodie. She spends the rest of her time designing office cubicles... you might be sitting in one right now! Follow her on Twitter at @TheVegFoodie

My Pie Monday: Sourdough Pizza, Kimchi Pies, Roasted Cauliflower, and More!

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:00:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: My Pie Monday: Sourdough Pizza, Kimchi Pies, Roasted Cauliflower, and More!

I hope you're hungry, because it's time to sink your teeth into some serious My Pie Monday action. Click through the slideshow to view this week's collection of 14 homemade pies.

If you're making pizza at home this week, be sure to send us a photo for our next round of My Pie Monday. Just take one snapshot of your homemade pizza, briefly describe your cooking method, and follow these instructions to get it to Slice HQ by 8pm EST on Thursday night. Please make sure to include your Serious Eats username!

Looking for inspiration? Find dozens of recipes and home kitchen adaptations on our Pizza-Making Guide or peruse our collection of past My Pie Monday contributions.

About the author: Niki Achitoff-Gray is the Associate Editor of Serious Eats a part-time student at the Institute of Culinary Education. She's pretty big into pizza. Also, she likes offal. A lot.

Chris Bianco Surprises With New Trattoria and Pizzeria in Phoenix

Fri, 10 May 2013 10:30:00 -0500

VIEW SLIDESHOW: Chris Bianco Surprises With New Trattoria and Pizzeria in Phoenix

Trattoria Bianco & Pizzeria Bianco

4743 N. 20th St, Phoenix, AZ 85016 (map); 602-368-3273 ; pizzeriabianco.com
Pizza Style: Artisan
Pizza Oven: Wood-fired
The Skinny: The legendary pizza you've heard all about, with some amazing pasta next door.
Price: Margherita, $13; Rosa $14; Tangelo Chicken Involtini $18

A couple of weeks ago, we found out that Chris Bianco was opening a new pizzeria in Tucson, and then Chris filled us in on the details himself. But Bianco has one more big surprise up his sleeve: His aptly named Italian Restaurant in the so-unhip-it's-hip Town & Country mall is being split in two. A gorgeous new dining room, serving Chris's spin on Italian fare, has been dubbed Trattoria Bianco. Meanwhile, the original space has been transformed into a full-fledged branch of Pizzeria Bianco, serving all the classics from his downtown Phoenix location, and more.

The name change is mostly for clarification's sake, since the menu is largely the same at both sites. But as much as Chris loved the old moniker, "Italian Restaurant" was pretty much Google-proof (just try searching for it). He also wanted his customers to know exactly what to expect from each room.

Check out the inside of Trattoria Bianco. [Photographs: Lance Roberts]

FIrst up, the new trattoria. Working with Chef John Hall, Bianco has cooked up a range of rustic Italian fare that's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from him: locally sourced, seasonal ingredients that are artfully and skillfully prepared. The short and simple menu features farm-fresh salads, handmade pastas, and slow-cooked pork and goat.

We've got a rundown of some of the best dishes in the slideshow, but I think the Tangelo Chicken Involtini ($18) manages to sum up what the team is after. Poultry is often the key ingredient in a bland meal, but this dish is anything but. Pounded breasts are stuffed with torn, milk-soaked bread, Parmagiano Reggiano, and swiss chard. Pan-seared, braised, and finished with Tangelo juice and butter, the resulting slices are juicy, salty, full of bright citrus, and much better than chicken deserves to be. If Bianco and company can do that with a chicken, just imagine how good the pastas are.

Dessert recipes become art at the Trattoria.

As with his other restaurants, there's a lot of Chris in the decor. His father's paintings and sketches adorn the walls; his mother's handwritten dessert recipes (she comes in to make cake on Thursdays) are hung on an old board near the entrance. And the beautiful rug in the middle of the room is from his childhood home. It's homey yet elegant—a great environment for enjoying a special meal. And it's the very first Bianco restaurant to accept reservations for parties under six.

The new Pizzeria Bianco. I didn't think we were getting one until November.

The atmosphere at the neighboring Pizzeria Bianco is casual and laid back, even more so than the flagship location. In addition to the pies, there are also some sandwiches and appetizers sneaking over from the Pane Bianco menu, so if someone in your party isn't in the mood for a Rosa (an obvious sign of mental distress), there are plenty of other options. And for the moment, there's a much shorter wait.

The Rosa ($13) is still the pie to beat no matter where you're at .

Okay, I know what you're wondering...how's the pizza? Is it the same? Chris already gave us his take, and I'm happy to confirm that the pies are indeed amazing. They were everything I and everyone else on Slice has been talking about for years, perfectly balanced and made from impeccable ingredients. And most exciting for Pizzeria Bianco veterans is the promise of market special pizzas—something you don't get at the downtown location where there's just a fixed menu of six (albeit perfect) pies.

One of specials ($20), a variation of the Biancoverde, was topped with fresh mozzarella, Parmagiano Reggiano, ricotta, arugula, and thick-sliced local mortadella (flavored with Arizona pistachios, of course). It's spectacularly rich, the medley of cheeses the perfect bed for the lightly spiced pork and slightly bitter arugula.

The former Italian Restaurant room has become a second Pizzeria Bianco.

So, with all these new options for Bianco fans, not to mention the Tucson location due in November, which place do you go to first? If you're looking to imbibe some history, I'd never steer you away from the original pizzeria, but Bianco actually opened his first sitdown restaurant at Town & Country, so there's a legacy to this new space, as well. And Pane Bianco is serving some of the Trattoria dishes in addition to pizza and specials cooked up by Chef Robbie Tutlewski, so don't sleep on that one, either.

Which amazing Chris Bianco restaurant to eat at? I can't imagine a better predicament to be in.

About the author: Lance Roberts is a writer in Los Angeles. He's definitely in the tank for Pizzeria Bianco, but what's new?

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