View Full Version : Let's talk pizza!
OK, the pantry dinner thread got me thinking. Fridays are pizza night here, but we are getting in a rut with the toppings. Of course there is the standard sausage, peppers, and cheese toppings, but I want more!
I love bacon/ham, pineapple, tomato, and cheese, and a recent favorite is spinach alfredo with bacon/chicken/sausage, whichever is at hand.
So, what is your favorite toppings for pizza? I"m feeling adventurous and Friday is but a few days away!:)
Greek with a slightly spice sauce, spinach, ricotta (my addition), olives, red onion and feta cheese sprinkled all over.
We have in the past put leftover curry, freshly cooked sweet corn, or leftover chinese food on our pizza. I love BBQ sauce too instead of pizza sauce.
treehugger
9-18-12, 8:29pm
I love homemade pizza! The Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes book revolutionized my ability to make pizza on a weeknight.
Pesto! Works with any toppings you like, but I especially like it with spinach and mushrooms. I also love one with Greek flavors, like sweetana3 mentions (olives, feta, spinach). I also usually make a clean-out-the-fridge-veggie pizza. Always yummy, whatever the combination.
Last time I was at Trader Joe's, I thought I might pick up some prosciutto for pizza. It's expensive, but luckily a very small (3 ounce) package goes a long way on pizza. Anyway, I noticed they had a 3-pack of different types of Spanish cured meats (jamon iberico, some type of chorizo, a salami). So I bought that (it was cheaper than the similarly-size prosciutto) and it was the perfect amount for 3 pizzas (we like leftovers). So, each pizza had a different meat, but all 3 had spinach, goat cheese, tomato sauce, and fresh tomatoes (put on after baking). Delicious! I will definitely buy that pack again.
Kara
I make my pizza dough with wheat flour and honey.
DH always wants - onion, peppers, fresh mushroom, pineapple
DS2 wants pepperoni (go light on the cheese)
DS1 and I currently want chicken, onion, mushrooms, bacon on a sweet BBQ sauce
I also love spinach, mushroom, fresh garlic, onion
iris lily
9-18-12, 10:01pm
We had pizza tonight with a purchased pizza crust. It was not very good, I'm sorry to say. I put hamberger/onion/garlic mix on with with tomato paste, zucchini medallions, and string cheese. I'm trying to use up foodstuff in the freezer and pantry. DH said tat the zucchini was undercooked. Dang,. I should have cooked up some greens from the garden and added that!
Tussiemussies
9-18-12, 10:34pm
Ii like to substitute some cornmeal for the flour when making the crust and then make a Mexican pizza. I put on Monterey jack cheese, they also have the type with the chilis in it, and put all over covering the crust and bake for 3 minutes. Then take out and put on chopped: tomatoes, scallions or onion chopped, green pepper, jalapeņo pepper, drained and rinsed (and let drip to get a lot of the moisture off) black beans. Top with cheddar and more Monterey jack cheese and you are ready to bake for about 11 more minutes. :)
I got going on a recipe from Rick Bayless (PBS-Mexico One Plate at a Time)and have tried several variations of my own. I've actually gone a little nuts with it lately. Substituting tomatillo salsa for tomato sauce is a good thing to try. I've eliminated most or all of the traditional pizza cheeses in favor of feta or goat cheese. Bacon goes with everything. Thinly sliced cooked acorn squash pieces is very good and goes especially well with feta (I know, it sounds odd). I fry up a batch of mushrooms and onions with a little spicy sausage and divide it into smaller batches to freeze. I pull them out as needed for either pizza topping or pasta sauce.
One of my favorite pizzas is traditional tomato sauce, fresh garden tomatoes sliced thin, traditional cheese or feta, other fresh garden vegetables like spinach, thinly sliced peppers, or summer squash. Topped with fresh basil.
I had a really good pizza at a local eatery that topped the pizza with arugula after the pizza was cooked. It was surprisingly good. I my try it with kale one of these days.
Here's the original Bayless recipe:
https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/view?recipeID=354
Another arugula fan here, thanks to our local pizza fave, Lucky Pie. They also turned me onto delicious alternative meats like soppressata, napolitana, and prosciutto, and different italian cheeses like Piave (fan tastic) (they also have a pizza with thinly sliced zucchini and a lemony buttermilk ricotta, which sounds awful but is actually delicious.) I am mostly a traditionalist when it comes to home pizza, so it's a great New York style crust (a la Artisan Pizza in 5 Minutes...), a delicious cheese, a yummy meat, maybe a sprinkling of something green like arugula or basil, and I'm good to go!
Square Peg
9-19-12, 12:06am
Can of clams, fresh tomato slices, goat cheese and basil.
Tussiemussies
9-19-12, 12:24am
There is a great website...
www.pizzamaking.com
There are some serious pizza makers on the forum. And there are some really good recipes and instructions for making dough that will taste like it is from a pizzeria. My best pizza dough came fom following their instructions. Don't think they talk too much about toppings, I could be wrong since I haven't been there in awhile...:)
Do like salad pizza where they make an excellent salad and put it on top of a pizza.
goldensmom
9-19-12, 7:04am
My favorite pizza is made on the grill, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with a little pizza seasoning topped with feta cheese and thinly sliced tomatoes and onions. Even my husband who likes a traditional tomato sauce, pepperoni and mushrooms pizza likes this version.
Oh boy, all these ideas sound yummy! I'll check into that website TM. I have my gluten free crust which I make very thin and crisp but I'm working on a thick, chewy, yeasty crust, which might be a pipe dream in gluten free.>8)
I do love adding fresh snipped rosemary to the crust. Gives it such a wonderful flavor!
I am intrigued by the idea of adding toppings after baking, like bake crust with a sauce (I'm thinking salsa verde) and cheese, then add something fresh after. Maybe chopped tomatoes and a green of some kind, spinach or romaine.
I have made pesto for the sauce before, but I wasn't thrilled with the other toppings. Maybe I need to pair it with goat cheese or feta.
Again, thanks y'all. Keep the ideas coming.
My favorite pizza is made on the grill, brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with a little pizza seasoning topped with feta cheese and thinly sliced tomatoes and onions. Even my husband who likes a traditional tomato sauce, pepperoni and mushrooms pizza likes this version.
Next summer I plan to get one of those pizza oven things you set on you Weber grill. From the reviews, it says you can achieve temps of 700- 800 degrees! Perfect!
decemberlov
9-19-12, 9:44am
I love margarita pizza - basil, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and garlic.
I recently had an interesting pizza at a brewery in Philly. It was a fig and goat cheese pizza. It was really yummy but more of a dessert kinda pizza in my opinion. But still really good :)
I have made pesto for the sauce before, but I wasn't thrilled with the other toppings. Maybe I need to pair it with goat cheese or feta.
Again, thanks y'all. Keep the ideas coming.
I've tried pesto as a sauce, and it didn't hit me quite right. I have added a little pesto to the crust dough. It is subtle, but a nice touch
goldensmom
9-19-12, 12:21pm
Next summer I plan to get one of those pizza oven things you set on you Weber grill. From the reviews, it says you can achieve temps of 700- 800 degrees! Perfect!
I’ve not heard of the Weber pizza accessory. I put the pizza dough directly on the grill. I shape the dough, put it between 2 pieces of foil then into the freezer so it is ‘stiff’ then put it directly on the grill. After 2-3 minutes at 500° or so it’s done on that side. I flip it, put the toppings on and continue grilling until top is done. Quick and easy. The hardest part is making the dough and waiting for it to get hard enough in the freezer to be able to handle.
You don't have to buy the special Weber accessory, simple firebrick will do the job, and that's cheap.
Or you can go psycho and hot-rod the Weber: http://lifehacker.com/5459718/build-a-pizza-oven-out-of-a-weber-grill
I do most of our pizzas and flatbreads (almost all based on Artisan Bread in 5 mins dough) on this Evo grill:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7ZuBBhzzL_Y/TDkJD-1TlpI/AAAAAAAABK4/5QHKQN0tUR4/s720/img_0328.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9LeLEe0JfSI/TDkJBzTPT9I/AAAAAAAABK0/DzNUnTM1Iao/s720/img_0327.jpg
You can also use your forge if you can control the temperature well enough, and you make mini-pizzas:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XFaI3VlfsBc/UFn1s48WIVI/AAAAAAAAGOs/tTarP0z5E6U/s720/IMG_0627.JPG
I stole an idea from Modernist Cuisine and put a 1/4" steel plate in our oven to bake pizza on. Amazing results. Had to trim it a bit so it fit on the grill, but equally satisfactory results (maybe even better because of the very slightly smoky flavor). That is for thin crust. Favorite toppings this time of year include lots of herbs. Fresh fennel and sausage are amazing. We do a pistachio, red onion, rosemary and parmesan pizza that we tried in AZ and love (sounds weird, I know). Morels, leeks and goat cheese with a few walnuts is a hit here when the mushrooms are in season.
Once in a while we do a kind of traditional Chicago style pizza with thick crust, baked in a cast iron skillet, and layers of cheese, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms then tomato sauce and finally parmesan cheese on top. I like to render the fat out of the sausage first although the traditional way is to put it in raw. It doesn't seem to get over done in the middle of all the other stuff and its a lot less greasy that way.
In Germany I love Pizza Hawaii, its with ham and pineapple :). Then last year, one pizza place served Pizza Banana >8), this one is with ham and banana. Really yummy! I know this pizza hawaii is a german thing and never came from hawaii. But its really good :+1:
You don't have to buy the special Weber accessory, simple firebrick will do the job, and that's cheap.
Or you can go psycho and hot-rod the Weber: http://lifehacker.com/5459718/build-a-pizza-oven-out-of-a-weber-grill
I do most of our pizzas and flatbreads (almost all based on Artisan Bread in 5 mins dough) on this Evo grill:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7ZuBBhzzL_Y/TDkJD-1TlpI/AAAAAAAABK4/5QHKQN0tUR4/s720/img_0328.jpg
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9LeLEe0JfSI/TDkJBzTPT9I/AAAAAAAABK0/DzNUnTM1Iao/s720/img_0327.jpg
You can also use your forge if you can control the temperature well enough, and you make mini-pizzas:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XFaI3VlfsBc/UFn1s48WIVI/AAAAAAAAGOs/tTarP0z5E6U/s720/IMG_0627.JPG
:laff::laff:
Don't' have a forge, but might use the firebrick idea. I'll checkout the lifehack article. I think the thing with the Weber 'oven' is it opens on the side so you don't have to lift the lid and lose your heat. How can I cobble something like that?
I’ve not heard of the Weber pizza accessory. I put the pizza dough directly on the grill. I shape the dough, put it between 2 pieces of foil then into the freezer so it is ‘stiff’ then put it directly on the grill. After 2-3 minutes at 500° or so it’s done on that side. I flip it, put the toppings on and continue grilling until top is done. Quick and easy. The hardest part is making the dough and waiting for it to get hard enough in the freezer to be able to handle.
Here it is. Such a cool thing. Maybe bae can come up with a way we could cobble something to work. Maybe re-purpose something.
http://www.amazon.com/Kettle-Pizza-KPB-22-2-Inch-Grills/dp/B005SFJLOI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348076793&sr=8-2&keywords=weber+pizza
I've tried pesto as a sauce, and it didn't hit me quite right. I have added a little pesto to the crust dough. It is subtle, but a nice touch
Yeah, it tasted ok but lacked something. it needed something more, and I thought maybe it was the toppings. I'll try putting pesto in the crust or maybe just a 'buttering' under another sauce.
In Germany I love Pizza Hawaii, its with ham and pineapple :). Then last year, one pizza place served Pizza Banana >8), this one is with ham and banana. Really yummy! I know this pizza hawaii is a german thing and never came from hawaii. But its really good :+1:
Maybe that's where I first tried ham and pineapple, I don't really remember! Maybe I should try curry like they put on fries (hold the mayo!)
I stole an idea from Modernist Cuisine and put a 1/4" steel plate in our oven to bake pizza on. Amazing results. Had to trim it a bit so it fit on the grill, but equally satisfactory results (maybe even better because of the very slightly smoky flavor). That is for thin crust. Favorite toppings this time of year include lots of herbs. Fresh fennel and sausage are amazing. We do a pistachio, red onion, rosemary and parmesan pizza that we tried in AZ and love (sounds weird, I know). Morels, leeks and goat cheese with a few walnuts is a hit here when the mushrooms are in season.
Once in a while we do a kind of traditional Chicago style pizza with thick crust, baked in a cast iron skillet, and layers of cheese, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms then tomato sauce and finally parmesan cheese on top. I like to render the fat out of the sausage first although the traditional way is to put it in raw. It doesn't seem to get over done in the middle of all the other stuff and its a lot less greasy that way.
Pistachios! Now that sounds interesting. I've thought of some kind of nut but didn't really know which one (thinking along the lines of cashew chicken) Do you grind the nuts, chop them coarsely or leave them whole?
that steel plate idea sounds intriguing. I'll mention that to the husband and see what we can do. Actually I'll mention it to my brother in law who is more handy.;)
Greek with a slightly spice sauce, spinach, ricotta (my addition), olives, red onion and feta cheese sprinkled all over.
We have in the past put leftover curry, freshly cooked sweet corn, or leftover chinese food on our pizza. I love BBQ sauce too instead of pizza sauce.
Ricotta and feta on spinach pizza. I'll have to try that.
Can of clams, fresh tomato slices, goat cheese and basil.
Can't do clams, but maybe shrimp! Or crab!
I love margarita pizza - basil, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and garlic.
I recently had an interesting pizza at a brewery in Philly. It was a fig and goat cheese pizza. It was really yummy but more of a dessert kinda pizza in my opinion. But still really good :)
I really love pineapple and think maybe it's time to explore different fruits. I think it just needs the right sauce to counteract the sweetness. I wonder if fig would be good with ricotta? Certainly with walnuts, which brings in that other interesting flavor. Were they fresh figs, or dried? I suppose you could soak the dried ones and then use. Oohhh...maybe soak the figs in rum to cut the sweetness, then pair with ricotta and walnuts.
Square Peg
9-19-12, 2:13pm
shrimp would work. Or just the other toppings, hold the fish :)
decemberlov
9-19-12, 2:22pm
I really love pineapple and think maybe it's time to explore different fruits. I think it just needs the right sauce to counteract the sweetness. I wonder if fig would be good with ricotta? Certainly with walnuts, which brings in that other interesting flavor. Were they fresh figs, or dried? I suppose you could soak the dried ones and then use. Oohhh...maybe soak the figs in rum to cut the sweetness, then pair with ricotta and walnuts.
I was looking and have seen the fig paired with gorgonzola & bacon.
I believe they were fresh figs that I had.
Soaking them in rum, then pairing with ricotta & walnuts sounds great!
I was looking and have seen the fig paired with gorgonzola & bacon.
I believe they were fresh figs that I had.
Soaking them in rum, then pairing with ricotta & walnuts sounds great!
I gotta try this! I plan to plant a couple of figs this next spring and have a place all picked out, but I don't think I want to wait. maybe I'll try with dried figs..and bacon!
Pistachios! Now that sounds interesting. I've thought of some kind of nut but didn't really know which one (thinking along the lines of cashew chicken) Do you grind the nuts, chop them coarsely or leave them whole?
that steel plate idea sounds intriguing. I'll mention that to the husband and see what we can do. Actually I'll mention it to my brother in law who is more handy.;)
Course chop. You want to have that crunch factor along with the flavor.
I have friends with the Webber pizza grill add on. It works well. I think they said it cost about $150. My 1/4" steel plate works just as good or better and cost me $17. I have it on my gas grill, but it should work just as well over charcoal. Just set the plate on the grill grates over the fire and as soon as its hot, you're ready to go. You know its hot if you toss a drop of water on it and the drop dances like crazy.
I think I'll try that plate idea Gregg. thanks.
Fire bricks/refractory bricks are readily available at most home improvement/building supply stores, and run ~$1.50/brick or so. They work great, though they are not as robust if you drop them as Gregg's steel plate :-)
If you want a steel plate, which also works super great, be aware that recently the price of steel has become insane - I went over to the mainland last month to get a couple small scrap pieces of steel, and it was a bit spendy. If you are patient, you may be able to locate a proper steel plate for free though, if you need one *now* it may be painful. Your best bet for semi-free is any medium-scale metal recycling facility in your area - explain what you need, and they may be willing to let you nab something.
With the fire bricks, are you saying to just line the grill, on top of the grate with the bricks, or are you saying arrange them somehow in the fire? Do you then cook directly on the bricks, or on a pan? I have a large round pizza stone but I'm not wanting to damage it. I wonder if putting it on the grate would work? I think I'd like to try something this weekend.
Just use the bricks as you would a pizza stone, for a first cut. Just remember they are a bit fragile to impacts.
If you get crazy, look at the link I provided above, and turn your Weber into a kiln with bricks and refractory cement. That may be overkill for most though :-)
treehugger
9-20-12, 8:33pm
For another alternative to a pizza stone, that might already be in your kitchen, try a cast iron pan. I used the bottom of a large cast iron skillet, preheated in the oven at 500 degrees, for a bunch of pizzas, and then bought Lodge's cast iron pizza pan (bigger than my skillet). I had a pizza stone once, but it broke, and I was reluctant to buy a replacement since I was afraid of it breaking again. I gather cast iron is not recommended for BBQs, but it works great in my oven. Preheats in less time than a stone, too.
Kara
For another alternative to a pizza stone, that might already be in your kitchen, try a cast iron pan. I used the bottom of a large cast iron skillet, preheated in the oven at 500 degrees, for a bunch of pizzas, and then bought Lodge's cast iron pizza pan (bigger than my skillet). I had a pizza stone once, but it broke, and I was reluctant to buy a replacement since I was afraid of it breaking again. I gather cast iron is not recommended for BBQs, but it works great in my oven. Preheats in less time than a stone, too.
Kara
Well that's an interesting idea. Unfortunately the only cast iron in my kitchen is a small skillet for cornbread. I just can't take the weight of larger cast iron. I did see at Bass Pro a huge cast iron skillet designed for outdoors, I guess over a fire pit. It looked way cool but weighed a ton. They also had a cast iron kettle on little feet that I covet but again the weight is an issue.
Come across any new ideas for toppings?
treehugger
4-8-13, 12:56pm
No new toppings lately, but I did make my first semolina dough yesterday, to try sometime this week. I will top them with the three-pack of Spanish cured meats mentioned above, plus homemade tomato sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, and whatever is sitting around needing to be used.
Kara
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