NicksPizza
New member
As Kim and I wander farther afield and sample more and more of our colleagues’ pizzas, we find that there are an amazing difference of concepts/profiles/philosophies for building and serving pizzas. Some are appealing to us and some are not to our taste. One thing that will always stand out is poor execution.
I have now corrupted some friends who often dine with us, and they cannot just eat dinner anymore. It’s about the appreciation and understanding of the meal now. So, we had a pizza this week at a place we have dined at several times . . . they have good entrees, pastas and other goodies, so we’ve never had their pizza. We asked them to build us a 4-quarters pie: cheese, meatball, pepperoni, and their hawaiian pie. We may have tripped them up, but the pie lacked a certain something. It was not miserable by any stretch, but it just wasn’t our kind of pizza. Moreover, it was not well executed in that there was scant tomato, a heavy load of cheese . . . and a really prominant gum line in all four sections. This was a somewhat pricey pizza level, and not what we expected.
The execution isn’t what struck me . . . it was the stark lack of tomato or any other flavor but cheese. I know some places make their pizzas that way. There are people who want a “cheese delivery system” in the shape of a pizza. I just find it lacks finesse, and vision of the pie . . . anyone can dump a bunch of cheese on a dough and melt it in an oven. We will try it again on the assumption they just had an ‘off pizza’.
It just really struck me the really wide variety of approaches to accomplishing this pizza task. Some cringe at any cheese oiling, while some find it part of the orthodoxy of all good pies . . . . some highlight the tomato . . . some overwhelm the poor 'mater with a pound of spices/seasoning . . . cupping/charring for pepperoni is a must . . . or a sacrilidge . . . . heavy cheese versus moderate sheese . . . . mozzarella ONLY or blended cheeses . . . .
I just know that given the quality tomatoes I use (Stanislaus), my style is definitely to balance and highlight the complimentary flavors of lightly seasoned tomato with toasty mozz/prov cheese on a yeasty, chewy base.
I have now corrupted some friends who often dine with us, and they cannot just eat dinner anymore. It’s about the appreciation and understanding of the meal now. So, we had a pizza this week at a place we have dined at several times . . . they have good entrees, pastas and other goodies, so we’ve never had their pizza. We asked them to build us a 4-quarters pie: cheese, meatball, pepperoni, and their hawaiian pie. We may have tripped them up, but the pie lacked a certain something. It was not miserable by any stretch, but it just wasn’t our kind of pizza. Moreover, it was not well executed in that there was scant tomato, a heavy load of cheese . . . and a really prominant gum line in all four sections. This was a somewhat pricey pizza level, and not what we expected.
The execution isn’t what struck me . . . it was the stark lack of tomato or any other flavor but cheese. I know some places make their pizzas that way. There are people who want a “cheese delivery system” in the shape of a pizza. I just find it lacks finesse, and vision of the pie . . . anyone can dump a bunch of cheese on a dough and melt it in an oven. We will try it again on the assumption they just had an ‘off pizza’.
It just really struck me the really wide variety of approaches to accomplishing this pizza task. Some cringe at any cheese oiling, while some find it part of the orthodoxy of all good pies . . . . some highlight the tomato . . . some overwhelm the poor 'mater with a pound of spices/seasoning . . . cupping/charring for pepperoni is a must . . . or a sacrilidge . . . . heavy cheese versus moderate sheese . . . . mozzarella ONLY or blended cheeses . . . .
I just know that given the quality tomatoes I use (Stanislaus), my style is definitely to balance and highlight the complimentary flavors of lightly seasoned tomato with toasty mozz/prov cheese on a yeasty, chewy base.
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