Birthday Pizza

All she wanted for her birthday was a fire-up so my gift to Gia was to cook for all her friends.  It almost didn't happen because of the terrible weather.  We actually cancelled the party, then put the party back on, then thought about cancelling again.  It felt like the early seasons of Entourage - Vinny's doin' the movie, Vinny's not doing the movie.  Good thing the party went on because I was getting some awesome crust char and spotting.  Funny because my scale broke so I was mixing dough based on feel.  I mixed the water with a couple cups of flour and then just kept adding flour until it felt right.  I did this three times and made about 25 panuzzi.  Some of the highlights and fan favorites are below, along with a link to the complete album.

CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE ALBUM!

The First of the Night: Marinara

Margherita

Prucola

Mozz, Arugula, Pecorino, White Truffle Oil

Herbs from our garden are plentiful this time of year!

Yo, Let Me Get a Bag Off You

Kind enough to carry it to the car

A popular restaurant strategy is to source local ingredients from organic local farmers. I'm not a restaurant owner so my strategy is a little different. When I need a 30lb bag of Caputo Flour I call the best Neapolitan joint in town and say, "Hey, can I buy a bag off you?" Jonathan Goldsmith, the owner and master artisan of Spacca Napoli in Ravenswood (Profiled Here) was more than happy to oblige. He even carried it to my car! So I got my goods, excellent service, and awesome pizza. It's the best procurement method ever.  Check out the pics.  It's crust like Spacca's that I strive for at every fire-up. We'll see how it comes out tomorrow for Gia's birthday.  

My go-to pizza: Marg with Arugula

Spacca's Booty

Il Padrino - Sopressata, Gaeta Olives, Cacio Cavallo

“Oh, Zio Joe! A’giardiniera fajeesti datu’giardine?”

"Yo, Uncle Joe! You make this giardiniera from your garden...?" 

...because Madre mia it's frickin' hot! This past Tuesday was our last regular season soccer game and, since we're sponsored by my Uncle's club*, he treated us to some pizza. FACT: where there's Zio Joe, there's fire. He grows some serious faceburners in his backyard, and the best part is he doesn't leave home without them. Whether he's bringing his giardiniera to a pizza picnic or pulling a 6" pepper out of his jacket at his nephew's wedding, he's always equipped.    

There he is!

The pizza was from Vince's. Consider this your Pizzeria Profile, Vince.

Zio Joe's giardiniera is also multi-functional and perfect for picnics. Just dab some of the oil behind your ear and on your wrist and the mosquitoes will scatter. 

*Um…it's hard to explain.

Yes, There Was an Ice Sculpture at My Wedding

And yes, it's been almost three months since my last post, but how about that ice piece huh?  It was planted at the sweet table as a surprise from my family.  Too bad I couldn't take it home.  There were Forza Pizza surprises scattered all throughout the reception.  Like that deep dish pizza cake from my bride and a shameless plug from my best-man-brother during his speech.  

A lot of big things have happened to me in the past two months, most importantly I moved away (three blocks) from my oven and into a home with my wife. Wait, I mean, the most important thing to happen to me was getting married - It's official, she's Mrs. Forza Pizza.  And, not as important on this particular scale, I ate the shit out of some pizza in Italy on the honeymoon. However, not in Naples because the ruthless villains at American Airlines decided to cancel my flight. I had to substitute Naples pizza for crappy tourist pizza in Venice. Although they have awesome espresso, that place stinks. I don't care what anybody says. I still made it to Rome and had some good slices in Sardinia too so don't worry.  Pics and a blog will definitely follow shortly.  And then the next one will follow shortly after that...I'm back and it's time to cook!

(Here are some pics from my last Italy Trip) 

One more thing; most people put additions on their house for better quality of living.  Me, I'm considering a subtraction for better quality of living...a big ass brick oven!

Pizzeria Profile: Dough Boys

Another "Pizzeria Profile" hot off the press.  Those who follow me on twitter (@ForzaPizza) know I was sharing some squares at Dough Boys earlier tonight.  There, five types of pizza share space on the menu: Deep Dish, Chicago-style Thin, New York by the slice, Sicilian, and a 3' long Pizza al Metro that serves 8-10 people.  Although they all sound appealing, it's not like me to pass up Chicago-style thin on a first visit.  I also squared up twice this weekend so I had to get a little adventurous and go with bacon, zucchini, and garlic for toppings.  As usual, the pizza will go uncommented, but there were three pretty cool things I noticed about Dough Boys:

1. They don't charge for garlic and basil.
2. It's right on the UIC campus.
3. When the cashier realized she forgot to give a guy salad dressing, she ran out the door screaming and made sure he got it.  That's service.

Dough Boys | 626 S. Racine Ave. | Chicago, IL 60607

twitter: @Dough_Boys

Bacon, Zucchini, and Garlic from Dough Boys

Linearly Round

Squaring Up