Forza Pizza Blog

Pizza Home Improvement

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 02 May 2012 02:05:00 +0000

Now that I got a Wifey I get in a little trouble when I mess up the kitchen, so I had to come up with something. 55lb flour bags are messy, hard to carry, impossible to close, and God forbid your basement floods with one on the ground you're screwed. So I went to Home Depot, spent $4 on a bucket, and cut up the bag for decoration. A small price for such a great convenience. It actually takes two buckets to hold a 55lb bag.

The flour companies can thank me later. You're welcome, Signore Caputo.

Send Forza Pizza to NYC!

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:56:00 +0000

I've been trying to plan a pizza trip to NYC for a while, but it's been hard to pull the trigger. Maybe it would be easier to just win the trip instead. That's why I entered Cavit Wine's Pizza Making Contest. Each home pizzaiolo submits their best pizza and the one with the most votes goes to NYC to compete for the Grand Prize Trip to Italy! The pizza I chose submit was a pancetta, ricotta, and crispy potato combination that I made on Mother's Day last year. I think it's got a shot! The competition is setup through Facebook so follow the link below and VOTE FOR ME!!

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR MY PIZZA!!

Opening Day 2012: All Work No Play

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 01:50:00 +0000

Sometimes you gotta work on your game before you can entertain. Which is why this Opening Day I chose not to invite the usual panel of eaters and focus on the pizza. I understand it's anti-social but recipe development often gets lost in a pizza party. I don't like trying new things when I got critics in the yard, and there were a couple variables at play. I used a different dough recipe, a mixer for the first time, and had my entire work station set up outside.

The new recipe kicked out a nice hole structure and using a mixer definitely produced a smoother dough. Note to any soon-to-be husband: let your future wife register for the Kitchenaid mixer...forget the CrockPot. Not only did it help the recipe, but it kept the kitchen clean too. Mixing by hand is a mess!

Would-be eaters, I'm not trying to rub it in, but I made 14 pizzas for only five people. There were a lot of leftovers. Don't worry though, you're the ones who reap the benefits of these study sessions.

See The Complete Opening Day 2012 Album Here!!

Check out the cross-section of the rapini and grape pizza.

Queen Margherita

Bianca - Mozz, Ricotta, Olive Oil, Basil

Offseason 2011-2012

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 22:48:00 +0000

Put away the square pans and forget about the piddly 500 degree indoor ovens, the offseason is over. This past Saturday we were outside working with fire for the first time since August 20th, 2011. That's 232 long, cold, and pale days. Keeping me sane were the four or five indoor oven experiments, some better than others. Like the New Year's Day sfincione (below) that was far and beyond the results of this experiment. Take a peek at some of the offseason highlights and then click through to view the whole album.

Check Out the Entire Offseason Album Here!!

New Year's Day Sfincione

Offseason Booty Shot

"Catered" Pizzas for my Mother-In-Law's Bday Party

An Offseason Square

I'm Forza, You're Fugezi

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 19:29:00 +0000

Yes, I am one of those people that say I'm from Chicago but live in the suburbs. "I can throw a rock to Chicago!!" So, in order to keep up with city action, I subscribe to things like UrbanDaddy. It's one of my urban informants, and if you follow along, you would've seen today's news. A pizzeria opened up in Lincoln Park called FORZA! I don't know about trademarks, patents, copyrights, and all that* but I know that I'm the real Forza Pizza! Don't get it twisted.

*Anyone who does know about trademarks, patents, copyrights and all that let's take care of this!...Kidding.

Par Bake Experiment #1

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:20:00 +0000

Failed. I didn't bake it long enough.

Once you lay sauce, a generous amount of cheese, and toppings, the crust isn't going to thoroughly bake before the cheese burns. Therefore, you par bake. Makes sense, however, I underestimated my dough. I thought it would bake a lot more during gametime. It didn't, which means I ended the pregame prematurely. The toppings kept down the crust and I didn't get the spring or hole structure that I wanted. You can see below when I stopped the par bake. I'm pretty disappointed too, because I made good toppings. I sauteed little pancetta squares, mushrooms, and garlic to make my topping which came out very flavorful. I also made a side of rapini with grapes and toasted hazelnuts that went over well with the judges. I made a good square, but I feel like there was an awesome pizza in there somewhere. Next time.

Wasted Talent

Still good eats.

Squared Up

Grapes and hazelnuts? What would Nanna say?

Pizzeria Profile: Caffe Italia

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 22:54:00 +0000

Gianni grabbed the sticks to
make us lunch.

My buddy Gianni can be politely considered a restaurant rat. Name a local Italian restaurant and he's probably been in their kitchen. Today he invited me to check out a new cafe on Harlem Ave. appropriately called Caffe Italia. I know what you're thinking, "great, just what Harlem Ave. needs, another Italian cafe..." You're right, there are cafes every 50 feet on Harlem but this one is different. Number one because you can see in their windows, and number two because it's kickin' out brick oven pizzas, house roasted coffee, and other contemporary Italian dishes. They inspired a "Pizzeria Profile". Check it out.

Caffe Italia | 2625 N. Harlem Ave. | Chicago, IL 60647

Gianni's sopressata, eggplant caponata, mozzarella.

Dressing up a prosciutto and arugula.

Caffe Italia's Booty Shot

Non pizza, but Baby Octopus Sliders are always fun.

Birthday Pizza

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:30:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:01:00 +0000

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?”

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:32:00 +0000

"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

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 03:35:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 18 May 2011 05:10:00 +0000

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:

They don't charge for garlic and basil.
It's right on the UIC campus.
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

2011 Opening Day: Mothers Day

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 11 May 2011 05:07:00 +0000

Mothers Day Margherita

This had to be the longest hibernation season yet. How can May 8th be the first fire-up of the year? That's terrible, so with Mothers Day coming up it was do-or-die. There was going to be a fire-up no matter what, and I was going to let Mommy tailor the menu. A gorgeous opening day almost makes everything worth the wait. The upside to a long offseason is, like a pro athlete, I used it to improve a feature - my dough recipe. It was only a small adjustment in quantities but it really helped. The dough was lighter and more airy than ever before. I made 16 panuzzi Saturday morning and put them in the fridge for about 24 hours. I took them out 6 or 7 hours before fire-up so they could adjust to room temperature and rise a little more.

As usual, there were many deviations from the menu and, as usual, I lost a pizza due to stretching the dough too thin allowing it to stick to the board. That's seriously the worst feeling. Almost as bad as the ravenous chants, "fold it over and throw it in, make a calzone!" Happens every time, it doesn't come out nice, and no one ever eats it...every time. I salvaged the toppings and pitched the dough. Man down. Check out some of the Mothers Day Pizzas below and the rest on the Albums page:

Mushroom, Pecorino, White Truffle Oil, Arugula

Pancetta, Crispy "Sweet" Potatoes, Ricotta, Mozzarella

A fun twist to the party was when my grandpa brought out some grilled and fried calamari. Not to be shown-up, I instinctively sliced up some grilled shrimp and met it with pancetta, spinach, chili oil, and a couple splashes of sauce. A "Surf 'n Turf" if you will.

Surf 'n Turf

Nonno's Calamari Mista

I always wake up early on pizza day, but Sunday I still had to go grocery shopping, shake-down the dude at EZ Pantry for some firewood, drop off flowers by my future mother-in-law, and pickup a gift for my mom. All while making sure my brother at home kept an eye on the fire. I felt like Henry Hill in Goodfellas when he was freakin', "Tell Michael not to let the sauce stick and keep stirrin' it..." It was a pumped up morning and even better afternoon; a great day for a fire-up and I couldn't have been happier. This is shaping up to be the busiest summer of my life, which means it is the most important summer for pizza. When there is a lot going on or I feel a little wigged out, there is no better therapy than watching a pizza cook in my oven.

Click Here for the Mothers Day Album

Click Here for the 2010-2011 Offseason Album
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Pizzeria Profile: Avec

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 08:12:00 +0000

This "Pizzeria Profile" is fresh. It's been less than an hour since I discovered the pizza at Avec. Commonly referred to as the trend-setting originator of the wine bar , Avec has revolutionized Chicago dining as well as garnered their fair share of national attention. Dishes like chorizo stuffed medjool dates with bacon and wood-oven roasted pork shoulder with rock shrimp have become bigger Chicago celebrities than Vince Vaughn and Mike Ditka...I'm lying, no one is bigger than Ditka, but now you know I'm serious. All this local fame and national recognition in magazines such as Food & Wine and GQ never let me know they serve a shaved speck, blue cheese, and spinach pizza with golden raisins. Maybe because it's the only pizza on the menu, or maybe because they don't even call it a pizza. According to Avec, they serve a wood-fired flatbread. So when does a flatbread become a pizza? And vice versa? Well, call it what YOU wanna call it and, in true "PP" fashion, let the pics help you decide.

Avec | 615 W. Randolph St. |Chicago, IL 60661

http://www.avecrestaurant.com/

Shaved speck, blue cheese, and spinach pizza with golden raisins

Avec's Booty

Is it flatbread or is it pizza?

The Great Indoors - Part III

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:07:00 +0000

I probably could take the oven out of hibernation by now, the weather has actually been beautiful. It's just that I've been booked the past couple weekends and then caught a storm when I was free. Bad Weather + Bad Timing = Back to the indoor oven. It's always fun, but I like to see some fire when I cook! Thankfully though, this time inside was pretty successful. I enjoyed most of the topping combinations and the dough came out better than before:

3.75lbs Tipo "00" flour

1 liter warm water

3 tsp Yeast

3 tbsp Salt

18 Hour Cold Ferment, 8 Hour Warm Ferment

The warm ferment should've been longer because the dough wasn't completely room temperature. To bake, I brought my firebrick-lined oven up to 500deg on bake, and just before putting in the first pizza I switched to broil. If I didn't have a pizza ready to follow the one coming out, I would repeat the bake-broil switch. I will probably stick with this as it worked nicely. The crusts all came out nice and crispy, a little chewy, but not jaw-tiring. Expectedly, the crust on the first pizza came out the best being the lucky one to hop in after an hour of pre-heat.

Pizza #1 - Margherita w/ Arugula and Shaved Parm

Pizza #2 - Pancetta, Crispy Potatoes and Ricotta

Pizza #3 - Broccoli and Tomato

Pizza #4 - Sausage 'n Peppers

Pizza #5 - Sausage, Rapini, and Grapes

The pizza that left an impression was the broccoli and tomato. I'm a big fan of crunchy, cooked, broccoli which is why all I did was mix it with some olive oil, salt, and pepper before baking. You'll definitely see broccoli this summer. The pancetta/potato/ricotta pizza also was a nice combination, but the one I wasn't thrilled about was the sausage/rapini/grape. I think I should've added some garlic when I pre-cooked the rapini. If my mom was there she wouldn't have let me forget it. Will do for next time...which will be outside. No excuse; You shouldn't see another "Great Indoors" post before November.

Slice: My Pie Monday

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 23:31:00 +0000

The pizza-lovers at Slice are continually posting great pizza content on their blog. One of my favorite re-curring posts is "My Pie Monday" where they display pizza pictures sent in by many of their devout readers. I love seeing what goes down in other people's kitchens, and I look forward to this post every week. This week, I've been lucky enough to snag the front page. Check out one of my Margherita and Arugula pizzas from this weekend as well as some great looking pizzas from other Slicer's.

Sadly, it's still Hibernation Season but catch the rest of my pizzas this week in another Great Indoors post.

Pizzeria Profile: The Good Pie, St. Louis

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 22:06:00 +0000

I have to admit this edition of "Pizzeria Profiles" isn't completely opinion-free. As I was deciding which pizzeria to profile, this one stuck out the most. These pictures from The Good Pie in Saint Louis are beautiful. I don't want to say much more than that, I just want to see if you agree. Check them out and let me know if you'll stop at The Good Pie next time you're in St. Louis.

The Good Pie | 3137 Olive St. | Saint Louis, MO 63103

http://www.thegoodpie.com/

The Margherita

Mast' Nicola - Pancetta, Basil, Pecorino

Atina - Tomato, Prosciutto di Parma, Roasted Mushroom, Pecorino

The Good Pie's Booty Shot

Another Shot of the Margherita

Crust Shot

Pizza is the New Hotness

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 01:18:00 +0000

It's fashion week in New York, which means eight days of people in NY telling us what's hot. For some that might mean knee-high boots, oversized bags, or skin tight speedos, but for others, like my sister Gia, the new hotness is pizza. Gia has a few friends in the fashion industry so every year she heads east to take in the trendy sights, and every year I volunteer my opinions on where she should eat. Atop of that list is always a pizza place.

Although it killed me to think my own sister could beat me to NYC's top pizzerias and be hand-to-face with a brussels sprout and pancetta pizza from Motorino, or a burrata pie from Keste', I couldn't lead her astray. Besides, it's Fashion Week, she'll probably spend too much time on the red carpet to even have time for a pizzeria. WRONG! They must really spread out those fashion shows because how was I supposed to know Gia would find time to hit up three pizzerias, an Italian sandwich shop, and an Italian-Food-Mega-Authentic-Theme-Park in only three days? I wasn't supposed to know, which is why the events that followed hit me like a bag of flour right in the salsiccia.

Thursday, 8:01pm I get the subtle yet snide picture message without caption...as if it needed one:

(click pictures to enlarge)

I emoticonly-shouted for the next twenty-nine minutes until she hit me with the infamous brussels and pancetta, immediately followed by a booty-shot, then a crimini, olive, and spicy sausage pizza, and finally a taunting shot of our friend Claudio about to handle a Diavola. "It hurts!"

"It was good, seriously, Berto. I wish I could've stayed hungry because I would've ordered another one. You have to try it!" Ya...I know. My responses stopped and I didn't hear from Gia and Claudio till 1pm the next day, probably right around the time their Motorino-hangover expired and their cravings resurfaced.

I love how Gia feeling bad begins with a "Hahaha". Ouch, Gia, ouch. I then confessed to having a mini-meltdown on twitter, to which she had the nerve to inquire about freelance positions on FP. Onto Friday when I was expecting a non-pizzeria picture. I figured she got the pizza out of the way early. Then, once again, the no-caption picture message leaving me hung out to dry on location, topping combinations, opinions, etc... Just three rapid fires from what I later found out was Arturo's in West Village.

Mushroom and olive, rapini and tomato, prosciutto and mushroom pizzas from Arturo's.

Gia said they "weren't the biggest fans," so I can live with that, Arturo's was never on my list so it doesn't hurt as bad. Actually, her next message, although pizza-less, was a lot worse. Here's Gia and Claudio back at their torture station with a "no big deal, it's just lunch" picture message of a prosciutto, mozzarella, fried eggplant, and red pepper sandwich from DeFontes of Brooklyn. Ya, nothing I would like on there, don't worry.

Defontes of Brooklyn

I'm not even mad, that sandwich looks amazing. Of all the pizza-porn she sent me, I kept going back to check out the sandwich. That is, until five hours later, I receive the proverbial pizza cutter in the back. I was afraid this might happen:

Gia, just because I couldn't stop angrily clenching my fists or jealously biting my lip, doesn't mean I hate you. It just meant I was in for another long night of tantalizing picture messages. I braced myself and let her play all my cards. I told her to make sure she doesn't leave Keste' without speaking to the owner, Roberto Caporuscio. From what I hear, he is a great guy and a truly passionate Pizzaiolo. A man with whom I'd love to get into some deep pizza conversation.

Four hours later comes a back-to-backer. One from directly behind Signore Caporuscio's workbench and another of a beautiful piece of house-made mozzarella with prosciutto and basil subtitled "sent from the chef". Wow, she's really doing it. She's living the "Keste' Experience" that plays in my head every 3-4 weeks. She's having appetizers and, any minute now, Claudio and her will be getting their pizzas.

The Keste' Family Members.

Low and Behold, the Capricciosa, Burrata, and Margherita right on schedule. All equally beautiful, but none as seductive as the Burrata. I want you. "Berto, he's the sweetest guy. He gave me his card and expects you to email him about your oven. He comes to Chicago a lot, too! He's so sweet! Email him! He'll remember, we had such a great time and he gave me 6 kisses, both cheeks three times!" OK, OK, relax! I knew Gia would make a fine Forza Pizza Field Agent and it looks like she confirmed all the nice rumors about Roberto.

On Sunday, since Gia had a little time to kill before her flight she headed to Eataly. Also worth mentioning, at this point I'm convinced Fashion Week could be compressed into 3 or 4 hours. If you're not familiar with Eataly, it's basically like all the products of Italy got thrown into a box for Mario Battali and Joe Bastianich to hand-pick and make available in a New York City Mega-Store (here's a nice overview from Serious Eats). Again, there's probably nothing I would like inside there right? But, when my sister sends a picture of a woman slicing the biggest piece of mortadella I've ever seen followed by a marinated sardine from David Pasternack's Il Pesce, and then asks me if I want anything I can't even respond.

It was seriously over. Gia was getting on a plane and I just straight-up stopped responding. Now, it's Monday and she's back in Chicago, where I can easily re-live any food escapades she may have. Then, as the coast was clearing, my phone vibrates a picture message. Five minutes later Gia's never-punctual caption arrived: "forgot one". She didn't even eat there! She just wanted to make it clear that she could've...and for only 99 cents.

Based on photographic evidence from a Forza Pizza Field Agent, New York is displaying all the latest fashion trends: Diavola, Capricciosa, Burrata, and Margherita. All of which better start showing up in my neighborhood. Till then, let me go delete the biggest and most delicious text message in history and plan a trip to New York City once and for all.

Hibernation Season is the Longest Season

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:10:00 +0000

We got pummeled with snow the last couple days and my baby is bored. This hibernation stuff is not for her.

Forno Campo de' Fiori

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 03:18:00 +0000

This movie puts me in a trance every time. It's not all about pizza, but you won't mind. It's a promo video for my favorite pizzeria and bakery in Rome, Il Forno Campo de' Fiori. I was there in 2009 and, it may not be gum or an arm patch, but this video is how I handle withdrawal. CLICK HERE to watch and get hungry!

CLICK HERE to watch the video and get hungry!

Sorry I couldn't embed the video, but there was no option for that and I didn't want to rip off their whole website by hard-coding it. Hope that was appetizing.

The Great Indoors - Part II

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 04:17:00 +0000

With snow on the ground and temperatures in the 20's, my oven is still in hibernation. So, just like last year, I'm back to experimenting with the indoor oven. I was very happy with the topping combinations and presentation of the pizzas, but I definitely had better results last year, The Great Indoors - Part I. Before I get into the nit-picky reasons why, let's get to the menu and pictures.

Pizza #1 - Margherita

Pizza #2 - Heirloom Tomatoes, Ricotta, Mozzarella, Arugula, Shaved Parmigiano

Pizza #3 - Sausage, Mushroom, Mozzarella

Pizza #4 - Green Olive, Persillade, Mozzarella, Prosciutto

Pizza #5 - Five Cheese (Mozzarella, Asiago, Ricotta, Romano, Parmesan)

One of the pizzas I was most happy with was #2 (heirlooms). The two Italian markets where I usually shop don't have heirloom tomatoes, so I was happy to see them at Trader Joe's. I love the unripe brightness they bring to pizza. I'd top them over regular red tomatoes any day.

The other favorite was #4 (persillade). I took the topping idea from a delicious looking pizza I saw on Slice. Persillade is basically parsley, garlic, and olive oil all food processed together. For the record, if you ask your Italian Mom "5 cloves or 6?" she is going to say 6...it was a very garlicky pizza.

Last time I posted the indoor dough recipe I used, but this time I'm going to leave it off. Like I said, the first round was better and it was due to the dough. I don't want you to try it. I used 3/4 all-purpose flour, and 1/4 Caputo 00 with a 24 hour room temperature rise. Like last time I lined the oven rack with firebricks, but even when I got them above 500 deg, the bottom still didn't cook well. The crust was delicious and acheived great char, but for some reason the bottom tasted like flour. Obviously, the dough recipe wasn't my favorite, but I can't wait to try all these pizzas in the outdoor oven. I'm sure the brick oven crust will send these pizzas into my favorites. As for the indoors, experimentation never ends!

The Pizzas of 2010

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 00:24:00 +0000

As we close the books on 2010, it's only right to look back on this year's pizzas. The first video is a compilation of all the pizzas I made in 2010, in both the outdoor and indoor oven. The video is a lot shorter than I like, but it was hard to fire-up the oven this year.

The second video slides through some of the pizzas I ate this year. There were more, but sometimes I just like to eat and keep my camera in my pocket. I chose one subject per pizzeria and, as you can see, some aren't the prettiest of models. Others, however, will make you pause the video to stare a little longer.

On a personal level It was a very good year, but, on a pizza level, there is some work that needs to be done. I look forward to 2011 and kicking Forza Pizza up a notch.

Pizzeria Profile: The Clevelander, Miami

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 22:38:00 +0000

Yes, there was more than one pizza stop during the Miami Bachelor Party. This second one happened to be in the lobby of where we were staying, The Clevelander Hotel. Who would've thought a hotel that greets you with ear plugs in case you want to sleep before the DJ stops at 5am, also has a brick oven in the kitchen. That's my kind of room service. So, without further adieu, our next "Pizzeria Profile" puts you in the heart of South Beach as you decide if "The Cleve" is where you want to get some pizza.

The Clevelander Hotel | 1020 Ocean Drive | Miami, FL 33139

http://www.clevelander.com/

Pizza Playlist

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Picking a playlist almost always depends on the situation: classical goes nicely with studying, hard rock matches up with working out, country doesn't go with anything, and techno, well, goes with everything. Here are three songs that definitely pair well with pizza making and eating. They're in Youtube format so you can check out these pizzaioli sling some pies while you jam. Sorry no subtitles, but they're all about pizza...trust me.

See these and other fun pizza videos on Forza Pizza's Youtube Channel.

A Pizza by Aurelio Fierro - Check out that move around the 1:03 mark!
Artist Unknown, help if you can! - A Pizza e' Nata 'Caaaaaa!

Fatte 'na Pizza by Pino Daniele - I need a bigger oven! A

The Honeymoon Game

noreply@blogger.com (*) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 00:53:00 +0000

"For my honeymoon I'm going tooooo...Ocean. Do over. I'm going tooooo.... Ocean. Do over. I'm going tooooo...Tanzania!"

It's The Honeymoon Game. Don't act like you've never played it. Close your eyes, spin the globe, and wherever your finger lands is where you're going on your honeymoon. Can you tell I have an older sister?

In typical lazy Sunday fashion, I began typing things into Google Maps just to see what would come up. So, naturally, the first thing I searched was "Chicago Pizza" and out popped this freckle-faced map of The Windy City. Perfect for The Honeymoon Game. I closed my eyes, started spiraling my pointer finger towards the screen, and "dunk", looks like I'll be honeymooning at Armand's Pizzeria in Elmhurst, IL. Future Mrs. Forza is going to be thrilled! I'll call tomorrow to see if they have any all-inclusive deals.

Congratulations, Armand's, you're next. It's only fair that you'll be featured in the first "Pizzeria Profile" when I'm back in town. I thought about "spinning the globe" for every profile but I'd end up eating at a whole bunch of Chicagoland Domino's. Not happening.

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