I Think We Need A Dedicated Pizza Thread

Growing up, my Italian grandmother used pizzas as a way to use up leftovers so she sort of made refrigerator pizza the way some people make refrigerator soup. The idea that somehow a pizza needed a recipe would have confused her terribly. So except for anchovy fillets and pineapple, I'll happily eat most any kind that comes within reach.

I don't have a particular favorite style. Nona made hers out of refrigerator rolls, fergawdsake. My current pizzeria of choice happens to make a thin crust but the deciding factor is that they make it from sourdough. Merciful heavens! I can't remember when I've had one so good.

However, on the very rare occasion when I've been in Chicago, believe me I will happily tuck into a deep dish and when I scratch make my own, the crust is more like bread than a cracker. This current obsession with hyper thin 'Neapolitan' style crusts I believe to be a bit precious. Still, if it's well done with quality toppings, any pizza is far better than no pizza at all.

eagle2250 said:

I really do miss those Chicago Style Deep Dish pizzas. One slice/wedge would fill you up, leaving all those wonderful leftovers for further study!

Click to expand...

I know that they are available in the frozen food section or online but I can't help but believe that they just won't be the same.

There was one I had in Frankfurt-am-Main . . . It was advertised as "Originalische Italianische Pizza" and for a homesick GI it sounded just the ticket. Uh, no. The pepperoni was pepperoncini, the cheese was Ermenthaler and the sauce was--odd. It wasn't exactly bad but it was definitely the strangest pizza I ever ate. That was 1970. Things have improved a lot in the ensuing half century.

IMO, anchovies are a condiment in sauces and stews, well mashed or just as paste. As a topping, they're too strong for my taste--and I like fish!

I've had the same problem with Gorgonzola cheese.

Mayonnaise? Really? MAYONNAISE?

She's Italian. Hers probably are, too.

I'm Italian and I know of where I speak.

Howard said:

I'd like a slice of that.

Click to expand...

I even have a Chicago pizza pan! Unfortunately, I made the mistake of buying a family size. And it must have had a hungry family in mind because once you get the monster loaded it takes about eight people to eat it. Even the small would leave you a lot of cold breakfast pizzas waiting in the fridge. I wonder if there is a Chicago style pizzaria in Portland, somewhere.