Brad's Corner
Brad’s Corner: Wood Fired “Kundalini Cauliflower” Pizza
I was talking to Peter the other day and, since I was going to make some pizzas, I asked if he had any ingredient ideas he might throw out for me to play with. He said “Cauliflower”! I really do like cauliflower, but to be honest, it’s one of those things that still has my childhood memories of flavorless, steamed cauliflower ingrained in how I perceive it. It’s an ever-present…Read More…
Brad’s “Smashed” Tomato Sauce
The full name of this sauce is actually Big Brad’s Super Fantastic Smashed Tomato Sauce, but I am only mostly serious about that. I like to alternate the sauces I’m using to find new flavor combinations, textures, and themes for my pizzas. I do make a lot of pizzas and I’m always looking for something new, or ways to make something different and, ultimately, “better.” I often use cherry tomatoes alone on…Read More…
Brad’s Corner: Sausage, Fontina and Pesto Pizza
Remember when mom or grandma used to make you a toasted grilled cheese sandwich when you were still an innocent child? There was something comforting about that simplest of meals. First of all someone made it for you and often went the extra step of presenting it cut up in bite sized pieces, or with a warm bowl of soup if you were lucky and it was raining outside. Right?!!…Read More…
Brad’s Corner: Fresh Pesto and Shrimp Pizza
I felt like pesto. Good pesto. Fresh pesto! So, I looked around for some recipes that felt right and set about coming up with a few pizza ideas using some fresh pesto. It’s really quite simple and like anything, you can add and subtract and come up with your own version quite easily, which is really what cooking and enjoying food is all about — at least for me. I want…Read More…
Brad’s South Bay Sausage Pizza with Clams
I was in the mood for a sausage pizza with milky fresh mozzarella. It would be too easy to just fire up the sausage in the oven and plop it down on the pizza and call it a day. This is Pizza Quest after all! I wanted to do something different – not just a pizza with sausage but a really good pizza that was about sausage. As you hopefully have seen on…Read More…
Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza? Why not!
This pizza has been formulating in my mind for some time. It finally had it’s chance to become a reality this past weekend. It was raining. It was raining as long and consistently as I can remember here in Los Angeles. We knew the rain was coming and looked forward to a day off to just hang out, watch some football and make something to eat that served the purpose…Read More…
A pizza for a rainy day…
It was one of those days. It had rained recently and although the sky was blue there were some clouds that lingered. You could still feel the presence of the rain in the cool fall air. I was off from work and was looking forward to picking the kids up from school and surprising them with some piping hot pizzas out of the oven. We had a great little family…Read More…
Down-side is Sunny-side
Egg on a pizza!!! To me, egg is one of those unique ingredients on a pizza that, when done right, can elevate the experience of enjoying a pizza from good to great — from a meal to an indelible moment in time! There is something special about getting the egg just right – sunny side-up, with a runny beautiful yolk that you can spread across the cooked pizza, essentially, creating…Read More…
Finnochiona Salumi Pizza
Sweet. Tangy vinegar. Red Wine. Pepper (big pepper!). Sweet salt (sweet sweet salt!). Fennel. What am I talking about? I am writing this while savoring a Finnochiona Salami from Salumi Artisan Cured Meats in Seattle. I mean this: it is performing a circus act with my taste buds! To my palate this salumi reveals a balanced explosion of sweetness that starts with a juicy red wine richness and then reveals a sweet vinegar taste,…Read More…
Spicy Marinated Mushroom Pizza
I was strolling through my local Whole Foods market one day and, as I often do, got stuck at the olive bar. Contemplating which olives to get to use on some pizza, or just to enjoy, I was drawn to these lovely marinated mushrooms. I popped one in my mouth when nobody was looking…maybe. They were delicious with a little herbed buttery start with a zingy vinegary finish. This would…Read More…