Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart

Lately, like many of us across the country I’ve been thinking about heat. Now, I’m no stranger to intense heat. I’ve been working in front of a pizza oven for over 40 years and I live in Las Vegas where, one day last week, the temperature topped out at 119 degrees. So, let’s just say heat is a big part of my life. As pizza makers and bread bakers, we…Read More…

A week away from pizza–it was hard. Every time I passed a pizza place on the island of St. Martin I had to fight the desire to check it out as an act of PQ duty. But it was our vacation, Susan and I, and that included a vacation from anything that would draw us back into the things we were vacating. Let’s face it, sometimes you just have to…Read More…

I’m back after some wonderful R&R, and we have lots of new postings for you this week, beginning on Tuesday with the latest Peter’s Blog about my recent trip to the Caribbean full of some pretty amazing non-pizza meals. Can’t wait to fill you in…. On Wednesday, we’ll be posting Brad’s latest creation — a barbecue pizza that meets Tom Carrig’s recent BBQ rant (see the Guest Columns archive) —…Read More…

Note From Peter: Teresa Greenway is a serious home baker and sourdough expert who has been corresponding with me for the past few years. She has written her own beautiful book on all things sourdough, loaded with photos, and is making it available as a free download for anyone who wants to get it from her website (see the link at the end of this article, or go to her…Read More…

I have been corresponding through our email with a Pizza Quester named TJ about making the Buonchristiani Lamb Sausage with Fennel Pizza.  TJ asked a few questions and then went off and had great success making the pizza  (that really is one that you have to try — I love that pizza!).  In one of TJ’s emails he told me about one of his own favorite pizzas.  It’s a thinly…Read More…

A long time ago, I took a trip with my high school buddy, Milan.  We went to Europe one winter to ski and roam around a little.  The two of us didn’t have any real plans, beyond hitting some key ski spots like Chamonix, Zermat, Davos, St Anton, and Kitzbuhel among many others.  We had a stop planned in a small farm town in Slovakia to visit his relatives but,…Read More…

It’s mid-summer now, the tomatoes are coming in like crazy, baseball has started its second season, football pre-season practice might actually get the green light this week, and everybody is trying to get some R&R. This week, I’m taking some time off from Pizza Quest and calling in to the bullpen for relief. Brad English will be doing a Brad’s Blog this week in place of the Peter’s Blog, and…Read More…

On my last couple of visits to Minnesota, I had been hearing about a unique and must see‚ pizza place in Stockholm, Wisconsin, about 90 minutes from the Twin Cities. So this year, during our annual summer visit to see my wife’s family, we decided it was time to make the trip out there.  On our 14th wedding anniversary, my wife, Julie, and I packed up the car with our…Read More…

Okay, so we picked up our smoked albacore at Ruddell’s Smoke House and now what?  Time to make a pizza, of course. Chef Jensen is an inventive cook and has a great eye for presentation as well as a firm grasp on how to use fresh, locally sourced ingredients.  And I’m big on the use of acidity — this time in the form of both hot an cold heirloom tomatoes…Read More…

It’s officially Fish Taco season here at Pizza Quest.  Why not?  It’s summer and there isn’t a better time to enjoy the fresh summery flavors than in a great fish taco!  As you’ve seen in recent webisodes, we stumbled onto two incredible fish taco places while visiting The Cass House Inn in Cayucos, CA.  Both the Taco Temple and Ruddell’s Smokehouse create some of the most delicious fish tacos I…Read More…