Pizza Quest with Peter Reinhart

Lately I’ve been thinking about pizza and the industrial revolution. Ok, I know we think of pizza making as a craft or even an art form, but let’s face it; before the recent artisan pizza renaissance the state of pizza was in pretty sorry shape. So how did something that was an expression of individuality in the hands of a great pizza maker like Antonio Pero (founder of Totonno’s) become…Read More…

Here’s a great pizza from Kelly Whitaker of Boulder’s fabulous Pizzeria Basta. {youtube}bwjvziBf-5E{/youtube}   We asked him to create something on the spot, using Bel Gioioso Fontina cheese and he quickly pulled together a few other great ingredients: speck (smoked prosciutto), regular prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, local mushrooms, and a garnish of arugula. We all loved it! (I got to eat the slice you see me with in the video but…Read More…

I discovered this in northern Italy, in the Ligurian town of Recco, just south of Genoa. I’m in love with it!! It is made with the simplest of all doughs yet makes an extraordinary type of unusual focaccia. The dough is unleavened and, when rolled out paper thin, is not all that different from Greek phyllo (aka, fillo) dough. It is used not only in the Ligurian Focaccia col Formaggio…Read More…

Hi Everyone,We had a great demo today at Johnson & Wales University (JWU –JayWoo as we call it) by Chef Ben Roche, the Executive Pastry Chef at Moto Restaurant in Chicago. For those who don’t know about Moto, it is one of the few molecular gastronomy restaurants in the United States, featuring a 20 course tasting menu (also a 10 course version for the less adventurous) consisting of wildly imaginative…Read More…

Hi Everyone, We had a great demo today at Johnson & Wales University (JWU –JayWoo as we call it) by Chef Ben Roche, the Executive Pastry Chef at Moto Restaurant in Chicago. For those who don’t know about Moto, it is one of the few molecular gastronomy restaurants in the United States, featuring a 20 course tasting menu (also a 10 course version for the less adventurous) consisting of wildly…Read More…

Hi Everyone, This week we will be posting a new instructional video from Kelly Whitaker of Pizzeria Basta. His previous video, showcasing a wonderful burrata cheese appetizer, was such a hit we’ve decided to bring him back for an encore. This video will post on Thursday (and, if you missed it, you can see his previous video on the Instructionals page in the archives). On Wednesday, I’ll be posting one…Read More…

Note to readers from Peter: This is the the second part of Jenn Burn’s recent adventure in Costa Rica, picking beans on an organic coffee farm as part of a work study project. Jenn is a student at Davidson College, just outside of Charlotte, and has previously had numerous articles published that chronicle her transition from teenager to young adulthood (I hope to run some more of those here in…Read More…

During the webisode segments that we’ve posted during the past weeks we’ve spent a lot of time at Pizzeria Mozza and LaBrea Bakery, but have heard only a little from Nancy Silverton, the creator of these amazing pizzas. We still have a few more segments to share with you from Pizzeria Mozza before we move on to other exciting places but this week, at last, we’ll hear from Nancy herself….Read More…

I’ve been playing with Peter’s Herb Oil recipe for a while – ever since I first read his book American Pie “My Search for the Perfect Pizza”.  I have only focused on using it with Pizza, but he has some very interesting suggestions and ideas I’d like to try some time. I woke up early the other morning, about 5:00 AM, and realized that I while I wanted to sleep,…Read More…

  This past week has seen an historic change in the world. Aside from all the newsworthy drama related to the transfer of power and revolution in Egypt, a country I visited just three months ago, one thought kept coming to my mind about it: this is the first time in, perhaps, 7,000 years that the people of Egypt have not had a “Pharaoh” ruling them. Maybe the word Pharaoh…Read More…