The Bay Area is not really known for pizza but maybe it should be. After all we are the home of pizza throwing champion Tony Gemignani. No one is more passionate or knowledgeable about pizza than Tony. Perhaps you've seen him on TV doing tricks or teaching others how to toss the dough. He's the captain of the World Pizza Champions and even invented a silicon based glow-in-the-dark pizza dough practice disk called "ProDough". He has a pizzeria out in Castro Valley called Pyzano's Pizzeria and has written a book called not surprisingly, Pizza. He studied at a pizza school in Italy and speaking from personal experience, he makes a great tasting pizza.
Most of my cooking is the quick and easy variety. But every once in a while I take on something that requires a little more planning, a little more time, a little more effort. Not brain surgery by any means, but not one of those I'm-hungry-what's-in-the-fridge meals either. While certain things I won't take on such as croissants or puff pastry, pizza is the perfect candidate. As Tony recently told me, it's not that hard to make. But there are some secrets to getting it right.
The best way to learn Tony's secrets are to get a copy of his terrific book. Pizza is co-writtten by Diane Morgan and has recipes for just about every kind of pizza you might want to try-- traditional Neapolitan style pizzas, New York style pizzas, Chicago style deep-dish pizzas, California style pizzas and even grilled pizzas. If you are serious about making pizza this is a really good book because it goes into detail about all the ingredients and all the techniques, leaving nothing to chance. A real hands-on guide, it is paperback and has flaps to hold the book open in the kitchen. It's available on Amazon for only $12.32, less than a large pizza these days.
Tomorrow read my interview with Tony over at Bay Area Bites and come back here for a contest with fabulous prizes...
FOOD + PIZZA
