Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago. Show all posts

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Make Real Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza at Home

If you look online, you'll find all kinds of people saying that you need to get a deep dish pizza pan to make deep dish pizza and to not even bother if you don't have it. Wrong. Cast iron has the same heat-conducting properties and will make your crust just as crunchy and spectacular, as some ridiculously expensive single-use pan that takes up a bunch of room in your cupboards and only gets used once a year.

Now, on to the fancy we're all here. This method will make one Chicago style deep dish pizza in a 10 inch cast iron pan-enough for two people to be very full and have some leftovers.

Breakfast Pizza

Dough:

- 1 packet yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil (plus about a tablespoon)
- 2-1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup corn meal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon honey

Dissolve the yeast and honey in the warm (about 100 degrees) water in the lowest of a big mixing bowl. After about five minutes, it should be activated and foamy. Add the oil. Incorporate the dry ingredients in a cut off bowl and add about half to the wet mixture. Mix in. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until a thick dough forms.

I don't have a mixer or a food processor so I did this with a spatula, but it would be much easier/faster to use a food processor or mixer with a dough hook if you have one. The good thing about the corn meal is that it keeps the dough from getting too sticky.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover loosely with a towel, and put in a warm location. My house is freezing so I turn on the oven for about five minutes, turn it off, then leave the door open so it's nice and warm-about 90 degrees. Leave to rise for 45 minutes.

When you come back, the dough should have doubled in volume. Oil your cast iron pan and push the dough up to cover the whole lowest of the pan plus the sides. Leave the dough to rise again in the pan while you prep the pizza toppings-this is what gives the crust such texture; there are petite air bubbles all over the sides and bottom, making it crunchy but not hard. Then, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. It's prominent to let the oven preheat completely; if you put the pizza in early it won't cook evenly and will burn on the edges before the inside cooks.

Toppings:

- about 1/2 lb mozzarella
- scant 1/4 cup shredded Romano or Parmesan
- 1-2 cups jarred pasta sauce mixed with a spoonful of tomato paste

Other toppings you enjoy

One of the defining characteristics of Chicago style pizza is that the cheese is on top of the crust. The cheese melts all over the crust, sticking to it and just commonly being delicious. Slice the mozzarella into slices about 1/2 inch thick, layering them over the lowest of the crust in an overlapping shingle pattern. Add any toppings you're using on top of the mozzarella. Cover it all with the shredded Romano.

Spoon the tomato pasta sauce over everything. Ornamentation with some more shredded Romano/Parmesan and bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until the crust has gotten a lovely dark golden brown. Let it rest for a few minutes before you cut it, and be aware that it will be for real gooey and cheesy and messy. Enjoy!

Make Real Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza at Home

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Best Pizza Restaurants in Chicago

Chicago pizza is synonymous with deep-dish pies that have cheese on the bottom and sauce on the top. But Chicago pizza restaurants serve every kind of pizza you can imagine - from Neapolitan pies baked in a wood-burning oven to gourmet pizzas with fancy toppings.

Whether you're craving a thin-crust, Chicago deep dish, or tavern-style pizza, there's a Chicago pizzeria that will satisfy your longing.

Breakfast Pizza

The preeminent Chicago pizza restaurant is Pizzeria Uno. In business since 1943, their deep-dish concoction was an immediate hit. And Pizzeria Due opened not long after a block away. If you don't want the full deal, you can order a relatively healthy flatbread with toppings like spinach, eggplant, and feta cheese. These days, you don't have to come to Chicago to enjoy one. With 165 locations in 27 states, there may be one near you.

The other famous Chicago pie maker is Lou Malnati. His dad, Rudy, used to be the chef at Pizzeria Uno, and some think he is the actual inventor of the Chicago style. Lou opened his restaurant in the suburbs in 1971, and nearly 40 years later there are 30 locations in the Chicago area. They're noted for the flaky, buttery crust. If you can't get to Chicago to enjoy one, they'll ship one to you on dry ice.

If you've never tried a stuffed pizza, Bacino's is a great place to start. Dan Bacin, the owner, is committed to fresh ingredients, so his pies are healthier than most. Spinach, broccoli, and mushroom is one of the most popular. You can sample it at their restaurant or at the Taste of Chicago, where they've had the top selling pizza for the last 30 years.

For gourmet, thin-crust pies, Bricks Chicago has out-of-the-ordinary choices with fun names like Sweet Heat, which has barbecue sauce, mozzarella, chicken breast, bacon, and smoked gouda. With spicy shrimp, red peppers, and basil pesto, Creole Shrimp is another favorite. There's a good selection of draught and bottle beers to accompany your meal too.

Coalfire makes the best Neapolitan pizza in Chicago. The coal-fired oven delivers a pie with a crispy, but chewy crust that has some charring on the bottom. Because of the intense heat, they cook very quickly, so three or fewer pizza toppings are recommended. The Margherita and the white pizza with mozzarella, ricotta, Romano cheese, and fresh basil are best sellers. They've recently added beer and wine.

Crust cooks up innovative, flatbread pizzas that are made with organic ingredients. The menu here is more ambitious than most with cocktails created with house-made vodka infusions, and starters like winter beet salad and Brussels sprouts with crispy bacon. The Carbonara pie with bacon, egg, and caramelized onions, and the special made with braised beef brisket, pepper jack cheese, and barbecue sauce are real standouts.

In business since 1974, Giordano's is famous for their pies stuffed with cheese. When the Giordano brothers came to Chicago from Italy, they couldn't find a pizza as good as mama's. So they set out to make their own double-crust pies. They're topped with everything from sausage to shrimp. But it's the stringy, chewy mozzarella you'll remember.

Sapore di Napoli is another great choice for Naples-style pies. Many of their ingredients, including the flour, buffalo mozzarella, and salami, are imported from Campania, Italy. And they ship Stanislaus tomatoes in from California. With gorgonzola, mozzarella, fontina, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, the four cheese pie here is a real winner. The gelato is a delicious end to your meal.

Best Pizza Restaurants in Chicago

Find more Chicago pizza restaurants here. Or pizzerias in New York here.

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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Pizza Recipe - Chicago Deep Dish

Chicago seems to be in the news quite a bit these days. Folks may not realize that Chicago has always been a great food town. I prefer deep-dish pizza. You can pack quite a meal in one pizza pie. With the tight economy, this meal will not break your budget and will allow you to possibly have leftovers.

Chicago-Style pizza is a deep-dish pizza style developed in Chicago. The term also sometimes refers to "stuffed" pizza, another Chicago style. True Chicago-style pizza features a buttery crust with generous amounts of cheese and chunky tomato sauce. If and when you are in Chicago, be sure to visit these deep-dish establishments:


Aurelios
Connie's
Edwardo's
Giordanos
Gino's East
Home Run Inn
Jake's
Lou Malnati's
Nancy's
Pizzeria Uno
Rosati's

Chicago Deep Dish

1 package rapid-rise active yeast (1/4 ounce)

1 cup warm water, between 105 to 115 degrees F

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup olive oil

1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese

1 pound cooked Italian sausage, crumbled

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes, well drained

1 teaspoon dried sweet basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In the mixing bowl add the warm water, yeast and sugar, stir with a whisk. Add 2 cups of the flour, salt, cornmeal and olive oil. Use the paddle and mix on speed 2 for 2 minutes. Put on the dough hook and add the remaining flour. Knead on speed 2 until the dough clings to the hook, then knead on speed 2 for 5 minutes longer. Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise for 1 hour.

2. With oiled fingers press the dough into a deep-dish pizza pan. Cover the dough with the mozzarella, then top with the sausage. Place the tomatoes over the sausage. Top with the basil, oregano and Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 500 degrees F oven for 15 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is brown.

Be sure to visit our web site for more pizza recipes and other wonderful food creation ideas and practical cooking tips.




For more pizza recipes, register your email and receive weekly FREE recipes and other food creation information by directing yourself to my website, http://www.foodcreate.com If you have recipes to share, comments, or questions, email me at info@foodcreate.com

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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Chicago Vs New York Style Pizza - A Tasty Rivalry

Everyone has their own favorite types of pizza and that includes the crust, sauce, and toppings. A lot of people would choose a New York style as their favorite kind. New York pizza is round and has a thin base, which is both chewy and crisp.

The slices are usually only topped with one, two, or perhaps three toppings, in order for the crust to stay crisp rather than go soggy. New Yorkers tend to fold this delicious snack in half while eating it, to make it easier to handle.

Other names for this tasty treat include "regular slice" or "regular pie." Ordering a "plain slice" means, you only want cheese on top. You can order a slice or a whole eighteen inch diameter pie, which can be cut into eight slices. Slicing it into wedges or slices, rather than squares, is also known as "party cut" or "tavern cut."

This variety originated at the turn of the twentieth century in New York City. Tomato sauce and mozzarella were the other original recipe toppings. The New York style has a hand-tossed crust and the sauce is minimal. It makes a great street snack. High-gluten bread flour is used to make the crust of a New York style pizza and this is what differentiates it from many other varieties.

Chicago Style

A Chicago-style pizza tends to be deep-dish and this style developed in Chicago. This delicious snack has a three inch base, which can be up to three inches tall at the edge. The base functions like a bowl, holding the cheese, tomato sauce and other chunky fillings inside. Stuffed pizza is a variation of the Chicago one. The original deep-dish recipe, which Chicago is famed for, was first created at Chicago's Pizzeria Uno in 1943.

A pan pizza is similar to the deep-dish variety but these have thick crusts, which are comparable to focaccia. These have the cheese and toppings on top of the sauce, unlike the deep-dish or stuffed varieties. This makes the pan variety similar to a New York one, only with a much thicker bottom.

You can also get thin and crunchy bases in Chicago, unlike the New York ones, which are more chewy than crunchy. These would be topped with lots of herby Italian tomato sauce, various toppings, and then cheese. This recipe is cut into squares rather than slices.

So, Which is Best?

You can see from the descriptions that the Chicago variety is the complete opposite to a New York one. A lot of people enjoy both types of pizza. Perhaps a New York pizza is nice when you are in a hurry and you want to grab some fast food to eat as you walk. This foldable feast is flavorful as well as convenient.

The Chicago style recipe is something that you might order if you are really hungry and you want something doughy, filling, and tasty, offering a fluffy crust as well as plenty of different ingredients and fillings. Trying different types of this delicious snack is a lot of fun and making your own is the best way to match your crust, sauce, and topping preferences.




There are lots of different types of pizza and different people have different ideas about which is best. The easiest way to make your perfect pizza recipe is to make homemade pizza - everything from the crust and pizza sauce recipe to the toppings can be prepared simply and conveniently at home.

GreatPizzaRecipes.com - You Make the Pizza, We Help You Make It Great!

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Unique Features of Chicago Style Pizza

One of the most popular types of pizza in the United States and Canada and other parts of the world to Chicago Style Pizza. Over the years more and more people have taken the order and enjoy Chicago style pizza.

Chicago Style Pizza factors are characterized by a number of different. For example, Chicago Style Pizza is a style deep dish pie. Chicago Style Pizza In this regard contains a base or crustthat forms the sides of a deep dish pan. (E 'cooked in a pot and not directly on the stone or any other cooking surface.)

Another unique feature of the Chicago style pizza is the fact that this type of pizza actually reverses the order of ingredients. When it comes to a combination of frequency and order of coverage on Chicago style pizza, the base or crust (of course) remains on the ground. However, from there the cheese marketBase or crust. It is followed by "fill" or seals. (You can sample a variety of other uses for access to a coating of Chicago Style Pizza).

The sauce (the crust directly on the floor or distributed) ends up as a pizza usually placed on top of all that is Chicago style, da.

There is another version of Chicago Style Pizza, sometimes called a stuffed pizza. This version of Chicago Style Pizza usestwo layers of crust, sauce and filling seals or both.

There are many variations on Deep Dish Pizza in the world today. And 'generally accepted that the invention of the Deep Dish Pizza in the United States took place. That said, Deep Dish Pizza, which can be seen in different places today to really transcend a single ethnic group.

Many historians attribute the invention of the first true Deep Dish PizzaIke Sewell and Ric Riccardo. It is believed that the first Deep Dish Pizza in 1943 served at Bistro Pizzeria Uno. Pizzaria This icon is still in operation today.

When all is said and done, there are many different types of pizza is available. Furthermore, we must believe, even lovers of pizza people developing new versions of the pizza is almost complete. It seems, in fact, each year there are new, tastyAdditions to the family more universal pizza. Ultimately, it seems that the types of pizza, which is seen in the future is limited only by the imagination of people around the world.

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