Category: Pizza (Page 3 of 5)

If At First You Don’t Like Provel. . .

Once, I was scared of Provel and now I’m not. I heard so many people describe how much they disliked Provel and it turned into a monster inside my head.

Provel cheese is a St. Louis food tradition. Having lived in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Iowa, I had never heard of Provel until we moved to St. Louis. Provel is a blend of processed swiss, provolone and cheddar cheeses top the famous St. Louis-style pizza made with a cracker-thin crust and sliced into party squares.

The exact origin of Provel seems to be disputed, but according to this St. Louis Today article “Provelology,” a Washington University anthropology major, “traced the trademark application for Provel to 1947.” One individual who helped contribute to the popularity of Provel in St. Louis is Ed Imo who opened Imo’s Pizza chain in 1964 after performing Provel experiments at his Uncle’s pizzeria Old Helen’s Pizzeria #1. There are Imo’s restaurants all over the city and you can even find their Provel squiggles in grocery stores.

Provel squiggles

When we first announced our move to St. Louis, friends warned us about Provel. Many described its flavor and texture as an acquired taste that many non-locals disliked.

Jake commuted to his new job in St. Louis while we searched for a new home. One evening, he ordered pizza delivery to his hotel room. Coworkers had warned him to double-check whether pizzas had Provel or Mozzerrella, and even though he did his due diligence, it arrived covered with Provel. He gave it a valiant effort, but the Provel won. “I found myself eating around the cheese,” he said.

“But how could this be?” I wondered. Jake loves cheese. Our ratio of cheese to things that aren’t cheese in our grocery cart is alarming; cheddar, provolone, swiss, goat cheese, brie, we love them all. Call me crazy, but I actually prefer American cheese melted on classic cheeseburgers and in homey grilled cheese sandwiches. The fact that Jake met a cheese he didn’t like was hard to comprehend.

I just wanted a taste of Provel so I decided to serve a frozen St. Louis-style pizza to my family when they visited from Minnesota. Mama Lucia’s kind face beckoned from the grocery store freezer and I knew she’d show us the way. Plus, they were on sale for $4.

Mama Lucia

“Welcome to St. Louis!” I exclaimed, as I pulled the pizza from the oven. The cheese crisped to a pleasant golden brown. I hesitantly nibbled an edge piece and found that I liked the Provel pizza. This one wasn’t particularly gooey, but I could still taste that processed cheesiness.

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The crisped end pieces reminded me of the edges of a grilled cheese sandwich. One made American cheese of course! Basically, everyone liked the Provel pizza.

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If at first you don’t like Provel, try, try again. It’s possible that you might like one Provel pizza and hate another.

Other St. Louis food traditions I look forward to trying include a St. Paul Sandwich, frozen custard from a Ted Drewes Stand & slinger.

Not Too Cool For Gas Station Breakfast Pizza + A Pizza Party

“Cause there ain’t no party like the pre-party
And after the party is the after-party
At the gas station pizza party (yea, pass me the chicken wings).”

I have no idea why this, but Lee Brice song comes to mind. We weren’t eating pizza in a parking lot and there were no chicken wings.

Gas station pizza is kind of a thing here, especially gas station breakfast pizza. In early February, actress Mila Kunis made the Des Moines Register when she commented that Casey’s General Store makes her favorite gas station snack, a “delicious breakfast pizza” in a Reddit AMA.

It’s not that we have bad taste in North Iowa, it’s that we have a lot of Casey’s and that their breakfast pizza is actually pretty good. North Iowa is composed of many small towns. We live in the biggest city in North Iowa which clocked in at 27,500 in 2013. Some towns like Plymouth are tiny with 373 residents and many fall somewhere in between like Charles City at 7,500. We drive a lot just like we did in the Twin Cities, but unlike a 30-minute commute between Apple Valley, MN and Minneapolis, there might not be as much between the cities. There’s usually a Casey’s somewhere in-between and there are some small towns in which a Casey’s in one of the only businesses.

During the first year I lived in Mason City, I worked at a small nonprofit in Osage, a town of 6,500.

Osage Fiargrounds

The Osage Iowa fairgrounds, summer of 2014.

It took me 40-minutes to drive to work on good-weather days. The only place to stop for gas, or anything, really, was Manly, Iowa. When my tank ran low or a train blocked Highway 9, I’d pull into Casey’s to fill my tank and grab a slice of breakfast pizza.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like Casey’s Pizza is Pizzeria Lola or Broders’, but you might also find their breakfast pizza tastes surprisingly good. It’s the only breakfast pizza that doesn’t gross me out and it’s available at gas stations in rural Iowa. I like the crust and the cheese is the real, chewy kind. After I eat a slice, I keep smelling whiffs of butter. In fact, I think it tastes better than many chain pizza joints.

After Mila mentioned Casey’s breakfast pizza, we began talk about it on Twitter. Gas station Kum & Go jumped into a conversation and offered to let us try their breakfast pizza, too. Before I knew it, my North Iowa blogger friends had coordinated a pizza party.

caseys box

Casey’s, Kum & Go and Godfather’s generously donated pies. Jenny brought Iowan beer, Donna contributed a frozen, gluten-free Udi’s pizza, and I brought a pizza margarita from our new, local Italian restaurant Pasta Bella.

Me and Pizza

Beth always offers to host our tasting parties and really is the hostess with the mostess. She made voting sheets complete with smiley face stickers for voting, pizza signs, and caprese salad.

Beths caprese salad

Val brought her famous Overnight Salad. It’s a layered salad of lettuce, cauliflower, onion, parmesan, mayo, and sugar that sits overnight and you toss before serving.

Val Salad Collage

Honestly, I preferred Val’s salad over the pizzas and returned for seconds. My version of Overnight Salad will never be as good as Val’s because it included bacon she and her husband made on their farm. They cut it into super thick chunks. It was like I was eating succulent pieces of pork belly instead of the bacon strips I usually find. Val said she and her husband chuckle when presented with what people typically refer to as “thick-cut bacon.”

There were so many types of pizza that I lost track of what I tasted. I filled my plate with pieces of cut-up slices and soon gave up keeping track of what they were. Plus, I kept wanting to eat that salad.

Pizza Collage
Everyone had their favorites. I posted about our party on my social media accounts and learned that Godfather’s has a very loyal following. I haven’t eaten it since college.

godfathers combo

In case you were wondering, this is what a Kum & Go breakfast pizza looks like. Why should let Casey’s completely sweep the gas station breakfast pizza game;) I was in a pizza coma when I tasted this pizza, but someone said Kum & Go’s also adds hashbrowns.

kumandgobreakfast

We voted for our favorites and Pasta Bella received the most. I liked that it had a thin crust and delicate tasting toppings that included fresh tomatoes and basil. Our newest blogger Loni said it tasted closest to the pizzas she enjoyed in Italy.

Pasta Bella Pizza

And so a North Iowa Pizza Part: Part II is in order. Obviously we are missing many places like Little Chicago, Pete’s Kitchen, Breadeaux, Azzolina’s, and The Other Place. We’re just taking it a few pizzas at a time.

pizza party group

Photo taken by Donna with a selfie stick. Carrying on our dear friend Amy’s tradition.

Fifteen months ago, four of us North Iowa bloggers met for dinner for the first time. Now, our group’s grown to nearly 30 people. Comparing life in a big metropolitan area like Minneapolis-St. Paul to North Iowa is like comparing apples to oranges. Sure, I miss the lakes and ordering eggplant pizza from Broders’ anytime I’d like. But the skies here are big and I hope I’m never too cool for gas station breakfast pizza.

I miss Amy and I love these women. Life with these friendships is good.

The Every Bar In Mason City Quest Takes A Detour: The Other Place, Clear Lake

Most Iowans probably know what I’m talking about when I say “The O.P.”

We have a popular local pizza chain called The Other Place. Yes, that’s actually the name. There are eight total restaurants, two of which are located in Kansas. The original “Other Place” has been located in Cedar Falls since 1970. When I think of The O.P. I think of happy things: Thick, bubbly layers of chewy melted cheese, pizza, spicy nacho cheese, popcorn and 7 and 7’s.

The second oldest O.P. is located across the street from Wartburg College where I graduated from college. On weekends, we ate cheap $5 pizzas from Dominos, but when mom and dad came to town, we asked them to take us to The Other Place. My family liked the pizza here so much that they usually wanted to dine here anyway. There were a few occasions when especially kind professors treated our whole class to pizza at the O.P at the end of the semester.

College kids partied at Joe’s, so the O.P. was usually a quiet place we spent many weekend evenings playing cards over drinks and eating nachos with spicy cheese sauce. It was here at the Waverly O.P. that a friend first introduced me to 7 and 7’s, explaining they were composed of ” seven hard liquors mixed with 7-Up.” My drink was so strong that I believed her and never drank one again until our recent visit to Willow Run. Jake finally informed me that a 7 and 7 actually contains Seagram’s and 7-Up. I order them now and laugh. We were nerds drinking cocktails before it was possible to access the internet on cell phones.

Last weekend I took Jake to the Clear Lake O.P. The exterior’s nondescript, but the inside opens into a spacious sports bar with plenty of big screen TV’s. You may be wondering what’s so special about the O.P’s pizza. I think the draw’s in their cheese and crust. The thick crust tastes homemade and has a special, almost fermented flavor. It has a crisp bottom crust and, at first glance, appears heavy, but eats lighter than expected.

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And the cheese is glorious. Each pizza is coated in a thick layer of high quality cheese that’s golden brown. It strings when it’s hot and chews nicely when it cools. Most importantly, it’s not that cheap crap you find at other pizza chains. Cheap pizza chain cheese just sits there like a toupee and disintegrates when you bite into it. Boo cheap cheese. My only critique about this pizza is that the mushrooms tasted canned. I’ll eat them, but fresh are my favorite.

As if we didn’t have enough cheese, we ordered a cheese crisp. Jake has fond childhood memories dipping cheese crisps into salsa at Chi-Chi’s he’s been searching for the next closest thing ever since. Chi-Chi’s went out of business in the United States in 2004 after a hepatitis outbreak originated at a location in Pennsylvania that killed four people and infected 660. Oddly enough, there are still operating Chi-Chi’s in Belgium, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait. You can also purchase shelf stable foods by this brand in American grocery stores.

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For all intensive purposes, a cheese crisp is a crispy flour tortilla topped with melted cheese. Jake confirmed the O.P.’s cheese crisp is indeed the closest thing he’s found to Chi-Chi’s (so far). He noted that the O.P’s differs because it has a butter flavor and is topped with more cheese than what he remembers at Chi-Chi’s.

After his first O.P. experience, Jake commented that he could see why I had such warm memories here. Everywhere we looked, we saw people eating cheese! Gooey cheese hung into threads from pieces of pizza and cheese bread. The O.P. is really a wonderland of good melted cheese. And about that cocktail. . . I ordered a 7 and 7 for posterity’s sake. I think I called it a 7 in 7, but they knew what I meant. Also, the side salads here ($4.25) may cost more than the cocktails, but they do serve “good” ranch.

For more frequent updates on our cheesy adventures, connect with me on Instagram and Twitter

Beet & Goat Cheese Flatbread

I love baking homemade pizza and homemade pizza is Jake’s favorite.

This week, I found beets at the farmers market and eagerly bought a couple of bunches. We ate the leafy beet greens right away. If you haven’t tried them, cook them like you would any other green. I don’t blanche the tops because they’re tender and wilt quickly like spinach.

Kale is the green everyone talks about, but we enjoy beet greens more. I toss them into sautéed onion and garlic and briefly wilt them in soy sauce and honey or maple syrup for a sweet and salty treat.

Beet Greens

For a special midweek treat, I prepared this beet and goat cheese flatbread. I baked my favorite, thin crust pizza dough recipe and spread it with goat cheese flavored with garlic scapes. Then, I sprinkled over diced beets and green onion. Beets and goat cheese is one of our favorite combinations and it brightened up our week.

Beet and Goat Cheese Flatbread
Makes two large but very thin flatbreads.

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How To Prepare the Garlic Scape Goat Cheese
Combine a large 10 oz. package of plain goat cheese with enough milk or cream to make it spreadable. Add minced garlic scape. The flavor of the scape is strong so I used a handful. If you can’t find garlic scapes, you could add minced garlic, green onion, chives, dill, and/or parsley.

How To Cook the Beets

Beets
I cook beets by simmering them in water because I first learned to cook them this way, though many prefer to roast. Be aware that beets will stain your cutting board. Here’s my simmering method:

  1. Clean the beets and remove most of the stem.
  2. Place them in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer until they are tender enough to easily insert a knife into the center.
  3. Drain and cool until they’re cool enough to handle.
  4. Gently peel off the skin and remove the stem and tails.
  5. Slice or dice however you wish.

Preparing the Flat Bread:
Adapted from the recipe Lahmacun published by Saveur. 

Ingredients:
1 package of quick rise yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup warm water
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions:

  1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Hot water will kill the yeast. Allow to sit and bloom until it bubbles.
  2. Add the flour and salt to a large bowl. If preparing by hand, make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture and olive oil. Gradually stir until the dough forms a ball. If using a stand mixer, add the yeast-water mixture and oil to the flour on low and mix with a dough hook until the dough pulls away from the sides and forms a ball. If it’s too dry, slowly stream in a little water. If the dough is too soft and sticky, add a little flour. Knead or mix at a higher speed until the dough is smooth and elastic and not too sticky.
  3. Form dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl. Loosely cover and place in a warm location until it’s doubled in size.
  4. Punch down and divide in half.
  5. On a floured surface, roll out dough and place on an oiled baking sheet. Stretch the dough towards the edges.
  6. Allow the dough to rise again for about 1/2 hour.
  7. Pre-heat oven to 400℉
  8. Lightly brush the dough with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  9. Bake until the dough is cooked through and golden brown on the bottom.

To Assemble the Flatbread

  1. Spread the warm pizza crust with the goat cheese mixture.
  2. Sprinkle with diced beets, sliced green onion and any herbs you desire.
  3. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Slice and serve.

How To Make The Perfect Frozen Pizza

Today’s guest post is brought to you by my cousin Brian Dahlen who lives on the South Side of Chicago with his wife and four young children. 
 
Brian is responsible for Friday suppers. He recently confessed to measuring out exactly six cups of water when making boxed macaroni and cheese and alluded to knowing how to make the perfect frozen pizza, so I invited him to share all 13 of his pizza-making secrets with photographic evidence. 
 

I’m not a chef. I’m not a cook either. But I’m a self-professed master of the frozen food arts.

Many culinary experts quickly dismiss frozen foods, and yet I guarantee they all make them. Frozen foods are what everyone makes when they don’t feel like cooking or eating out. Tragically, I’ve watched many good cooks completely butcher a frozen meal. They laugh-off the disgusting results and blame the food. I think we all know whose fault it is.

I’m here to stop the madness.

While I won’t reveal all of my frozen food preparation secrets, I’ll share the fundamentals needed to prepare the most popular of all freezer meals: The frozen pizza.

Brace yourself. Here’s my 13 step frozen pizza secret recipe:

  • STEP #1: Remove the battery from your kitchen smoke detector. My technique is guaranteed to set that thing off. At least once. So either get ready to scare your family, or just take out the battery. Only truly good frozen pizza chefs know about this step.
  • STEP #2: Don’t even think about making a DiGiorno. If you’re paying any more than $4.00 for a frozen pizza, you might as well just order one or go out for dinner. Be a cheapskate like me and buy one from Aldi. I like their Mama Cozzi’s Rising Crust pizza. Note the label on the front of the box that says “Real Cheese”. That’s the best kind of cheese.
  • STEP #3: Flip over the box and look at the directions. Someone put them there for a reason. Just because you’re a good cook doesn’t mean that you’re better than these directions. You’re not. Only masters of the frozen food arts know how to adjust these instructions. Keep reading and you’ll see.
  • STEP #4: Preheat the oven to the prescribed temperature (Review step #3 for more information).
  • STEP #5: Open two boxes of pizza. Everyone knows that one frozen pizza isn’t enough food for everyone.
  • STEP #6: Place both pizzas directly onto the oven rack. Don’t believe anyone that tells you about the magical powers of pizza stones or cookie sheets. They don’t know what they’re talking about. Those things will ruin your pizza. (Note: if you skipped step #1, it’s time to reconsider your terrible decision)
  • STEP #7: This is where it gets tricky. Set your timer for half of the maximum required time on the back of the box. Don’t ask questions yet. Just do it.
  • STEP #8: When the custom time from step #7 has elapsed, find two spatulas. After opening the oven, use both spatulas to rotate each pizza 180°. This will keep the outside edges from burning and it will make you instantly respect my spatula skills.
  • STEP #9: Grab a calculator. This part gets pretty intense. Determine the remaining cooking time from the back of the box, and subtract two minutes. Set your timer for this newly calculated numerical value, and try to resist turning on the oven light. Doing so only casts doubt on my masterful technique.
  • STEP #10: When the remaining time has elapsed, do not remove the pizzas from the oven. This would be a rookie mistake. Instead, turn on the broiler to 500 degrees. Yup – the broiler.
  • STEP #11: Don’t get nervous. There are no pre-determined cooking times here. Instead, check the pizza once per minute. Only when you’ve got some nice golden spots on the cheese is your pizza ready to be removed from the oven. Skipping this essential broiler maneuver will only result in cheese that isn’t totally melted.
  • STEP #12: Don’t even think about cutting it yet. Do you really want to ruin your pizza? For goodness sake, just wait a few minutes. My wife’s family has carried on this patient strategy for decades. They call it waiting for the cheese to “congeal”. Why question this time tested idea? Premature cutting will demolish the delicately thin layer of “Real Cheese” on your pizza.
  • STEP #13: Add a generous dash of crushed red pepper to each slice prior to consumption. This will remove any remaining frozen pizza flavor.
 I’ve successfully executed this procedure on frozen pizza dozens of times. If it doesn’t work, it’s all your fault.
 
Brian Dahlen hosts a weekday morning show for Moody Radio in Cleveland, Ohio. He also co-hosts the “Brian and Kathleen Podcast” and blogs at www.briandahlen.com

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