Pizza Is Life

[Muse]

I made some of the pizzas you linked, Costco Kirkland Signature Frozen Pizzas (4 frozen pizzas, 18.25oz each, 1240 calories per pizza), $11.79. I put some stuff on top of the frozen pizzas before inserting in ~450F oven. Will make my 3rd tonight. This is the 2nd I made, May 25:
View attachment 125098

Made my 3rd of the box of 4 Costco sauce and mozzarella pizzas tonight. This time I defrosted the pizza. Later, while oven heated I prepared toppings:

2 kinds of sausage, pepperoni, bacon, sliced red onion, sliced bell pepper, sliced black olives, pineapple. Since the pizza was somewhat domed, I made a barrier mote to keep toppings from falling off utilizing slices of bell pepper and red onion.

Just out of oven:

 

[Kaido]

I made some of the pizzas you linked, Costco Kirkland Signature Frozen Pizzas (4 frozen pizzas, 18.25oz each, 1240 calories per pizza), $11.79. I put some stuff on top of the frozen pizzas before inserting in ~450F oven. Will make my 3rd tonight. This is the 2nd I made, May 25:
View attachment 125098

Very nice!! It's like a blank palette, haha! And it's a fantastic "fast food" option for the money! If you end up using that brand a lot & have the counterspace, my brother has this gizmo, which he uses weekly, and works SURPRISINGLY well!!

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-03430-Pizzazz-Plus-Rotating/dp/B00005IBXJ

Notes:

1. He's had it for like 10 or maybe 15 years lol. No preheating required. No power switch (by design, just unplug). Pan pops off to clean (little fussy to get back on). Recommend getting pizza scissors to cut (srs).

2. No raw meat. So pepperoni is OK (love Hormel cup & crisp!). Can use Instant Pot recipes (crack chicken pizza is GOOD!) & sous-vide meats to amp it up.

3. Easy to doctor it up with sprinkle cheese, garlic salt, Italian herb blend, etc.

 

[Muse]

Very nice!! It's like a blank palette, haha! And it's a fantastic "fast food" option for the money! If you end up using that brand a lot & have the counterspace, my brother has this gizmo, which he uses weekly, and works SURPRISINGLY well!!

https://www.amazon.com/Presto-03430-Pizzazz-Plus-Rotating/dp/B00005IBXJ

Notes:

1. He's had it for like 10 or maybe 15 years lol. No preheating required. No power switch (by design, just unplug). Pan pops off to clean (little fussy to get back on). Recommend getting pizza scissors to cut (srs).

2. No raw meat. So pepperoni is OK (love Hormel cup & crisp!). Can use Instant Pot recipes (crack chicken pizza is GOOD!) & sous-vide meats to amp it up.

3. Easy to doctor it up with sprinkle cheese, garlic salt, Italian herb blend, etc.

I've seen that before, obviously very useful. In my situation finding places to keep kitchen appliances is a challenge. There are some things, this included, that I would consider but for that problem. My oven does an OK job, maybe. Anyway, it's the only way I've ever made a pizza of any kind. Well, I've in the past messed with a quick facsimile being a flour tortilla sprinkled with sauce and cheese back in the days I used to buy flour tortillas regularly.

 

[Kaido]

I've seen that before, obviously very useful. In my situation finding places to keep kitchen appliances is a challenge. There are some things, this included, that I would consider but for that problem. My oven does an OK job, maybe. Anyway, it's the only way I've ever made a pizza of any kind. Well, I've in the past messed with a quick facsimile being a flour tortilla sprinkled with sauce and cheese back in the days I used to buy flour tortillas regularly.

Tortillas work GREAT for extra-crispy bar-style pizza!

Extra-Crispy Bar-Style Tortilla Pizza Recipe

Tortilla-based pizzas are the ideal quick and easy way to make a super-crisp, extra-thin crust for a full-on pizza experience in under 15 minutes from start to finish.

www.seriouseats.com

I ended up ordering my own Pizzaz with my Amazon cashback bucks, haha! It will be here this week! This will be a fun summer project. My goal is to make some easy par-baked crusts for homemade frozen pizzas to see if I can beat out the Kirkland pies! On the testing list so far:

1. Costco cheese pizza base (advanced decoration!)
2. Raw dough & par-baked crusts
3. Bittman's 2-hour dough
4. Pourable pizza dough
5. Custom projects (72-hour cold-fermented sourdough 00 pizza??)

Lazy pizza here I come!!

 

[Kaido]

Pizzazz arrived!

https://imgur.com/IrPUit9

Tonight's bake:



Upper element:



Not bad!



Notes:

* 15-minute bake with both elements with a 5-minute cooldown, so 20 minutes total on my smartphone timer total (it continues to rotate after the manual timer stops FYI)
* Crust was not crispy. I will try adding 5 minutes on the bottom element next time
* No preheat required & in fact is not recommended!

 

[BurnItDwn]

I bought my little brother a Pizzazz in like 1996 or 1997 when he was 10 or 11. He made a LOT of frozen pizza on that thing. He bought himself another one a few years ago after his old one died.

It was glorious, he would always make a prime number of pieces.

Best "as seen on tv" product of my lifetime, though the foreman grill had its uses for sure.

 

[Kaido]

I bought my little brother a Pizzazz in like 1996 or 1997 when he was 10 or 11. He made a LOT of frozen pizza on that thing. He bought himself another one a few years ago after his old one died.

It was glorious, he would always make a prime number of pieces.

Best "as seen on tv" product of my lifetime, though the foreman grill had its uses for sure.

My Foreman literally got me through college!!

 

[BurnItDwn]

My Foreman literally got me through college!!

I used mine a ton until I got into cast iron skillets.

That pizza....
ohh, it is a thing of beauty
a simple thing, but prepared perfectly.

I had a good lunch a few hours ago, i had ice cream too. i was full.

But now, after staring into the glistening ambrosia, my salivary glands beseech satiation....

 

[Kaido]

Today's Pizzazz spin: Carmine's (fresh-made raw, then frozen)

Notes:

1. Way better than boxed stuff!
2. 15 minutes dual element, extra 5 minutes bottom element
3. Still soft underneath, will try 10 minutes extra on bottom element next time.

The convenience is 10/10. I suspect I will get better results with homemade par-baked frozen crusts. This lady says to partially bake, but not brown, the dough before topping & freezing:

https://imgur.com/Q6sXaG4

 

[Muse]

You guys got me wondering.

15" x 16" x 10" and 7.6lb. $80+tax. Hmm. Pizzaz 03430.

Got me Jonesing for some pizza too. For me it's a once a week thing.

 

[Kaido]

You guys got me wondering.

15" x 16" x 10" and 7.6lb. $80+tax. Hmm. Pizzaz 03430.

Got me Jonesing for some pizza too. For me it's a once a week thing.

My brother's has lasted over a decade & is still going strong! It's not a miracle machine, it's just really, really convenient. I'll grab some Kirkland pies this week & report back! Suggestions:

1. 12"" Presto Pizzazz Plus
2. 16" pans (room to cut & serve and add dips, wings, etc...can also get a 14" if you have space issues)
3. Pizza scissors (I've had all the different cutters on the market, these are fabulous!)
4. Power switch (the Pizzazz has no off-switch...can also use a Wi-fi smart switch if you want smartphone app control)
5. Sliding pizza peel (if you make fresh dough)
6. Proofing containers (if you make fresh dough)

 

[Kaido]

https://imgur.com/a/KK2rzqK

 

[Kaido]

Sandwich on the Pizzazz was a nope. Needed to be flipped, wasn't evenly-cooked, and took forever. Airfryer is WAY better!

Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

Use your air fryer next time you have a craving for grilled cheese. The sandwich comes out perfectly crisp and crunchy.

www.allrecipes.com

 

[Kaido]

WAY better crust from frozen pizzas on the Pizzazz using this method:

1) 15 minutes bottom element
2) 15 minutes dual elements

 

[Kaido]

Scored a 4-pack of Costco Kirkland cheese pizzas for $11.79 out the door (under $3/ea!). Your basic Chuckie Cheese frozen pizza, ready to decorate! Just did a plain one today. Great with airfryer wings!

20 minutes bottom element + 10 minutes dual elements = 30 minutes no-preheat on the Pizzazz

https://imgur.com/a/x0SCB7N

 

[Muse]

Scored a 4-pack of Costco Kirkland cheese pizzas for $11.79 out the door (under $3/ea!). Your basic Chuckie Cheese frozen pizza, ready to decorate! Just did a plain one today. Great with airfryer wings!

20 minutes bottom element + 10 minutes dual elements = 30 minutes no-preheat on the Pizzazz

https://imgur.com/a/x0SCB7N

View attachment 125798

I did my last of the 4 Costco Kirkland Signature cheese and sauce frozen pizzas last night. Here's a shot, just out of hot oven:

 

[Kaido]

I did my last of the 4 Costco Kirkland Signature cheese and sauce frozen pizzas last night. Here's a shot, just out of hot oven:
View attachment 125807

Yeah man!! You'd NEVER get that many toppings from a pizza shop!

 

[Kaido]

Hormel cupping pepperoni, ham, provolone, and Mexican 4-cheese on Kirkland for 15 minutes topped with Italian seasoning, parm dust, and garlic powder:

https://imgur.com/a/mA74Tqs

 

[Muse]

Hormel cupping pepperoni, ham, provolone, and Mexican 4-cheese on Kirkland for 15 minutes topped with Italian seasoning, parm dust, and garlic powder:

https://imgur.com/a/mA74Tqs

View attachment 125828

View attachment 125829

I'm gonna make a special visit to a Lucky or Safeway in search of that Hormel pepperoni. I saw you extol a couple kinds. I have some sliced pepperoni from Trader Joe's, enough for two more pizzas.

 

[Kaido]

I'm gonna make a special visit to a Lucky or Safeway in search of that Hormel pepperoni. I saw you extol a couple kinds. I have some sliced pepperoni from Trader Joe's, enough for two more pizzas.

This is cat's meow for me!

 

[sdifox]

Wouldn't any pepperoni curl when cooked?

 

[Muse]

Wouldn't any pepperoni curl when cooked?

I used to buy pepperoni in sausage form, unsliced. I haven't seen that for sale recently. Maybe my local indy supermarket would have it, should ask at their meat counter. How quality it would be is important, of course. Slicing my own would have the benefit of better keeping in the fridge. Could be intermittently frozen too.

 

[sdifox]

We get whole pepperoni here.

 

[Kaido]

Wouldn't any pepperoni curl when cooked?

No, there are 2 kinds of casing options:

1. Artificial (melts out during cooking, ex. vegetarian casings made from glycerin, also good for Halal/Kosher applications) or no casing (ex. comes in a fibrous cellulose casing, which gets removed first)
2. Natural animal intestines (ex. pork), or collagen, which is easier to work with (it gets a bit more nuanced because collagen is considered an artificial casing, despite being animal-derived, and can be edible or non-edible)

Pepperoni was created just over 100 years ago in 1919! Pepperoni with artificial or no casing tends to either get a bit wavy or stay flat, the latter of which is good for larger pepperonis. I like chorizo for flat & salami for large, however. Natural & collagen casings create the "cup & curl" effect that bows up the pepperoni, chars the top, and keeps the pepperoni oil in the middle. It's called "cupping" pepperoni or "Old World" pepperoni. This is common in tomato-paste-based Buffalo-style pizza with the "roni cups", which got popular during WWII. The Ezzo Sausage company started a resurgence of the style about 10 years ago & Hormel made it available at local supermarkets more recently.

Kenji gets into the science of it. It gets weird because the first thing that matters for curling pepperoni is getting it stuffed in a natural or collagen casing, but the casing can stay on OR get removed before cooking and it will STILL curl! Within the roni cup world, cupping pepperoni can be Cup & Crisp (golden-brown edges on the left below) or Cup & Char (caramelized black edges on the right below). Personally I like it more burnt on top! Not everyone likes the grease tho:


Here's a good short video on cupping vs. lay-flat pepperoni. Both are good, just depends on what style you are in the mood for!

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7475791045540810027

10-minute video on how it's made:

 

[bigboxes]

I just buy stick pepperoni. It cups and it lasts longer.