My Grandmother’s birthday was in July. To celebrate, the family gathered in the backyard at our home and enjoyed sheet pans of Sicilian pizza with various toppings. For the cousins, this was heaven and there was a crush of excited kids swarming the dads returning with the pizza.
Even when I have lived in the US for almost 30 years I still dream about pizza in Argentina. Its crust is high, airy and the amount of mozzarella they put there is just ridiculous, so a strand of it always gets in your chin. One of the most spectacular ones is called fugazetta, which has onions as the only topping and the mozzarella is tucked in two layers of pizza dough; divine!! I love many pizzas in the US and Italy but Argentina takes it to the next level.
Oh wow ~ I did not know this about Argentina, though o know there are many Italians and people of Italian descent there. Fugazetta sounds out of this world.
There is a new restaurant in Ann Arbor called Pizza Pazza. Pizzas are ready in 8 minutes because their oven is 900 degrees. And what’s even better, just across the aisle is a wine shop with glasses of wine available for quaffing on site with the pizza.
Oh my goodness, Domenica: thank you!!! First: your pizza looks fabulous. Great job on the crust. I love that you used a mix of flours — Hayden Mills Flours are excellent. Second: thank you for your kind words. This all means so much. Third: thank you for sending many of your readers my way. So grateful.
And Finally, to all Buona Domenica Readers who see this comment, know that Domenica inspired one of the pizzas in the book: broccoli rabe with smoked mozzarella and tomato butter. It's a favorite. She's a genius!!
Oh how wonderful. My mother is Sicilian and would make the best pizza! I loved it hot. I loved it cold. I loved it for breakfast the next day. I’m going to be going back to Sicily in a few weeks and I was reading The Stone Boudoir, Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily by Theresa Maggio, when your newsletter appeared. Such perfect timing.
I do make very good pizza ( it must be in the genes) although I will often buy the dough from an Italian bakery….now I must try the recipe you gave us….thank you!
How exciting ~ have a wonderful trip. And thanks for mentioning the book. I’m not familiar with it but will look for it, as I am hoping to travel to Sicily for research.
Now I’m dying for pizza! Such a great post and definitely sounds like a wonderful book. I’ve had two main pizza influences in my life: working on a pizza article with @ Evan Kleiman while at Fine Cooking and learning to make Grilled Pizza when I worked at Al Forno restaurant in Providence, RI. For years I’ve made a variation of Evan’s dough, and grilled pizza was for years one of my favorite summer entertaining ideas - getting everyone involved. These days I barely have time to make pizza but I long for time to do it!
Never enough time. I will say that these recipes truly are accommodating. I love grilled pizza. I think one of my Williams-Sonoma books and my Glorious Veg book have grilled pizza recipes. Must revisit ~ haven’t made grilled pizza in ages.
I still dream of the simple, perfect, fold-in-your-hand New York-style pizza of my childhood in Ossining, NY, with at most two toppings aside from cheese. Close seconds: thin-crust with prosciutto, topped with fresh arugula and drizzled with pepper-infused olive oil (Piemonte) and gut-busting deep-dish with spinach (Chicago).
New York pizza ~ nothing like it. My favorite pizza from my Detroit Days was Pizza Papalis Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It was so cheesy and the sauce always tasted fresh.
Just experience a Pinsa at a newish restaurant on Capitol Hill. The crust was lighter than any I have had, yet crispy, and there are a vast number of toppings that you can choose. I had one of the daily specials. It was heaven!
I really love pizza. I have always enjoyed it, but as time passes I love it more and more. There are many wonderful ones around today, but my favorite is just a memory. It was a nice slice from a restaurant in Brentwood where I grew up. The restaurant was called Piece o' Pizza, one of those Italian-American restaurants with checkered tablecloths, and candles on the tables that many would class as kitsch. For our family it was a place of joy, a gathering place for as many Crocettis' as you could find of an evening. We kids had a blast, while the parents sat quietly with their backs to the other patrons. There was also a take-out window, great for a quick, no hassle dinner. The pizza was always simple, pepperoni being the only embellishment, and always the subject of much pre-order discussion. Anchovies never were an option. My dad always ordered a beer. That was the only time I remember him drinking, but the yeasty smell of the beer was just perfect with the aroma of that simple pizza. I guess what made that pizza so wonderful was having the family together, laughing so hard we'd cry. It was the feeling of togetherness that made it such a terrific slice.
A very enjoyable and fun post, thank you. I'm late in my reply but when I thought about pizza experience, my mind went back to my student days in Florence. My roommate and I sat at the counter of a soon-to-be favorite place for pizza and I ordered a quattro stagioni, something very new to me as someone from NJ where the "pies" we got were pretty basic, but excellent. It was quite a discovery--artichokes, new to me, prosciutto, mushrooms, and I forget what the fourth section was. Thanks for taking me back to that memory.
Sounds delicious. I love quattro stagioni. It's funny; I never associate Florence with pizza, thought I know many do, especially nowadays when you can find good pizza all over Italy.
Thanks for this recommendation! I've got lots of pizza books in English and Italian but often it's troppo (too much) information for actually getting creative pizza toppings together in a hurry. This looks like a truly useful one with lots of skill invested in making it practical. In Asheville we've got lots of farm markets so the seasonality is also a real plus on the pizza AND the salad side.
My family and I just got back from Asheville yesterday. First time there and it was a short visit, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Your description "lots of skill invested in making it practical" really pinpoints what I like about this book.
The most delicious and memorable pizza I’ve had was a potato-garlic white pizza at Serious Pie in Seattle. The potatoes were sliced paper-thin and were crisped to perfection! As a West Coaster who admittedly is not a pizza gourmand, I was astonished that THIS was pizza! I had far too many slices and perhaps a bit too much white wine to go with them . . .
Back in the "70's, my Italian grandmother (from Bovino) would make a white pizza with garlic and fatback. I know, it sounds dreadful - but it was totally delicious. I smoked out my dorm long ago when I cooked one and the garlic aroma filled the building! Nostalgia aside, please sign me up for the cookbook giveaway. These sound like the sheet pan pizzas of my youth!
Coming from St Louis, the king of the thin crust pizza with Provel cheese, I have learned to enjoy Italian style hand tossed crust and fresh mozzarella cheese. My favorite pizza is usually a simple one with fresh mozzarella, basil, garlic and fresh tomatoes thinly sliced. I like to be able to taste the “yeastiness” of the crust.
I really enjoyed the pizza we had in St. Louis when I came to teach! I was FASCINATED by Provel cheese and the way it’s packaged. And I agree that you can’t beat a simple fresh pizza.
My Grandmother’s birthday was in July. To celebrate, the family gathered in the backyard at our home and enjoyed sheet pans of Sicilian pizza with various toppings. For the cousins, this was heaven and there was a crush of excited kids swarming the dads returning with the pizza.
I can picture the scene. Wonderful.
Even when I have lived in the US for almost 30 years I still dream about pizza in Argentina. Its crust is high, airy and the amount of mozzarella they put there is just ridiculous, so a strand of it always gets in your chin. One of the most spectacular ones is called fugazetta, which has onions as the only topping and the mozzarella is tucked in two layers of pizza dough; divine!! I love many pizzas in the US and Italy but Argentina takes it to the next level.
Oh wow ~ I did not know this about Argentina, though o know there are many Italians and people of Italian descent there. Fugazetta sounds out of this world.
Cannot post a picture of it but you can definitely Google it ☺️
There is a new restaurant in Ann Arbor called Pizza Pazza. Pizzas are ready in 8 minutes because their oven is 900 degrees. And what’s even better, just across the aisle is a wine shop with glasses of wine available for quaffing on site with the pizza.
That sounds like the perfect setup. 🍕🍷
Oh my goodness, Domenica: thank you!!! First: your pizza looks fabulous. Great job on the crust. I love that you used a mix of flours — Hayden Mills Flours are excellent. Second: thank you for your kind words. This all means so much. Third: thank you for sending many of your readers my way. So grateful.
And Finally, to all Buona Domenica Readers who see this comment, know that Domenica inspired one of the pizzas in the book: broccoli rabe with smoked mozzarella and tomato butter. It's a favorite. She's a genius!!
xo
Thank YOU for these kind words, Ali. Looking forward to cooking my way through the book. Clam pizza might be next...Congrats again! xo
Clam pizza is my favorite!
Oh how wonderful. My mother is Sicilian and would make the best pizza! I loved it hot. I loved it cold. I loved it for breakfast the next day. I’m going to be going back to Sicily in a few weeks and I was reading The Stone Boudoir, Travels Through the Hidden Villages of Sicily by Theresa Maggio, when your newsletter appeared. Such perfect timing.
I do make very good pizza ( it must be in the genes) although I will often buy the dough from an Italian bakery….now I must try the recipe you gave us….thank you!
How exciting ~ have a wonderful trip. And thanks for mentioning the book. I’m not familiar with it but will look for it, as I am hoping to travel to Sicily for research.
Now I’m dying for pizza! Such a great post and definitely sounds like a wonderful book. I’ve had two main pizza influences in my life: working on a pizza article with @ Evan Kleiman while at Fine Cooking and learning to make Grilled Pizza when I worked at Al Forno restaurant in Providence, RI. For years I’ve made a variation of Evan’s dough, and grilled pizza was for years one of my favorite summer entertaining ideas - getting everyone involved. These days I barely have time to make pizza but I long for time to do it!
Never enough time. I will say that these recipes truly are accommodating. I love grilled pizza. I think one of my Williams-Sonoma books and my Glorious Veg book have grilled pizza recipes. Must revisit ~ haven’t made grilled pizza in ages.
I will have to make your grilled pizza!
I still dream of the simple, perfect, fold-in-your-hand New York-style pizza of my childhood in Ossining, NY, with at most two toppings aside from cheese. Close seconds: thin-crust with prosciutto, topped with fresh arugula and drizzled with pepper-infused olive oil (Piemonte) and gut-busting deep-dish with spinach (Chicago).
New York pizza ~ nothing like it. My favorite pizza from my Detroit Days was Pizza Papalis Chicago-style deep dish pizza. It was so cheesy and the sauce always tasted fresh.
Just experience a Pinsa at a newish restaurant on Capitol Hill. The crust was lighter than any I have had, yet crispy, and there are a vast number of toppings that you can choose. I had one of the daily specials. It was heaven!
Sounds great ~ what’s the restaurant?
La Casina. Very small, need reservations. A couple from Rome started it. Next door to where Montemarte used to be. Great fried artichokes, too.
Oh boy. I am going to make a reservation ASAP
Nice review in WAPO about a week or two ago.
I really love pizza. I have always enjoyed it, but as time passes I love it more and more. There are many wonderful ones around today, but my favorite is just a memory. It was a nice slice from a restaurant in Brentwood where I grew up. The restaurant was called Piece o' Pizza, one of those Italian-American restaurants with checkered tablecloths, and candles on the tables that many would class as kitsch. For our family it was a place of joy, a gathering place for as many Crocettis' as you could find of an evening. We kids had a blast, while the parents sat quietly with their backs to the other patrons. There was also a take-out window, great for a quick, no hassle dinner. The pizza was always simple, pepperoni being the only embellishment, and always the subject of much pre-order discussion. Anchovies never were an option. My dad always ordered a beer. That was the only time I remember him drinking, but the yeasty smell of the beer was just perfect with the aroma of that simple pizza. I guess what made that pizza so wonderful was having the family together, laughing so hard we'd cry. It was the feeling of togetherness that made it such a terrific slice.
Such a great memory description, Adri. Thank you for sharing it. Those places really were iconic. Wonder how many are left...
A very enjoyable and fun post, thank you. I'm late in my reply but when I thought about pizza experience, my mind went back to my student days in Florence. My roommate and I sat at the counter of a soon-to-be favorite place for pizza and I ordered a quattro stagioni, something very new to me as someone from NJ where the "pies" we got were pretty basic, but excellent. It was quite a discovery--artichokes, new to me, prosciutto, mushrooms, and I forget what the fourth section was. Thanks for taking me back to that memory.
Sounds delicious. I love quattro stagioni. It's funny; I never associate Florence with pizza, thought I know many do, especially nowadays when you can find good pizza all over Italy.
Thanks for this recommendation! I've got lots of pizza books in English and Italian but often it's troppo (too much) information for actually getting creative pizza toppings together in a hurry. This looks like a truly useful one with lots of skill invested in making it practical. In Asheville we've got lots of farm markets so the seasonality is also a real plus on the pizza AND the salad side.
My family and I just got back from Asheville yesterday. First time there and it was a short visit, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Your description "lots of skill invested in making it practical" really pinpoints what I like about this book.
Flavio! We also meet here! I have just happily subscribed to your Substack 😍
Favorite pizza? Definitely NOT the 2 dozen Lean Cusine cheese pizzas my husband stockpiled in the freezer (but you already know that 🤦♀️)
haha this is why I like you, Amie ;-)
We bought a Gozney. Wish I’d waited a few years for a larger one but we love it.
I’ll look it up, thanks
The most delicious and memorable pizza I’ve had was a potato-garlic white pizza at Serious Pie in Seattle. The potatoes were sliced paper-thin and were crisped to perfection! As a West Coaster who admittedly is not a pizza gourmand, I was astonished that THIS was pizza! I had far too many slices and perhaps a bit too much white wine to go with them . . .
A good potato pizza is a true JOY.
Back in the "70's, my Italian grandmother (from Bovino) would make a white pizza with garlic and fatback. I know, it sounds dreadful - but it was totally delicious. I smoked out my dorm long ago when I cooked one and the garlic aroma filled the building! Nostalgia aside, please sign me up for the cookbook giveaway. These sound like the sheet pan pizzas of my youth!
That pizza sounds the opposite of dreadful. Inspired to give it a go. Did the RA in your dorm come after you? 😂
Coming from St Louis, the king of the thin crust pizza with Provel cheese, I have learned to enjoy Italian style hand tossed crust and fresh mozzarella cheese. My favorite pizza is usually a simple one with fresh mozzarella, basil, garlic and fresh tomatoes thinly sliced. I like to be able to taste the “yeastiness” of the crust.
I really enjoyed the pizza we had in St. Louis when I came to teach! I was FASCINATED by Provel cheese and the way it’s packaged. And I agree that you can’t beat a simple fresh pizza.