bryan Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 Welcome to the forum. I have been posting references to your DVD "Secrets From Inside the Pizzeria" here on the forum. How did you get into Pizza? and When did you do the DVD. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Reply to Joe Thanks for the welcome! Pizza was only slightly more familiar than tacos where I grew up in the midwest - meat and potatoes territory. We didn't have a pizza place until the mid-50s, which was my first taste. I was a teenager and it was love at first bite. I found Chef Boyardee and Appian Way mixes in the store. ha! Humble beginning. By the time I was married and living in Ann Arbor my pizza had progressed, thankfully. I was teaching breadmaking classes in Detroit and Ann Arbor kitchen/cooking stores and the Ann Arbor store owner had just displayed a new product - cooking stones. I'd never seen them before and asked if she wanted to sell a lot of them. The pizza class was born. I had pizza loving kids from 3 on up come to make pizza. Tom Monaghan's wife was on the board of the kitchen store and she got her husband to come to one of my classes (I only saw the name Tom on his nametag and tried to teach him how to knead dough - he wasn't very interested). I had never ordered one of his pizzas because I didn't think any commercial pizza would be as good as mine. After the class he said, "I didn't know anyone else knew how to make pizza." Shortly after I went to work for Domino's Pizza, and the first thing Tom said was, "I'm going to teach you everything I know about pizza." Some weeks later I saw him again. It became the joke when new people started and Tom told them he was going to teach them everything he knew. He was/is one of the 2 greatest characters I know (the other is "Famous" Dave - entrepreneurs are a different breed from me) and I have the greatest admiration for what both accomplished in life. I did the pizza DVD about 15 years after I left Domino's (after leaving another R&D position, managing a Boston Market store, and working on a newspaper). I had long thought about doing a pizza book as I saw there was nothing that told people how to do it at home in a straight-forward way. That was about 5 years ago. I didn't have a clue if even one would be sold - it's so easy to speed dial for delivery - but 15 minutes after my son (my guru) posted it on the main website, we sold the first pizza dvd (eBook and video on a disk). I've enjoyed corresponding with many readers, and a few have even opened pizza stores or added pizza to their restaurant menus. I continue to be a student of pizza and always will be. I know very little about cooking pizza on the grill (once won 2nd in a BBQ other category just by luck), so I plan to be a student here and learn from you all. Bev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conodo12 Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Welcome to the forum Bev! And I must say, what a fantastic first post! There are a few folks on the forum that are very proficient in their pizza (and even calzones!) making, but we can all learn something new. I look forward to your posts and will check out your DVD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porkchop Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 bev, i was born in lansing, spent my early childhood in flint! i know from dominoes! seeing as you are a midwesterner, what is your personal preference when it comes to pizza? what is your favorite? i love all types, but my all time favorite is a stuffed spinach souffle pizza from Giordanos. do you have a good recipe for a Giordanos-style stuffed crust in that DVD? golden and flaky, almost like pie crust. i know it's a chain, but their crust is the best in my book... Uno's is good, but Giordanos is the s**t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted February 17, 2010 Report Share Posted February 17, 2010 Hi PorkChop - I had Giordanos once in Chicago and it was delicious! Though my favorite deep dish crust is Lou Malnati's. Still working on the crust. My eBook is all about how to make the traditional Italian thin crust. Then readers wanted to know how to make other kinds of pizzas that I'm not an expert about. I still have lots to learn! Lansing was great Domino's territory. I got there occasionally. They had a great sub shop near campus .. can't recall the name of it now. When Domino's was bought out many years ago, the quality of the pizza went down and I hadn't eaten one for years, until in Orlando in December. I was in shock - tasted liked I remembered it in my day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted February 18, 2010 Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 Pizza in Iowa I think my earliest favorites growing up in the Cedar Rapids/Marion area was Shakey's Pizza. We watched the guys throwing the dough, and had great pizza while watching old cartoons on a projector screen in the dining room. Not sure if it's still there or not. We live right across the street from Pierro's pizza in Wilmette, Il now. Between Malnotti's ,Pierro's and sometimes Domino's we're pretty blessed! Some of the best crust I've ever had came from my own KK! Ya gotta get one Bev! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted February 18, 2010 Report Share Posted February 18, 2010 Re: Pizza in Iowa I live in Iowa now, soon to be Colorado Springs - looking forward to getting a KK when we get a permanent place there. I grew up in Marshalltown. I travel I-80 on the way to Michigan and now there's a Lou Malnoti's just off the highway, if I hit it at the right time of day. One of my pizza readers sent me his version of the pizza and it is very close except the crust is too much like bread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Welcome to the forum Bev.. Welcome to the forum Bev, I'm always pleased when someone with lots of knowledge about anything signs up.. We're all hungry for new ideas here. I've just started doing pizzas on a regular basis but I cheat and purchase dough from the local bakery.. I've tried both sourdough and baguette dough. One great for thick and the other thin.. I recently saw a cooking show where they made dough, it looked easy so I'm ready to jump of the deep end and try.. Once again welcome to the forum.. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myself888 Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Hi Bev, good to meet a fellow Midwesterner and Domino. I have been making my own pizza for a couple years now and needed something to perfect it, so I just bought a KK. That should do the trick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted March 24, 2010 Report Share Posted March 24, 2010 Ok, what part of the Midwest is CA? Just kidding. Were you from the Midwest? Long-time Domino's fan? It's been interesting to watch their current ad campaign on the remake of their pizzas. I had one in Florida in December - must have been when they were in test mode and thought it tasted almost like it used to, which was very good. Two of my kids tried it last month and thought the garlic overpowered the dough. I never noticed it, but then I like garlic, and the older the dough gets, the more the garlic fades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myself888 Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Ha, that is a bit confusing. I was born and raised on a farm outside Edwardsville, IL. After a move to Southern CA, then Massachusetts, we have settled in Northern CA. I can't wait to drive the neighbors crazy with the yummy smell of smoking food! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Is there "garlic" in the dough? Ok' date=' what part of the Midwest is CA? Just kidding. Were you from the Midwest? Long-time Domino's fan? It's been interesting to watch their current ad campaign on the remake of their pizzas. I had one in Florida in December - must have been when they were in test mode and thought it tasted almost like it used to, which was very good. Two of my kids tried it last month and thought the garlic overpowered the dough. I never noticed it, but then I like garlic, and the older the dough gets, the more the garlic fades.[/quote'] Am I missing something? Is there "garlic" in the dough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bev Posted March 25, 2010 Report Share Posted March 25, 2010 Garlic in the dough That is what they are saying in their advertising. I couldn't taste it the one time I had it, but I could tell it was a well aged dough, so if it was natural garlic, it would have dissipated. I sometimes put a touch of garlic powder or half clove of garlic in the dough - it can overpower it quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted June 19, 2010 Report Share Posted June 19, 2010 Re: Reply to Joe ... By the time I was married and living in Ann Arbor my pizza had progressed, thankfully. I was teaching breadmaking classes in Detroit and Ann Arbor kitchen/cooking stores and the Ann Arbor store owner had just displayed a new product - cooking stones. I'd never seen them before and asked if she wanted to sell a lot of them. The pizza class was born. I had pizza loving kids from 3 on up come to make pizza. Tom Monaghan's wife was on the board of the kitchen store and she got her husband to come to one of my classes (I only saw the name Tom on his nametag and tried to teach him how to knead dough - he wasn't very interested). I had never ordered one of his pizzas because I didn't think any commercial pizza would be as good as mine. After the class he said, "I didn't know anyone else knew how to make pizza." ... Bev I grew up in Ann Arbor. We were friends with the guy that sold Tom Monaghan his first pizza shop --- Dominick DeVarti, of "Dominick's" fame. I went to school with his son Rich, who now owns and runs the restaurant. Sadly Dominick died a few years ago. Best submarine sandwich I have ever had. I make a point of eating there every time I get to A^2. Highly recommended. ah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
