Month: January 2011

Homemade French Bread Pizza

French Bread Pizza

It’s time to make a few more pizzas at home. I wondered what type of bread can be used to make ‘french bread pizza’ like you see in the frozen food section at your local grocery. I also wanted to try out my toaster oven we bought several years ago but never used. So I bought a long loaf of french bread and looked for some recipes or tips. I simply cut off 8″ of the loaf and cut it lengthwise. One recipe mentioned scooping out some of the bread if you find it too thick, but I didn’t do that. Just loaded the inside of each half with some pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. I think I baked it in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for maybe 10-12 minutes, I don’t quite remember. The toaster oven has a clear front window so I was able to check when the cheese was melted.

french bread pizza

French Bread Pizza

Pepperoni Pizza

I also made a traditional pizza using a recipe I found in a book we had lying around: The Totally Pizza Cookbook by Helene Siegel. It called for corn meal in the dough, and I thought that might give it a pretty good flavor. The first one I made had a very thin crust and it was OK. Unfortunately the second half of the dough I put in the freezer since I wasn’t able to make it within a day. I think that made it really elastic and it was really hard to roll out. But the final product wasn’t that bad. I’m not sure if I like the crust that much though. I think pictured below is the first pizza.

pepperoni pizza

Pizza at Roosters’ in Columbus, Ohio

Tonight I just tried a Meat Lover’s pizza at Rooster’s in Columbus, Ohio. This was the location on Olentangy River Rd. It was the first time I tried one of their personal size pizzas, and it was pretty good. They all start with a 9″ thin crust and you can get meat/cheese toppings for $.59 and veggie toppings for $.29. I got the Meat Lover’s one, which included pepperoni, sausage, ham, and bacon for $6.49.

Meat Lover pizza at Rooster's in Columbus, OH
Meat Lover’s pizza at Rooster’s in Columbus, OH

We had a Nachos Deluxe for an appetizer, so I couldn’t eat the last two pieces of the pizza.

Usually I get a Big Bob burger at Rooster’s with the Works; I think it’s a great burger for a great price. My husband really likes their hot wings, but I don’t really care for them, or hot food in general. But the chicken tenders with BBQ sauce are pretty good. I’m not sure if the pizza is a better deal than the burger, but it wasn’t bad. What do you think about Rooster’s food?

Little Caesar’s Pizza in Michigan

We were visiting relatives in Michigan over the holidays and had Little Caesar’s pizza and crazy bread. Boy was it good!! The deep dish crust was soft and almost buttery or greasy. Is it cooked in oil? The cheese and sauce are great too. I think this pizza may be my goal for making pizzas at home. The Crazy Bread (bread sticks) were good too.


Little Caesar's Deep Dish

Image source: http://www.littlecaesars.com
I thought the number of Little Caesar’s locations were decreasing, almost going out of business, but looking at the store locator on their website, http://www.littlecaesars.com I see that there are plenty of locations in the mid-west and from coast to coast. I remember having one close to where I grew up, in a K-mart. So I always associated it with that store and not as an independent pizza chain. There actually isn’t a location that is very close to me, otherwise I might have to start eating from there more often! It’s probably good that I don’t, since that soft oily crust is surely not good for your health!

The website has product info, nutritional info, news about Little Caesar’s, kid’s games, a shop to buy Little Caesar’s merchandise, franchise information, and links to connect on Facebook and twitter.