Napkin Blot Faux Pas

It was pretty good! Cheesy, pepperoni under the cheese so it didn’t get burnt. The sauce and crust were good too. Overall it was very greasy, and although I like a little greasiness, this was almost too much. Also the cheese was sliding around the crust, I think if they use a dough dressing that may prevent the cheese from sliding around. My husband did the pizza-napkin-blot to remove excess pizza oil (for him and the kids), and I kind of cringe when I see that. Although I would agree that this pizza did have a bit too much. Then when I got home, there was an article in my email about it – a poll on What pizza practices are unacceptable? It says that many consider the napkin blot a faux pas. What do you think?

Close up – Papa John’s Pizza

John’s Favorite – Pepp & Sausage

I really like the taste of all elements of the pizza, including the crust (pan or original style is just the thickness I like), cheese and sauce. I think I ordered John’s Favorite with pepperoni, sausage, and a 6-cheese blend: Mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan, romano, asiago, and fontina. Of course I can’t taste all the different types of cheese, but it was still good. Some may think the pizza is too greasy, but I think that’s part of what makes it taste good! The toppings are great, but I’m not too picky with particular types of sausage or pepperoni. They give you some garlic butter for dipping, which is also great but I’m sure it’s not good for you. They also give you a small jalapeno pepper with each pizza, which I give to my husband since I don’t like hot peppers.

The prices are great — they have coupons and deals all the time. My large pizza cost $11. They are also good as leftovers – just wrap a few pieces together in aluminum foil and refrigerate as soon as you’re done with the pizza. Microwave (without the foil!) and it will still be pretty good, although the crust may get a little chewy. Some like to eat pizza leftovers cold, but I don’t. Do you? What do you think of Papa John’s?

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

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.