Pizza Week: Second week of January

The second week of January is National Pizza Week. We celebrate this observance every year and I always look forward to the new and improved pizza recipes that are posted on food blogs. For this week I'm going to try and post a few pizza ideas and recipes myself and also list an ongoing link list to some other great pizza posts. If your posting about pizza in your blog, make sure you leave us a comment about your post ok. We'll celebrate pizza together :) 

Pizza In The United States

The United States has developed quite a large number of regional forms of pizza, many bearing only a casual resemblance to the Italian original. During the latter half of the 20th century, pizza in the United States became an iconic dish of considerable popularity. The thickness of the crust depends on what the consumer prefers; both thick and thin crust are popular. Often, "Americanized" foods such as barbecued chicken and bacon cheeseburgers are used to create new types of pizza.

Ingredients:

American pizza often has vegetable oil or shortening (often, but not always, olive oil) mixed into the dough; this is not as common in Italian recipes (for example, the pizza dough recipe in the influential Italian cookbook Il cucchiaio d'argento does not use oil). This can range from a small amount in relatively lean doughs, such as New York style, to a very large amount in some recipes for Chicago-style deep-dish dough. In addition, American pizza (at least thin-crust) is often made with a very high- gluten flour (often 13–14% protein content) of the type also used to make bagels; this type of flour allows the dough to be stretched rather thinly without tearing, similar to strudel or phyllo dough.


In some pizza recipes, the tomato sauce is omitted (termed "white pizza"), or replaced with another sauce (usually garlic butter, but sauces can also be made with spinach or onions). In the Philadelphia area there are also tomato pies—sauce only, or sauce with ripe Roma tomatoes and spices but no cheese—and upside-down pizzas, i.e., the cheese on the bottom and topped with sauce. Pizza is normally eaten hot (typically at lunch or dinner), but is sometimes eaten as cold leftovers. (I like it cold for breakfast myself)     wikipedia.com - thefreedictionary.com - gone-ta-pott.com -

Outside Links
•  Chicago style deep dish pizza
•  Thick crust pizza recipe

•  Thin crust pizza recipe

•  How to make dessert pizza
•  Joandsue.blogspot - califlower crust pizza
•  Pizza Tips


1 Week Celebration Recipes
•  Recipe #1 - 4 ingredient pizza /what I call a cheater cheese pizza
•  Recipe #2 - Smoky Brunch Pizza
•  Recipe #3 - Deep-dish sausage patty pizza
•  Recipe #4 - being posted Thursday
•  Recipe #5 - being posted Friday
•  Recipe #6 - being posted Saturday
•  Recipe #7 - being posted Sunday

Other Pizza Holidays to Remember!

• October:  National Pizza Month.

• October 11: National Sausage Pizza Day.

• January: National Pizza Week is the second week of the month.

• May 15:  National Pizza Party Day.

• November 12: National Pizza with the Works Except Anchovies Day.

4-Square Family Pizza Recipe

This post is in honor of All Pizza Holidays but today, November 12 is National Pizza with the Works except Anchovies Day! In honor of that here's a family pizza that covers everyone's favorite flavors... without anchovies. Great for Game Day too :)

4-Square Family Pizza Recipe
Originally uploaded by Pillsbury.com

INGREDIENTS:

Cornmeal, if desired

1 can (13.8 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 oz)

BBQ Chicken Pizza Square

1 tablespoon chopped red onion
1/2 cup refrigerated honey hickory barbecue sauce with shredded chicken, large pieces cut up

Margherita Pizza Square

1 tablespoon shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
4 to 5 (1/4-inch-thick) slices plum (Roma) tomato (about 1 large tomato)
1 tablespoon thin fresh basil strips

Hawaiian Pizza Square

2 tablespoons pizza sauce
2 slices Canadian bacon, quartered
1/4 cup pineapple tidbits, well drained (from 8-oz can)

Pepperoni Pizza Square

2 tablespoons pizza sauce
8 to 10 slices pepperoni (from 3-oz package)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with cornmeal. Unroll dough; place on cookie sheet. Starting at center, press out dough into 14x12-inch rectangle. Brush dough with olive oil.

2. Bake 6 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle Cheddar cheese in the shape of a "plus sign" on crust, dividing the crust into four squares. Top each square with 1 of the 4 variations listed above to make 4 different squares; if desired, on the Pepperoni Pizza Square, arrange the pepperoni to make a happy face. Top entire pizza with mozzarella cheese.

3. Bake 10 to 13 minutes longer or until crust is deep golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut pizza into 4 squares; cut each square into 4 squares to make a total of 16 squares.