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Menu Development
Detroit Style Pizza: A Guide to Detroit Pizza
Discover Detroit-Style Pizza Detroit style pizza is a square, deep dish pizza that is known for its racing stripes sauce on top, cheese crust crown and light crust. Whether you call them red tops or square pizza, Detroit-style pizza is a unique pizza style that hast become one of the hottest pizza styles and one […]
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Menu Development
Thinking Organic
Single-ingredient organic foods, such as mushrooms, meat and cheese, are easy — anything that’s certified organic by a USDA certifier will bear the USDA Organic seal. There are other seals that denote other standards, such as free-range, ...
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Menu Development
Cannoli
If there were an Italian dessert hall of fame, cannoli would surely be in it (along with tiramisu, gelato and ricotta cheesecake). The word “cannoli” is as recognizable and understood as the word “pizza.” It has to do with the...
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Menu Development
House Made Sausage
The assignment: How to Make Sausage for Pizza. What kind of sausage? That would be my first question. Italian? Well, the assignment did use the word “pizza,” so I am assuming it’s Italian sausage. But wait. There are as many version...
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Menu Development
Ricotta and Ricotta Salata
This month, The Cheese Whiz is addressing two important cheeses –– ricotta and ricotta salata. Though similar in name, these two cheeses are like night and day. Let me explain. In this country, ricotta is made from whole or partially skim...
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Menu Development
Tiramisu & Chocolate Martini
Mascarpone (mahs-kar-POH-neh) is not actually a cheese (no starter or rennet is used to produce it), but it is always included in the cheese family when the subject of relatives come up. And in the Italian arsenal of cheeses it stands tall. A rich an...
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Menu Development
Cassata Alla Siciliana
Cassata, an Italian sponge cake, is one of the more lavish desserts in the Italian repertoire, and its provenance is traced to Palermo, Sicily. In its original form, there is a lot of time involved in making the actual cake, not to mention the v...
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Menu Development
Incorporate Antipasta Across the Menu
Don’t limit the antipasto concept to platters. Consider the suggestions below to stretch antipasto across the menu: • Create an antipasto salad where assorted meats, cheese and vegetables sit over mixed greens. • Offer antipasto-style...
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Menu Development
Ricotta Cheesecake
While we don’t usually think of cheesecake as being Italian, it has been an important part of the sweet endings to many Italian meals for centuries. And, as it goes with all things Italian, there are as many versions of torta di ricotta as ther...
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Menu Development
Toppings: Over or Under?
This over-under debate has nothing to do with betting. Rather, it concerns pizza toppings and where to put them. The gist of this over-under scenario is a stew of ingredients that include tradition, appearance and common sense. Common sense and appea...
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Menu Development
Cheddar and Colby
American Cheddar is generally made from pasteurized cow’s milk. Cheddar is often referred to as the “big cheese” of American cheeses. Its popularity is quite evident, since the average American consumes about 10 pounds of cheddar ch...
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Menu Development
Manchego Feta
Manchego and feta are two of the more interesting and important cheeses in the Mediterranean flavor. Manchego is Spain’s most famous cheese, and is made in the plain of La Mancha. Only the milk of La Manchega sheep can be used to make manchego....
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Menu Development
Ricotta Pie
On some levels of taste and interest, you could call a ricotta pie the Italian version of American cheesecake. The good news is that a ricotta pie can be just as versatile as cheesecake when it comes to flavors and add-ins. And more good news is that...