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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
Tres Quesos
Tres quesos — cotija, Asadero and queso blanco. These are some of the more important cheeses in the family of Mexican cheeses. They each lend a flavorful dimension to various dishes ranging from appetizers and pizza to pasta and salads. Even mo...
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Menu Development
Chocolate Cake
More restaurants need to step up to the plate (so to speak) when it comes to desserts. Why? Because you lose income (lower check average) if you don’t. Why? Because you increase customer satisfaction. Absolutely, there are a gazillion dess...
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Menu Development
Marinating Mushrooms
One of the easiest ways to ramp up the flavor of any pizza featuring mushrooms is to marinate the earthy delights for a day or two. Not only will the produce taste better, but it won’t dry out in the oven, either. Start with white button mushro...
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Menu Development
Ricotta Revelry
Love it or hate it, ricotta just may be the most versatile cheese found in pizzerias today. Not only is it used in pasta dishes, but it can also be found atop pizzas and in rich, delightful sauces and desserts. It’s important to understand...
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Menu Development
Twist on a Basic Sauce
Let’s take a look at a few sauces that are unique yet useful. Sauces that will catch the eye of your customer and, just possibly, leave your competition in the dust. I am not suggesting that you go through a complete sauce makeover, because tha...
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Menu Development
Cooking Pizza Sauce
Question: Should I cook or not cook my pizza sauce? Answer: Okay, this doesn’t address dough, but it is a common question nevertheless. I can’t tell you not to cook your sauce, but I can give you some reasons why I personally wouldn&rsquo...
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Menu Development
Marketing a Coffee Bar
You can have the best coffee bar in the biz, but it doesn’t do you any good if no one knows about it. Here’s how to get the word out: Customer education. Coffee newbies may hesitate to order something because they can’t pronounce it...
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Menu Development
Sauce Doctoring
Ask ten French chefs to make a Béarnaise sauce and each of the sauces will taste the same. Ask ten Italian chefs to make a Bolognese sauce and none of the sauces will taste the same. No reflection on the expertise of either group of chefs, but...
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Menu Development
Veal Parmigiana
Vitello parmigiana, veal parmigiana, or veal Parmesan? Take your pick as to which wording you want to use to list this classic dish on your menu since all of them will serve your customers well — as long as you make it great. You have to admit, tho...
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Menu Development
Defining Organic
The Organic Trade Association provides background and information about organic food on its web site, www.ota.com. The OTA defines organic as food that is produced in soil that is free of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. The food itse...
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Menu Development
Mascarpone
Menu Development Cheese Primer: Mascarpone By Pasquale “Pat” Bruno Jr. 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...
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Menu Development
Sauce Production
If we look at a pizza crust as a canvas on which the pizzaiola can create his art, then it follows that the sauce becomes the foundation for the work. Pizza sauce has come a long way. Not too many years ago (less than 40, in fact) it was tomato,...