The exact moment I grew to love pizza, I couldn’t tell you. Others are certainly more obsessed, such as the Brooklyn man who broke the Guinness World Record this year, responsible for 595 empty pizza boxes in his apartment. Or the Croatians, who have large red pizza vending machines all over their country. Or Kobayashi, the world champion eater, who was recently hired to attend a Super Bowl party and consumed 10 pizza pies in under 12 minutes.
My mother’s homemade pie will always be remembered. She had a special sauce I never dared to ask the recipe of as it oozed out the sides of my mouth. As a middle schooler, my siblings and I would gather bagels and store-bought sauces and shredded cheese for our inventive after-school snack. (The cinnamon raisin ones created an unexpected, sweet and savory treat.) Once, mom suggested throwing anchovies on top and I remember the squeals we all projected in unison before running away.
Photo: Fabio Bruna
Every other Sunday evening in college, too, my friends and I hosted a local family pizza dinner. One of us would supply the dough, someone else would bring the cheeses, sauces, and the other guests would bring a topping of their choice –– from fried eggs to potatoes, and mushrooms to pears. We’d set up a large banquet table (well, a picnic table) and lay out the ingredients to create something fun together. I can taste the gorgonzola cheese now!
Photo: uıɐɾ ʞ ʇɐɯɐs
The taste of pizza carries memories of different dates, different restaurants, different lovers, and different friends. There will always be the few remarkable locations that are imprinted in my mind and on my tastebuds, however: Nico’s in the North End of Boston, Lorenzo’s in the famous 9th Street Italian Market of South Philadelphia, Zachary’s deep dish pie in Berkeley, California, and the petite pizza joint in Croatia I’ll never remember the name of…
Where did you find your favorite slice? (Seriously, I want to know. Tell me on Facebook.)
Photo: Katherine Lim
To achieve renowned pizza crust, you need a pizza stone. Period. Around the globe, people will agree that a pizza cooked in a stone hearth oven has a unique taste that cannot be attained else wise. In addition, these ovens create unparalleled ambience for pizzerias, and now, your home or backyard. Best of all, a stone hearth oven isn’t made to create pizza alone. These ovens perfect a variety of dishes from soups to Greek yogurts to an outstanding organic loaf of Ciabatta bread.
Right now, I’m living in a small apartment. But I keep salivating over websites like Kalamazoo and Woodstone, dreaming about the day when I’ll be able to install my very own stone hearth oven. And okay, maybe going ahead and picking out a pizza oven is a little premature (*cough* Woodstone Bistro Home 4343). But that’s the wonderful thing about bucket lists: they’re as personalizable as pizza.
Photo: Kalamazoo Gourmet
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