Cold pizza

[Fat Guy]

I think there's a difference between cold cheese and cheese that has been melted and then allowed to re-solidify. I'm not terribly fond of the latter, though now that I think about it I've never really done a structured test. I don't have any good cheese candidates in the refrigerator at the moment -- I used up the last of my mozzarella last night in an omelet -- but next time I have cheese and a few spare minutes I'm going to set up a side-by-side comparison.

[rotuts]

If you have a Tj's oddly try the pre-grated 4 cheese

maybe Ill get Drummed Out Of E-G for this!

it works when it works: for a one two two """slice"""

you will not get interesting results unless you add:

'Bread -- pizza dough'

and

toppings of your choice

ie pepperoni

Not Available In Italy!

Edited September 24, 2011 by rotuts (log)

[Jaymes]

I think there's a difference between cold cheese and cheese that has been melted and then allowed to re-solidify. I'm not terribly fond of the latter, though now that I think about it I've never really done a structured test. I don't have any good cheese candidates in the refrigerator at the moment -- I used up the last of my mozzarella last night in an omelet -- but next time I have cheese and a few spare minutes I'm going to set up a side-by-side comparison.

I feel pretty sure it changes the consistency. Just not enough for me, personally, to love one and dislike the other.

[...tm...]

As you might imagine, Italians have come up with a couple solutions to this problem. My first thought was the real Sicialian, non-mozz sfincione which you could buy at the various bakeries listed in that article, or make with basically a heavily oiled (in the pan) focaccia with a tomato and hard cheese topping.

Then, I remembered the Roman pizza al taglio. I never ate much of it when I spent a semester in Rome, since my favorite stye pizza is the Roman, slightly thinner than Neopolitan pizza, and I had plenty of time to sit and enjoy these. But the pizze al taglio are generally served lukewarm, don't have too many toppings, and if they have cheese it is often baked into the crust, forming that crispy cheese texture. Though a lot of these versions are sauceless, and while I enjoy them, if I say I want pizza I am generally thinking of something with crust, tomato sauce, and cheese. A cherry tomato and cheese on the crust version would likely suffice, especially if I topped with fresh arugula for lunch.

[Fat Guy]

Great suggestions. Thank you.

[djyee100]

A cherry tomato and cheese on the crust version would likely suffice, especially if I topped with fresh arugula for lunch.

That sounds like the Pizza Al Crudo I tried recently, and it was a knockout. It was a fresh-baked hot pizza crust, topped with a cherry tomato salad, arugula, prosciutto, and curls of parmigiano-reggiano.

For the lunchbox version, you could bake a mini-pizza crust the night before, and pack it with the toppings in separate containers: cherry tomato salad (with olive oil and basil), arugula or other salad greens, parmigiano curls or other grated cheese, any other toppings. At school your son can distribute the toppings on the pizza crust and munch away. It's fresh, it's healthy, and there's no congealed cheese issue to divide you.

[annabelle]

Steven, is this the same school PJ went to last year? The kosher dairy-only school?

[Fat Guy]

That was his nursery school, two years ago now, which was part of a synagogue. Since last year he has been in the regular New York City public-school system, where there are no such restrictions. Although, custom is to avoid nuts and whatever else some kids in the class are allergic to (this year it's sesame). Otherwise, if you pack those things, the teacher has to make sure your kid doesn't sit at the same table with the allergic kid.

[annabelle]

Thanks. Time flies! I'll have to think some more about what you could do here since there are fewer restrictions.

[maggiethecat]

Very true -- but there's never any of that kind of pizza leftover. It's a beautiful seasonal thing, not a leftover in a box in the fridge thing. But Nonna's parm only pizza changed my mind about pizza -- it didn't have to be a slimey sloppy congealed mess the day after.

[ambra]

I was just thinking. My favorite cold (room temperature) pizza is with slices of potato and rosemary. Or sliced zucchini with grated cheese. Both delicious. I've also had it where the cheese is sort buried into holes. Not huge chunks. but small gratings.

None of the above has tomato sauce.

[Fat Guy]

I like neither congealed mozzarella nor cold tomato sauce.

I've got an experiment in the works that I'll report on later if it doesn't turn out disastrously -- or even if it does.

[nikkib]

would a bruschetta type thing be ok? You could do a diced tomato and herb on top of a pre cooked pizza base/toasted french bread slice etc with some diced mozzarella?

[Fat Guy]

I wonder if that would get soggy though.

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[Fat Guy]

For my first attempt at a cold-pizza substitute, today I made whole-wheat focaccia topped with tomatoes, grated parmesan and a little dried oregano and coarse salt. I actually only had one tomato, so only about a third of the focaccia has tomato. I just tasted a little bit. It's not terrible. I'll put a piece in tomorrow's lunch and see if he accepts or rejects it.

[stuartlikesstrudel]

I just had some leftover pizza for lunch, so this thread is quite timely! I ate a few pieces cold and then a few warmed up, and preferred the cold.

Like some others have suggested, parmesan doesn't leave the same congealed texture, and I had been quite sparse with the cheese last night when I made them, so there was no danger of that.

One of my slices had tomato and capsicum, neither of which were so pleasant... a bit slimy.

For me the real winner was an experiment - I made a mushroom sauce/paste by cooking down mushrooms then pureeing with a little mushroom "vegetarian oyster" sauce and a little tomato paste and soy sauce... a real umami hit. On top of this i sprinkled peas (frozen peas, quickly blanched) and a little parmesan... it was a really tasty pizza without the congealed texture, and I think the mushroom paste held up a bit better than a tomato base - because it was a bit chunky, it didn't seem to make the base quite so soggy.

[Fat Guy]

Here's focaccia experiment #1, ready to go in PJ's lunch this morning:

I also packed a piece in a container that I'm leaving on the kitchen counter, so I can taste it at lunchtime to see how it holds up:

[Shelby]

I wonder if that would get soggy though.

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Mine do not if I use cherry tomatoes.

[haresfur]

How about a pizza scroll - roll out a pastry dough, put on a thin layer of tomato sauce, some cheese and maybe some toppings, roll up, cut, and bake. I've seen these for sale (never tried to make them myself) but the cheese ends up crispy, not gooey.

[Fat Guy]

I had focaccia for lunch. I thought it held up pretty well. I have to consider packaging, because in a sealed container there's a bit too much moisture that accumulates. Maybe it will work better wrapped in paper. I also think I underbaked it a little. Live and learn.

Now we have to see what PJ thought of it.

[Msk]

I love cold pizza.

How about ricotta? You could a white pizza, or mix it with some sauce. Both are delicious. Heck, I'll eat fresh ricotta on cardboard.

Ricotta is delicious cold or room temp. Mixing it with sauce may make it look similar enough to pass muster with the buddies.

Mike

[Fat Guy]

PJ has requested it for lunch again tomorrow, so I guess we're on to something here.

[Nasi_Campur]

Good pizza is good hot or cold.

Bad pizza (Pizza Hut and that ilk) MUST be eaten hot.

[DrewUK]

When I lived in the US there was a company called Pizza Pizza that had a double sized pizza box and you would always get two pizzas for the price of one. I used to buy one on Sunday night, and scoff one of them and the other I would take hot and place 1 piece of pizza on top of the other one topping to topping so that there would be crust on the outside. Kind of like a pizza sandwich. Then wrapped in aluminium foil I would have lunch for the week. Nice snack and no mess as you did not have the toppings just crust to hold. The other option is a pizza pastie or Calzone.

[TheCulinaryLibrary]

I've been watching your posts and too ashamed to admit I'm not only a cold pizza for breakfast eater but also a cold Pasta eater. Well cold pasta reheated eater actually.When ever I have pasta over from the night before, which I am expert at, I reheat it for breakfast the next day in a hot pan with butter and oil with some chopped bacon and when its crispy, on one side, I throw in some chopped herbs, pine nuts and then smother it with grated cheese or throw in some cream. Yum! As you might guess I'm not a size 8..or 10..or... well never mind that......its addictive so don't try it without adult supervision...oopps, I don't think adults, other than Nigella, are supposed to admit to this kind of behavior.