Pizza Toppings: Simple/Elaborate, Traditional/Unusual

[lindag]

Around here (and maybe where you are), many people dip their pizza in Ranch dressing!

I'd never heard of that before and thought 'why would anyone want their pizza to taste like ranch dressing instead of pizza!'?

[Anna N]

7 minutes ago, lindag said:

Around here (and maybe where you are), many people dip their pizza in Ranch dressing!

I'd never heard of that before and thought 'why would anyone want their pizza to taste like ranch dressing instead of pizza!'?

Lots of pizza joints around here offer dipping sauces. When I have watched people use them it is generally just the crust they dip.  And some of the crusts can only be improved by dipping them in something. 

[Paul Bacino]

I pre cooked ( simmer ) this in its ear, then clean and cut

 

Yellow Corn/ bacon/ basil/ my red sauce/ Parm/  this is a cross b flour and corn meal crust

 

 

[Katie Meadow]

Paul, your pizza looks delicious. When you think about it, corn pizza shouldn't be any less appealing than corn on a flour tortilla; mixing it with tomato, bacon or ham, basil, cilantro, or oregano and chile in some form makes equal sense. I have certainly enjoyed a quesadilla or a burrito with corn on/in it with a red chile sauce or green chiles in some iteration. Kewpie mayonnaise...well, no. I've eaten at my share of Chinese restaurants, especially growing up in NY, but I've never seen Corn Pizza on the menu, so maybe that's been lost in translation.

 

Since everyone is bringing up seafood, remember that clam pizza has been around a long time. It's famous in CT and I had a great one at Otto in NY a few years ago. The combo of shrimp and corn is a slam-dunk in a variety of forms, so crawfish can't be far behind, even on a pizza. I will say that generally I prefer vegetarian pizzas and rarely eat meat or chicken on my pizza; it's just a quirky preference as I'm not a vegetarian.

 

One thing that was a bonus for my pizza was that I lucked out in getting some very fresh very sweet corn. The crust was our usual pizza crust, on the side of thin and crispy, a cousin of flatbread I suppose. So nice to have a new pizza I can make. 

[cakewalk]

22 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Paul, your pizza looks delicious. When you think about it, corn pizza shouldn't be any less appealing than corn on a flour tortilla; mixing it with tomato, bacon or ham, basil, cilantro, or oregano and chile in some form makes equal sense. I have certainly enjoyed a quesadilla or a burrito with corn on/in it with a red chile sauce or green chiles in some iteration. Kewpie mayonnaise...well, no. I've eaten at my share of Chinese restaurants, especially growing up in NY, but I've never seen Corn Pizza on the menu, so maybe that's been lost in translation.

Since everyone is bringing up seafood, remember that clam pizza has been around a long time. It's famous in CT and I had a great one at Otto in NY a few years ago. The combo of shrimp and corn is a slam-dunk in a variety of forms, so crawfish can't be far behind, even on a pizza. I will say that generally I prefer vegetarian pizzas and rarely eat meat or chicken on my pizza; it's just a quirky preference as I'm not a vegetarian.

 

One thing that was a bonus for my pizza was that I lucked out in getting some very fresh very sweet corn. The crust was our usual pizza crust, on the side of thin and crispy, a cousin of flatbread I suppose. So nice to have a new pizza I can make. 

You mention a lot of things. For me, the combination of toppings in and of themselves is not an issue. (Corn and tomato is one of my favorite combinations. Corn and tomato sauce, not so much.) The issue is whether or not it's a pizza when it has all those toppings. As you mention, you've had such combinations on flatbread, or a quesadilla, a burrito, a tortilla, ... whatever. But pizza is a thing in and of itself. With pineapple, corn, tuna fish, chicken, etc. it becomes something else. Maybe it is a vegetable flatbread. If you need to eat it with a knife and fork, I think it belongs in its own realm. (I'm waiting for dessert pizza. Chocolate and tomato sauce. With whipped cream. On pizza dough. Mmmmm. )

[Katie Meadow]

Cakewalk, you've opened a can of worms that's been opened before on eG, usually starting with any mention of Hawaiian Pizza. And this thread was really about corn pizza. The origin of Pineapple Ham pizza is as weird and emblematic of how food is a such a vibrant ever-morphing thing that crosses cultural barriers as often as we get hungry. A Greek immigrant in Ontario invented the so-called Hawaiian pizza in 1962 in his hamburger joint. Go figure. It took serious root in Hawaii and the US and other places. If someone ordered a pineapple and Canadian bacon flatbread the pizza guy would look at you like you were nuts.

 

What constitutes "pizza" is a topic for another thread and for anyone still having the energy to tackle it. Plenty of places now serve breakfast pizzas and dessert pizzas.They don't really interest me, but hey, I don't like my ice cream on top of sourdough bread. My millennial nephew adores cereal milk ice cream and he didn't even grow up eating cereal, which I find hilarious. He was raised by my hippy macrobiotic brother who fed his kids some truly awful stuff. If my nephew wants to call something pizza he's simply buying what they are selling.

 

 I DO eat my pizza with a knife and fork if I'm not eating standing up. I grew up eating it folded in paper in NY with oil dripping everywhere, so I'm not immune to the charm. I didn't even know eating pizza with a knife and work could be a thing. Unless the corn kernels are all well embedded in the cheese--and I don't like to use that much cheese-- it isn't that easy to eat Corn Pizza without utensils!

[Anna N]

32 minutes ago, Katie Meadow said:

Unless the corn kernels are all well embedded in the cheese--and I don't like to use that much cheese-- it isn't that easy to eat Corn Pizza without utensils!

 That was the very first thought I had when somebody mentioned corn on pizza.   Chasing kernels all over the table, all over my lap, all over my bosom… you get the picture....is not my idea of fun. 

[liuzhou]

Coincidentally, British newspaper The Independent had this article on Saturday.

 

Why Dipping Pizza Crusts in Sauce is Sacrilege

[Ashen]

I have to disagree,  nothing beats a bowl of good marinara to dip your crust into.  

 

 

[Duvel]

34 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

 

Pizza night.  Mashed potato for the teen

 

 

Both look great - but I have to admit this is the first time I read about mashed potato pizza. What do you do there: just mashed potatoes spread over the pizza & cheese (and do I see bacon pieces) ?

[liamsaunt]

1 hour ago, Duvel said:

 

Both look great - but I have to admit this is the first time I read about mashed potato pizza. What do you do there: just mashed potatoes spread over the pizza & cheese (and do I see bacon pieces) ?

 

 

I had not heard of it until recently either.  There is a pizza place across the street from my niece's school that makes it, and this is the flavor that she and all of her friends like the most.  It's a layer of mozzarella, topped with warm mashed potatoes seasoned per usual, then cheddar, then bacon and chives, and a final sprinkling of cheddar.  

[Duvel]

57 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

It's a layer of mozzarella, topped with warm mashed potatoes seasoned per usual, then cheddar, then bacon and chives, and a final sprinkling of cheddar.  

 

Damn it ... eGullet really is an enabler. Idea written down and saved for next pizza night.

 

For tonight: Pizza Oxtail (with greek-style braised oxtail, braising liquid as sauce and spring onions for contrast) ...

 

 

... and Pizza Anchovy with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and salt-cured anchovies.

 

 

 

[gfweb]

@liamsaunt I have concerns about mashed potatoes as a pizza topping. For a start they don’t add much grease to the final product. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

9 minutes ago, gfweb said:

@liamsaunt I have concerns about mashed potatoes as a pizza topping. For a start they don’t add much grease to the final product. 

 

You make your mashed potatoes wrong.

 

[gfweb]

21 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

You make your mashed potatoes wrong.

 

😁 I use whipping cream and salt, nothing else. Pizza needs added pork fat...or cheese. Mashed potatoes are one step away from pineapple 

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by gfweb (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

5 minutes ago, gfweb said:

😁 I use whipping cream and salt, nothing else. Pizza needs added pork fat...or cheese. Mashed potatoes are one step away from pineapple 

 

 

 

You make your mashed potatoes wrong.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 hours ago, Duvel said:

 

Damn it ... eGullet really is an enabler. Idea written down and saved for next pizza night.

 

For tonight: Pizza Oxtail (with greek-style braised oxtail, braising liquid as sauce and spring onions for contrast) ...

 

 

... and Pizza Anchovy with San Marzano tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and salt-cured anchovies.

 

 

 

 

I found the cork.

 

[Katie Meadow]

4 hours ago, gfweb said:

 Mashed potatoes are one step away from pineapple 

 

 

Mashed potatoes on pizza are one step away from the garbage can. Pineapple pizza, on the other hand, is otherworldly, but only if the fruit is fresh and tart. Yes, I moved from NY to CA and I changed. 

[chromedome]

In Western Canada perogy pizza is a thing. Sour cream, potatoes, bacon, green onions and both mozza and cheddar.

 

I didn't find it especially appealing, but it was okay I guess. I won't throw stones, because here on my side of the country we came up with donair pizza. Ontario gave birth to the Hawaiian pizza, and I've heard rumors of poutine-topped pies in Quebec, so I guess the Great White North has something to offend every purist.

[TicTac]

Potatoes as a pizza topping have long been a favourite in our house.

 

Hash brown pizza is a big hit (crispy fried potatoes, with onions and garlic - usually accompanied by smoked pepperoni and mozz)

 

As is smashed young potatoes (freshly pulled potatoes, boiled and laden with ramp oil - mashed and used as a pizza base (no sauce besides the taters).

 

 

[Kim Shook]

Given the chance, I would eat this potato pizza in a NY minute.

[Katie Meadow]

15 hours ago, Kim Shook said:

Given the chance, I would eat this potato pizza in a NY minute.

That does look very nice, and I would certainly eat it happily. But pizza with mashed potatoes? No. Never. 

[chileheadmike]

On 11/3/2019 at 5:52 AM, chromedome said:

In Western Canada perogy pizza is a thing. Sour cream, potatoes, bacon, green onions and both mozza and cheddar.

 

I didn't find it especially appealing, but it was okay I guess. I won't throw stones, because here on my side of the country we came up with donair pizza. Ontario gave birth to the Hawaiian pizza, and I've heard rumors of poutine-topped pies in Quebec, so I guess the Great White North has something to offend every purist.

Someone has too much time on their hands. And beer.

[Chris Hennes]

Tonight for dinner I made a pizza with gorgonzola, Brussels sprouts, and walnuts: probably more typical as a salad than a pizza topping, but I'd guess I'm not the first to make this combo. It was delicious. For the crust I used a simple sourdough, no frills.

 

Pre-baking

 

Post -baking (dressed with a cold salad of Brussels sprouts dressed in sherry vinegar and olive oil):

[Dante]

14 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

Tonight for dinner I made a pizza with gorgonzola, Brussels sprouts, and walnuts: probably more typical as a salad than a pizza topping, but I'd guess I'm not the first to make this combo. It was delicious. For the crust I used a simple sourdough, no frills.

 

Pre-baking

 

Post -baking (dressed with a cold salad of Brussels sprouts dressed in sherry vinegar and olive oil):

 

 

 

 

Small tip if you hadn't thought to do it. Try melting some of the gorgonzola in a pan and sauteeing the sprouts a little in it before adding to the pizza.