Sunseri's Pizza - Pizza Boat

We love Sunseri's in Carrick and never tire of their pizza and other pizza snacks!  This is a "pizza boat" - a large Italian bun, sliced and cooked with pizza sauce and loads of cheese.  They are also happy to add whatever toppings you like - we ordered ours plain.  The pizza boat is similar to a French Bread Pizza ... but we like this version best.

Lexi's Pizza of Awesomeness

Vocelli Pizza

617 Brownsville Road
Carrick, PA
412-697-0888

Vocelli's Pizza was a pleasant surprise on a cold, rainy January day!

We ordered a traditional crust pizza with extra sauce - I opted to go easy on the cheese, because it made me feel like I am trying to stay on my diet.  Because of the nasty weather, we also opted for delivery, and were glad we did.  The pizza arrived about 10 minutes earlier than we expected and it was the perfect temperature - not too hot and not too cold.

The traditional crust was chewy and enjoyable.  The flavorful sauce had a bright tomato flavor, with small pieces of tomato and flecks of Italian seasoning.  The cheese was the perfect amount for our taste.  All in all, we were very happy with the pizza and would definitely order again - next time I might try one of the gourmet pizzas, and definitely would like to try the thin crust.

The non-dieting pizza taster ordered Vocelli's cheese sticks.  We were expecting an order of traditional fried mozzarella or provolone fingers, so were surprised to find a pizza shaped round, topped with lots of cheese and fried, then cut into fingers.  I tried a nibble and it was very garlicy; the others loved it and also enjoyed the marinara sauce that came with it.

Vocelli's is very generous with their coupons - a current offer that came with our order is for a free grande one topping pizza when you buy a grande one topping pizza at regular price.  We also received coupons for a Grande Gourmet for $14.99 and one for two Grande 2 Topping pizzas for $19.99.

Super Sized Pizza Hoagie Recipe

1 loaf Italian bread
1/4 lb. sliced roasted turkey breast
1/8 lb. sliced ham
1/8 lb. sliced hot ham or capicolla
1/8 lb. sliced provolone cheese
1/8 lb. sliced salami or pepperoni
1/4 cup pizza sauce
olive oil
pizza seasoning
hot banana pepper rings

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Slice loaf of bread lengthwise, so that it looks like a huge sandwich bun when sliced.

3.  Brush or spritz both cut sides with olive oil.

4.  Layer meats, cheese and pizza sauce:

• turkey breast
• hot ham
• provolone
• pizza sauce (brushed evenly over layer of cheese - use more if desired)
• banana pepper rings (quantity to taste)
• salami or pepperoni
• ham

5.  Sprinkle top layer liberally with pizza seasoning.

6.  Put top crust in place and press firmly to "pack" sandwich.

7.  Wrap entire sandwich in aluminum foil and place on cookie sheet, then put in oven.  Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and contents of sandwich is heated through.

8.  Remove from foil and slice into individual portions - we usually slice into 8 portions.


Products we used:

We purchased the bread and all of the meats from McGinnis Sisters.  We used "hot ham" this time instead of capicolla, very thinly sliced hard salami, and purchased their own fresh Slow Roasted Turkey Breast and Smokehouse Ham.  We used Mancini's Twist Bread as the base; normally we use Giant Eagle's Tuscany Bread.  We also used Mid's pizza sauce (one of our favorites) and Mt. Olive banana pepper rings.

Pizza Hut - Townesquare Way, Brentwood, PA

70 Townesquare Way
Pittsburgh PA 15227
Phone: (412) 885-4404

A flyer appeared in the mail this week from Pizza Hut advertising an online deal - any size pizza, any number of toppings, any style crust (well, almost any) for $10 - that sounded like a deal worth trying!  An even better deal is the extra 20% you can save with your first online order, using the coupon code "IG".  We ordered a hand tossed traditional crust pizza with sliced banana peppers on half and an order of cheese sticks. 

The crust was very bready, with a cardboard-like bottom layer; it was loaded with a red pizza sauce and a decent amount of cheese.  We were glad to have ordered the banana peppers as a topping - they added a welcome zing.  The bright spot was the "Wing Street Fried Cheese Sticks" which we enjoyed - they were small and manageable, and the side of marinara dipping sauce was tasty.

In the long ago past, we used to order a Mexican or Taco pizza from Pizza Hut.  If I do go back again, I think I'll try their Fiesta Taco specialty pizza - beans, cheese, choice of beef or chicken, tomatoes, and onions with a side of Tostito's salsa..

DiSalla's Pizza Revisited

The last time we ate DiSalla's pizza we ordered extra sauce and light cheese.  We wanted to try it the "regular way" so stopped back again and picked up eight slices, with the proportion of sauce and cheese that they normally use. 

It was wonderful.  The sauce was rich, with a garlicy bite, and the cheese was luscious and flavorful.  The crust was sturdy, but light and airy at the same time.  The proportions were perfect.

I guess what I'm saying is that no matter how they make it, it's fantastic!

DiGiorno's New 200 Calorie Pizza - Tomato and Cheese

With so many fresh pizza options in Pittsburgh, I don't often eat frozen pizza - but in the winter it's not easy to get around, and hard to get delivery to my hilly, snow covered neighborhood. I was happy to find a coupon for DiGiorno's new 200 Calorie Pizza and even happier when I found it on sale at Giant Eagle - bringing the total price down to $1!

DiGiorno's 200 Calorie Pizza comes in three flavors -  Chicken with Peppers & Onion, Pepperoni, and Cheese & Tomato.  I chose Cheese & Tomato.  I was surprised that the box contained two 200 calorie pizzas and that, well, they were rather small.  Each individual pizza is rectangular and about 6" long x 3" wide.

They suggest two different preparation methods - microwave or traditional oven.  I tried both methods and, although I appreciate the ease and speed of a microwave pizza, the oven method produced a better crust.

The thin crust was very good - when cooked in the microwave, it was slightly tough, but when cooked in the oven it was crispy and even seemed to taste better.  The sauce had a herby flavor with lots of garlic and large chunks of tomato.  The pizzas were topped with loads of gooey and good mozzarella cheese.

The pizza was very good for a frozen option, especially at the bargain sale price ... but it just wasn't big enough!  I had intended to only eat one of the pizzas, but after eating one slice, I was still hungry.  I started to wonder how many calories are in a typical slice of pizzeria pizza and how many total are in the three slices or so that I usually eat.  Maybe I'd rather just enjoy and not know.

Carol of Casey's Pizza, Penn Hills, PA

Penn Hills Shopping Center

Pittsburgh, PA  15235

412-242-0650

It had been a long time since I had eaten a pizza from Carol of Casey's and I never tried their Sicilian pizza.  After shoveling snow and heading out to do errands that took me to the Penn Hills Shopping Center, I thought I would treat myself to a slice. 

I'm glad I did!  The small restaurant has four picnic style tables for customers who would like to eat there, and it was busy even though it was a little late for the lunch hour.  I was greeted warmly by a very pleasant young woman, who was equally pleasant while answering the phone and talking to other customers.  The snow started to get heavier, so she packed my slice to go and I was on my way.

It was still warm by the time I got home and it smelled wonderful.  The sturdy crust on the Sicilian pizza slice was about 1/2" thick, with crisp edges and a light interior.  The homemade sauce was rich and delicious, and had small  chunks of tomato and even a few tomato seeds.  The pizza was topped with a generous layer of fresh cheese that was melted to perfection.

Carol of Casey's has an extensive menu which includes fun foods - like wings, fries, jalapeno rolls, fried mushroom and provolone, chicken tenders and more, hot pocket Wedges, red or white pizza, calzones and strombolis, salads, pasta dinners, focaccia sandwiches, gyros and wraps and a long list of oven baked hoagies.  They just added a fish hoagie to the menu, which I bet will be popular during Lent.  Carol of Casey's offers 15 types of specialty pizzas, the newest of which is Roasted Red Pepper & Chicken, which sounds great - I think I'll stop back again and try it!

Pino Gelato Pizza Cone Update

You know we loved the Pizza Cone from Pino Gelato!  We subscribe to Pino Gelato's email list, and just got an update from them - they have opened new locations in Bluffton, SC, Chattanooga and Knoxville, TN, Roanoke, VA and ... a little closer to Pittsburgh ... Dublin, OH.  If you are near any of those stores, it is worth the visit!