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.

Spartan Pizza - Brentwood

3600 Brownsville Road

Pittsburgh, PA 15227

412-886-9430

Spartan Pizza makes an outstanding crust. It was thin and almost cracker like; it held its shape, yet could be easily folded and the flavor was near perfection. We decided that it was the best crust that we have tasted to date on our Pizza Tour de Pittsburgh. The crust was topped with a thin layer of a tasty red tomato sauce, and a bubbling mixture of freshly grated cheese - half Provolone and half Mozzarella.

It was a chilly day, so we also ordered a cup of Spartan's Italian Wedding Soup to help warm us up. The soups at Spartan Pizza are homemade by a retired chef. The Wedding Soup was very good and also unusual in that it was made with beef broth rather than chicken broth, which gave it a very rich flavor. It was loaded with thick chunks of fresh carrot and dotted with spinach and acini de pepi, as well as tiny and tasty meatballs. The Wedding Soup is available seasonally - and I'm glad it is Wedding Soup season, because I'd like to go back soon for a larger container!

Spartan's pizzas are available in four sizes ranging from Small (12" 6 cut $7) to Xtra Large (18" 16 cuts $11). They also offer small or large Pizza Boats and I was happy to see that their pizza is available by the slice, at $1.25 per slice. They also offer four specialty pizzas: White Pizza, Spinach & Feta (the Spartan's Special), Grilled Chicken Pizza (with a white pizza base) and BBQ Chicken, which uses BBQ sauce instead of a red pizza sauce.

They also serve Wedgies, which are fresh dough stuffed with meats, cheese and veggies and garnished with lettuce, tomato, onion and dressing. You can choose Italian, Deli, Philly Cheese, Turkey Bacon, or Vegetarian. Their Calzones also sound very good and are available in Italian, Philly Cheese Steak, Meatball, Spinach, Mushroom, Pepperoni or Chicken.

Spartan says that their best seller is their Steak Sub - the Steak Sub is available in either half or whole, with the lowest priced Steak Sub the regular ($4.75 half/$8.75 whole) and the most expensive the Philly Cheese Steak ($5.75 half/$10.25 whole). Other varieties include Cheese Steak, Mushroom Cheese Steak, Steak & Egg, Steak & Peppers, Italian Steak, and Bacon Cheese Steak. The Steak Subs are served on a fresh Italian roll from Mancini's Bakery.

They also serve six types of burgers, the most unusual of which are a Cajun Burger and an Italian burger, which includes Pepperoni. Their sandwiches are also served on a fresh Mancini's Italian Roll, or Kaiser Roll. You have 17 sandwich choices, a comforting BLT or Grilled Cheese, or a hearty Hot Sauce or Chicken Parmesan sandwich. Spartan also makes wraps, croissant sandwiches and pita sandwiches, including gyros.

Some of the 13 sides on the menu are fried provolone, mushrooms or zucchini, Cheddar Cheese poppers, and Hot Buffalo Chicken Fingers. They also make buckets and baskets of Buffalo Party Wings, and four pasta dinners (sauce with meatball, meat sauce, hot sausage casserole, chicken parmigiana), served with a salad and garlic toast - available for a dinner special from 4-8 pm for $6 plus tax. If you're in the mood for something lighter, there are seven salads on the menu.

Spartan Pizza is located near Brentwood High School, on the opposite side of the street. It is, in fact, named after the Brentwood High School mascot, the Spartan! We were there on a weekend, but I am willing to bet that Spartan Pizza is very popular with the students after school - and they are lucky to have such a wonderful pizza parlor so close to their school.

Mancini's Bread Company Pizza Dough - Strip

Now it's easy to perfect your pizza hand-tossing method ... without having to make the dough yourself!

Mancini's Bread Company in Pittsburgh's Strip District offers their fantastic pizza dough to go - you can purchase a 1-1/4 lb. ball of plain pizza dough ($2.75), or try the Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Dough ($3.70), or European Multi-Grain dough ($3.15). Mancini's also offers two pizza kits: one with dough, sauce and cheese ($7.95), and another that also includes pepperoni ($10.35).

We've tried the regular pizza dough, and intend to try both the Mancini's Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Pizza Dough and the healthy sounding European Multi-Grain.

I have to admit I rolled instead of tossed - next time, I'll have to buy extra and practice!