Deep Dish Broccoli and Cheese Pizza Recipe

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 loaf frozen bread or pizza dough
1 c. shredded low fat mozzarella cheese
1/2 c. pizza sauce
1/2 c. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 cup diced fire-roasted diced tomatoes, well drained
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Thaw pizza dough overnight, following package directions.  I wrapped the frozen loaf loosely in parchment paper, then put it inside a large zip lock bag.

2.  Preheat oven to 475 d.  Coat an oven proof skillet with olive oil.

3.  Pat or roll dough into a 14" round and place it onto the oiled skillet.  (I messed this part up, but my finished pizza still looked okay!)  Cover loosely and let rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. 

4.  Spread pizza sauce evenly over dough; sprinkle mozzarella cheese over sauce.  Squeeze the thawed broccoli to remove any excess moisture and layer it on top of the cheese.  Top evenly with chopped tomatoes  Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

5.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is puffy and golden brown.  Be very careful removing it from the oven - the handle will be super hot!   Cut into generous slices and serve.

Note:  My testers were not sure that they would like broccoli on pizza and really complained about it ... loudly.  I made them taste it, though, and the concensus was that it was really pretty good and that they would try it again!

Easy Pizza Recipes by Bobby Flay in Parade Magazine

This past Sunday, Parade Magazine had a three page "Make Your Own Pizza" article by Bobby Flay - not only do the photos make the pizzas look incredible, the recipes look easy!  There are three recipes - pizza dough, easy pizza sauce, and a tomato and cheese pizza recipe that puts the two together.  I don't usually take the time to make my own dough (I think I'm scared!) but Bobby's recipe looks very easy.   The sauce recipe looks very easy, too, and as a bonus is low in fat and cholesterol.  

Blue Grotto Pizza - South Side

1610 East Carson Street
412-904-3277

I have never seen such an enormous pizza!  At 20" square, it was even difficult to get me and the box through the front door at the same time.   For reference, that's a dinner plate in the photo - the slice is so big that it looks like a saucer!

The Blue Grotto is one of the two pizzas I had lined up to try in April - the other is Fratello's in Peters Township.  We've had a hard time getting to Fratello's - the first time we tried, a huge thunderstorm blew up, and this time the car transmission seemed to be acting up (it turned out to be okay) so we decided to stick a little closer to home and headed for the Blue Grotto.

I love the name - Blue Grotto Pizza is named, I am sure, for the beautiful sea cave in Capri.  Before I even tried the pizza, the name appealed to me, as does their motto:  "Peace Love and Pizza".  (As I also love "Peace Love and Little Doughnuts" in the Strip, makers of the world's best doughnuts.) 

The Blue Grotto menu is very limited, but what reason really is there to have more menu options?  They make five types of pizza:  Neapolitan, Margherita, Bianca, Sicilian and Marinara.  Each is available by the slice or whole pie.  They also have Pizza Rolls, Sandwiches (Italiano, Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Prosciutto, Cheeseteak, Meatball or Eggplant Parmesan), homemade soup, salad, and beverages. 

We ordered a Neapolitan pizza, with no additional toppings.  The sauce is very sweet and tasty, with bursts of oregano flavor.  We usually ask for extra sauce - we didn't this time, but wish we had.  The crust was thicker than I expected, and very chewy, with a pleasantly charred bottom and a very bready rim.   I'm not sure if it's in our "Top Ten" favorites, but we did enjoy the Blue Grotto pizza ... and will continue to enjoy it for a few days, as there are plenty of leftovers.

If we had a Top Ten list for salads, though, the Blue Grotto salad will be at Number One.  I ordered a small, which was surprisingly normal size - I say "surprisingly", because the pizza was so much bigger than I expected that it seems like everything would be supersized.  The salad was a step up from any other take out salad I've had, and was full of mixed greens, toasted sunflower seeds, chick peas, carrot, olives and crumbled blue cheese - close to my idea of a perfect salad. 

Next time we go to the Blue Grotto, I'd like to try some of their other pizzas, and will add a topping or two.  But next time, I'll definitely order a single slice!

Gluten Free Pizza Article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review

Yesterday's Pittsburgh Tribune Review had a wonderful article in the food section about a gluten free diet - and guess what the one food is that people on a g-f diet miss most?  Pizza, of course!   Several pizzerias in the Pittsburgh area now offer gluten free pizzas.  The article mentions Mandy's, Little E's, and Uno Chicago Grill.    It really is a fascinating article with lots of valuable information - since my own sister is following a gluten-free diet, it was a huge help to me personally.  Thanks to the Trib!

Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Pizza Party Menu and Recipe

I love the Pens and I love a theme party!  In honor of tonight's Game 3 against the Ottawa Senators, I am serving:

White Out Pizza Dip

1 container (5.3 oz.) plain Greek style yogurt

2 tsp. (or to taste) pizza seasoning

Mix Greek style yogurt with pizza seasoning.  Serve with blue corn tortilla chips in honor of the colors of the Penguins alternate blue and white jerseys - or serve with baby carrot or celery stick "hockey sticks".

Pizza with Pepperoni "Pucks"

I am a mostly-terian and rarely eat pepperoni, but this is a special occasion - and besides rounds of zucchini, pepperoni is the most puck-shaped pizza topping I know of!  For tonight, I am going to relax and order pizza from Sunseri's, a family favorite.

Black and Gold Ice Cream

Scoops of French Vanilla ice cream and the darkest chocolate ice cream you can find - I like Ben and Jerry's Super Fudge Chunk.  For an alternate, try lemon and black cherry sherbet (or sherbert, as my dad used to say).

Local Beer and Pop

Pick up a local craft beer or go old school and serve Iron City.   For a non-alcoholic choice, try one of Natrona Bottling Company pops, like Red Ribbon Home Brewed Style Root Beer, or hand bottled seltzer from from the Pittsburgh Selzer Works.

Have fun and GO PENS!

Pino Gelato Pizza Cone Coming to the South Side Works!

Wow!  I just read that Pino Gelato is opening a gelateria in Pittsburgh's South Side Works - that means that the awesome Pizza Cone is coming to Pittsburgh!  I am a huge fan and you will be, too.  The South Side Works location is opening in June.  I can't wait!

Oh, yeah ... their gelato is pretty great, too.

Pizza Fusion YouTube Video Recipe Contest

Pizza Fusion is celebrating Earth Day with an online YouTube video contest and it sounds like fun - think up a recipe for an "Earth-savng pizza", make a video of it and upload your video to YouTube.  After you've done that, submit your video to Pizza Fusion and tell them why it should win.  You then have to promote, promote, promote because the top five most viewed/highest rated videos will be judged.

The panel of judges include:  Chef Aaron McCargo Jr (the Food Network), Mike Singer (Bon Appetite Magazine), Craig Agranoff (WorstPizza.com), Jen Friel, and Pizza Fusion's Co-Founder, Vaughan Lazar.

The prizes are pretty awesome, too, with the top prize a trip for two to an organic, sustainable vineyard.  Other prizes include a Trek bike, a year's supply of Honest Tea, gift cards from Earthbound Farms, Whole Foods and Pizza Fusion, and more - and your recipe will be featured on the Pizza Fusion website.

And to top it all off in a very nice way, funds raised as of result of the contest will be donated to Share Our Strength.