Category Archives: Recommended Mozzarella

A Trio of delicious Winter Pizza Ideas

Posted on by
1

Looking for inspiration for your pizza toppings? If you’re like me, you prefer to keep things seasonal, and in the winter the options are fewer unless you are using toppings grown south of the border or in a greenhouse. These three pizzas use ingredients readily available this time of year … olives, onions, cured meats, Italian sausage, and spicy jarred peppers.

Printable PDF of Pizza Recipes

From scratch or not from scratch?

You can make these pizzas completely from scratch if you like, or you can take some shortcuts such as buying pizza or bread dough (sold at most stores or your favorite pizzeria). You can also buy pizza sauce if you’d like. Me, I really prefer mine from scratch.

In the past I have done several posts about pizza, including how to make your own dough, baking techniques, making your own sauce, and various styles of pizza. Check out the Recipe Index below for the full gamut, or if you just want the sauce or dough recipe, click on those page links.

Quality Ingredients:

If you go to the Pizza Recipe Index, in addition to the sauce and dough recipes, you’ll also find my recommendations for the highest quality cheese and tomatoes. I tested a wide variety of both. Trust me, it will make a difference!

Pizza Recipe Index

Pizza Dough

Pizza Sauce

Keto Options?

If you’ve been on Keto for any length of time, you know there are plenty of recipes out there for Keto Pizza Crusts, made from cauliflower, and/or cheese, or almond and/or coconut flour. I’ve yet to test any of these and would only post a recipe if I had tested more than one recipe. Most major stores carry Keto Pizzas in the frozen section. We had the one from Costco. It was edible but the quality of the toppings was typical of frozen pizzas. Homemade is far superior!

So far there are only a few pizza crusts available. I saw some really small ones at Trader Joe’s, but they weren’t cheap, and supposedly Fred Meyer has one made by Boboli. I’ve not tried them but am skeptical.

I would love to hear if anyone has had experience with making or buying Keto Pizza Dough! You can write your comments below.

The Topping Recipes:

Now let’s get to the recipes for these pizzas. I’m not going to list quantities. Just put on as much or as little as you like. The toppings are listed in the order in which you would add them. In other words, the bottom item listed would end up on top.

THREE OLIVE & SALAMI PIZZA:

  • Pizza Sauce
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Salami (of your choice*)
  • Onions – slivered
  • Three or more types of olives of your choice (such as kalamata, green, black, or gaeta)

* I’m sure you know there are many types of salami. Beyond Genoa, some of my favorites are Sopressata, Bresaola, Capocollo, and Wine Salami.

Prosciutto & Caramelized Rosemary Onion Pizza:

  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Caramelized rosemary onions (see note below)
  • Prosciutto (thinly sliced)

For this pizza you’ll need to slice and caramelize your onions with rosemary prior to adding them to your pizza. I prefer to use fresh rosemary. To prepare, slice your onions and mince the fresh rosemary if using fresh. Heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onions. Salt them. Once the onions begin to sweat, add the rosemary, and cook until the onions are a beautiful golden brown.

This pizza has no tomato sauce. First drizzle the dough with extra virgin olive oil before adding the other toppings.

Pizza Calabrese:

  • Pizza Sauce
  • Mozzarella cheese (half quantity)
  • Provolone cheese (half quantity)
  • Italian Sausage – preferably hot
  • Red cherry peppers or other spicy red peppers (see notes below).

As far as the cheese goes, blend them to your liking. You can use all mozzarella, or all provolone, or mix the two. A high-quality provolone is exceptional on pizza!

Regarding the peppers, Mama Lil’s is an exceptional local brand.

Calabria is in the south of Italy where they like their food spicy. This pizza recipe is supposed to reflect that. If you want to tone it down a bit, use a Sweet (or Mild) Italian Sausage, and go light on the peppers. If you want it really spicy, well you know the options! One spice option I like is a spicy chile oil. I always keep a small jar handy. All you do is take some crushed red peppers in a small bottle, add a good olive oil and let it marinate together.

Homemade Italian Sausage anyone?

If you really want to make everything from scratch, you can even make your own Italian sausage. The recipe is here on my blog. You can either make it into links or just leave it bulk which is easier. The flavor is amazing, and you can adjust the heat to your liking.

Italian Sausage Recipe

Printable PDF of Pizza Recipes

Pizza Blog #4… finding the best mozzarella for your pizza

Posted on by
Reply

This will be my 4th post in my pizza series.  If you have missed my prior posts, I hope you will check them out.  Here is what you will find…

Pizza Blog #1: 

https://frankieinthekitchen.com/2018/11/29/making-amazing-pizza-at-home/

  • A brief history of pizza
  • My Pizza Sauces recipe
  • Recommendations on my favorite brands of tomato products

Pizza Blog #2: 

https://frankieinthekitchen.com/2018/12/17/pizza-blog-2-making-amazing-pizza-at-home/

  • Italian pizza styles
  • Different kinds flours you can use
  • Dough proofing and yeast
  • Ways to mix your dough
  • My Pizza Dough recipe

 

Pizza Blog #3: 

https://frankieinthekitchen.com/2019/02/08/pizza-blog-3-making-incredible-pizza-at-home/

  • American styles of pizza
  • My Basil Pesto recipe
  • Recipes for three of my favorite pesto pizzas

In this 4th Post we will cover the following…

  • Mozzarella Cheese information and recommendations
  • Other excellent pizza cheeses
  • Provide a few more of my favorite pizza combination recipes

Mozzarella Cheese Styles and Information:

You all know that a great crust, properly baked, and an excellent sauce are key to great pizza. The third key in my opinion is high quality cheese.  And mozzarella is king when it comes to pizza.  The melting characteristics and flavor work perfectly.

There are multiple types of mozzarella. The two most common here in the states are…

  • Fresh Mozzarella which has a shorter aging and is considered a High Moisture Mozzarella. Fresh Mozzarella comes in a cow’s milk version which is made worldwide, or a Mozzarella di Bufala, a very rich and creamy version made from the milk of water buffalo in the region of Campania.  The latter is harder to find and more expensive but if you have never tried it you should.  I have found it at Costco as well as at many specialty cheese counters.
  • Standard Shredding (or pre-shredded) Mozzarella, which is usually labeled Low Moisture Mozzarella. This is a cow’s milk mozzarella and comes in Whole Milk (my preference) or Part-Skim versions.

I love both styles of cheese but have a slight preference for, and primarily rely upon, standard shredding mozzarellas, unless I am making Pizza Margherita, in which case I like to use fresh mozzarella.

In the states, I believe that the best mozzarellas come from Wisconsin.  This is based on my personal blind tasting of multiple cheeses over my decades in the pizza business.  Wisconsin cheeses are the most consistent in flavor and moisture content.  That said, there are excellent cheeses from other regions.

For my catering and classes I still buy the cheese I used at Frankie’s, a Wisconsin mozzarella made by a company called Vantaggio.  Because I buy smaller quantities I generally meet my supplier at one of his accounts and we swap from his black SUV to mine.  It feels like I am doing a drug deal! But whatever it takes to get the best cheese on the market.  Unfortunately this cheese is not available to the public.

My mission… a quest to find the best mozzarella available to you… the everyday pizza aficionado who wants that same amazing quality but is consigned to buy their cheese from a grocery store.

So I tested multiple brands of mozzarella available in grocery stores in the area where I live in Redmond, Washington, which is across the lake from Seattle.

My Mozzarella Recommendations:

First, a couple of disclaimers…

The cheeses I tested were all low moisture, shredding style cheeses.  Someday I will do a test of fresh mozzarellas.

I did not purchase every cheese out there.  I stayed away from the low-price cheeses, or one’s which I felt would be inferior.  And I probably missed a couple of good brands because I did not go to every single store in the area.  Nonetheless, here is what I tested and my results.

I tested five brands of mozzarella.  I have rated them on a 10 point scale (using my Vantaggio as the Gold Standard… a perfect 10).  Overall I was pleasantly surprised at the results.

Here are my findings from worst to best:

#5:  Galbani Whole Milk Mozzarella… I had high hopes for this cheese which says on the label “Italy’s Favorite Cheese Brand” (though it also says “Product of USA”).  It was good but not great.  I found it to be a bit lacking in flavor and richness.

 

Score:  7.5    Price:  $5.79 per pound at Fred Meyer though often on sale.

#4:  Trader Joe’s Whole Milk Mozzarella…  I love Trader Joe’s and most of their products.  This cheese is better than the Galbani but did not quite stack up to the other brands.  The flavor was very good but it lacked a little in creaminess.

Score:  8.0    Price:  $4.99 per pound at Trader Joe’s

#3:  Tillamook Part-Skim Mozzarella…  the only version I found from Tillamook was a pre-shredded part-skim.  I am a Tillamook fan and found this to be an excellent cheese for the price.  It was rich and creamy with excellent flavor.  It’s only draw back was it got slightly rubbery as it cooled, probably as a result of the lower fat content.

Score:  9.0    Price:  $4.99 per pound at Freddie’s

#2:  Boar’s Head Whole Milk Mozzarella… I have a friend who operates a Boar’s Head distributorship so I really wanted this to win and it almost did.  This is a rich and creamy mozz with excellent flavor.  It was slightly oilier after cooking but otherwise a superb cheese.

Score:  9.5    Price:  $5.99 per pound at Freddie’s

Drum roll please…

#1:  Rumiano Whole Milk Mozzarella…  I had never heard of this cheese which I found at Whole Foods.  It is expensive at $6.99 per pound.  So the Boar’s Head or Tillamook both represent better values in my view.  Nonetheless, if you don’t mind spending the bucks this cheese had the best overall combination of flavor, texture and mouthfeel.  It was creamy, buttery, and had a great flavor though with a slight herbal flavor.

Score:  9.6    Price:  $6.99 per pound at Whole Foods

Other excellent pizza cheeses:

When it comes to cheese on pizza, the sky is the limit.  Do all the experimenting you want.  If it sounds good to you it probably will be.  Listed below are some of my other favorite pizza cheeses.  It is by no means a comprehensive list.

Provolone:  Provolone comes in a an Italian (aged) version, or a Deli version, usually found in a round log at your deli counter.  The latter is slightly softer and more subtle.  Both are excellent for pizza.  Many pizzerias use a blend of mozzarella with some provolone added. It is one of the cheeses used on this Pizza Calabrese (recipe below).

Fontina:  Fontina comes in an Italian version or a Danish version which is the most common.  The Danish version has the red wax on it and works great for pizza.  The Italian version is even better but hard to find and very expensive.  It is one of the cheeses used on our Gourmet Vegetarian Pizza (recipe below).

 

Smoked Mozzarella (and other smoked cheeses):  I like smoked cheeses in certain applications but in moderation.  If used straight I find it overwhelms the pizza.  At Frankie’s we had a Wild Mushroom Pizza on our Autumn menu to which we added a blend of half smoked and half regular mozzarella.  Smoked Provolone or Smoked Gouda can also be excellent.  We added smoked gouda to our BBQ Chicken Pizza.

 

Asiago:  The salty, nutty, tangy flavor of this cheese is especially great with vegetable pizzas. Look for the fresher version (rather than the harder dry-aged version), which melts super well.

Parmesan:  If you are going to use parmesan I recommend using the King of Cheeses, Parmigiano Reggiano.  It is more expensive but a little goes a long way.  The flavor is superior and these days it is easy to find.  I buy it at Costco.  Because aged parmesan is a drier cheese it is not a good melting cheese.  I recommend mixing a little in with mozzarella.

Pecorino:  There are various Pecorino cheeses which are made from sheep’s milk and come in younger, softer versions which are milder, or harder, aged versions.  The most common is Pecorino Romano.  It is very salty so if using it, balance it with a mellower melting cheese.

Goat Cheese:  Goat cheese is very strong.  I don’t care for it solo on a pizza.  But when used as an addition to some mozzarella it creates magic.  One of my favorite pizzas is our Frankie’s Pesto & Goat Cheese Pizza (shown).  The recipe can be found in my Pizza Blog #3 https://frankieinthekitchen.com/2019/02/08/pizza-blog-3-making-incredible-pizza-at-home/

 

 

Ricotta:  Creamy ricotta is very common on calzones (and in lasagna) but can also be excellent on pizza.  If you use it I suggest small spoonfuls atop whatever other cheese you are using such as this Pizza Florentine (recipe below)..

 

Gorgonzola:  Like Goat cheese or Ricotta, I do not recommend this cheese solo.  It should be used in moderation.  Check out my recipe for the Chicken Gorgonzola Pizza also found in my Pizza Blog #3 https://frankieinthekitchen.com/2019/02/08/pizza-blog-3-making-incredible-pizza-at-home/

Manchego:  Manchego, a Spanish cheese, can be delicious on pizza.  At Frankie’s we had a pizza on our Garlic Festival Menu called The Garlic Spaniard.  It was topped with a creamy tomato sauce with a touch of  hot sauce; mozzarella and manchego cheeses, hard Spanish chorizo sausage, Italian sausage, roasted garlic and red onions.

SUMMARY & RECIPES:

So that’s it for cheese suggestions.  Below are a few of my favorite pizza recipes, most of which use combinations of these cheeses.

Buon appetito.  May God richly bless your table with love, laughter, and great food!

Following are recipes for six of the pizzas we served at Frankie’s (2 per page).  If you would prefer the recipes in PDF format, click the links below.

PDF Frankie’s Special & Gourmet Vegetarian

PDF Pizza Florentine & Pizza Calabrese

PDF Passion Pizza of Verona & Wild Mushroom-Sausage Pizza

Frankie’s Special & Gourmet Vegetarian

Pizza Florentine & Pizza Calabrese

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Passion Pizza of Verona & Wild Mushroom-Sausage Pizza