Friday Pizza Box: 11/20/20
Rat in me kitchen
Today’s worldwide pizza news roundup includes not one but two Pizza Hut-related items. Which is two too many, if you ask me, but pizza news is news. And one pizza rat-related one.
But first, a few Wordloaf-related updates:
One: believe it or not, Pizzember is rapidly coming to a close. Next week is Thanksgiving week, and I’m planning to take the holiday weekend off , so there will be just one last pizza email this Tuesday. And by the time the next Tuesday rolls around it’ll be December, which means we’ll be back to our regularly-scheduled postings. But that doesn't mean we are done with pizza around here, not at all. I have loads more ‘za-knowledge to share with you, including a whole stack of pan pizza recipes.
Two: The BBGA Middle Eastern-flatbreads class I taught last weekend went quite smoothly. There remain a few kinks and technical improvements to sort out, but I think I have a remote-teaching setup that works nicely. So my plan is to start doing my own demo classes from home, probably starting in January. If that’s something that interests you, please let me know in the comments below, and let me know what sorts of subjects—recipes or techniques—you’d like to see covered. Format and pricing remains an open question, but one version would likely be 2-3 hours in length and limited to 15 students or so.
Pizza Rat Redux
I’m assuming you already know the story of Pizza Rat, the heartwarming tale of the rodent who found 14 seconds of fame by dragging a slice of pizza down a set of New York City subway stairs five years ago. If not, check out the video, I’ll wait.
Just this past week, performance artist and dancer Jonothon Lyons paid tribute to Pizza Rat by recreating (and inverting) the original piece, wearing a suit and a homemade rat mask:
For the background story on Lyons’ Pizza Rat reprisal, he did an interview with Hyperallergic.
Not Even A Rat Would Eat This
Most people are repulsed by rats, but not me. They are just larger versions of mice, and mice are cute, ergo rats are even more cute. One thing I am repulsed by is this:
That abomination—according to Pizza Hut UK—is a “Christmas Pizza”, which is topped by “succulent rotisserie chicken, crispy bacon, sage and onion stuffing”. I’ve only spent the Xmas season in the UK once, and it was a long time ago, but I’m pretty sure that that is not a standard spread on most holiday tables there. And while I’m cool with people putting whatever they want on their pizzas, and I can get behind most of those items, it’s a hard NOPE to the “red wine gravy base” that serves as a sauce here.
Blanket Yourself in Pepperoni
Thankfully, that holiday combo is only available at Pizza Hut UK. Meanwhile, over on this side of the pond, Pizza Hut has a different holiday item on offer: A weighted, round blanket printed with a pepperoni pizza design. Alas, the 15-pound blanket—which is a collaboration between the fast food pizza behemoth and Gravity Blankets—is already sold out, but you can put your name on a waiting list if you really want one.
Xenotees Pizza Swag
Something that is not sold out is the line of wonderful pizza-related items from Xenotees, a Philly-based purveyor of hand-screened clothing and housewares. I’ve been sporting a grey version of the above t-shirt for years. (The’ve got items for the taco, pie, and pet lovers in your family too, if pizza isn’t their thing.)
That’s it for this week’s Pizza Box. See you all next week & have a happy weekend!
—Andrew
I have loved all your pizza posts. This week I baked two pies from your NY style yeast recipe. You gave me the rationalization to buy stuff -- a super peel, a steel, and some high protein flour. Oh and I found the perfect round containers for fridge time. (I don't do that much take-out). Overall I had good results -- making my way to Carnegie Hall: lots of practice. But each one is a little better than the last. I have learned some lessons (use the bottom oven and not the top so gravity is easier.) Be patient -- my oven at 500 degrees needs 12 minutes for golden brown crust and the broiler is counter productive. I may try 550 degrees for the next pie. I had given up on home pizza -- never had the results I wanted. I am closer but not there yet. But I think I can get there. This is fun!
I would be very much interested in classes as well, and I agree with Jax in that lessons on technique would be wonderful. I'm also interested in lessons on incorporating more whole grains into my loaves. I recently started reading Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads book and, as somewhat of a newbie to bread making, I'm finding it a little intimidating (understatement). Thank you so much for all the pizza goodness. It has been WONDERFUL! I've got two dough babies in the fridge, ready for pizza night tonight!