…if what they want is GOOD food.

Mention potatoes on pizza and you’ll get one of two responses. From the folks who’ve tried it, you can expect an enthusiastic thumbs up. From everyonce else: a resounding “huh?” That’s the thing about pizza with potato – it sounds strange, until you try it, and then you just get it.

Tasting the ‘You Say Potato’ slice for the first time at Escape from New York Pizza on Haight Street in San Francisco was this moment for me.  Still in high school at the time, far out pizza toppings went about far as bacon and clams as in my Dad’s favorite New Haven-style pie from Pepe’s in New Haven, Connecticut.  A diehard pepperoni fan, I was blown away by the idea of putting a potato on a pizza.  Actually I probably wouldn’t have tried it had my vegetarian buddy not touted it as being “the best” slice of pizza he’d ever eaten.  He was right. Tender yet toothsome potatoes and savory whole-roasted garlic cloves come together in a one of a kind pesto pizza experience.

Over a decade later, I finally got around to trying it at home.  Don’t wait as long as I did; add this unbeatable flavor combination to your pizza-making repertoire now.  Then when someone mentions potatoes on a pizza, you’ll know. Read more

When I told everybody I was making a barbecue chicken pizza for my website, people asked me why I wasn’t making Thai chicken pizza instead.  Truthfully, I didn’t realize it was such a beloved item on the California Pizza Kitchen menu.  I’ve always loved them — in fact, I almost ate my weight in the frozen version while I was in college — but I never realized that other people shared my same propensity.  For me (and apparently pretty much everyone else), there is something undeniable about the combination of aromatic peanut sauce, green onions and carrots, all  piled high on a chewy crust and topped with cheese. Not at all Italian, totally un-Thai, just “American” grub at its most adaptive.

The best part of making this particular pizza at home is you can get as creative as you want. I left off the usual bean sprouts, but you could certainly add them for extra crunch. And no need to break out the crushed red pepper flakes.  Here I use sriracha chili sauce to add a little bite, but of course, if spicy’s not your thing, feel free to leave it off. A sprinkling of freshly chopped Thai basil in addition to or in lieu of the cilantro (for those cilantro-haters out there) would be a perfect compliment to the sweet, salty flavor of the peanut sauce. No matter how you top it, if you like peanut sauce, you’ll love this pizza. Plus, no tipping necessary when you’re cooking out of your own kitchen.

Continued reading Thai pizza recipe . . .