pizza toppings Archives - Kimbesa's Homemade Pizza

Mozzarella – The Best Cheese for a Pizza Fix

Posted on March 24, 2015March 26, 2015 by kimbesa

Which Mozzarella To Choose – Low Moisture, or Fresh?

Mozzarella cheese is a staple on my shopping list.

I’ve got pizza on my mind every week. I have not been told I’m obsessed with pizza, but perhaps I’m getting there.

When I check the cupboard, I’ve usually got everything else: pizza sauce, mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and all the ingredients for the dough.

As for the mozzarella, I go back and forth when it comes to which type of cheese I use for my homemade pizza.

I am very picky about the sauce I use on my pizza, but not so much about the cheese. Perhaps that is because I have not found one that is, for me, a stand out product.

I like both the low-moisture and fresh mozzarella cheese on pizza. Which one I use generally becomes a matter of convenience.

Choose Your Favorite Mozzarella Cheese

Sometimes I get the drier mozzarella cheese, in chunk or shredded form, labeled low moisture, part skim. It doesn’t add wetness to the sauce, and since I like a lot of sauce on my pizza, this makes a difference for the finished product. The toppings on the crust stay in place better and don’t slide off as easily when you pick up a slice of pizza.

Fresh mozzarella is wet, no doubt about it. I have not experimented yet with techniques that would take more time, like cutting, squeezing and draining the balls of cheese, before adding them to my pizza.

When I use fresh mozzarella on my pizza, I just slice it and put it on.

The drier cheeses last longer in the fridge, and often this is the deciding factor.

Mozzarella is going to be used for pizza around here. It’s convenient to have it last for a week or two, instead of days.

That said, fresh mozzarella is tasty on pizza!

Fresh Mozzarella

Check the deli case, or the specialty cheese case in your local grocery
Sold in a plastic pouch, pack or container with some water in it
Shorter expiration time
Use within days after opening
Creamy texture melts easily

Low Moisture Mozzarella

Found in the general cheese section, in shredded or chunk form in the cheese refrigerator case at the store
Ready to scatter on pizza if it’s shredded, or slice and spread if in a chunk
Squeeze air out of pouch of shredded cheese (if you have any left to store).
Wrap chunk cheese tightly to help keep longer
Melts and browns in a hot [popup_product]pizza oven[/popup_product]
Use standard shred (vs. fine) to prevent burning

No matter what cheese you choose, enjoy your homemade pizza!

Homemade Sausage Pizza | Inspired by Castle

Posted on September 12, 2011March 26, 2015 by kimbesa

Homemade sausage pizza is a favorite at my house. I’ve written about it several times, and how much I love our local pizza sausage.

Add fresh basil? Sounds good. Let me get some green on my pizza.

Here’s how:

Choose fresh basil leaves
Rinse the leaves and pat dry
Stack several leaves together
Roll the stack
Use a sharp knife to thinly slice the leaves (cut across the width)

This will give you long thin strips of fragrant and tasty basil, what chefs call a chiffonade. Then arrange on your pizza, after the Parmesan and sausage, before the mozzarella.

Some people like to put on the whole leaves, but I like to have the dusky flavor spread out, so that every slice has some.

I used 8 medium sized leaves for my 14-inch pizza, and this was the ordinary basil variety that is common in farm markets and specialty groceries. You could experiment with other varieties, as you wish. I used smell as my guide, and I wanted to be sure and get an herb that would complement (and not overpower) the sauce and sausage.

I’ve seen recipes for basil on sausage pizza before. But what pushed me to try it?

I got the idea from an episode of [popup_product]Castle[/popup_product], and it just struck me as something that would be delicious. Castle is one of my top three favorite TV shows. It was a program from Season 3, “A Slide of Death.” This is the episode where the plot plays out against the intense rivalry between four New York pizza restaurants, with names so similar it adds another layer to the mystery.

In the end, Castle goes “across a bridge” to get a special sausage basil pizza for his daughter. He’s such a good dad! (I’ll forgive him not making it himself.)

Any night that Castle is on is a good night for homemade sausage pizza, too!

Homemade Sausage Pizza Revisited

Posted on July 18, 2010 by kimbesa

Pizza with saussage

I revisit my favorite sausage pizza often. I never was much for a meat lovers pizza, until I discovered this locally made pizza sausage.

My friends are probably tired of me raving about my favorite pizza sausage from Hollywood Markets, a local chain of seven supermarkets.

You won’t find this exact product outside suburban Detroit. It’s made in the back at the butcher counter at my local store. I have my eye out for some other products or alternatives that might be available to friends in other parts of the country, and I’ll report on those when I find them.

This sausage is a bit more savory than the Sweet Italian, and not overtly fiery like the Hot Italian Sausage. It’s savory with the right spice blend for pizza. I say oregano, garlic, salt and black pepper, and a bit of red pepper flake. There are probably a few more secret ingredients.

I’ve tried both frying the pizza sausage to cook it ahead (after taking it out of the casings) and baking the sausage for my pizza in the casings. Either way, the sausage meat ends up in pieces to be sprinkled on the pizza after the sauce, Parmesan cheese and mushrooms, and before the mozzarella cheese.

My favorite is frying. I like the crispy edges. Browning brings out more flavor in the sausage. But baking it often very convenient. Just put a few links in the oven, go off and do other things, and come back when they’re done. Over time, I’ve decided that baking the sausage for about an hour at 375 is optimal.

This sausage has turned me into even more of a pizza lover than I was before. Easy homemade pizza, very satisfying and handy to make regularly.

Pizza Sauce Is a Labor of Love

Posted on February 6, 2010October 11, 2010 by kimbesa

Pizza sauce

Some say that it’s the crust that makes the pizza, and it’s true that without a great crust, you can’t have really good pizza. But let’s not forget that fantastic pizza sauce is at the top of the list for ingredients that make pizza really taste great.

Just so you know, there’s nothing wrong with using pizza sauce that you’ve bought at the store, as long as it is made from good ingredients and adds the right flavor to your pizza. You can find some very nice pizza sauces out there that will assure that your made-with-care, handcrafted pizza is a big hit.

We love Pastorelli, which is available in grocery stores in our area, and also online. We’ve been using it since the late 1980s and have not yet found a brand that we like better.

When you’re deciding what to do about pizza sauce, use the amount of time you have to prepare your pizza as your guide. If you’re going to be in a hurry to get the pizza on the table, you might opt for a nice canned or jarred pizza sauce that you’ve discovered at your favorite grocery store.

Don’t forget that you can purchase gourmet sauces online, too. Try some of these purchased sauces out and see which you like best, and remember that even these can be made special when you add your own touches.

So You Want to Make Your Own

Now, if you’re thinking that you’d like to try your hand at making your own pizza sauce, know that it’s not all that difficult – and in terms of the time and energy you put into it, you’ll get a lot in return in the form of compliments.

We’d recommend experimenting with this in the summer when Roma or so-called “paste tomatoes” are in season. You can find them at many farmers markets at that time of year.

To get ready in the off-season, look for recipes and find the ones you want to test, line up the tools and if you’re going to can your own sauce, there are tools and processes to learn for that if you have never done it before.

Everyone has his or her own taste in pizza sauce. Some enjoy sauces that are tangy and savory, while others like sauces that are sweet, or very tomato-heavy. When you’re crafting your own pizza sauce, you’ll start with basic ingredients, and then make the sauce your own – it will be a true labor of love, and an exercise in creativity.

Homemade Pizza Sauce to Use Fresh

You can just make small batches of pizza sauce, to freeze or use promptly, too. This is also a great way to give several pizza sauce recipes a trial run before you invest the time and energy into canning. Find out first whether you really love the sauce!

Some basic ingredients that you’ll find in just about all pizza sauces in one combination or another are: crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, finely diced onion, oregano and salt.

You might also find tomato sauce, sugar, olive oil, crushed peppers, hot pepper sauce and Parmesan cheese mixed in. There are as many great homemade pizza sauce recipes as there are pizza chefs, and with some experimenting, you can come up with a pizza sauce that is your own secret recipe.

Depending on the ingredients, you may have to pressure can the tomatoes, as opposed to canning in a water bath method.

Make Pizza at Home to Your Family’s Tastes

If you have more time to prepare your homemade pizza, creating your own sauce will be rewarding. There is nothing like making a lovingly prepared dinner from scratch, including taking the time to mix and simmer up a batch of delicious pizza sauce.

Creating your own recipe for pizza sauce is one of the nicest things you can do for yourself and those who’ll be lucky enough to enjoy your pizza. Serve your homemade pizza with optional additions such as Parmesan cheese, Italian seasonings, and crushed peppers for those who like to add their own touches, and complete the meal ensemble with a leafy salad and a glass of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc (or a glass of milk for the kiddies) – you’ll have a dinner that everyone loves!

More sausage pizza – a savory supper

Posted on January 28, 2010October 11, 2010 by kimbesa

Another great sausage pizza

I’ve been baking my sausage ahead of making my pizzas. I’ve been using the oven for roast pork and other things, so it has been easy to add an extra ovenware dish with some sausage in it.

This is very convenient when it comes time to make a pizza and has been working out well.

My favorite Hollywood Markets pizza sausage comes in the large links, and five of them is enough for three pizzas, each with a generous helping of sausage, and room for mushrooms, too.

Again this time I baked the sausages in their casings, and put them in the refrigerator to get cold, so they would be easier to work with.

Instead of slicing the them, however, I just cut chunks off in somewhat smaller pieces than last time. I really like this, because it helps the sausage get a little browner in the oven, and makes it even more tasty for that.

So handy to pull out some sausage from the fridge and cut it while the dough is rising, ready to add to my pizza right after the mushrooms.

This is my third pizza in a week, and it went down very well. I could make thinner round slices of sausage, but this method is less fussy and full of flavor.

Good thing I got 10 pounds of pizza sausage, to last me until my next special order!

Big Chunks of My Favorite Pizza Sausage

Posted on January 20, 2010October 11, 2010 by kimbesa

Homemade sausage pizza

I love the pizza sausage that comes from Hollywood Markets, one of our local grocery store chains. Hollywood is known for its meat, and one of the guys in the meat department mixes this up. The last time I got some, I ordered 10 pounds.

This sausage has a great mix of spices that complement everything on your pizza. It does have some red pepper flake, but not too much. I perceive it as savory, not hot. Kinda like Cinderella eating porridge, this one’s just right.

Usually I take the sausage out of the casing, but this week I left it in the large links, and cooked them in a skillet with a lid on top. Then I let them get cold in the fridge, sliced them and put them on the pizza.

I like this method, because I can cook the sausage ahead and keep it in refrigerator for a few days, then use it when I’m creating my next pizza.

That looks so good, I’m going to have to make another one!

PS… I’ve been making pizza at home now for more than 30 years. I guess I know what I’m talking about, because this week I found another person who liked my articles so much that they wanted to “borrow” one of them. Here’s my original article, Homemade Pizza – Great Food as Close as Your Kitchen, on Ezinearticles, an article directory where I am an expert author.