Pizza & Wine

July 19, 2010
Curti and Fraioli's collection of pizza recipes and wine pairings offers guidance for preparing pizzas in a conventional oven with a pizza stone or made on a grill. Chapters on vegetarian pizzas, meat pizzas, and seafood pizzas are supplemented with appetizer, side dishes, and desserts. Detailed wine pairings conclude each recipe and a California wine resource chapter ends the title. The basic dough for pizzas is made with an electric mixer and produces a Neapolitan-style crust. The authors' goals to "inspire" and promote "creativity in toppings" lends flexibility to recipes. Classics including margherita, while selections such as duck prosciutto and gorgonzola dolce; poached pear, gorgonzola, and speck; and Alaskan king crab with corn and chives will make readers thinking outside the conventional pizza box want to reach for the title and a pizza stone as opposed to their takeout menu. A lack of headnotes and sidebars, along with an advertorial feel in design and layout, detract from the solid collection and informative wine pairings.