Pizza

November 3, 2008
According to Weinstein and Scarbrough, authors of the Ultimate cookbook series, Americans eat more than 46 slices of takeout pizza per year. On a mission to enable pie lovers to make fresh, quality pizza at home, the duo has created 100 recipes ranging from classics like four cheese and sausage and pepper to more inventive concoctions such as one made with squash and chard and another with duck confit. A primer chapter includes easy-to-follow instructions for a variety of doughs, including semolina and gluten-free dough that can be mixed and matched with recipes throughout the book. An eight-step “Road Map for Pizza” is a simple and effective guide to pizza making for all level of cooks. Options for using prepared crusts, as well as those made on pizza stones, baking sheets or the grill, give the home cook a desirable flexibility with crust preparation. Worthy chapters on deep-dish and salad-topped pizzas round out the book.

November 15, 2008
In their best-selling "Ultimate" series, including "The Ultimate Ice Cream Book" and ten other titles, Weinstein and Scarbrough include dozens of basic recipes with hundreds of variations. In their new pizza book, they present eight crust recipes and three versatile sauces, followed by 80 or so pizzas based on them, from an elegant Artichoke, Olive, and Feta Pie to a hearty Mushroom Lover's Deep-Dish Pizza. Most of the recipes are mouthwatering, though a few miss the mark (Peas and Carrots Pizza, anyone?). There's also a section on equipment and techniques and a glossary of favorite cheeses. For most collections.

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2008
Weinstein and Scarbrough, recipe ghostwriters to the stars as well as authors on their ownthe Ultimate cookbook series: The Ultimate Shrimp Book (2002), The Ultimate Muffin Book (2004), The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book (2005)give the basics and 90-plus recipes for Americans best-loved meal: pizza. With individual consumption running around 46 slices yearly, the variety offered in this singular cookbook is bound to please different regions, ethnicities, and taste buds. All offer options for cooking (oven versus grill); crusts (eight choices, from classic to gluten free); plus initial suggestions for appropriate combinations. The authors divvy up the pizza offerings into classics, appetizers, salads (no, the greenery topping isnt cooked), international, modern, and deep-dish. With the usual recipes like spinach and mushroom and cheese lovers deep-dish come a host of the startling, occasional mouthwatering, and frequently stupefying ones, including for watermelon, stir-fry, and Reuben pizza.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)