How much pizza can I eat? Apparently, a lot. Rather than slice up the last few months of pizza eating into a whole bunch of individual posts, I’m stringing a bunch of them together into the blog equivalent of a whole pie. Bon appetit!
A perfect example of bland big box health food marketing, with prominently displayed nutrition/diet information and a big, boring photo of the food you’re about to buy. But then, Kashi’s marketing has always annoyed me. Is there anything more smug than, “7 whole grains on a mission”? It’s convenience food, people. Not a commitment to world peace.
Box gets a failing grade. The pizza itself was just eh.
We picked this one up in Sturbridge after a day of gawking at antiques.
Overall Design Assessment: The box is definitely more casual restaurant than vintage pizza joint. Disappointingly, it doesn’t feature a cartoon Italian stereotype OR a generic product claim. It does, however, possess several traditional pizza box design elements — namely, the wacky title font, green and red color scheme, and repeating brick pattern.
Food with heart. And a pizza box design with a wall o’ text.
Overall Design Assessment: There’s not much to comment on here given the (almost) complete lack of graphics. The little heart is cute, though.
Along with the help of a hand-me-down pizza stone and an elderly electric oven, I have begun to experiment with homemade pizza. Behold: Baby’s first three pies.
I avoided the mistake everyone makes (too much sauce) and embraced the one that involves scraping your pizza stone for 20 minutes (too much cheese). Edible, but not yet sublime.
Black olives and onions were my favorite toppings as a kid, so it seemed like a good choice for this, my first truly homemade pie.
I got the recipe for the dough from Jaime Oliver, omitting the optional cornmeal flour (I didn’t have any). The dough wasn’t rising at first, but a few minutes of googling revealed the problem: a chilly kitchen. I ran the oven for a bit and it popped right up.
The crust came out surprisingly good, especially given the elderly oven’s random hot flashes.
Plus I was able to restrain myself with the cheese. Inch by inch…progress.
My best attempt by far. This pie has a blend of mild cheddar and mozzarella and a topping of heirloom cherry tomatoes. The homemade dough seems to fare well in the freezer, which is good news since I didn’t notice until after I dumped all the dry ingredients into a bowl that the dough recipe makes 8 DOUGH BALLS. Oops. Guess we’ll be eating pizza for a while.
First, a bit of housekeeping: After over a year of writing about Lifetime movies and pizza, I have decided to retire the half-assed moniker of Attempted Blog. I’ve given it some thought and come up with a fresh new (permanent) title: The Lower Crust. I know this is kind of like naming a baby after it’s out of diapers, but hey, better late than never.
Onto the tag. Clip Snark tagged me in his (or her? Sorry CS – I’m not sure) post as part of a tagging game. I get to answer a few questions and then share a bunch of blogs that I enjoy reading.
Do you have a test or tests that help you judge someone’s character?
Using two question marks (??) in an email. It’s never a good thing.
When did you first feel like a grown up?
Still waiting for that one.
What is something you read that made you wish you could write that well?
Oh, anything by Annie Dillard. How I wish I had that kind of boundless creativity.
What do you say when you answer the phone?
Have you ever stiffed someone on a tip?
Well…there was a dine-and-dash incident many, many years ago. I still have shame about it. Don’t hate me restaurant industry people!
Do you have a favorite writing utensil?
I’m a typer. I couldn’t live without cut and paste.
Do you use a calendar?
1) Yes, and 2) electronic. But I look forward to answering no to both of those questions one day.
Do you have road rage?
I’m mostly a pedestrian and a passenger. But yes.
Night owl cast against type.
What surprised you about blogging when you first started?
That people actually read stuff that you write.
How do you feel about this type of blogging phenomenon (tagging/awards)?
While some of their music can seem too self-consciously experimental, clever, and intellectual for its own good, at their best Talking Heads represent everything good about art-school punks.
If there is one group that embodies both the best and the worst aspects of progressive rock (from the standpoints of both supporters and detractors), it is King Crimson.
Though he never had many hits, Thomas Dolby became one of the most recognizable figures of the synth pop movement of early-’80s new wave. This was largely due to his skillful marketing.
Pink Floyd is the premier space rock band.
The April issue of The Farmer General is out! Once again, I’ve got a short piece in it. Read my essay here (it’s on fruit reproduction and Charles Dickens — piques your curiosity, no?) and the whole April issue here.
And, don’t forget you still have a couple days to vote for The Farmer General in the Saveur Blog Awards. You can do that here.
Phew! That’s a lot of links. Enjoy!