I bought some farmer’s market roma and heirloom tomatoes over the weekend and made a batch of fresh sauce with them. It was a process - first I did a quick cook just to break them down enough to mill, then milled all the tomatoes, separated out a small portion of pulp for later inclusion (uncooked to boost the fresh…

We also have to contend with “crushed red peppers and spicy chilis”, which, once again, are essentially the same thing, unless those spicy chilis are green or yellow.

If you time it just right, you can also have a fun little science experiment. Water needs a nucleation site to actually crystalize and the inside of a standard water bottle is super-smooth, so water in them is prone to supercooling. The water is actually well below the freezing point of water but nothing has started…

Pretty sure you’re not.

Absolutely. I’ve been making Detroit style pizza for over a decade now. I used to a brick cheese absolutists - had to get that cheese, even if it was hard to track down some days.

For Detroit pizzas, you’re thinking “brick cheese.” It’s not a process cheese - it’s essentially American cheddar that is a little softer and meltier. It’s made exactly that same way as mild American cheddar except the milk is brought up to a higher temperature during culturing. In terms of flavor, it’s right at that…

Damn skippy!

Hah! We actually have a lot of mutual friends and I think we may have met once upon a time and might even follow each other on IG. I sent you a FB friend request under my secret identity.

You know some pretty strange Chicagoans. The tavern-cut pizza is the standard pizza here and not by a little - far more Chicagoans have never had a deep dish pizza than have never eaten a tavern-cut. Every mom-and-pop shop sells tavern-cut thin crust pies, most of the big regional chains do (Aurelio’s, D’Agostinos, La…

I almost always use natural starter, but you can make tasty, complex dough with instant yeast. Making a biga or poolish helps tremendously, as does a long cold ferment.

I’m actually not a fan of the pizza myself, but it’s definitely a unique institution that you’ve got to try at least once and the restaurant itself is really cool. The Mediterranean Bread is the best thing there.

Bar pizza has a little more oil in the dough - it’s a little crispier. Chicago thin (generally) is a little leaner and sturdier, as it needs to stand up to the sausage oil that is released into the sauce from cooking raw chunks of sausage directly on the pie.

That liquor store... nothing good came from that liquor store. (I lived in Fox Lake, but had friends who lived in Island Lake and Wauconda, so I was down there all the time).

Chicago has at least four distinct styles:

The important thing is to add it raw in chunks, so that the sausage flavor seeps into the sauce and the irregular texture gives you crispy bits and tender bits.

I’d definitely do a pilgrimage to Villa Nova in Stickney if you like that classic sausage pie. Order it well-done and be prepared to be amazed at the sheer amount (and deliciousness) of sausage you will be eating.

Aurelio’s crust is a little different than what I’d call “standard” tavern crust - it’s actually better, in my opinion. That sweet sauce is an interesting choice - very common among the South Side pizzerias.

At my last job, there was always a bowl of fun size candies out and PayDay was one of them. I assume it was in one of the odd mixes, as there were Mounds and Almond Joys in the mix too. PayDays were always the last ones in the bowl - good for me, as I like them fine.

I doubt she’s going to be at Bon Appetit for much longer. Priya quit today.

You are 100% correct about Whatchamacallit being better without the caramel. I’ll still pick one up, but for a while, it was little kid Fredipus’ go-to candy bar. It’s too sweet now.