The American Pizza Championship

Jeremy and Steve Lieber at The American Pizza Championship

  Last week I was given the opportunity to judge the US Pizza Championship at the Restaurant Association and Lodging Show in Orlando, FL. I was first asked by my good friend, Director of Operations for the U.S. Pizza Team, Steve Lieber to be a judge for the competition. If you recall, on my recent trip to New York I got to learn more about the art of pizza making when I met with world champion pizza maker and member of the U.S pizza team, Hakki (read blog for more). I learned that pizza making is not all about cheese to sauce ratio, it’s about your passion for pizza. Pizza is one of my all time favorite comfort foods and I do recall many memories of my family gathering around a hot, bubbly, oozing cheesy, thin crust pizza. Bringing all my pizza knowledge I was joined by two other judges, Executive Chef Michael Bersell of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Master Pizzaiolo, Giulio Adriani, winner of the 2010 America’s Plate and owner of “Olio Pizza e Piu” in New York’s West Village.

Blender’s, Gadgets, & Machines.....oh my!

As you get more advanced a counter top mixer will be indispensable

 When you walk into a store that sells all those culinary contraptions, you might think of the daunting task of setting them up and the uncountable amount of buttons you’ll have to push…wrong. The machine’s I use the most in the kitchen are my Kitchen Aid mixer and my Cuisinart food processor. If you’re a baker you’ll definitely need a Mixer down the road but if your just starting out you’ll want a small yet sturdy hand mixer that’ll get the job done.

A hand held mixer is great to get started

The Kitchen Aid is equipped with a dough hook, paddle attachment and a whisk (to whip up a beautiful meringue). It will help you prepare cake batters, cookie dough, as well as a perfect pizza dough. The food processor is another vital piece of equipment you might just want in your kitchen. It can pulse or chop just about anything. It can grind bread to make breadcrumbs, make dough’s, prepare pesto and so much more.

The Food Processor will become your most valuable electric gadget

Other (but not necessary to get started) machines in the kitchen that maybe useful are panini presses, immersion blenders, waffle iron, blenders and a whole lot more. Remember you don't need to spend a lot of money to get started and just add on when you can.

Keep on Cooking!!!

You’ll need something to cut on…

Wood Boards are great but can require a lot of maintenance

There are many different types of cutting boards,  but to start the two you would most probably use are wood and plastic. Like knives, cutting boards can be expensive (believe it or not), so save yourself the expenses and avoid the over priced ones, at least in the beginning. I like wood boards to cut my produce, chop my nuts and chocolate, work dough’s on and more. However I don’t cut my meats on a wood board because the raw juices can be absorbed by the wood, possibly causing “cross-contamination” (plus you can get a really funky smelling board).  A plastic cutting board can do just as good a job as a wood one, they just don’t look as cool. If you want to be a cook the looks of your equipment should not matter. It’s easy to find cheap plastic boards that you can cut anything on. Try to find a board with rubber on it making it slip resistant. However if you want to go with a wood board they require regular oiling and/or waxing, so think carefully before making your decision.

Plastic Boards are inexpensive but make sure they have slip resistant bottoms

Keep on Cooking!!!

Kitchen Essentials, Part 1

If you want to cook in the kitchen it's important to have all the right gadgets and gizmos. First you need to start off with the kitchen basics (which I'll discuss below) and then slowly add to your culinary collection. Some things you'll use all of the time and others might collect dust over the years, but you'll never know when you'll need it (and you will). Over time you'll pick things up along the way. When you travel, instead of that snow globe of Alaska you'll want that Alaskan Ulu Knife (I did). However, first things first so let’s start off with the kitchen essentials, so here's what I suggest.

 A Global Brand Chef's Knife

A good knife, makes a good kitchen:
Knives are the tridents of the kitchen; they conduct your culinary symphony next to your spoon and whisk. In your kitchen I considered it an essential to have a couple of good sturdy knives that will last you a long time. My philosophy, you don’t need expensive knives to have a good kitchen. You should hold your knife comfortably, it might be lightweight (I prefer), or a little bit on the denser side, but that’s for you to decide. It’s important to have one universal chef’s knife, a serrated knife (my favorite), a pairing knife, and a boning knife. Of course there are hundreds of other knives but to get started you’ll need these a lot. I like the brand Global since their lightweight and the blade is almost paper thin. Go to your local cooking store and test out some knives and pick whichever suits you and your budget the best.

**Remember to be very careful in using knives (if you're not experienced with knives please ask your parents or someone with experience for assistance) and always take care in maintaining them** 

This is Part-One of a mutli-part blog entry. So keep checking back and if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

Keep on Cooking!!!!