The United States of Pizza

The United States of Pizza
by Craig Priebe [641.824 Pri] 

The Lincoln City Libraries have an incredible collection of cookbooks, and nearly every time I wander by our “New Books” display, I find myself gravitating towards one of more of these visually appealing tomes. This one in particular grabbed my attention with its cover image of a meatball-festooned disc of pizza goodness. After opening chapters dealing with the kitchen equipment needed to make good homemade pizza, and sections covering basic crust and sauce recipes, author/chef Craig Priebe breaks the rest of this volume into chapters based on the styles of pizza involved: Naples-Style, New York-Style, Sicilian-Style, Sourdough pizzas, Stuffed pizzas (things like calzones, pierogies and strombolis), Corn Flour pizzas, Whole Wheat pizzas and Gluten-Free pizzas.

Each recipe in each section is highly-detailed but clearly explained, step-by-step, and there is a photographic illustration of the finished product for about 85% of the recipes. Each of which is mouth-wateringly gorgeous. I’ll have to admit — some of his recipes are really kind of “out there” (calamari pizza?), but most of what he includes in this book could be modified easily to accommodate differing tastes. Priebe makes gourmet pizza creation seem like something anybody should be capable of! And the pictures of the pizzas are worth the price of admission!

[ publisher’s official The United States of Pizza web site ] | [ official Craig Priebe web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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