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Frozen Pizza Taste Test

Everyone loves frozen pizza. To satisfy your frozen pizza cravings and find the best frozen pizza read this frozen pizza taste test from Slashfood.
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Frozen Pizza Taste Test
Cheese Pizzas - Worst to Best

Ellio's
Our Verdict: Worst Cheese Pizza
Style: Cheese Pizza 16 oz
Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 320 / 7 / 3
Crust (1-5): 1
Cheese (1-5): 1
Sauce (1-5): 1
Toppings (1-5): n/a
Flavor (1-5): 1
Overall appeal (1-5): 1

Comments: "How is this considered food?" "Not even in the middle of the night." "Looks like brain." "Tastes like dough. Tasteless dough."
Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street
Getty Images North America

Frozen Pizza Taste Test

    Cheese Pizzas - Worst to Best

    Ellio's
    Our Verdict: Worst Cheese Pizza
    Style: Cheese Pizza 16 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 320 / 7 / 3
    Crust (1-5): 1
    Cheese (1-5): 1
    Sauce (1-5): 1
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 1
    Overall appeal (1-5): 1

    Comments: "How is this considered food?" "Not even in the middle of the night." "Looks like brain." "Tastes like dough. Tasteless dough."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Betzio's

    Style: Cheese Pan Pizza 24 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 175 / 5 / 1
    Crust (1-5): 1.25
    Cheese (1-5): 1.25
    Sauce (1-5): 1
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 1.5
    Overall appeal (1-5): 1.5
    Comments: Our five-year-old friend Izzy thinks this slice is "Yummy!"; adults were less enthusiastic, calling it "Prison food." Final verdict: "Unbearable."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Lean Cuisine

    Style: Deep Dish Margherita 6 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 320 / 9 / 4 Microwave Only
    Crust (1-5): 1
    Cheese (1-5): 1
    Sauce (1-5): 2
    Toppings (1-5): 2
    Flavor (1-5): 1.5
    Overall appeal (1-5): 2
    Comments: A microwave mess: "Just awful." "This should not be mass-produced."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Jenos Crisp & Tasty

    Our Verdict: Highest Calorie Cheese Pizza
    Style: Cheese 6.9 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 440 / 20 / 1
    Crust (1-5): 2
    Cheese (1-5): 2
    Sauce (1-5): 2
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 2
    Overall appeal (1-5): 2
    Comments: "Not awful tasting, just has zero taste."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Tony's

    Style: Original Crust Cheese Pizza 15.10 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 360 / 15 / 2
    Crust (1-5): 2
    Cheese (1-5): 1.5
    Sauce (1-5): 2.5
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 1.5
    Overall appeal (1-5): 2
    Comments: "Sauce is not bad," was the highest praise we could muster. Otherwise, tasters "did not like the cheese at all." Also, "crust tastes too doughy."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    DiGiorno

    Our Verdict: Biggest Letdown
    Style: Rising Crust 4 Cheese 28.2 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 320 / 11 / 2
    Crust (1-5): 3.5
    Cheese (1-5): 1
    Sauce (1-5): 1
    Toppings (1-5): 1
    Flavor (1-5): 1.5
    Overall appeal (1-5): 2
    Comments: "Looks amazing, but tastes like plastic." "Tastes weirdly artificial."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Stouffer's French Bread Cheese

    Style: 10 3/8 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 360 /15 / 4
    Crust (1-5): 3
    Cheese (1-5): 2.5
    Sauce (1-5): 3
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 2.5
    Overall appeal (1-5): 3
    Comments: "Not good. Not bad. Just frozen."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Tombstone

    Our Verdict: Middle of the Road (Which Is Just Fine With Us)
    Style: Original Extra Cheese 20.5 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 350 / 15 / 4
    Crust (1-5): 2.5
    Cheese (1-5): 3
    Sauce (1-5): 3
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 3
    Overall appeal (1-5): 2.5
    Comments: "Tastes exactly how you'd think frozen pizza should taste." "Most average pizza ever, which is not really a bad thing." "Cheese is its strong point."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Red Baron

    Style: Singles French Bread 5 Cheese & Garlic 8.8 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 410 / 22 / 2
    Crust (1-5): 4.5
    Cheese (1-5): 4
    Sauce (1-5): n/a
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 3.75
    Overall appeal (1-5): 4
    Comments: "Love the garlic, but it's a little too salty." "Too salty." "Tastes artificial and cheap. Made me feel dirty inside."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

    Red Baron

    Our Verdict: Great for Late Night Munching
    Style: Singles Thin & Crispy 4 Cheese 7.2 oz
    Cal./Fat g/Fiber g: 300 / 14 / 1
    Crust (1-5): 2
    Cheese (1-5): 3
    Sauce (1-5): 3
    Toppings (1-5): n/a
    Flavor (1-5): 3.5
    Overall appeal (1-5): 3.5
    Comments: "Do you think I could grab that whole thing before anyone else gets to it?" "That's just how I remember it tasting, and that's a good thing."

    Rachel Been, AOL. Shot on location at The Lofts at 45 White Street

California Pizza Kitchen Family Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

cover of california pizza kitchen family cookbooAbout once a year, I get the bug to make homemade pizza. I always find it to be a messy process, resulting in broken dough and leaky toppings. It's always tasty enough, but by the time I finish with it, I determine that pizza should remain a take-out only item. However, over time I forget this resolve and decide to make it again, only to be smacked with the same realization that it's too much trouble for home cooking.

I made pizza last Sunday, and went through the same process as in the past. Except this time, instead of resolving to abandon the practice, I started to think that maybe I needed to make pizza more often, in order to work out the kinks and have successful pies come out of my oven. Some unknown force must have had a hand in this decision, as on Monday, a pizza cookbook landed in my mailbox. The California Pizza Kitchen Family Cookbook was written by Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield, the co-founders of the chain of the same name.

Written to be accessible to kids (while not pandering to parents), I've found that this book is the exact right speed for me. It starts with three variations on pizza dough and a recipe for a classic tomato sauce. Then they take a break from pizza for the moment, to offer up an assortment of salad and panini recipes (admittedly, those recipes seemed out of place there - I would have put them towards the back since this book bills itself as a pizza cookbook). Finally though we get into the pizzas and the recipes sound delicious and give me such inspiration that in my mind I'm already heading towards the kitchen. The book closes with suggestions for pizza parties for kids, special holiday pizzas (potato pancake pizza, anyone) and finally wraps up with dessert pizzas. It is beautifully photographed and would make a wonderful present for an older kid who was interesting in cooking.

California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook, Cookbook of the Day

The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook isn't a new book, but it's a favorite. The book contains over 25 of the pizza recipes from the popular chain so that you can make them at home without resorting to the frozen version from the grocery store (which isn't that bad, actually). The restaurant is always developing new recipes and pizza combinations, but there are standards that never change and also helped to make CPK the success it is, such as BBQ Chicken Pizza, Thai Chicken Pizza, Rosemary Chicken and Potato Pizza and Mixed Grill Vegetarian Pizza, all of which are included here. The book also provides the recipes for both their classic dough and their honey wheat dough, which you can substitute on any pizza in the restaurant.

On top of the savory, dinner pizzas, there is also a section of "novelty" pizzas, which include a couple of dessert options, and a chapter of soups and pastas. Their Tortilla Soup recipe -a really delicious soup - is included here.

Every recipe is delicious and they are a huge hit with family and friends, who will be impressed that you were able to recreate restaurant dishes at home.

By the way, the sales of this cookbook, according to the preface, all go to charities like Make-A-Wish and Pediatric AIDS. Good food and a good cause, how can you beat that?

 

 

It's not delivery its… Slashfood's Ate (8): best and worst frozen pizzas

Say what you will about them, but frozen pizzas are a staple component of many, many kitchens. They take no preparation and heat up wonderfully in the oven in the amount of time that it would take to have a pizza delivered. Well, some of them heat up wonderfully. There are some pizzas that are not even worth turning on the oven for.

In my opinion, the best frozen pizza is a homemade one, but I know that not all people have the time or energy to freeze their own, unbaked pizzas. Fair enough, even though you can buy pre-made, uncooked dough at many supermarkets nowadays.  Though certainly not covering all of the possible options for frozen pizza that there are, here is a quick guide to some of the pizza choices that will be waiting at your fingertips when you take a stroll through the freezer section:

Continue reading It's not delivery its… Slashfood's Ate (8): best and worst frozen pizzas

Tip of the Day

Butterscotch sauce is a rich and buttery treat that makes a great seasonal dessert topper in place of chocolate or whipped cream.

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