Weighing In on the Chicago Deep Dish Battle

I've been in Chicago for three weeks now (!!!) and I did not waste any time in finding out which deep dish pizza was my favorite. Before moving up here I had heard about Gino's East and Giordano's, but in the past two weeks I had heard a lot about Lou Malnati's. After much negotiation (I'm lying) and hair pulling (I'm really lying), I was able to convince (super lying) Alex to go with me to Giordano's and Lou Malnati's. We had already tried Gino's back in April so the goal in the past two weeks that Alex has been here has been to get to Giordano's and Lou Malnati's and survive a meal there with the girls. I say "survive" because deep dish pizzas can take up to an hour to get to your table and our girls usually max out their good behavior reserves at around the hour mark. The goal was also to try pizzas that were similar so that we could make a semi-fair comparison. So, without further ado, here are my thoughts in order of when I tried each pizza:

Gino's East
This was the first deep dish pizza I tried in the city. My first thought was "What the hell? I need to wait 45-minutes for pizza? There is no way we are ever going to a restaurant to eat deep dish with the girls." It actually wasn't 45-minutes and ordering an appetizer was a must to help us get through the time.  We ordered a small pepperoni deep dish pizza and I was, unfortunately, disappointed. The crust tasted like yeast to me and the pepperoni tasted like salami. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't what I had. (Note: I have since gone back and it was better, but still not my favorite. Their thin crust pizza was better than deep dish).

Giordano's
Second deep dish pizza I tried in the city and we went all the way with a true meat lover's pizza: bacon, salami, sausage, and pepperoni. Giordano's calls their pizza a "stuffed" pizza and I honestly can't think of a better descriptor. The pizza was loaded with cheese and the meats. The pizza seemed almost upside down with the order of ingredients being crust, meats, cheese, and sauce. I made it through a slice and half of this pizza and had the leftovers for lunch the next day. We waited about 35 minutes for the pizza to come out and, because we went during lunch time during the week, there was no wait for a table. The girls had a thin crust cheese pizza, but our pizza looked and tasted better than their pizza.

Lou Malnati's 
Last but certainly not least was the sausage and pepperoni pizza we ordered from Lou Malnati's. This pizza was, by far, the freshest and healthiest tasting pizza of all the pizzas. The pepperoni was so good that the girls were eating it and they haven't wanted to eat pepperoni in a very long time (they also devoured their thin crust cheese pizza). There are two things that I really liked about Lou Malnati's that the other two restaurants don't offer: (1) personal-sized pizzas and (2) the ability to order your food while you wait for a table so that your deep dish pizza gets to you soon after you sit down. The only thing neither of us were fans of was the sausage as it was a sausage patty (too breakfast-y) and not sausage chunks like in the Giordano's pizza.

Which was my favorite? It's almost a toss up between Giordano's and Lou Malnati's. If it's just Alex and me (or just me), I would go to Giordano's because the level of cheese is out of this world and makes my heart happy. I also liked the way their pizza tasted the next day the best. If we are going with the girls, I would go to Lou Malnati's because I've never seen them eat pizza they way they did there (the left only three pieces of their small pizza) and because you can order your food while you wait saving time at the table.

There are still other pizza places in the city I want to try, but I'm happy I was able to make it out to these three when I did after hearing so many recommendations for them. If you live in Chicago or have been here before and have been to these restaurants, which was your favorite?

For more on my Chicago adventures, follow me on Facebook and Instagram @thecookierunner 

Chicken Pesto Pizza

I've said it before, but one of the things I have been craving a lot throughout this pregnancy is pizza. I think I could eat it every day and not get tired of it. I love and want pizza in all its incarnations. This particular recipe was simply divine. Like, lick-your-plate divine. I had pre-made tomato sauce in the fridge from the last time we made pizza so this pizza came together very quickly. All I really had to do was boil a chicken breast in water, wine, salt, and pepper, and assemble.

Chicken Pesto Pizza
Source: Adapted Your Home Baked Mom

1 cup precooked shredded chicken
4-5 Tablespoons Pesto
Pizza Dough (store-bought or homemade)
Tomato Sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated fontina cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. If using store-bought pizza dough, prepare dough according to instructions. Either way, place the pizza dough on the baking sheet.

Mix pesto with shredded chicken. Add a layer of sauce to the pizza dough then top with pesto chicken and cheeses. Feel free to make it as cheesy or as saucy as you like it. 

Place in oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned and the edges of crust are golden brown.

Remove from oven and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing. Serve and enjoy!

Grilled Pizza

Alex has been dying to make pizzas on the grill. We made them a few months ago and they sucked. I don't even remember if I took pictures of them. The problem that time was the crust and how it didn't come together as expected. This time we tried a new recipe and it is a real winner and definitely a keeper. The dough was exactly what we expected out of a pizza made on the grill. It was delicious and crunchy. It also helped that it was topped with best sauce and cheese mix ever.We added pepperoni and chorizo to our pizza but you can either leave it plain or add whatever toppings you like best.

Lean-and-Mean Pizza Crust
Source: Born to Grill by Cheryl and Bill Jamison
Yields two think 10- to 11-inch pizza crusts

1 envelope active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 tsp)
1/2 tsp sugar
2/3 cup lukewarm water, 105 to 115 degrees F
About 2 cups bread flour
1/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp coarse salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine the yeast and sugar with the water in a small bowl and let sit for a few minutes until foamy. In a stand mixer or food processor, mix the yeast with a scant 2 cups of flour and the rest of the dough ingredients for several minutes, until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead at least 2 or more minutes, adding another tablespoon or two of flour if needed to get a mass that is no longer sticky. Dough on the dry side is more challenging to work with, but yields a crisper crust. Form the dough into a ball, then place it in a greased bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Set the dough in a warm, draft-free spot and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

Punch the dough down on the floured surface and let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll out the dough into two thin disks, about 1/8 inch thick and 10 to 11 inches in diameter.

Stack the crusts on a baking sheet covered with waxed paper, with more waxed paper layered between the crusts.

If freezing, first chill the dough for 30 minutes to firm the dough, wrap, and then freeze. Bring crusts to room temperature before grilling.

Quick Tomato Sauce

2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups canned tomato puree
1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt to taste

Warm the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute about 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients, bring sauce to a simmer over high heat and cook for 5 minutes.

Cheese Topping

3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, at room temperature
1.5 tsp dried basil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 to 1 tsp crushed dried red hot chile
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Combine all ingredients.

Making the Pizzas

Fire up the grill to high heat. Place a baking sheet near the grill as the process for making the pizzas need to go quickly once you start cooking.

Place the crusts on the grill, laying them directly on the cooking grate. Grill uncovered over high heat for about two minutes, or until the crusts become firm yet still flexible.

Flip the crusts onto the baking sheet cooked side up. Spray with cooking oil and top with sauce, cheese, and any other toppings. Return to the grill, uncooked side down. Reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and crusts have the desired doneness.

Slice the pizza into wedges and serve immediately.

Today, I Crave: Pizza

I love pizza; it's food for the soul. When I was younger I loved pepperoni pizza but now I love cheese pizza and I will choose a slice of cheese pizza over pepperoni. We've eaten at quite a few pizza places throughout the city and, while most people in Boston will probably say that Upper Crust or Pizzeria Regina have the best pizza around, I'd have to respectfully disagree. I've eaten at these two places and was not impressed. They were good pizzas, but they weren't great. Granted, it's hard to make a bad pizza, but not all pizzas will make you want to come back for more. Our go-to pizza place is Crazy Dough's. They have a location by the house and we order a pizza from there at least once a month. My biggest problem with pizza is that I feel greasy after eating it. Not with Crazy Dough's though. Their pizza isn't greasy at all. What I like the most about this pizza is how balanced it is; it has an equal amount of crust, a sweet tomato sauce, and cheese.

The other pizza I love is Costco's pizza. Sure, it isn't a pizza that you can only get in Boston, but it's a great pizza nonetheless. It's the opposite of Crazy Dough's because it has a thick crust and it is layered with loads of cheese.