William Penn Life, 2014 (49. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2014-09-01 / 9. szám
A pizza primer, part one FÁRADJON BE A MAGYAR KONYHÁBA! Ah, September! Summer vacation is over, and schools are back in session. This month also sees the resumption of activities for WPA branches that took the summer off. From now until the end of the year, WPA and its branches will be very busy with happenings for youngsters and adults. If you are in the Philadelphia area, or have access to TV station CCPTV (Channel 53 on Comcast cable and Channel 21 on FiOS), look for a program called "The Chefs Cook." Three chefs from the Community College of Philadelphia—Paul McCormick, Andres Marin and I—will be sharing recipes and techniques in a series of hour-long episodes. When I get the final broadcast schedule from the producers, I'll pass along the dates and times. The show is not totally ethnic, but many of my recipes will be Hungarian. Don't forget: you can always contact Chef Vilmos or Chef Béla for recipes or with any questions you have about Magyar cookery. You can reach us by email at wvasvary@ccp. edu or by writing to me at 10050 Verree Road, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19116. For this month and next, Chef Vilmos and I have put together a pizza primer for you. We'll start off with some basics for you to practice. Next month, we will discuss some other ways to serve this tomato, dough and cheese concoction. Housekeeping's done, and now it's time for your trivia question: How much pizza-measured in acres—do you think Americans eat each year, AND how many pizzas are sold in the United States every year? The answer at the end will be fresh out of the oven. Pizza is a great snack as well as a meal. You can enjoy it hot, fresh from the oven, or cold for breakfast. Yes, there are those who prefer cold pizza, and, if it's made right, it will taste scrumptious. Pizza is not considered a healthy or nutritious food, but it can be. It is classified in the junk food category not because of its ingredients but because of toppings that lower its nutritional value. Junk foods usually have too many carbohydrates, too much salt and too much fat—like a traditional pizza pie. However, if you break down the contents of a pizza, you will find it can be a healthy item to consume. Let's explore some basic facts about this great mealtime treat. Technically, a typical pizza fits the definition of a "hot open-faced sandwich." A sandwich is a food item consisting of bread, a spread and a filling. The bread could be a slice of bread or in the form of dough, i.e. pizza dough, lángos or a baguette (for French bread pizza.) The spread can be mayonnaise, butter or vegetable puree, such as a tomato-based product. The filling is usually a form of protein, like a meat, veggie protein or cheese. Most pizzas bought outside the home typically have way too many carbs and fat. When you include a topping such as pepperoni, sausage or any other meat, the nutritional value continues to decrease. Add extra cheese and—voila!—you have a meal with minimal nutritional value. If you eat too many such pizzas, cardiovascular problems are in your future. Fear not. My intention is not to ruin your image of pizza and have you stop eating it, but rather to show how you may give it a healthy makeover. Let's start by looking at the basics of making a pizza. The crust can be made from fresh dough, baked bread or bread dough bought at the supermarket. If you make the dough fresh, you can control the flavor and the amount of yeast, giving your dough maximum rise with a lot of yeast or minimal rise for a thin 8^September 2014 0 William Penn Life The Hungarian Kitchen is a trademark of William S. Vasvary.
