Posted by Elizabeth on August 15, 1997 at 08:21:36:
In Reply to: Pizza anyone? posted by Big Mac on August 14, 1997 at 23:45:58:
Heck, that won't get you banned from the Forum. You gotta go pee in Ray's smoker or something to get banned. We're a pretty tolerant group here, for the most part. Of course you know I'm giggling like an insane person as I write this. All joking aside, c
ooking pizza and other Italian food in wood-fired ovens is older than barbeque (as least as we know barbeque in this country, meaning the barbeque that originated in the old South on the plantations). To tell you the truth, wood-fired ovens are as ubiqui
tous in Italy as McDonald's are here. You'll see one in every restaurant you go into. I was lucky enough to spend a couple of summers in Europe, and once my entire 3 months was devoted to cuilinary and language training in Florence. The chow that comes o
ut of the wood-fired ovens there is out of this world. I don't know who in this country is duplicating the taste, but surely someone is. Awhile back I mentioned how Southwest Cuisine has influenced my cooking and listed a couple of cookbooks. If anyone i
s interested in studying traditional Italian cooking (it will influence your Q also), the best books for learning are by Marcella Hazen.