Michael Schwartz - Genuine pizza : better pizza at home

As a chef who not only played a big role in popularizing gourmet artisanal pizza in the United States but also gave a job to Michael Schwartz in the early days of his professional cooking career, I am honored to share a few words here about Genuine Pizza.

That word genuine perfectly sums up what Michael and his approach to cooking in generaland more specifically to cooking pizzaare all about. His restaurants and hospitality company not only have genuine in their name, but they also feature genuine ingredients and serve food that is genuinely cooked and genuinely delicious. So it makes perfect sense that Michaels personal motto is: The secret to good food is good food.

Even before he came up with that simple expression that says it all, I could tell that Michael was a genuine guy. I could tell that Michael simply got it when he first joined the kitchen at my Chinois on Main restaurant in Santa Monica, where my team and I developed what came to be known as Asian fusion cuisine, combining Chinese tradition with California ingredients and contemporary French techniques. He understood the importance of using only fresh, in-season, local produce, seafood, and other ingredients, combining them in ways that highlighted their natural flavors and textures.

And then, as he charmingly shares in his introduction to this book, he actually first learned to make pizza in a quick tutorial from the chef at the Tokyo branch of my Spago restaurant. That was the spark that exploded into Michaels enduring passion for pizza, which eventually gave rise to his Genuine Pizza restaurants.

Every page of this book with that same name impresses me. Michaels approach to pizza combines classical discipline, a dedication to using the best ingredients, and high-flying yet sensible creativity. He shows special dedication to helping home cooks achieve results as good as what he serves in his restaurant.

It all starts with his explanation of pizza-making technique. His instructions for making pizza dough, and his basic recipe, as well as others for a rye dough and a gluten-free dough, are extremely helpful and foolproof. Im especially impressed with the logical chart he offers of a pizzas basic elements, and his guidelines for putting them together smartly.

Then there are the pizzas themselves. To put it simply, every recipe in this book makes my mouth water, especially in combination with photographs that look hot-from-the-oven and beautiful. (I also have to add that, based on those photos, Michael knows how to cook a pizza the way I like it, with a crispy, bubbly, very well-browned crust.) Among so many options, his Mushroom Pizza; Short Rib Pizza with Caramelized Onions, Gruyre, and Arugula; Shrimp Pizza with Roasted Lemon, Scallion, and Cilantro; Fennel Pizza with Caramelized Onion and Green Olives; Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Pizza; and Pastrami on Rye Pizza make me want to get in the kitchen and cook.

That doesnt even begin to touch on his imaginative recipe section on Things to Eat with Your Pizza. His recipes (and photos) for dishes all seem irresistible, from Meatballs to Homemade Ricotta; White Bean and Chorizo Soup to Escarole Salad with Lemon, Anchovy, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and Breadcrumbs; Roasted Chicken with Salsa Verde and Fennel Slaw to Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder with Soft Polenta and Shaved Celery Salad; Buttermilk Panna Cotta with a variety of fruit compote toppings to Dark Chocolate Cremoso with Candied Orange Peel, Soft Cream, and Pine Nuts; plus a variety of easy, imaginative cocktails.

From first page to last, Genuine Pizza feels inspired. I hope it inspires you to create many wonderful home-cooked meals.

Wolfgang Puck

Were currently experiencing something of an artisanal pizza renaissance, with more excellent pizzerias dedicated to perfecting the craft of pizza-making popping up now than ever before. More and more people are paying attention not just to the quality of their dough, but also to the toppings, sourcing everything with great care. Theyre building customized pizza ovens, curing their own charcuterie, using wild fermentation for their dough, and obsessing over every detailall in order to deliver pizza perfection to you. The craft of pizza has never been more advanced.

That said, even though ones life work can easily be dedicated to perfecting pizza, I firmly believe that you, the home cook reading this, can make truly excellent pizza in your own kitchen. While you may lack the specialty oven that cooks your pizza in mere minutes, blasting heat of somewhere around 900F (482C), you can still wind up with wonderful results using the oven in your kitchen. In addition to eating well, youll have a lot of fun making it. My goal with this book is to convince you that not only can you make excellent pizza at home, but that you should, and youll enjoy doing it.

Ive always believed that good food starts with good ingredients, and that the secret to good food is good food. Few things in my mind exemplify this philosophy as much as pizza. With so few ingredients, pizza is both simple and complex, pedestrian and highbrow. Its universal appeal lies in its accessibility, and while its essentially dough with toppings, pizza happens to be a food just about everyone likes. It can be as humble as you want or as luxurious as you wanttheres no limit to the craft.

I also love pizza for its convivial nature: Pizza is meant to be shared, it invites a crowd, it fosters conversation. Its the beginning ofor part ofa delicious meal, and as you read through the book, you will see that I believe in pairing pizza with other dishes to balance out the spread. One cant live on pizza alone, and so I also share some of the dishes we offer to our patrons at Genuine Pizza: starters, soups, saladsand even desserts and drinks.

But how did I get into cooking and, more specifically, become so obsessed with pizza?

I grew up in Philadelphia eating shitty pizza, and my thoughts on pizza were not particularly profound. It was there. I ate it. My dad owned an auto supply shop, and as a teen I would spend my summers stocking shelves. At some point when I was in high school, my dad decided that it was time for me to get a real job. We got in the car and he drove me to one of the fanciest restaurants in Philly, DiLullo, known for serving progressive Italian food (which was unusual, as most places serving Italian food were red sauce joints). I wore a shirt and tie, and went in to ask for a job. To my surprise, they gave me one on the spotI started as a busboy that night. I worked my way up the ranks, and eventually became their lead line cook.