I am pretty pizza ignorant, never having cared for it most of my life, so I couldn't tell you what makes any particular city's version of it so special. Our local Domino's has a special two days of the week, and they stand out at road's edge with a sign when the sale is going on, and you can buy one already made up for $5.00. I'm certainly not above veering in and out to pick one up if I am having a very busy day. That's a pretty cost effective meal when I am time constrained. This only happens a few times a year, however. I added pizza to our family's meal repertoire when I started making my own crusts. That was one thing my old bread machine was good at. How very easy to slap condiments on it and shove it in the oven. And, they beat any I have purchased hands down. Everything I need to make a pizza is in my fridge or pantry and no two I have ever made have been exactly the same. I noticed I was in town helping care for my mother, there are people in her block who have four or five cartons in their trash every week. rofl. OMG, would I get sick of that and I suppose one reason for its popularity is it's one meal many people can have delivered to their house, if they live in an urban area. Andie came the closest explaining what makes a NY pizza special. Thin crust? I can only imagine, given the times I've stayed in NYC that there are restaurants who make killer pizzas. Chicago has some wonderful restaurants too.

(Apologies in advance for the ridiculously long update...) We've had our replacement range for a few months now. To be fair, we haven't used it much. It still gets hot but I haven't tested it to the limits I tested the first range. To be honest, I'm a little paranoid about our adjacent cabinets! My observations about the heat: 1. Realizing it is a professional range, I understand that it will get warm/hot. However, we have friends with a Thermador, which doesn't get hot at all; in fact, the surface barely gets warm. Not sure if it's fair to compare the two, but it is something I wonder about. If anyone has an argument about that, I welcome it because it would make me feel better! I also read someone else's comment here that her neighbor's (I think?) American range stays COOL. Okay, totally not the case here! 2. We tested the FIRST range for great lengths of time. When the repair person was testing it, we probably had it on for about 30-45 minutes at 450 before the surface temperature (on sides) approached the maximum indicated temp, and 1+ hours when it got scorching hot. The repair person, who works only with pro ranges, could not touch the sides for more than a second. He could touch the knobs for maybe 3 seconds. He told me his fingers were pretty used to high temps! 3. I had the REPLACEMENT range on for about 1.25-1.5 hours last week at 350. It wasn't nearly as hot as the first range, but it was still warm. For reference, I could touch the knobs (hot, but not scorching), and could hold my fingers on the side for about 5 seconds. On the previous range, I needed an oven mitt to turn the knob after about 1 hour. NOTE: *I'm not saying the new one is faulty at all, but I know some people have asked what 'too hot' is so I wanted to give a point of reference.* So, I haven't left the replacement range on for 1.5 hours at 450 like the first one because I'm a little nervous. I know some might argue that yes, this is what happens at high temps for long periods of time, but what do you do when you need to roast a turkey for hours? Of course we keep our little ones out of the kitchen, but I'm more worried about cabinets melting! On to our next set of issues w/ the replacement range: *We did the burn in for about 2 hours the day it was installed. Like I said, we haven't used it much so the burn in smell was apparent for awhile, but there was also a gas smell. After awhile, the burn in went away but the gas smell is still there for the first 5-10 minutes. We've been waiting on this issue because we wanted to make sure it wasn't the burn in we were smelling. When we first turn the oven on, the flame does not light for a few minutes, which I'm guessing has something to do with it. (?) *Also, when we first turn the oven on, the window fogs up as if there is condensation inside, and it's oddly spotty too, as if there is mildew (?). It goes away after a few minutes as well, but I don't remember that happening with the first range. Does this happen for anyone else? I wrote the rep about these things a couple of days ago, but didn't hear back. Today I wrote another contact, but didn't hear back from him either. I'll give them a few days and write again I guess. The customer service was great with the heat issues. They tried to fix the first range with a whole slew of parts, and when that didn't work, they replaced the entire thing -- that was very nice. So I feel bad complaining... but I have to admit I'm a little disappointed. On the upside, it's a gorgeous range, and the burners are incredible! Also, it is ridiculously easy to clean (the top of it, that is). It wipes up beautifully. I just wish the oven worked the way I think it should!

We had one of those for road trips for a while...odd thing. Plugged into the cig lighter. Worked well for the short time it did. (not hello kitty) Just a basic black thing. Felt a bit gadgety like sharper image stuff. Not clear, but are you tying to keep hot sandwiches hot? Just not enough 'mass' or volume to keep it that way. Many insulator type things exist but need near boiling temp and liquid volume to keep it hot for even a few hours. I like cold pizza. Not the thick gunky kind that goes soggy, but we often use flour tortillas as a thin pizza crust...just baked on a stone or cookie sheet with simple good ingredients, half what most normally pile on a pizza...get the crust nice and crisp...top bubbly...cool, then fold in half, then cut half like a quesadilla and fridge/or freeze. Fits in a sandwich size zip-lock. Not a great example pic because of the pink...that is a thin sliced red potato around the edge...one of those pink all the way through babies. Gets crisp like a potato chip. (has to be mandolin thin)...probably red pepper, mushroom, prosciutto, gorgonzola...old pic. Never the same but we just use up what's in the veggie bin for a quick meal once a month on a friday and make extras for sat/sunday snacks. Often crack an egg or two on top. They do re-heat well but also good cold...no different than cold quiche. Just an idea if your kids like pizza and quesadillas. They could pick and choose ingredients. Have a pizza party on the weekend, then freeze the extra ones. Or bake not so crisp and do roll-ups.

Cookie8: Here is a Pizza Dough recipe and baking tut for prebaked dough. If you want I'll put in a tutorial for a Calzopizza , " Stuffed Crust Pizza " A 12 inch round pizza will take from 8 to 12 ounces of dough. According to thickness you want. After the dough is made weigh it out and roll into balls. Oil the pans and place a dough ball in the pan and flatten slightly, working the dough towards the side of the pan, with the palms. Then let it rest a few minutes. Repeat this every so often until the dough reaches the side and up, enough for a crust about 1/2 ? inch. Let it raise slightly , pinch the dough all over, with a fork and put into the oven to bake at 400 deg. If it bubbles while baking pinch it with a fork again. When light tan specks show ,take them out onto a rack to cool fast. Then you can use them right away or freeze , to use later. When cooking the Pizza, place the Pre Baked dough back in the oiled pan , Or cook on your Stone. Put a latel of sauce on the dough and swish it around, sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano , put it in the oven for a few minutes. Take it out and spread the topping of your choice and the Cheese Topping. A good topping cheese is a mixture of Mozzarella and Provolone chopped and mixed. The provolone gives it a good flavor and doesn't get like rubber when it cools. I use all Provolone. A little trick for baking. Keep a cup of water and brush handy, to baste parts that are cooking too fast. If you can get new metal pans, (uncoated) they have to be cured in the oven, so they won't stick. Coat them with oil and bake them for at least 6 hours. Never clean them with soap and water. Just rinse with water & wipe with a paper towel. Dough recipe: 1 cup of warm water (not hot) 1 Package of Active Dry Yeast 1 tablesps sugar ,in a half cup of warm water 1/4 Cup of Veg. Oil 1 teasp. Salt About 3 1/2 cups Flour ½ cup of Whole wheat flour or up to 1 cup Place in a mixing bowl, the Water, 1 cup of flour, wheat flour , yeast if risen Add the oil and salt and more flour. Add enough flour to make a soft ball of dough, that doesn't stick to your hands. Knead until smooth. Put it back in the bowl , Smooth side up and Rub on some Veg. Oil Cover and set in a warm place to rise until it doubles in bulk. I put it in a warm oven, Covered with a damp towel and place a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf. It rises in about 1 hour. When doubled, punch it down and knead it well. Divide into Balls , about 11 to 12 ounces and place in oiled pans. 12" round Dough should be about 3/16 " thick on the bottom and about 1/2 in. around the edge. For Sicilian Pizza , I used most of the dough in a 11" X 16" pan ( a bit thicker ) Follow the previous instructions. Good luck, Lou