Pizza Today - September 2023 - 37

A
fter a record-breaking
hot summer in much of
the U.S., we are ready
for cooler temperatures.
Are your fall and
winter menus prepared to provide
that cold-weather comfort? Just as
summer tomatoes bring a freshness
to your summer menu, look to
cozy ingredients to warm up your
customers when the temperatures go
cool.
September is a perfect time to
plan those cold-weather specialty
menus. Before I dive into creative
cozy pizza ideas, let's reflect on your
seasonal successes. You don't have to
start from scratch with your fall and
winter pizza menus, go to your well
for great pizzas that have worked.
During the pandemic, I offered
some advice for changing up your
fall menu. With cost of goods and
inflation, that advice is still sound
as you plan your fall and winter
menus. Here are my five tips to
help mitigate some of that risk of
changing up your menu seasonally:
1. Go with your proven winners.
2. Look back to your sales
reports from the past three
to five years and find those
fall and winter menu specials.
Which fall and winter debut
items were hits and which
were duds?
3. Odds are you will find
common ingredients
that customers loved and
ingredients that your market
just didn't care for. If you are
unable to access item-by-item
data history, scour your past
fall and winter special social
media posts. Were there items
that garnered more attention
than others?
4. Once you have a list of
the popular fall and winter
ingredients for your market,
it's time to think labor. Now
may not be the time to roll
out a labor-intensive new
item. Instead try preparation
and cooking techniques that
do not strap your kitchen
crew. Choose methods that
can be prepped ahead or
are already a part of your
makeline.
5. Now it's time to get creative
in your kitchen. Try pairing
seasonal items with those
can't-miss ingredients. People
may be willing to get out of
their pizza comfort zone if
they see pepperoni or sausage
on that a new fall or winter
item.
Make pizza extra cozy with a
white sauce
Pizza is already one of America's
best comfort foods. What can
make pizza extra cozy? There are
ingredients that are more filling.
Here are a few ingredients to try on
your cold-weather pizza:
White Sauces, from bechamel
and Alfredo to thicker cheese-based
sauces give the heftier feel.
Start with a basic bechamel sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1¼ cups milk, heated
Salt Freshly ground pepper
Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed
saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook,
stirring constantly, until the paste cooks
and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown
- about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk,
continuing to stir as the sauce thickens.
Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper
to taste, lower the heat, and cook,
stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove
from the heat.
To cool this sauce for later use, cover it
with wax paper or pour a film of milk over
it to prevent a skin from forming.
From there, let's talk add-ins. You
could go with cheese like Parmesan, bleu
cheese, Gruyère, white cheddar or goat
cheese. Roasted garlic always works well
in a white sauce. Try other ingredients
to change it up and make it your own -
roasted red pepper, mushrooms, your
favorite hot sauce or roasted hot pepper.
Try herbs and seasonings like cayenne,
onion powder, paprika, parsley, rosemary,
saffron or sage. Even lemon can be
that missing ingredient.
Look to heartier produce
Now that we've concocted the
perfect white sauce, it's time to think
about veggies. Luckily, there are
some hearty varieties that will pair
well with your version of a white
sauce.
Let's look at some falla and winter
vegetable options: butternut squash,
acorn squash, pumpkin, other winter
squash, beetroot, carrots, Brussels
sprouts, turnips, parsnips, potatoes,
collard greens, mustard greens, kale,
onion, shallots, leeks, radicchio and
escarole.
I'm sure as you peruse the list,
you're thinking " how can I incorporate
these atypical ingredients onto
my pizza menu? " Start with more
recognized favorites like squash,
pumpkin and potatoes. You can roast
these or even go a step further and
puree them. People tend to sweeten
up pumpkin and squash with brown
sugar, honey and cinnamon. Play
with flavoring. I challenge you to
try combinations on the savory side
like sage or rosemary. Hit them with
lemon juice.
Onto the Recipes
I've included two very basic recipes
for you to work your magic on.
Your homework assignment is to add
your own spin to the pizzas, whether
that is incorporating a protein or
seasoning them up. Whatever you
come up with, tag us on social
Pizza Today - September 2023

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