Posted on 10/23/2016 9:10:07 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Yes, that's right. The president perhaps most famous food-wise for his not so expansive palate dug cheeseburger pizza.
There is one food companion so loyal; it is there with us late at night and still there in the morning. It is pizza and we love it so much that across the country Americans consume an average of 350 slices per second. From Hawaiian to meat lovers, there are plenty of topping options, but President Bush said why stop there? Behold a child’s dream and a Neapolitan nightmare: the cheeseburger pizza. It comes complete with mustard, ketchup, and pickles. Cristeta Comerford, a White House chef since 2005, told reporters about the questionable combo during his tenure. “For dinner, the President loves what we call home-made ‘cheeseburger pizzas’ because every ingredient of a cheeseburger is on top of a margherita pizza.” This bizarrely constructed hodge podge of a pie has made huge inroads. Most Pizza chains now have one on the menu and many of them are the most calorific selection. The Bacon BBQ Cheeseburger pizza from Pizza Hut weighs in at 650 calories a slice. In the same breath, Comerford also noted the Presidents dedication to working out. A slice a day does not keep the doctor away.
he Bush family started with the Clinton’s White House Chef, Walter Scheib. The chef was known for sophisticated and rather complex cuisine. After some stylistic disagreements, he was replaced. “If you had a grilled cheese, a peanut butter and honey, and a BLT,” Scheib told reporters, “pretty much you’ll cover the culinary universe as far as [President Bush] is concerned.” There was also the issue of the scallops. The First Lady was not a fan and the more they appeared on the table, the less she enjoyed them. What she did enjoy was fresh American produce, with beets being a favorite. She also loved fresh pea soup with mint. The family was no fuss to feed, happy with comfort staples and repeat favorites. Unsurprisingly, the Bush family also was (and still are) great fans of Tex-Mex; the spicier the better. Huevos Rancheros were a particular weekend favorite which made the table most Sundays after church. Their first state dinner was appropriately given for Vicente Fox, President of Mexico. Crab and chorizo, followed by a pepita crusted bison gave both families familiar flavors they enjoyed. For snacking, it was tex-mex chex, a twist on the classic that the family created at the Texas Governor’s mansion. With hot sauce, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce, handfuls of it are quick to disappear.
I had planned on doing Tex-Mex but this dish was too bizarre to ignore. I have included the White House pizza dough recipe and simple instructions for the assembly thereafter. I have enjoyed more pizza than the average bear, but I think I would give this one up for President Garfield’s squirrel soup or Fillmore’s pickled eggs. You have to try everything once. If you are in DC October 29th: Please join “Soulfood Scholar” Adrian Miller and I on the morning of October 29th as we share recipes and explore the legacy of African American White House chefs at the Smithsonian Food History Weekend. A complete guide to the presentations and events can be found here. George Bush’s Cheeseburger Pizza Dough recipe from: White House Chef by Walter Scheib and Andrew Friedman
Pizza Dough
½ cup plus 2 Tbsp warm water
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp active dry yeast (not quick-rising)
¼ tsp honey
1 ½ cups bread flour
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
Cornmeal to dust the pizza stone
Toppings
4 Tbsp. crushed tomatoes
3 ounces mozzarella
5 basil leaves, torn
3 strips bacon, cooked till crispy then crumbled
½ lb. ground beef, browned
1 large pickle, sliced
Sprinkle of catchup and mustard
1 ½ ounce shredded cheddar, optional
Put a pizza stone on the center rack in the oven. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, use an inverted 12 inch cast iron pan that’s been greased with olive oil). Preheat oven to 450F
Put 2 Tbsp. of the water, the flour, yeast, and honey in a stainless steel bowl. Stir together, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size (20 minutes).
Add the bread flour, oil, salt and remaining ½ cup water, stir together, cover, and let it double again (20 minutes.)
Knead the dough a bit to get any air out. Roll out the pizza dough on a heavily floured surface until ½ inch thick. Let sit for 15 mins. before baking.
Top the dough with crushed tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.
Bake for 12 mins. Add bacon, beef, pickles, and additional cheddar (if desired). Return to oven for additional 3 mins.
Dress with ketchup and mustard. Serve.
NO WAY.....East Coast people wouldn’t make nor eat that and call it Pizza!
Ummmmmm okay. That’s not a good analogy at all. I suppose you think anchovies on pizza isn’t really pizza at all.
What is your requirement for a pizza to be a pizza?
No, "everything" is NOT "allowed" on a pizza ( well it shouldn't be and all of the stupid, bizarre toppings on pizza, started in California, by people who don't know anything a bout food ! ); then it is something else.
Anchovies is more or less, okay, if you like them, I guess; at least it’s something that an Italian “might” use on a pizza, but don’t.
A "normal" pizza is a flatbread dough, covered in tomato sauce or tomatoes and cheese ( usually mozzerella ), some olive oil sprinkled on it, and baked. Sometimes pepperoni, Italian sausage bits, onions, mushrooms, or combinations of such, ad added to the toppings.
The crust varies from extremely thin to a bit thicker, depending upon where in Italy it originated.
Chicago "deep dish" pizza is a VERY recent, AMERICAN invention and NOT for real pizza...though a whole lot closer to it, than the California thought up BBQ chicken "pizza" etc. and the abortion that tops this thread.
where is the globalist and corruption toppings?
Personally, I believe pizza was eaten in the Garden of Eden, and I also believe it was a plain cheese pizza.
That said, I haven’t tasted a PROPER “plain” cheese pizza in a long, long, looooong time.
You know it’s proper when you have to stop chewing in the middle of the first bite because its so good you involuntarily close your eyes and groan with pleasure. And after that, the thought of any further “toppings” never enters your mind.
It’s the perfect food.
I had three such slices a few days ago. Yes, that's a LOT of pizza, but it was HEAVEN!
I was ranting :-). And I said fancy, not French :-).
And caviar is bleh. Wasn’t caviar originally a Russian peasant food?
No, caviar was NEVER "peasant food", but neither was it some "elitist food either.
In American, lobsters were so plentiful and looked down upon, that New Englanders, in Colonial times, feed them to their pigs.
Many once "cheap" dishes, now contain extremely expensive ingredients, and have risen in the ranks to be considered "chi-chi" food; Boeuf Bourguignon for one, because it has a French name. It's just French beef stew, with wine, after all....PEASANT FOOD!
At one time, gelatin molds were ONLY for the very wealthy. Times and tastes change, as does what is "in", "out", and considered to be top of the tree food stuffs.
Boeuf Bourguignon for one, because it has a French name. It’s just French beef stew, with wine, after all....PEASANT FOOD!
Hope you are well!
Jeb Bush makes the same recipe, but with sour grapes.
Why go to all that work? Just have a cheeseburger.
This is very serious business. Charlie Van Over figured out all the science and mystery of using a food processor for a perfect pizza dough.
Basic Pizza Dough using a food processor
Source: *Best Bread Ever* by Charles Van Over
This recipe benefits from a long retardation in the refrigerator. The longer, the better. It makes a very thin crust if you want. Stretches amazingly easy. At first trial, don’t vary from Charlie’s directions.
1 lb. (3 1/2-4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1/2 tsp. instant yeast (SAF)
9 1/2 oz. (1 cup 3 tbsp.) water
Cornmeal for the peel or baking sheet
Place the flour, salt, and yeast in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Using an instant-read thermometer, adjust the water temperature so that the combined temperatures of the flour and water give a base temperature of 130F if using a Cuisinart or KitchenAid or 150 degrees F if using a Braun. With the machine running, pour all but 2 tablespoons of the water through the feed tube. Process for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and if the dough seems too dry, add the remaining water during the last 15 seconds of processing for a total of 45 seconds.
Stop the machine and take the temperature of the dough with an instant-read thermometer, which should read between 75F and 80F. If the temperature is lower than 75F, process the dough for an additional 5 seconds, up to twice more, until it reaches the desired temperature. If the temperature is higher than 80F remove the thermometer, scrape the dough from the food processor into an ungreased bowl, and refrigerate for 5 to 10 minutes. Check the temperature after 5 minutes; it should be 80F or cooler by that time.
Remove the dough from the processor, place it in a large ungreased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to ferment for 21/2 to 3 hours at room temperature, 70F to 72F It will not double at this point, but it will increase in volume somewhat.
Place the bowl of dough in the refrigerator and retard for at least 4 hours or up to 36 hours. Proceed with any of the recipes for pizza, focaccia, or schiacciata (Tusca flatbread).
Doing okay; hope that you and yours are too!
EXACTLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again, talking about things that you don't know about, does NOT "help" you at all. Shoemaker, stick with thy last!
I’d try it without the beef and mustard.
You’re right.
Most Americans have no idea what pizza in Italy is like.
One Italian critic said the deep dish is more like lasagna than pizza.
I grew up eating home made sicilian and mainland pies that my grandmothers made, and my mother. Both grandmas from Italy/Sicily.
They wouldn’t take this stuff seriously at all.
But if you (not nopardons) guys like it, enjoy it. What can I say? But it ain’t pizza.
And where is the cultural appropriation crowd? How dare non-Italian-Americans make this food and, worse, adulterate it with American (bacon), English (cheddar) and German (hamburger) stuff and who knows where ketchup and mustard and pickles came from?
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