I guess I was being a little nostalgic today. Looking through my Amazon order history I had to both chuckle and cry at some of the completely useless items I've purchased over the years. Then I ran across the Pizzazz I bought way back on June 28, 2008 (Today is Feb 14, 2016.) I rarely write reviews but I like and use this oven so much that I'll make an exception. Usage: I've probably used the oven an average of 1 to 1 1/2 times a week. Sometimes 2 - 3 times a week and then I might go 2 - 3 weeks before using it again. It's been used almost exclusively for pizza. I used it maybe 5 times for other things and it worked well but it just doesn't come to mind when I can finally drag myself into the kitchen and cook something. Durability: Like the title says I've got almost 8 years out of it so far so A+ there. The pan itself could have a better non-stick coating on it and the newer ones may have but the '08 model leaves a little to be desired. When I first got it I made sure to wash it after every use. Now that I'm older and lazier I generally just hold it over the sink and wipe it off with a paper towel. Big deal if it's not completely clean and has a few crumbs or burnt cheese stuck to it. That will just add texture and flavor to the next pizza. Who doesn’t like those crunchy crispies at the bottom of the french fries box? And besides, it hasn't killed me ... yet. My Frozen Pizza Prep Method: I have done “from scratch” pizzas that turned out quite well but remember in the paragraph above I mentioned that I’m older and lazier now? Anymore I usually just stick with the frozen variety that can usually turn out very good if you doctor them up a bit. I do my pizza prep on anOneida Commercial 16 Inch Pizza Pan I purchased just for this purpose. (It was on sale at 2 for $6 when I got it.) It’s larger than the Pizzazz pan so it will catch most of the enthusiastically thrown toppings that are coming. 1) Remove frozen pizza from packaging and place the 16” pizza pan making sure there is no cardboard stuck to the bottom (special attention needed if it’s a Tombstone pizza). 2) Apply a liberal dose of pizza sauce such asMuir Glen Organic Pizza Sauce, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12) orContadina Pizza Sauce, 15 Oz . I like using the Contadina squirt bottle so I rinse them out and save them for use with the Muir Glen. I’ll also water either sauce down slightly because they are both rather thick after being refrigerated. With a squirt bottle I put the sauce on in a spiral pattern and just leave it that way. It seems to spread out okay while cooking later. Otherwise, like with a freshly open can of Glen Muir, I’ll smudge it on with a tablespoon. 3) Dust lightly with Garlic Salt. 4) Place a pepperoni slice in every open space that did not have a pepperoni to begin with. Overlapping slices is perfectly acceptable. Any pepperoni should be okay except for maybe that Turkey or some other fake pepperoni. If you have a Publix Supermarket nearby you should really consider trying the Publix Brand pepperoni … good stuff. 5) Cover entire pizza with mozzarella or your other favorite cheese. Quoting from The Huffington Post that was reporting about a pizza cheese study … “the researchers concluded in their study that mozzarella can be combined with any of the other six cheeses (cheddar, Colby, Edam, Emmental, Gruyere, and provolone) to create just the right amount of browning and blistering you prefer on a gourmet pizza -- for instance, try cheddar for less blisters or provolone for less browning.” 6) Transfer the pizza from the 16” prep pan to the Pizzazz pan. Pour any excess, enthusiastically thrown toppings caught by prep pan to pizza. 7) Set Pizzazz pan onto Pizzazz oven spindle and if the oven is plugged in you should hear the motor start and the pan will start rotating. This can get a little tricky. I usually have to kneel down and watch the underside of the pan to make sure it sits on the spindle properly. There’s gotta be a better way of designing the oven to make this easier and foolproof. 8) Make sure the heating elements switch is in the correct position. Since all I do anymore is frozen, I just leave the switch in “Dual” which heats the top and the bottom of the pizza. 9) Turn the timer switch to the appropriate time. For normal crust pizzas like Tombstone I’ll use around 13 or 14 minutes. For thick, self rising crust like DiGiorno I set it for the full 20 minutes. (Side note: I used to never like the thick, rising crust pizzas because the only one I’d tried was DiGiorno. One day I was getting pizzas and Pepsi’s at Walgreens and a nice lady in the checkout line turned me on ... ... ... (where was I? ... oh yeah) to the Walgreens brand called Good & Delish Frozen Rising-Crust Pizza. I was impressed with it. I can’t say it’s my favorite but it is definitely a regular now. Also, Jack’s pizza available there and other places is quite good if doctored up properly.) 10) Set some other audible timer for 4 to 6 minutes longer than you set the Pizzazz timer for. 11) Go watch TV or if you like, just sit there and anticipate the yummy goodness that is coming your way. 12) When the 4 to 6 minute delayed audible timer goes off the Pizzazz pizza pan may be cool enough to handle with your bare hands. With the Pizzazz in place and still rotating, push the pizza around just a little to make sure it’s not stuck to the pan. Holding the 16” prep pan next to the oven in one hand, slide the cooked pizza off the Pizzazz pan onto the prep pan with the other hand. 13) Set the prep pan on a sturdy surface and slice the pizza to your liking. I’ve tried various pizza cutters and the style I like best is theBialetti Taste of Italy Pizza Chopper, 14-Inch . (Yes, I know you should not use a cutter on a non-stick pizza pan but that was my entire purpose for my getting the pan. I bought it July ’13 and while it does have a few crease marks on it, there is no peeling yet. The only heat it sees is from a hot pizza sitting on it. The second pan of the set hasn’t even been used yet.) 14) If you must, fix up a salad so you can claim you ate healthy. Plop yourself back in front of the TV. Set your dinner on aTable-Mate II Woodgrain Folding Table and enjoy.
