Revolutionary Pizza Cookbook Review featuring The Governator Burger Pizza

While I’ve always had a love for pizza, my exploration in pizza hasn’t gone very far out of the box.  Yeah, I’ve had BBQ Chicken Pizza and I’ve had Ham & Pineapple, Supreme Pizzas, and a few “classic” other pizzas, but that’s where it’s ended.  I’ve never been one to step outside of box into the “artisan” field of pizzas.  That was, until I received the Revolutionary Pizza Cookbook by Dimitri Syrkin-Nikolau, who works at Dimo’s Pizza in the Chicago.

The cookbook starts out with a whole section on dough, sauces, and toppings, and then moves into six different chapters including: Pizzatizers, Deconstructed Diner, Comfort Cravings, Main Course Meals, Chicago Staples, and Comida Caliente.  Some other yummy creations include: Spinach Artichoke Pizza, Red, White & Berry’Za, The BBQ Porkabella, French Onion Soup Pizza, and Jamaican Jerk Chicken Pizza. There’s even fun names like Devil in Disguise (a PB&J pizza), Smack ‘n’ Cheese (a mac n cheese pizza), and the Stoner Kid (french fries and jalapenos, anyone?)

From the pre-chosen list of pizzas, I decided to re-create The Governator Burger Pizza.  It starts with a simple cream sauce and mozzarella cheese and is followed by ground burger, pancetta, tomatoes, raw red onions, goat cheese, and microgreens.  Freeze….did I just say goat cheese?  I’ve never in my life had goat cheese that I know of and I couldn’t believe I was about to try it.  ON MY PIZZA! But I was ready to try it! 

Here’s the recipe as featured in the cookbook: 

Simple Cream Sauce – Add all ingredients to a blender and combine. 
1 cup sour cream
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 egg
1 tsp pepper

Ingredients: 
1 lb ground beef 
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 Simple Cream Sauce
1/4 cup tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup raw red onions, sliced
1/4 lb pancetta arrotolata, cut in thinly sliced rounds and browned slightly for texture
6 oz goat cheese 
1/4 cup microgreens

Directions:
Place goat cheese in freezer before starting preparation of the pizza.  This will make assembling the pizza easier later.

Heat pan on medium and add ground beef, olive oil, salt, pepper, and cayenne.  Brown the meat thoroughly, stirring frequently.  Let cool.

Evenly distribute shredded mozzarella, Apply rings of Simple Cream sauce, starting at the outside closest to the crust and working toward the center.  Distribute ground beef.  Bake in preheated oven at 500 degrees F for 10-12 minutes until crust is golden brown.  Top with chopped tomatoes, red onions, and pancetta.  Remove the goat cheese from the freezer, shred, and distribute over the pie.  Finish with microgreens.  Slice and serve.  Makes one pizza.

My variation – 
I used my pizza dough recipe versus the one in the book.  You can find it HERE.

For the simple sauce, I used 6 oz of plain greek yogurt instead of the sour cream.

For the pizza – I omitted the salt, used bacon instead of pancetta arrotolata, and omitted the microgreens. We always omit salt because of Andrew’s High Blood Pressure, I couldn’t find pancetta at my local store, and I honestly thought I had microgreens at home, only to arrive and they weren’t here.  So unfortunately, they got left off.

The verdict – AMAZING.  That’s all that’s really needed to sum up this pizza.  It was simply incredible.  Skibbles ate an entire piece to herself and Andrew, the pickiest, of picky eaters ate half the pizza.  I was impressed.  I guarantee I will never make pizza the same again.  Okay, maybe if I’m in a big rush, but not when I prepare.  I love this book and can’t wait to try more!   

BUY IT:  You can buy the Revolutionary Pizza cookbook directly from Amazon by clicking on the link below.  It retails for $14.90 and is eligible for Prime shipping.