Recipes & Food Styling

Happy 100th Birthday, Route 66! 

We celebrated the centennial of America’s “mother road” last night with a Chicago-themed menu of hot dogs, Italian beef sammies, and of course, plenty of pizza!

I love the cornbread variations of deep dish pizza in Chicago, where I lived for 30+ years, so I made a few for the party.

I made the sauce with tomatoes from my neighbor. I roasted them in olive oil with a little bit of salt. My secret: A squeeze of fresh lemon juice rounds everything out and brings all the flavors together beautifully!

We also had Bertha Palmer brownies. Bertha invented the brownie for the World Columbian Exposition in 1893 in Chicago. The first brownies had an apricot glaze!

We made sure each guest took home a pack of Wrigley chewing gum and a cheek full of Fannie May mint meltaways!

My co-hosts, Sally and Bob, even made sure there was official Malort liqueur!

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza (Cornbread Crust)

Yield: 12-16 servings

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon granulated sugar

2 ¼ teaspoon (1 packet) dry, active yeast

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting / rolling dough)

¾ cup cornmeal

¾ teaspoon Himalayan pink sea salt

In a small bowl, mix together warm water, sugar, and yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, and salt.

Pour the olive oil and activated yeast into the dry ingredients. Using a dough hook in a stand mixer, or using a hand-held mixer, mix on low speed until a ball forms.

Knead the dough for 5-8 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Add a little more flour if it feels too sticky.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a damp towel, and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450°F. Punch down the dough, roll it out on a floured surface to desired thickness, transfer to a greased pizza pan, add toppings, and bake for 12-15 minutes.