Hello there!

[ThatsATastyPizza]

Hi! My name is Alexis, I live in NJ. My family has run a restaurant for over 45 years here at the shore. We have pizza, steaks, ribs, Italian-American dinners and a full bar. We serve both the Trenton style tomato pie with a cheddar cheese base and sauce in a bulls-eye pattern on top of the cheese, and NY style pizza with Grande mozzarella and the sauce under the cheese. We have two 60 year old gas fired brick deck ovens that run at 550 degrees.

I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you and learning even more about pizza!

[norma427]

Hi! My name is Alexis, I live in NJ. My family has run a restaurant for over 45 years here at the shore. We have pizza, steaks, ribs, Italian-American dinners and a full bar. We serve both the Trenton style tomato pie with a cheddar cheese base and sauce in a bulls-eye pattern on top of the cheese, and NY style pizza with Grande mozzarella and the sauce under the cheese. We have two 60 year old gas fired brick deck ovens that run at 550 degrees.

I'm looking forward to chatting with all of you and learning even more about pizza!

ThatsATastyPizza,

Welcome to the forum!    Sounds like you know a lot about pizzas already.  I can’t resist asking you a question if you don’t mind.  You posted you make Trenton style tomato pies with a cheddar cheese base and sauce in bulls-eye pattern on top of the cheese.  I am wondering if you mind telling what kind of cheddar you use on the Trenton pies?  I have been trying to find a specific type of white cheddar for awhile.  Sorry to best asking you this question on your first post.  You don’t have to answer if it is a secret.  

Hope to learn more from you.

Norma

[ThatsATastyPizza]

Hi Norma!

We use extra sharp white cheddar from US Foods. Unfortunately it is their brand, so it's not available in stores. It's a very sharp, but creamy white cheddar...the Cracker Barrel extra sharp white or Cabot would probably be a good approximation. Our sauce is also very plain, just Full Red pizza sauce with basil mixed with some water and salt and pepper. Sauces that taste too "cooked" or have too many spices seem to compete with the strong flavor of the cheese and don't work as well.

I worked front of house for many years, moved into the kitchen 6 years ago when our chef left. I do mainly the hot and cold foods, and am just getting over my fear of dough and learning more about pizza, so I have much to learn!

[norma427]

Hi Norma!

We use extra sharp white cheddar from US Foods. Unfortunately it is their brand, so it's not available in stores. It's a very sharp, but creamy white cheddar...the Cracker Barrel extra sharp white or Cabot would probably be a good approximation. Our sauce is also very plain, just Full Red pizza sauce with basil mixed with some water and salt and pepper. Sauces that taste too "cooked" or have too many spices seem to compete with the strong flavor of the cheese and don't work as well.

I worked front of house for many years, moved into the kitchen 6 years ago when our chef left. I do mainly the hot and cold foods, and am just getting over my fear of dough and learning more about pizza, so I have much to learn!

Thanks for telling me that the white cheddar is from US Foods.  I have tried many brands of white cheddar on the NJ Boardwalk thread.  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,9068.0.html  I never could find the right brand or taste for the white cheddar.  When I find time I will make another stab at the boardwalk thread.  I did just buy sharp white Cabot cheddar for another pizza I was working on, but never tried the extra sharp Cabot.  I also could try the Cracker Barrel extra sharp.  I appreciate your help!

I look forward with chatting with you more.  I also would like to learn more about Trenton tomato pies.

Norma

[ThatsATastyPizza]

I just read the Boardwalk pizza thread. Our pizza is very similar to Mack & Manco's, or if you've ever been to Seaside Heights, Maruca's. We use high gluten flour, Pilsbury or Trump, depending on which supplier it comes from that week. It doesn't make that much of a difference for us. I'll get our dough recipe and post it here...it's a very silky, elastic dough that can be thrown, it gets very crispy, but not crackery. We do one rise at room temp, then the dough is cut and rolled, put on lightly oiled trays and is rested in the fridge. I do mine the same at home, I usually make dough a day or two before I will use it.

Feel free to ask questions, I will do my best to answer, and hopefully I can get that dough recipe on here so it can be analyzed by those more fluent in dough speak than me.

[norma427]

I just read the Boardwalk pizza thread. Our pizza is very similar to Mack & Manco's, or if you've ever been to Seaside Heights, Maruca's. We use high gluten flour, Pilsbury or Trump, depending on which supplier it comes from that week. It doesn't make that much of a difference for us. I'll get our dough recipe and post it here...it's a very silky, elastic dough that can be thrown, it gets very crispy, but not crackery. We do one rise at room temp, then the dough is cut and rolled, put on lightly oiled trays and is rested in the fridge. I do mine the same at home, I usually make dough a day or two before I will use it.

Feel free to ask questions, I will do my best to answer, and hopefully I can get that dough recipe on here so it can be analyzed by those more fluent in dough speak than me.

ThatsATastyPizza,

Wow!  It is great that your pizza is very similar to Mack & Mancos.  I have never been to Maruca’s, but have hear that their pies are very similar to Mack’s and Mack & Mancos.  I have used Kyrol flour in the boardwalk thread.  I would love if you got your dough recipe and posted it on the forum.  I don’t want you to get in trouble though, so if you don’t want to you really don’t have to post it, but if you can, I would be really interested in hearing what it is. There are members here on the forum that can analyze the formula if you care to post it.  I am sure other members will have a lot of questions to ask you to, since you know a lot about pizza already.  I also have a lot of questions to ask.

Thanks so much for the information! 

Norma

[scott123]

Alexis, welcome to the forum. Restaurant managers/owners are always welcome, and if they happen to be from NJ, that's an even bigger plus (well, for me, a fellow New Jerseyan).

What's the bake time on your NY pies? How long do you refrigerate the dough for?

How do your home pies compare to your restaurant pies? Same bake time?

You need a website  

I found a menu that I'm guessing is probably dated.  It gives the customer options for thick, thin and regular crust and has no mention of Trenton vs. NY (that I could find). How do you stretch the thin crust option?  My local place (Morristown), when you ask for a thin crust pie, they take a regular dough ball, stretch it out and then run a pizza cutter all the way around the rim. Is that how you guys do it?