Sheila Parisien
Child Nutrition Director
Manchester Essex Regional SD
Manchester, MA
"On pizza day we serve ten different varieties. With so many pizzas offered, it's a great opportunity to experiment with new and edgier pizzas because there are always the traditional pizzas to fall back on.
"We try all sorts of toppings that range form vegetables to turkey sausage. Our specialty pizzas include tomato and basil, pineapple and ham, spinach and cheese, and red, yellow, green and orange pepper. The students like the gourmet look. It's trendy and appealing to them.
"For our dessert pizzas we use a cookie dough crust and layer different kinds of fruit on top. We put a glaze over the fruit to hold it and bake it. The students love it andcompared to other desserts, it's a more healthful option.
"The cookie dough crust is just one example of how our pizza crusts are unique. The emphasis is on incorporating more whole grains into the diet. With that in mind, we offer pizza on a whole wheat or whole grain crust. We use low-fat mozzarella cheese and the students say it tastes great. Also, their parents are pleased to find that it's healthful.
"As everyone is looking for ways to incorporate more whole grains, it's encouraging that there are vendors who now supply preformed whole grain pizza crusts."
Bob Honeychurch
Food Service Supervisor
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS
"My breakfast pizza philosophy: Anything you can put in an omelet you can put on a pizza.
"With that in mind, the possibilities are innumerable, especially when it comes to the crust. We make most of our own crusts here. Incorporating flavor into the crust not only makes the pizza taste good, but it also gives it a gourmet flair that customers look for and appreciate.
"Pizza itself is a blank slate. Dibs and Dabs, combined with the right crust, sauce and cheese, can make unique pies that translate to any daypart. Leftover ingredients from other dishes can be used as toppings. Almost anything works. And the more portable the slice, the better.
"One of our most popular pizzas is the huevos and chorizo breakfast pizza. We use a roasted red pepper and cilantro dough, then lay the chorizo down, sprinkle on a picante sauce and some of the cheese. Then we add the eggs and cover with the rest of the cheese, top with some roasted red peppers and bake. As the pizza comes out of the oven, we sprinkle it with a little cilantro and serve."
To access the recipes that accompanied this article, click here: Pizza Recipes