Cooking Pizza with Guardian Service Cookware

Homemade pizza is easy, economical and nutritious (hallmarks of the Guardian Service Cookware marketing mantra, "good health, pleasure and profit"). Although, as I mention in our original post on pizza, the creators and makers of Guardian Service Ware couldn't have imagined the 15" service tray being used for "pizza," a modern staple, which was only gaining popular appeal in America in the mid-fifties, by which time the company had ceased production.

We've cooked many pizzas on our Guardian Service tray (the round, flat, service tray works ideally for thin to medium crust pizzas and the "hammer" finish creates little pockets of air that aid in the crisping of the crust). But Mark Bitmann's recent post on pizza dough inspired us to further employ the Guardian Service griddle as a pizza stone. Placed upside–down on the center rack of the oven, the thick aluminum plate retains additional heat, creating an extra crispy crust.

And then this week, members of a Guardian Service fan group posted that they use the octagonal griddle itself to cook the pizza, which sounds ideal for a deep-dish pizza pie. (We'll experiment and report back with an update).

Pictured: Walnut pesto, caramelized onion and sausage pizza with mozzarella, on a whole wheat and cornmeal crust (see pizza dough recipe and instructions).

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Cranberry Walnut Oat Scones

I recently sent some friends a Guardian Service 15" Service Tray as a wedding gift, knowing that they'd come to value it, as I do, for the wonderfully crispy crust it produces on homemade pizza. But because the tray, purchased online, arrived from a third-party seller and I couldn't be there to explain, they put it into use just as its makers intended: as a beautiful serving tray. Indeed, all Guardian Service ware was intended to go directly from "stove to table," with its part Arts and Crafts/part Space Age–Streamline esthetic.

But the tray was never marketed as I've come to use it most, as a baking sheet. Part of the cookware's pitch was its "top-stove" technology—baking on a burner, from quick breads in the Duplex Utility pan to layer cake in the Kettle/Canner—yet the service tray is perfect for traditional oven baking: the thin, rough-textured aluminum resists sticking and distributes heat evenly, creating crisp crusts for pizza or the perfect finish on an eggy holiday gougères.

So in honor of my friends' wedding, here's another recipe well suited to the 15" tray: scones.

I prefer the heartier, Scottish–style scones and the tray is just the right size to bake up a half-dozen large triangle scones. Variations are endless, from savory herb and cheese combinations to the fruit and nut sort featured here.

Cranberry Walnut Oat Scones

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup rolled oats

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 Tbsp. sugar

Gently pat dough into round.

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tsp. orange zest

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

1/4 cup half and half

1. Preheat oven to 450ºF.
2. Mix dry ingredients and cold cut butter into flour mixture until the size of small peas using a pastry blender or two knives.
3. Beat eggs in separate bowl, reserving 2 Tbsp. to brush tops of scones before baking.
4. Add half-and-half to remaining eggs.
5. Make a well in dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and as Irma Rombauer cautions us, "Combine with a few swift strokes. Handle the dough as little as possible."
6. Turn dough out onto the tray, pat into a large round (approximately 2 inches thick), then slice into six equal wedges with a silicone knife or other scratch-proof tool.
7. Brush triangles with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar.
8. Bake for 20 minutes or until browned.

Separate with a scratch-proof tool such as this silicone knife.

Brush tops of scones with reserved egg.

Guardian Service Gougères

With musicians, clergy and actors in my family, Christmas Day was, and remains, a gig for someone. Accordingly, our family celebrations take place in the early afternoon with a spread of finger foods to keep everyone content until all the pros come home. One of Andrew's family traditions which has become a welcome part of the smorgasboard is gougères, a delectable Gruyère cheese puff.

Andrew's mom dollops the cheesy dough into a wreath shape for Christmas. Here, we've adapted her recipe for the Guardian Service 15" round tray, which provides a wide circumference and gives the choux pastry a crisp finish. We've added parsley and roasted red pepper give it a festive "holly and ivy" touch.

Guardian Service Gougères

1 cup water

dash tabasco

1/4 lb (1 stick) butter

1 cup flour, unsifted

6 large eggs

4 cups Gruyère cheese, shredded

optional: dried parsley and roasted red pepper, minced

1. Preheat oven to 450℉. Butter generously the surface of the 15" round tray.
2. Add tabasco to water and bring to simmer. Melt butter in simmering water, bring to boil, then add flour all at once, beating vigorously until the mixture is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pan to form a ball. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
3. Beat in two eggs, then the remaining, one at a time, until completely absorbed and smooth. When enough egg has been incorporated, the dough will be shiny and pliant enough to fall from the spoon.
4. Fold in the cheese, blending completely (optional: blend in parsley).
5. Spoon into a wreath shape on the tray and decorate with roasted pepper. The pastry puffs as it bakes, so butter the surface well and leave plenty of space for it to expand on the tray. 
6. Bake at 450℉ for 8 minutes. This quick initial blast of heat makes the dough steam and rise, after which the temperature can be reduced (do not open the oven door during this time).
7. Reduce heat to 350℉ and bake an additional 35 minutes until golden and firm to touch with no moisture present. It may be necessary to prop the oven door open for ten minutes or longer at the end of the cooking time to allow the pastry to further crisp (though be sure there isn't a direct draft, or it can collapse).
8. Remove the gougères from oven, loosen the edges with a spatula, slice and serve (with cream cheese, if you really want to gild the lily). May be made ahead and frozen. Reheat in a low oven until barely warm.

Guardian Service Pizza

Here's a use for the 15" round tray that its makers never imagined: pizza.

The Guardian Service Round Tray was originally designed to carry all three Economy Trio Cookers (it cradles them nicely and might work well as a trivet on a large table or buffet, but to actually carry all three roasters, piping hot and loaded with food, is not as finger-tips breezy as "Doctor Homemaker," pictured below, would lead you to believe.


In the 1935 edition of Guardian Service Tested Recipes, Betty Gay suggests that "your GUARDIAN Round Tray makes an attractive cake plate. With a lacy paper doily on it, it's quite the thing."

But here's an idea to really put this tray to work: pizza—the American Classic that America hadn't yet invented back in the day that these trays were being minted by the good folks at 6000 S. Avalon Blvd in Los Angeles, CA. Some of the finest New York Pizza is cooked on big aluminum rounds and this service tray does the job nicely.

We've baked up dozens of varieties: Pepperoni/Anchovy, Margherita, "Hawaiian" (Canadian Bacon/Pineapple), Barbecued Chicken, Pulled Pork, Pear/Walnut/ Gorgonzola.... And here's New Depression cooking for you: for less than ten dollars worth of ingredients, you can cook up a 5-star Gourmet Pizza that will make you wonder why you ever eat out.


Here's a recipe I whipped up last night to clean out the cupboard, but the method's the same regardless of your choice of toppings:

PESTO PUTTANESCA PIZZA

Pizza Dough, see below

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

3 oz. Pesto sauce (minced basil, toasted pine or walnuts, parmesan and olive oil)

2, 6 oz. cans Tuna, drained and flaked

3-4 Tomatoes, thinly sliced (heirloom, organic)

1 small Onion, thinly sliced, and

3 cloves Garlic, thinly sliced sautéed in

1 Tbsp. Bacon drippings

2 Tbsp. Olive tapenade

1 Tbsp. Capers

8 oz. Mozarella Cheese, shredded

8  Anchovies, whole

PIZZA DOUGH

A crispy, chewy, tender crust. This easy recipes yields enough dough to create a medium-thick crust on the 15" Guardian Service Tray.

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups warm water

1 envelope active dry yeast

3 cups flour (for added nutrition and texture, use half all-purpose, half whole wheat flour, or, our favorite combination: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour, plus 1/2 cup cornmeal for extra "tooth")

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. olive oil

oregano or other herbs, to taste

1. Stir yeast into warm water in small bowl and let stand about 5 minutes, until yeast dissolves.
2. Lightly brush a large mixing bowl with olive oil and add the flour, sugar, salt, making a well at the center. Add yeast mixture and olive oil and stir to combine, adding more flour if very sticky, more warm water if too dry.
3. Kneed dough for 10-15 minutes and work into a ball. Drizzle dough with olive oil, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm area, free of drafts, until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 450° F.
5. Punch dough down and roll into a disc. (I've never developed a pizza dough spinner's knack—I stretch it by hand, or roll out the dough between two Silpat mats with a roller pin, then lay it out on the tray). Position dough on the tray, tacking the outer edge of the crust to the rim of the tray.
6. Spread sauce or oil over the crust, then layer with the remaining ingredients, finishing with cheese.*
7. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling-golden-brown.
8. Let rest for a few minutes, then remove pizza to cutting board (or cut directly on the tray with a silicone pizza slicer, which won't scratch the surface) and serve.

As with all Guardian Service cookware, the aluminum evenly distributes heat, so the crust crisps perfectly (the airpockets created by the hammer-finish help too). 


*Note: If you're planning to really load on the toppings, pre-cook the crust for 5-15 minutes before adding sauce and toppings.