Modifying a take and bake pizza can be really effective.
We use things like mandolin-sliced fresh jalapeños, cooked sweet corn cut off the cob, and fresh chopped cilantro sprinkled after it comes out of the oven.
Sometimes we add grated grown-up cheese bits that are laying around the refrigerator.
Sure! Like many dishes, pizza is peasant food that calls for morsels of whatever was laying around or leftovers. But many of these peasant foods (e.g., cassoulet, paella) have become something made with only “true” and bespoke ingredients for authenticity.
We will occasionally buy and butcher a take-n-bake, but mostly just make it smaller diameter, so the crowded toppings leave no room for adds. What we SHOULD do is just buy a plain cheese pie, and add yesterday’s brisket, tomorrow’s tonno, or whatever strikes us.
So you might buy a large take n bake, then crowd the toppings toward the center, and cut away the outer circle of crust? Like turning the area of large into a medium, but retaining the toppings of the large? This is genius.
I buy the pizza flavor that’s on sale, which usually costs the same or similar as a cheese pizza. Not long ago this was a pepperoni sausage mushroom pizza. Then I take off any ingredients I don’t like (we removed the meats because of our pescatarian son). Then I add the jalapeños and cilantro etc.
Thanks, but hardly genius. Simply necessity to fit in the Breville.
You can, of course, trim away less or no dough, and form or roll it larger for stuffed crust, etc.
trader joe’s supreme is decent (and reasonably priced) in a pinch. Table 87 is also good to have for an emergency. Almost as easy is to have a pocketless pita, I add mutti (canned pizza sauce), fresh mutz, grated cheese and (often pepperoni) toppings. 10 minutes in a toaster oven, and it’s pretty decent
I’ve enjoyed the occasional TJ’s frozen pie.
I’ve enjoyed the occasional TJ’s almost anything, but the pies are ok by me, as far as frozen pizza goes.
Have you tried placing on the highest rack? Sorry if this is a repeat
According to David Chang, it’s the hallmark of a Korean mom.
No. I will! Thanks!
Tombstone has changed so much over the years. When it was a small company out of Medford Wisconsin, it was great. It was genius because back in the 1970’s, they put little electric pizza ovens and probably freezers, in lots of the taverns in Wisconsin to bake a pizza when they had no kitchen. The pizza was really good. Then I think Kraft (?) may have bought them up in the 90’s? Because that’s when I saw the quality go down. We’ve tried them maybe twice in the last 10 years and been really disappointed.
Thx for sharing!
Occasionally the local supermarket has Totino’s and Celeste personal pizzas on sale for $1 each. They are overpriced at that.
This week’s special was not a frozen, but a refrigerated pie. A Panera Margherita flatbread. It looks promising (I can see little slices of plum tomatoes and discs of mozz ready to be melted as well as basil). I’ll report back after I try it sometime this week.
I never understood cheese pizza - unbelievable boring. It’s the safe choice for people who don’t like flavors (and texture) in their food
It’s certainly minimilist. But it’s a reminder of pizza’s peasant and workingman’s roots–cheese being the only thing on hand or in budget.
Maybe for Lent?
Cheese is the best to improvise and experiment adding ingredients however.
But not really on a frozen one. In that case you have to add any additional ingredients on top of the cheese and so it makes for a quite unbalanced pizza
I disagree. Frozen pizzas tend to have horrible quality toppings. If I’m stuck eating one, I tend to prefer just cheese. Keep that rubbery meat product and soggy frozen onion away from me.
And if we’re not talking strictly frozen pizzas, a simple well-executed margherita can be sublime. Unless you count basil as a topping 
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I keep a couple of frozen Cape Cod pizzas on hand. The company isn’t actually on Cape Cod but close enough. The style is south shore bar pizza. Thin crust, cheddar cheese define it. There are several varieties but I like the mushroom, buffalo chicken and pepperoni ones. Ingredients seem good quality. Not huge. Cost about $8 -9. Available in the northeast.
