The Paulie Gee Tasting; A Pizza Experience Par Excellence

A Midsummer’s Night Dream in Warren, New Jersey

(note: all photos taken and generously allowed for use here by Brownie of Blondie & Brownie. Thanks Brownie!)

In an e-mail, Paulie told me “I must know a really good shortcut”………

In Warren, New Jersey, one man’s passionate dream is on the cusp of becoming reality. He’s been called a maniac , a madman and has served the best pies some people have ever eaten . Whatever you want to call Paul Giannone, I can assure you he is definitely the real deal. Paulie doesn’t make pizza because he has an eye on taking part in the latest restaurant craze or because he envisions making a lot of money cooking pies. He built his own brick oven because he is passionate about making pizza, about pizza ovens and thinking about pizza. His dream of returning to the borough of Kings, where he was raised, to open his own pizza joint is close to becoming a reality. Paulie most definitely already has a solid product, has a tight business plan in place and is looking at various spaces as we speak. With Paulie’s dream close to the point of no return and with a little prodding by yours truly, Mrs. Blogger and I got the invite to the Gee house for one of Paulie’s renowned, epic pizza tastings. The tasting would last nearly five hours and we were served nine pizzas, an excellent salad, Paulie’s home made limoncello and an overwhelming amount of generosity. Along with multiple bottles of Gragnano, sourced by my Brooklyn friend Wally, and a delicious dessert provided by Brownie of Blondie and Brownie, along with the furry friendliness of the Gee’s dog Mei Mei, it was a midsummer night to remember. Buckle your seat belts folks and please put your trays in the upright and locked position, because I’m here to tell you we were whisked away on a pizza tour de force.

Mrs. Blogger and I were pumped as we headed out of the house at 1:35pm for our three and a half hour drive to New Jersey on Saturday. Route 95 in Delaware and the New Jersey Turnpike, for the second trip in a row, had other ideas, like some living asphalt serpent bound to strangle and constrict our journey northwards. Five hours, twenty five minutes later and an hour late for the six o’clock start time, the sun lower in the sky and the sunlight now heavily dappled from the trees hugging the street on a certain road in Warren, New Jersey, the red, almost log cabin looking house with the gazebo and igloo domed pizza oven peeked out of the trees on the left hand side of the road. The frustration of the drive immediately disappeared upon seeing the wooded and tranquil plot of land the Gee house sits on. The narrow, small gurgling brook in the front yard erased all of our road weariness as we walked towards the front door. We finally made it and Mrs. Blogger and I excitedly entered through the side door into Paulie’s knotty pine kitchen.

After apologies for being so late, meeting Paulie, his lovely wife Mary Ann, Brownie, her husband Lawman and happy that my life long friend Wally from New York could join us, Paulie had some of his chilled, homemade limoncello in two shot glasses for both Mrs. Blogger and I within a couple of minutes…a right proper welcome! Paulie’s limoncello is excellent, maybe even better than my own limoncello recipe, which of course was inspired by Paulie’s homemade lemon libation to begin with.

With the introductions and limoncello taken care of, we all sampled a few pieces of Paulie’s home made mozzarella and then he got right to business rubbing flour into his pizza peel and then shaping the dough for the first pizza of the night. Paulie made sure to let me know my late arrival and the extra hour his initial dough balls had to bench rest were to blame for any problems which might potentially occur over the course of the evening. Happy to play the hungry scapegoat, I watched as Paulie topped the first skin with his “007″ sauce (obtained from a secret source), ”Sicilian” sea salt from Palermo, some of his homemade mozzarella and a little bit of olive oil before proceeding to his oven, with many of us in tow.

In this video you can hear Paulie, with his Brooklyn accent hammering the point home, recite a mantra he would repeat thoughout the course of the evening, “It’s all about gravity, forget that tuhwossin the pie thing”. I’m guessing Mary Ann has heard Paulie say this dozens of times, as you can hear her remark in the background if you listen carefully

Paulie built his own Neapolitan domed, wood fired, brick pizza oven using a modified, smaller version of the plans available at Forno Bravo. He has even gone so far as to use Estonian White Birch as his wood of choice, which is one of the favored woods used by pizzaiolos who work with a wood fired oven.

After admiring the igloo domed oven, with the words Napoli and pictures of lemons on the side of it, as I have done dozens of times online, and staring at the pizza as it sizzled next to the flames, Paulie whisked the pizza out of the oven and it was high time for us all to start our pizza journey.

Back inside Casa di Gee, we all grabbed a seat at the table. The table at the Gee household is a feast of plenty, with an abundance of food and conversation which ebbed and flowed throughout the evening. I dug into a hearty portion of Mary Ann’s yummy mesclun and Gorgonzola salad and then grabbed my piece of the first pizza of the night.

We ended up deviating from the menu a little, which is always flexible at Paulie’s tastings. Onto the pizzas!

Pizza #1: Margherita with Prosciutto di Parma (Prosciutto added post oven)

The fist pizza was a classic margherita (tomato sauce, mutz, basil, olive oil) with Prosciutto di Parma added after the pizza was cooked. Due to me being late, Paulie serving limoncello and talking with the other guests while they waited for me to arrive and also due to the absence of Paulie’s son Michael, who usually maintains the oven, the heat in the oven had dissipated a little, resulting in a pizza lacking a little spring in the crust, but replete with the well melded flavors of bright, fresh tomato sauce, creamy mozzarella and olive oil flavors.

My friend Wally volunteered to ensure that the oven was properly fueled over the remainder of the evening and our pizza journey, already off to a good start, kicked into another gear and really began in earnest.

Pizza #2: Bianco with Sliced Fresh Garlic, Pecorino Romano and Fresh Basil

With the oven now properly fed and hungry for the next pizza, Paulie shoveled a bianco (no sauce) into the oven. The flames licked the ceiling and the quick simmering of cheese and olive oil could be clearly heard emanating from the oven. The pizza emerged from the oven after a short bit and I could immediately see the difference the hotter oven made, as the pizza had more leopard spotted char on the cornicione than the first pizza.

Much like the excellent bianco pizze served by Anthony Mangieri at the now closed Una Pizza Napoletana, Paulie’s bianco of simple ingredients completely dispelled the notion that garlic and mozzarella do not belong together on a pizza. By themselves they would not. However, just like the vegetables served with a meal or a sauce used on the entree can be the crucial pivot around which a wine pairing is planned, the basil and olive oil on this pizza acted as the bridge which marries the mutz and garlic together. This was living, edible proof that less is most definitely more when it comes to high quality pizza. Clean, potent and easily discernible flavors which blended together very well. This was one of the best pizzas I had over the course of the evening, which is saying alot.

In this video, Paulie is happy with this pizza and likes the leopord spots of char on the pizza. Listen to this pie sizzle and hiss:

Pizza #3: Margherita with Sopressata Picante and Parmigiano Reggiano

At this point I fully realized how over the top the ingredients used by Paulie truly are. Not over the top as in weird, over the top as in very high quality. The butcher’s paper wrapped sopressate Paulie opened revealed thinly shaved, tasty looking pieces of what was obviously excellent sopressata, which by itself is not cheap (at all) and reflected Paulie’s total commitment to pizza.

This pizza was another margherita variant, but had more of an airy texture in the end crust than the first pizza of the night, due to the hotter oven. The added saltiness and slight nuttiness inherent in good quality Reggiano really made this margherita, which is my favorite type of pizza, sing well. Another very good pizza and Paulie was in a groove. With these three initial pies forming an indelible first impression of Paulie’s pizza prowess, another step up the ladder was about to be experienced by all of us.

Pizza #4: Sliced Fresh Figs, Mascarpone, Baby Arugula, Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano Reggiano

Paulie combined pizzas #4 and #10 from the planned menu, without adding the fresh lemon juice, by accident. This was easy to do, as Paulie’s tastings do not involve people staying seated at their tables while he makes pizzas, whacks them in the oven and serves them to the guests. We spent time all over the house and outside as well. Some of us would talk with Paulie as he made pizza, others talked in the kitchen or other rooms with Mary Ann and with each other, some of us occasionally lingered outside near the oven and we all intermingled and talked during all parts of the pizza making process. Fantastic.

Umnn, where were we? Yes, the Fig and Mascarpone pizza!

I watched this pizza cook with great interest while the slight moisture in the figs steamed towards the dome of the oven and the mozzarella bubbled from the torrid heat. I adore fresh figs and I love mascarpone, but I have never had them on a pizza and I wondered if they would be too sweet. Paulie added the mascarpone post oven.

There are few culinary delights more rewarding than biting into a revelatory pizza and this pie was indeed revelatory, in every sense of the word. The mascarpone and figs were indeed sweet, but the wonders of the wood fired oven made the pizza work, and beautifully at that. The charred points of crust and the slight smoky flavors played the perfect foil against the mascarpone and figs, both in flavor and texture. The stiffer areas of charred crust supported the creamy mascarpone and fleshiness of the figs, while the smoky notes offset the sweetness of both ingredients.  In places, parts of the figs had attained a somewhat gelatinous caramelization to them which was just, well, just stoopidly delicious, as in fuhgetaboutit stoopid good.

I agree with Brownie in her review where she mentions that the arugula provided a nice bitter note, which in conjunction with the Parmegiano-Reggiano further reigned in the sweetness and added balance to the pizza.

This was simply a stunning pizza. Mrs. Blogger and I talked about this pizza driving home the next day. It’s not the kind of pizza I could eat everyday, but man was it great, that’s right, great. Paulie asked me “this would make a good brunch pie, right?”, to which I replied it would be good at 4am or 4pm. Anytime is right for something this good!

Pizza #5: Margherita with Breaded Sauteed Eggplant

Paulie arrived out of kitchen with his breaded marinated eggplant so we could sample the leftover toppings after he put them on the pizza. The eggplant was very good, and I surmised the breaded eggplant was moist enough to retain some fleshiness while cooking in the oven, which would help it to avoid becoming too dry, which was exactly the case.

On the pizza, the eggplant flavor hit my palate immediately, building a big, earthy note which melded well with the mozzarella and tomato sauce. For some reason, the vibrant, clean, slightly acidic freshness of Paulie’s sauce was really noticeable on this pizza, particularly near the cornicione where a thin ring of sauce was unburdened by the other toppings. A delicious pizza.

Pizza #6: Bianco with Baby Arugula, Fresh Lemon Juice, Olive Oil, Proscuitto di Parma and Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano

I love lemon on pizza and the Pepe pizza at Iggies in Baltimore, which is topped with arugula, lemon and ricotta, is one of my go to summer pizzas. The Pepe would provide some context for me as Paulie’s next pizza came out of the oven, which was now clearly visible in the darkness as the reflection of the flames danced against the wooden pagoda.

This pizza was another hit. The citric tartness of the lemon really harmonized with the charred cornicione on this pizza. The lemon oil gave a vibrant flavor that was joined by the peppery-bitter notes of the arugula and the sharp, tangy nuttiness of the Reggiano. Many of the times I have seen arugula used at a pizzeria there is too much of it piled on top of the pizza. Not so on Paulie’s pizzas, which all displayed the thought and restraint used to arrive at their well balanced flavors.

For some reason, the lemon flavors of this pizza married particularly well with the Gragnano. Another very clean, well married blend of flavors. It was after eating this slice, having already been served pizza which was better than my expectations (and I was expecting a lot), that I realized how much of a marathon this was. We still had a good deal of pizza to eat!

Pizza #7: Bianco with Speck, Parmigiano Reggiano and Sunnyside Up Eggs

It’s a guilty pleasure in the blogger household. When bringing leftover pizza home from either Iggies or Joe Squared, we almost always wake up the next morning, put the pizza in the toaster oven, cookup an egg in the skillet and then put the eggs on top of the heated pizza…..bliss. I’ve never had eggs cooked directly on a pizza which was fired in a proper pizza oven, ala Nancy Silverton, but I was certainly eager to try!

Paulie griped that the yolks were overcooked, that maybe they could have been a tad runnier, but the yolk on my slice broke very well, adding a sinful richness of flavor and density of texture to the pizza. Egg yolks go VERY well with crust and it was here I really appreciated the chewiness of Paulie’s end crust, which has a thin outer snap-crisp to it and is definitely imbued with a subtle smokiness. Another damned good pizza, which would have ruled with a proper Bloody Mary alongside of it!

Pizza #8: Tomato Medley with Chopped Fresh Garlic, Fresh Basil and Course Sea Salt

What was very similar to the second pizza of the evening, but a tad saltier and even more beautiful to look at? Enter Paulie Gee’s tomato medley. This pizza had all of the wonderful creamy textured, sharp and salty flavored, well balanced qualities of the second pizza of the evening, but with the bright points of fresh tomatoes adding a fresh, acidic contrast when bitten into.

This was another delicious treat and Paulie almost seemed to be on cruise control at this point. After eight pieces of Paulie’s well balanced and richly topped pizzas, in addition to starting an hour late due to my late arrival, I could sense that the energy of our group had started to wane a bit, but there was one more pizza to go, and I was game.

In this clip Paulie pops a hot bubble, “Ow, you dog” as we all drool over how good it looks!

Pizza #9: Margherita with Speck, Sliced Red Onion and Pecorino Romano

After some very tasty biancos and pizzas featuring Parmigiano-Reggiano, it was nice to switch back to a margherita and taste Paulie’s bright tomato sauce again. Dittos for the use of salty Pecorino-Romano and also for the first appearance of red onions, which I love on pizza.

The onions were partially caramelized in the oven and, along with the salty pecorino romano and creamy mozzarella, clean and well defined flavors of the basil and tomato sauce and the slightly sweet and slightly smoky flavors of Paulie’s crispy-chewy crust, combined to form a pizza which was a fitting conclusion to an evening long exercise in pizza mondo-deliciouso. Pizza #10 would be finished by Paulie later in the evening so Wally could take it home to his girlfriend, who unfortunately could not make it for the evening.

In this clip, fully enthralled with Paulie’s oven and feeling the effects of a great evening and lots of Gragnano, Paulie realizes I am digging the oven as Mei Mei barks approval in the background.

Dessert

With the pizza happily settled in my stomach, Brownie unveiled and topped her individual cheesecakes with chocolate ganache, finished with a careful sprinkling of crystallized ginger. These were also excellent and just the right size, given the bounty of food we had just eaten. I really enjoyed the ginger and chocolate combination!

Pizza Thoughts

If I could be critical of Paulie’s pizzas, they would all benefit from a hotter oven floor. Yes, as reported in multiple places, Paulie’s oven does get as hot as 900°F, near the top of the dome. The floor is in fact closer to the 600°F to 650°F range, as measured with Paulie’s infrared temperature gun. A hotter floor, as in at least 750°F to 900°F, would lend a more developed char to the undercrust of Paulie’s pizzas and, more importantly, may help give a more rigorous spring, which may help to develop an even airier, more delicate texture in the end crust of Paulie’s already masterfully composed pizzas. Paulie’s crusts are full of developed flavors and have the slight, naturally sweet taste of wheat and also have a subtle salty smokiness to them as well. They will only get better once Paulie has his oven installed in his own pizza joint and that, ladies and gentlemen, is definitely something to look forward to!

If I paid for any of these pizzas at a commercial pizza place, as they were served to me at the tasting, I would be more than satisfied with them.  These were all very well made pizzas using extremely high quality (and very expensive) toppings added in thoughtful, well balanced combinations on top of a flavorful and crispy-chewy crust. Paulie’s pizzas delivered rich, mouth coating flavors which ranged from very good to downright excellent.

With a new oven, these pizzas will be even better and I plan on driving to New York just to eat pizza at Pauli’s new pizza place, appropriately to be named Paulie Gee’s, not just because I have met a somewhat kindred spirit and consider Paulie and Mary Ann as friends now, but because the pizzas themselves are going to be that good. The fact that it will be Paulie making the pizzas and running the joint is a huge bonus and I thrill at the thought of it.

Paulie told me he plans to retire his backyard oven once he opens his own place. I love Paulie’s oven and the thought of this is saddening, but it makes perfect sense. The flame in Paulie’s heart that is his passion for pizza is too small to be contained in a one pizza oven any longer and his pizzas are ready to be appreciated by the general public. I’ll always feel very lucky to have been invited to a tasting at the wooded retreat that is Paulie and Mary Ann’s place, to feel the warm welcome of their house, to look at their pictures of fond memories, to hear the pride they have for their children and to have experienced the small, intimate nature of the tastings there. Paulie and Mary Ann’s generosity is difficult to adequately thank, but I think I know the most appropriate way I could thank them. In the not too distant future, firebrick and mortar will take shape in a backyard in Baltimore. When the construction is complete and a new flame ignites, I will do my utmost best to be as gracious and welcoming a host as Paulie and Mary Ann and strive to deliver the highest quality pizza to my guests my skill allows.

So, Paulie, it turns out I did know a great shortcut. Marcella Hazan once said, “to make time to eat as Italians still do is to share in their inexhaustible gift of making art out of life”. On a special night in July, we experienced this first hand and it took me only five hours to get all the way to Italy, to la cucina di casa, the only one that deserves to be called Italian cooking. Bravo!