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A Prize-Winning Pizza Recipe
Helps Kids With Disabilities

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DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

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68

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1991

uild a better mouse-
trap and the world
will beat a path to
your door goes the saying .. .
or something like that . . . I
don't think mousetraps would
have had much chance . . . or
even be too welcome . . . in a
pizza-making contest, so off
went the idea of a new way to
catch those darting little
devils who scare the daylights
out of grownups . . . and are
one reason why chairs are so
sturdy today.
Anyhow, Mickey and Min-
nie and their band wouldn't
have liked the idea of a better
mousetrap, and I'm not about
to get on the bad side of my
grandson, Matthew, or grand-
daughter, Hannah.
But make a better pizza I
did . . . in the recent second
annual Celebrity Gourmet
Pizza-Making Contest by
America's Pizza Cafe, held at
its Fox Theatre unit
downtown . . . Last year's, in
which I was an also-ran, had
its doings at the one on
Telegraph, just south of 10
Mile . . . with Detroit Free
Press columnist Bob Talbert
taking first place, and Bernie
Smilovitz, WDIV-TV sports-
caster, second.
Maybe it was those rubber
gloves borrowed from Dr.
Daniel Panush, whom I went
to see that morning for my
usual routine checkup . . . or
the help of Peter Travis,
supervisor for the two
America's Pizza Cafes owned
by Mike and Marion Ilitch .. .
or the company of brother
Marvin, who for the first
time, since I made him a mud
pie as a youngster, liked
something cooked by me.
Dr. Panush doesn't know it,
but he also finally helped me
have a wish come true . . . I
always wanted to see a pizza
made from scratch with
plastic or rubber gloves .. .
and have discovered that do-
ing it with rubber gloves is
not the easiest thing.
1991 was a Dan and Dan
year as I copped first place
and Dan Mountney, WDIV-
TV anchor, took second
honors . . . Evening judging
was by Denise Ilitch Lites,
senior vice president of Little
Caesars Enterprises; Brian
Freshwater, America's Pizza
Cafe vice president of
restaurant concepts; and Ber-
nie Smilovitz.
Afternoon judges were Jack
McCarthy of WJBK-TV and
Bob Talbert.

Scores were given on taste,
originality and appearance
. . . Totals of the five judges
were added up and the
highest count proclaimed
winner and runner-up.
Prize to these two . . . and a
mighty good one . . . was a
portion of the proceeds from
their pizza during a given
time at the two America's Piz-
za Cafes donated to the
favorite charity of each.
Last year, Bob and Bernie
raised $8,000 . . . with $4,000
going in Bob's name to the
Oakland County Association
for Retarded Citizens, and
$4,000 to Michigan Special
Olympics on behalf of Bernie.

La Pizza Latina
turned out to be a
winner.

Get your dollars together
and start thinking pizza from
Jan. 25-Feb. 3 . . . That's
when every pie you get from
my recipe at either America's
Pizza Cafe will help the
children of Variety to receive
bionic limbs that look so real
from the myoelectric center at
Children's Hospital . . . and
let the unfortunate young-
sters smile again . . . or help
other needy kiddies in the
many wonderful ways of
Variety.
Just ask for my La Pizza
Latina and chomp away on a
winner (if I do say so myself,
it's pretty good, better than
expected) and with every bite
enjoy it even more in the
thought of helping Variety's
children.
Other contestants who pro-
vided some stiff and for-
midable competition were .. .
Carmen Harlan, WDIV-TV;
Roger McCoy, WKBD-TV;
Evelyn Cairns, News-Herald
Newspapers; Ethel Simmons,
Observer & Eccentric; Sybil
Little, Oakland Press; Nickie
McWhirter, Detroit News;
Emery King, WDIV-TV; Jerry
Peterson, Orbit magazine;
and Dan Mountney.
Here's the La Pizza Latina
recipe for a medium:
Sauce . . . 2 large cloves of
garlic chopped fine, 2 cans of
plum tomatoes, Y3 cup of olive
oil, 1 heaping teaspoon of
dried oregano, chopped fresh
basil, 1 tablespoon of capers,
1 teaspoon of salt and Y2 teas-
poon of pepper . . . Mix with
hands and spread over the
pizza about 1/2-inch thick.
Then slice the delicious
Bocconcini (Buffalo Moz-
zarella Cheese) Y4-inch
thick (do not shred) . . . 'Ibp

the pizza with the cheese
slices about one inch apart
. . . Sprinkle more capers and
chopped black olives in bet-
ween the cheese slices .. .
Place fresh basil leaves
around the edges.
It's now ready for the oven
. . . At America's Pizza Cafe,
which serves 23 gourmet piz-
zas, all are prepared in a
wood-fired oven.
The America's Pizza Cafe
on Telegraph south of 10 Mile
in Southfield was Mike and
Marion flitch's first and open-
ed in August of 1989 . . . The
second one in the Fox Theatre
Building, downtown Detroit,
opened May 1990.
Proceeds from Dan's pizza
Feb. 3-12 (Philadelphia Steak
Gourmet Pizza with round
steak, Swiss cheese, sauteed
green peppers, onions and
mushrooms) will go to the
Salvation Army.
Being recipient of the 1990
newspaper media Heart
Award by Variety, The Chil-
dren's Charity, was a thrill I
won't forget for a long time
. . . knowing the work this ex-
cellent organization does for
handicapped and needy
children . . . Now, being able
to raise funds for its great
work is another very big
heartwarmer.
On June 2, the Mike and
Marion Ilitch family will be
given the 1991 Humanitarian
Award by Variety at Ritz
Carlton.
Start planning those pizza
parties . . . with everybody
eating my La Pizza Latina . . .
from Jan. 25-Feb. 3 . . . or Dan
Mountney's Philadelphia
Steak Gourmet Pizza ... Feb.
3-12 . . . and help Variety, The
Children's Charity, and the
Salvation Army.
It's quite a feeling to clasp
your choppers on a yummy
pizza . . . and know that part
of the money you spend is go-
ing to a very worthy charity.
What a way to win . . .
Thanks, America's Pizza Cafe
. . . from Variety's children
and myself.

CONGRATS ... to sister
Belle Weingarden . . . on her
birthday today.
EXCALIBUR chef/owner
Marty Wilk has a book you
can borrow . . . It's The
Classic Cuisine of the Italian
Jews by Edda Servi Machlin.
GET WELL wishes . . . to
Hy Blackman . . . recuper-
ating at home in Delray
Beach, Fla., with wife
Ethel . . . and giving thanks
to so many for their concern.
CAROLE MASTER al-
ways did want to go to a par-