so, question about the late lamented Zing! Pizza.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

now that it has been gone for half a year, and is probably not ever coming back, which makes me a very sad panda...

are there any former employees who might like to, you know... slip me the recipe for the butternut squash sauce that was used on the Blue October?

My own attempts have been edible, but they feel like they are missing something.

I promise to only use the recipe for good.

(people who have successfully reproduced the flavour feel free to chime in. I have mostly worked with plain roasted squash with a little salt, but when I asked at Zing! once they told me it had something else in it, and it also seemed to get thinned out slightly so it was more akin to tomato sauce than squash puree)

Comments

[ron_newman]

Any idea why it closed?

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

the secret incredient is almost always cinnamon when push comes to shove.

maybe.

#

[thespian.livejournal.com]

uhm, did you *have* the Blue October? because if it had been cinnamon (aside from the fact my tastebuds are sensitive enough to pick it out in a crowd; I was once able to pick cinnamon out in a taste test based on mouthfeel when they eliminated my ability to taste) that would actually have been really gross.

(the other main ingredients on the Blue October were caramelized onions, spinach and bleu cheese)

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

no, because squash makes me vomit.

however, it was an attempt at humor, because in russia, joke always has cinnamon.

and i've found that several recipes threw cinnamon in there at just a level that it's hard to notice. also goes well with squash ;>

i've found when trying to figure this stuff out, to go through the mental spice rack, and often *BAM* there it is. clove. or allspice. or something :)

#

[smammy]

I am not quite convinced that you are a panda.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

it certainly is, but as a flavour, even if you cannot detect it really directly conflicts with bleu cheese (actually, it is a meh idea with any of the stronger cheeses; it pairs with the milder, creamier ones). Spinach and cinnamon do not get paired often for the same reason; the bitter of the spinach against the differing bitter of unsweetened cinnamon is often a bad idea (some chefs have done it, but it is not the sort of thing a pizza place was likely to try with).

Also since the squash was already slightly sweet from roasting, there would be a good chance you would wind up with the problem with sweet potatoes when cinnamon is added, where it instantly becomes a dessertish tasting thing, which would indeed be a little nasty on pizza with caramelized onions.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

If I wish to be panda-identified, that is my own business!

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

the answer is almost always: add a crapload of oil

[badseed1980.livejournal.com]

Nutmeg is a possibility--it works better in savory adaptations (and indeed is often used in creamed spinach). Or maybe garlic was used--possibly roasted? Never had the pizza, just thinking of things that would be tasty! Cream would thin out the sauce nicely.

[beezy515.livejournal.com]

That pizza was fantastic. I'm pretty sure there was no cinnamon in the sauce. Wasn't the pizza place started by the owner of the ZING! Cafe in the Porter Square Bookstore? They both used the same logo. I would think someone at the cafe could find out the recipe for you.

[genevra-mcneil.livejournal.com]

Okay, I've never eaten the pizza in question, but I feel very strongly about squash, so if you'll permit me a moment of speculation? If someone gave me that description, I'd fall back on a variation on the Cook's Illustrated squash soup. Take the guts (seeds and stringy bits) of the squash. Saute them with shallots/onions (your choice) in some form of fat until that fat is bright orange. Add water to the bright orange mess in the pot and bring it to a boil. Then use that to steam the cut-up and skinned squash until it's soft. Then, use the steaming liquid (strained) to thin the puree.

It enhances the essential... squashiness of the squash. It also freezes pretty well, so you could make a big batch and freeze it in single-'za-sized portions.

Now, it sounds like you need some roasted flavor notes in there, too. Maybe half steamed squash and half roasted squash? Or use the caramelized onions both for the broth and the topping. You can also add some nice notes in by varying your fat -- browned butter will bring a nice nutty touch, olive oil a more savory flavor, pumpkin seed oil (if you're splurging, available at Dave's Fresh) would add even MORE squashiness, and, of course, you could use bacon fat. Because, you know... bacon fat. Or duck fat.

Finally, try seasoning it with smoked salt.

[teko.livejournal.com]

They've taken out a few ads since they closed, trying to sell the place, and the ads reference an "absentee owner" who's "distracted by family crisis and other businesses". The owner has said that he didn't anticipate how much work the restaurant would be. The fact that it closed immediately after the owner's "much needed vacation" says to me that he liked his time off so much that he just gave up and walked away. Which seems to me to be an immensely stupid thing to do to a viable business that's just sitting there, vacant, paying rent.

I miss the Blue October immensely, too. One of my favorite pizzas in Boston, easily.

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

I was wondering how they could have an absentee owner when the Zing! cafe in Porter Square books was up and running, too. Did they split off?

[misterthorn.livejournal.com]

I've had that pizza and enjoyed it. It's been a while but I can remember sweet, salty and meaty/umami notes in it. I would definitely try messing about with the sweet spices (including nutmeg, allspice, and, yes, even cinnamon) and increasing the amount of salt you're adding. I'd agree with the poster who suggested cream, but you might want to try miso for the umami notes.

You could also try different ingredients from the bazillion or so recipes that come up when you google "butternut squash pizza sauce".

I'm putting my money on nutmeg, though.

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I'm just hear to echo that that was also one my favorite pizzas, and if you do figure it out, I would be immensely greatful if you passed on your findings!

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I mean, just here.... and also, grateful....

[jadelennox]

if any former staff members turn up here, oh my God what I like the recipe for the Dracula's delight, the one with the cherry tomatoes and the pomegranate. That thing was utterly delectable.

Zing! made the only really high-quality pizza with a gluten-free crust around here. I am very sad they are gone. :-(

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*salivates*
*takes notes*

[cravereality.livejournal.com]

That's interesting because it's the same owner as Cafe Zing, and that's still going strong. I've actually seen people asking him about it in there, and he didn't say it wasn't reopening (but the longer it's closed, the more it seems that way).

[enveri.livejournal.com]

We had a squash pizza at Flatbread and I immediately came home to try and reproduce it. I've never had Zing, so.. feel free to experiment with my ideas.

I roasted a squash and mixed it with greek yogurt, roasted garlic and tahini (with salt and pepper) til it had a consistency I liked. I love the flavor. :)

I serve it with caramelized onions and goat cheese.

[jericho bicknell (from livejournal.com)]

Hey all.

As a former manager of Zing Pizza hopefully I can shed some light on this subject for you all.The Blue October pizza was the brainchild of my friend Keri (minus the blue cheese which was Evie's idea) and was the result of her having a whole lot of squash from the farm she worked at that needed to be used up quickly. She roasted the squash and then blended it with butter and salt. That's all. At Zing, we didn't want to use butter because we wanted the sauce to be vegan friendly so we used olive oil instead. I don't remember exact measurements for each of these three ingredients, but a lot of it was by taste and consistency so just add the oil (or butter) a bit at a time while you are blending until it seems like the right consistency. Then add salt to taste. The sauce never needed anything else added because between the caramelized onions, the spinach, and the blue cheese there were already a lot of strong flavors on the pizza. No need to complicate things. Happy pizza-making!
-Jericho

[oneagain.livejournal.com]

Can you shed some light on the likelihood of Zing opening back up?

[fairychild86.livejournal.com]

ALRIGHT PEOPLE, I'M GOING OUT ON A LIMB HERE AS ONE OF THE LAST EMPLOYEES AT THE SHOP.
I don't know the above former manager, (which is to say there was a lot of turnover) and I can answer some of your questions.
And NO ONE at the cafe can tell you how to make jack because they had no employee crossover and for the last year that the shop was open there were only about 3 people that made most of the food.

Last incarnation of Butternut squash sauce:
peel squash, trash the innards. chop/cut into 2-3" slices/chunks. Throw some foil over so it doesn't all burn. We roasted in the pizza oven so it was effin hot (you can do minimum 400 degrees). (other secret, at the end of the show, we were cooking almost everything in the oven, hence the sometimes burnt caramelized onion pieces)
Roast until soft (squishes with the back of a spoon).

In a food processor: blend squash with (grape seed oil in our case) Veg. OIL, VEG STOCK (to cut down on oil content and add flavor. Before our last prep cook/chef we were pureeing with mostly oil so I loved the earlier comment about that being the secret.), REAL MAPLE SYRUP, GARLIC (minced or clove-- either way raw, it will cook in the oven),fresh LEMON JUICE, and SALT TO TASTE.
Basically, you want to use the oil and stock to give you the sauce texture (so a larger quantity of oil), the garlic and maple should play off each other so neither is particularly overwhelming/noticeable (we used about a 1/4 cup maple and 3 gloves garlic per 4 cups squash), and the lemon juice and salt are about brightening the flavors of everything else (so don't go nuts, except if you like salt).

for real kids. no joke.

Dracula's dilemma had different reincarnations. The original was a thin layer of raw garlic minced in the food processor with a spoon of lemon juice for preservation. the later, and foodie recommended, version was a thicker layer of roasted garlic (raw garlic cloves, olive oil and salt (pepper sometimes) cover with foil, roast til you are worried you over roasted). The roasted garlic was pureed with a bunch of olive oil til it is sauce-y and salt to taste.
then quartered cherry tomatoes, mozz, bake, add fresh cilantro and pomegranate syrup.

also easy. that had to be my favorite pizza to prep (besides the reg cheese pizza) because it was easy and slicing tomatoes was a nice way to zone out :)
and that comment was too personal! haha

The owner is much less involved in the cafe and the cafe is far more established than the shop was and the cafe has a lot less detail to it.
I highly doubt he will ever be involved if the shop re-opens because... he is asking way too much which people have conjectured from the Craigslist ads. I don't want to go much more into detail because I have personal feelings about it that makes my response to this uncomfortabley emotional/biased.
I have little faith that the shop we knew will ever open again.
And, no, He will absolutely never say that, at least not in public, which is why the window says otherwise!

I think that covers it! Now I'm off to look at my profile and see if it has my full name! lol

[thespian.livejournal.com]

that tastes, in my head, the closest to what I feel the sauce was like. I will give that a try. thanks!

[thespian.livejournal.com]

thanks for telling us the origins!

[fairychild86.livejournal.com]

you're welcome

[teko.livejournal.com]

Thanks fairychild!! I deeply miss the Zing Pizza experience and am sad that things didn't work out. Were I a billionaire I'd open it again in a heartbeat. Since I'm not I'll just try cooking up some squash sauce.

[smammy]

Well... um... ::sputter::
If I want to identify as a panda-denier, that's my right!