[.ca] The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook (ISBN 0028609883)

Too much work for a pizza:
Alright, the last two days have been a series of mishaps for me. First off the pizza dough itself takes two full days to do. That's when my first error started: I tried to double the dough recipe (BIG mistake). The resulting goo was more of a new kind of super glue than dough. Next, the next day, I tried to roll out the goo into a pizza shape as it insisted in trying to cling around my arms when I tried to throw it. Again, big mistake. It just stuck to the rolling pin so I tried to mold it with my hands. After achieving a lumpy dough round that seemed to move around as much as "Flubber" I followed the instructions on the BLT pizza. The toppings and everything were perfectly explained. After I cooked the pizza I took it out and much to my surprise the pizza crust was about an inch deep; it seems that my average interpretation of pizza dough depth was WAY off for this recipe; for all of you out there trying the cookbook make the dough about 1/8"-1/4" deep. Finally I enjoyed my BLT bread (pizza?), thank goodness it still tasted good! Tips for buyers: set aside a ton of time to do a recipe from this book and read all of the recipe before you start so that you don't forget to set aside an hour here or there. If you are a beginning cook then this might not be the best book for you but start with something easy like the "Betty Crocker Cooking Basics Book" and work up to it. Best of luck!

Take the Time for Great Pizza:
At a recent family cookout, our host used these recipes for CPK pizzas and they were amazing! Mind you, it took time. In fact, he prepared the dough the night before and spent quite a bit of time assembling all the ingredients. But it was a fun process because everyone was sitting around the kitchen enjoying conversation while others chopped ingredients or checked the oven. Some things are simply worth the extra time and effort. If you are looking for something quick & easy, this isn't your cookbook. But if you want to take the time for great pizza, plus maybe add a little creativity of your own, the CPK cookbook is perfect. The salad recipes are wonderful, too.

Elaborate recipes but well worth the effort!:
I had never heard or been to CPK when this book was given to me. I followed the recipes, and although they call for numerous ingredients, the results are fantastic. The pizza dough recipe is time consuming because you need 2 days to prepare it, but it's worth the effort. Last June, I was in California and went to CPK for the first time. I was surprised to see the results from the book are very very similar to the real thing!

Complicated recipes, but a fun book:
"The California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook" is a great book to read, with interesting notes about the great pizzas served at the California Pizza Kitchen restaurants along with interesting recipes of the pizzas. The recipes appear complicated, with a long list of ingredients one might not have stocked in their home, but it is somewhat of an adventure to test out the recipes.

CPK at home:
My daughter and I love to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. she had often asked me to make the BBQ Chicken Pizza t home, but she always said it was not as good. I think her calling is to be a food critic, she can be harsh. On one of our stops she was wandering around during our wait to be seated. I saw her walking towrds me very fast with a book inher hand anda very excited look on her face. She practically knocked off my glasses whipping the book in front of my face. She begged meto get it, "Now you can make GOOD pizza. Almost knockedher inthehead with it, but instead I bought it. Some of the recipes seem eloborate, but the finished product is so worth it. I can also play around some with the recipes and add or subtract some ingredients, as of yet that personal touch has not ruined the pizza. If you enjoy CPK or have ever wished to know what goes in to your favorite this is a cookbook you use over and over. You can now buy certian CPK's in the freezer section of your grocers, they are alright, but I do not like the taste of frozen pizza.