Freschetta PizzAmore 10-Topping Supreme Pizza

December 20, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Freschetta PizzAmore 10-Topping Supreme Pizza Price: $5.00 (on sale)
Serving: 2 slices, 5oz.
Calories: 380
Fat: 25%, 16g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 40%, 950mg
Protein: 17g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 9 Points

Freschetta says: Pre-sliced and covered with generous amounts of large-cut toppings and all natural cheese that complete the take-out pizza experience. Since each pizza is baked and served on a disposable tray, there is minimal oven mess and no pizza cutter to clean — truly giving moms the night off from cooking.

Abi says: Before I even get into how this pizza tastes or how silly I find the name, can we take a moment to ponder two things?

Do people still using pizza cutters? As a fan of Alton Brown and recent reader of his Kitchen Gear book, I have to say that a pizza slicer is a waste of space for most home cooks and a pain for any hand-washer to clean. Get yourself a good, sharp, big knife (the Santoku style works well on pizza) and give your rotary slicer to Goodwill.
“Truly giving moms the night off from cooking” makes me gag. Does it make you gag? Do you suddenly feel like you’ve been transported back to another era? I certainly do. I don’t have children yet, so I’m not sure who would feed them, but the idea that moms are solely responsible for dinner make me sort of sad.

Okay, enough ranting about the package blurb. Just kidding. From now on, whenever I add garnish or sprinkle spices over the top of something, I am going to call it a topping. The front of the Freschetta box lists the 10 toppings as:

Mozzarella
Parmesan
Pepperoni
Spicy Sausage
Green,
Red and
Yellow Bell Peppers
Roasted Red Onions
Garlic &
Oregano

I don’t know about you, but when I think of ‘toppings’ I think of things that go beyond the scope of cheese and seasonings: I think of vegetables and meats. Freschetta is reaching with the ‘10-Topping’ moniker, assuming that most consumers will behave as I did, trusting that there are ten toppings on the pizza rather than reading the box closely and realizing that calling garlic and oregano toppings rather than seasonings is something of a joke. Plus, the toppings are relatively scant considering that there are ‘10′ of them. The bell peppers and onions add beautiful color, but I’d like a bit of vegetable in every bite.

The pepperoni is terrifically peppery, adding a ton of flavor to the pizza without drenching it in oil. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had to blot a slice of Freschetta pizza. This makes me happy, because pizza blotting reminds me that I’m a picky eater and that pizza is generally not healthy. While both of those things are true, they are realities that I try to ignore. The spicy sausage, ingredient number four, is even more scant than the bell peppers. I am confused about this, even more confused than when I attempt to apply blush without looking like a victim of scarlet fever or a street walker.

The Freschetta crust is perfectly puffy, but only slightly crisp. This is confusing as all get out because the pizza comes packaged with a ‘baking sheet’. Do not trust this baking sheet. It is a flimsy piece of paper coated in black and it will not make your pizza crisp. I recommend ignoring the baking sheet and placing the pizza on a cookie sheet.

Why do I recommend the cookie sheet route rather than my preferred on-the-rack baking method? Well, this pizza is pre-sliced, a bit of news that should be heartily welcomed by all of you that lack knives and cutting boards. Because I own a cutting board and multiple knives, I find this pre-sliced pizza a bit silly. The cheese melts together, so that still has to be sliced and in the end all that you’ve got is pre-sliced dough. That isn’t so helpful when you’re buying a pizza specifically designed to keep your children from handing sharp kitchen implements.

If it didn’t taste so darn good, I’d suggest skipping the PizzAmore and sticking to the regular non-pre-sliced pizzas from Freschetta. Wow, it is 9am on the West Coast, I had breakfast two hours ago and all I want right now is a slice of pizza. Damn you, Freschetta.

comments

11 Responses to “Freschetta PizzAmore 10-Topping Supreme Pizza”

Shann on December 20th, 2007

Hmm, I like pizza pre-cut for me.
Jill on December 20th, 2007

Haha, I have to say just reading your comments cheers me up. Honestly, I totally understand the 9am pizza craving, only for me it comes with spaghetti, damn those Italians and their awesome food.
Crow on December 21st, 2007

Oregano is a topping? Um…
Abi Jones on December 21st, 2007

@Shann - But this pizza isn’t really pre-cut. The cheese melts together and you end up cutting it again. So it doesn’t really save on time or utensils to clean.

@Jill - Good spaghetti is fantastic. Sadly, the general improvement in jarred pasta sauce (Newman’s Own and Classico are favorites) has led to a decline in the amount of meaty spaghetti I eat. Mmmm, meat sauce.

@Crow - Exactly.
Andrew on December 21st, 2007

Alton Brown must have changed his stripes, because I JUST saw him on a rerun of “Good Eats” using a pizza cutter to slice recently baked brownies. I have a fantastically sharp and stable cutter myself.
Rose on December 21st, 2007

Every time I go into a pizza shop and hopefully look at the menu, thinking maybe they will have spinach, and see “garlic” as a topping…I question the world.
Lauren on December 22nd, 2007

I am usually a little snobbish when it comes to frozen pizza because either I won’t like the sauce, or I won’t like the crust… etc. For this reason I have normally stuck to thin crust pizzas because I can’t get the desired level of crunchiness from anything else without burning it to a crisp. And I’ve essentially given up on pizza sauce in general, opting for anything other than red sauce on a frozen pizza.

And then came PizzAmore… This puppy come out of my oven without a hitch, even on said provided “baking round.” The crust was a perfect combo of crispy, yet chewy, and I was really digging on the sauce. The presliced crust wasn’t a huge factor for me, but I have since bought a second one to test a theory. I remember seeing somewhere on the box that you can actually keep this pizza thawed in the fridge for up to three days… The perfect opportunity to pop a few slices in the oven instead of baking the entire pie. If there’s one thing I dislike more than leftover pizza, it’s leftover frozen pizza. A lot less waste for me! (At least I’m hoping that’s the case… stay tuned.)
Kristin on January 7th, 2008

I bet they all laughed when sliced bread was introduced! Now nobody can remember what the greatest thing was BEFORE sliced bread! Muah ha ha ha haaaaaa!
Martha St. Laurent on January 25th, 2008

We just love your pizza and would to like to know if you ever give coupons on line that we can print.
RSVP
Thank you
Mary on January 26th, 2008

I LOVE these pizzas! It seriously makes making pizza so much easier (than it already is) especially during a move when you can’t find a baking sheet or your pizza cutter…. we love ‘em!
Libby on June 18th, 2008

As a mom who has three kids and a husband and a home business AND is indeed… solely responsible for the feeding of the children… I would just like to say that I am not in an old era but a new one. One that’s come after the feminist revolution. Because of the wonderful brave women who came before me who did Everything, I can now choose to do One thing. I choose not to put my kids in daycare. So there. Heat that up and Eat it. ( I am smiling while I type this, I offer you no ill will! I love you and your site!)

I have become so disgruntled with the whole frozen pizza scene, that freqently I’ll buy whatever the very cheapest pizza is on sale for the kids and have a salad myself. I do try to keep a couple in the freezer for crazy taekwondo nights or whatever. When we want pizza for real, we make it outside, on the grill… and then we all sit around patting our bellies and sigh.