Hello Alexandra, I founded BAR in 1991 along with my late business partner Stuart Press. A friend of mine, who loves your recipes, just forwarded your latest post to me. I’m writing because I appreciate your kind words about BAR, but also to clear up a misconception. It is true that we used to make a seasonal Thanksgiving pie, but that was not the impetus for our Mashed potato pizza. Our Mashed potato pizza was on the original menu and was inspired by a rather unusual recipe of my own. When I was a kid I liked eating spaghetti sandwiches - Spaghetti on white bread. When pondering the menu for BAR I wanted to include something like the starch on starch sandwich. After some experimenting the Mashed Potato pie came to be. I thought it would be a novel addition to the menu. It has become what we are known for. Who knew!
Oh my goodness, I'm kind of dying reading this comment. First: apologies for getting the story wrong... I found an old Saveur article but I should have just reached out to the source to find out the truth. Thank you for clearing that up! And thank you so much for writing. I can't overstate the importance of Bar in my life... the intro to my cookbook is basically a love letter to Bar. It is my favorite restaurant on Earth, and every time I go back to New Haven (my parents live in Guilford), I go to Bar. Nothing is better than your white clam pizza! And your mashed potato and bacon pie is a close second for me and truly one of the most delicious combinations of all time. I will be in New Haven just after Christmas, and I hope to find you! Thank you thank you 🙏
Suzanne, thank you! I just read your lovely article! And now I am adding cream cheese to my shopping list and making mashed potatoes as soon as I get home from my sister's. They look outstanding! And I like the no-peel process. I think my kids will be into them. Thanks for linking back here and sending your readers my way. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi Ali. Hope you had a wonderful day yesterday. Your mashed potato/bacon/cheese pizza post inspired me so much. I gave you two linked references in a recent Medium essay. I hope those links will add to the already enthusiastic readers of your recipes. Thanks again for the inspiration.
You rock! Thanks for humoring me with the side view angle of the rolling :) Really helps see how close your hands are to the board and how much the ball rotates as you slide.
I had a similar(ly amazing) pizza 10+ years ago at Otto in Portland, ME—probably an homage to the one at Bar! Now I know exactly what I’ll be doing with my leftovers 🥰
Possibly! My concern would be that the potatoes might dry out during the longer bake time. For the Sicilian, which bakes for only 10-12 minutes after the parbake, it might be fine, but I think with the 23-ish minute bake for the grandma, that might be too long. For each of those, I I might consider dolloping the pizza with the mashed potatoes during the last 5 -7 minutes of baking to ensure the potatoes don't dry out. Happy Thanksgiving Bruce!
Thanks for the great thoughts on how I might adapt the recipe. My wife and I both love your Sicilian style pizza. Hope you have a wonderful time with your family at Thanksgiving.
Hello Alexandra, I founded BAR in 1991 along with my late business partner Stuart Press. A friend of mine, who loves your recipes, just forwarded your latest post to me. I’m writing because I appreciate your kind words about BAR, but also to clear up a misconception. It is true that we used to make a seasonal Thanksgiving pie, but that was not the impetus for our Mashed potato pizza. Our Mashed potato pizza was on the original menu and was inspired by a rather unusual recipe of my own. When I was a kid I liked eating spaghetti sandwiches - Spaghetti on white bread. When pondering the menu for BAR I wanted to include something like the starch on starch sandwich. After some experimenting the Mashed Potato pie came to be. I thought it would be a novel addition to the menu. It has become what we are known for. Who knew!
Say hello next time you’re in.
Randy Hoder
Oh my goodness, I'm kind of dying reading this comment. First: apologies for getting the story wrong... I found an old Saveur article but I should have just reached out to the source to find out the truth. Thank you for clearing that up! And thank you so much for writing. I can't overstate the importance of Bar in my life... the intro to my cookbook is basically a love letter to Bar. It is my favorite restaurant on Earth, and every time I go back to New Haven (my parents live in Guilford), I go to Bar. Nothing is better than your white clam pizza! And your mashed potato and bacon pie is a close second for me and truly one of the most delicious combinations of all time. I will be in New Haven just after Christmas, and I hope to find you! Thank you thank you 🙏
Yes please to mashed pots on pizza.
Just made this! It was amazing!!! Thank you! I told my husband not to touch the mashed potato leftovers just to try this recipe. 😂
Awww this makes me so happy! So nice to hear. Thanks so much for writing :) :) :) Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.
Oh. Here is the link. I forgot to include in my last comment!
https://medium.com/tastyble/how-a-pizza-made-me-quickly-post-my-thanksgiving-mashed-potatoes-recipe-d5296495a8cf?sk=b67da912548906da9266eceab6f65e5a
Suzanne, thank you! I just read your lovely article! And now I am adding cream cheese to my shopping list and making mashed potatoes as soon as I get home from my sister's. They look outstanding! And I like the no-peel process. I think my kids will be into them. Thanks for linking back here and sending your readers my way. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Hi Ali. Hope you had a wonderful day yesterday. Your mashed potato/bacon/cheese pizza post inspired me so much. I gave you two linked references in a recent Medium essay. I hope those links will add to the already enthusiastic readers of your recipes. Thanks again for the inspiration.
Love new ideas for leftovers!! And can we discuss how calming and hypnotic that video is?
You rock! Thanks for humoring me with the side view angle of the rolling :) Really helps see how close your hands are to the board and how much the ball rotates as you slide.
I'm so happy it was helpful :)
I had a similar(ly amazing) pizza 10+ years ago at Otto in Portland, ME—probably an homage to the one at Bar! Now I know exactly what I’ll be doing with my leftovers 🥰
this pizza was the first one i made from the book. it was ah-may-zing!!!
So nice to hear this, Holly!
Bought the book! We love pizza 🥰
I’ll let you know how we go!
Thank you ☺️ ☺️☺️
Thanks so much for the video on balling the dough from both angles! Your videos are THE BEST!
My pleasure!
Hi Ali,
Would it work to make this with your Sicilian or Grandma pie dough? Any changes in the recipe for toppings etc. Thanks so much for all you share!
Possibly! My concern would be that the potatoes might dry out during the longer bake time. For the Sicilian, which bakes for only 10-12 minutes after the parbake, it might be fine, but I think with the 23-ish minute bake for the grandma, that might be too long. For each of those, I I might consider dolloping the pizza with the mashed potatoes during the last 5 -7 minutes of baking to ensure the potatoes don't dry out. Happy Thanksgiving Bruce!
Hi Ali,
Thanks for the great thoughts on how I might adapt the recipe. My wife and I both love your Sicilian style pizza. Hope you have a wonderful time with your family at Thanksgiving.