Just got a delicious ricotta pie

Now this was a treat! Ricotta pie and fresh blueberries. Costed about 35 dollars delivered. Came chilled, I guess to keep it in good shape during shipping. Ricotta pie is their specialty.

I can't wait to grab another, and felt compelled to spread the word a bit. Thanks for the message board! I'll stick around and read up on stuff here!

http://penzaspies.com is the address.

The stuf on the website does not look very appetizing. Did you order based on the website? Did someone send this to you?

There are many pie by mail order companies out there, but IRRC, the Wall Street Journal comparison said they were all bunk compared to what you can buy close to home (said the same thing about frozen beef).

Do you also make pies at home? How did the product you were mailed compare to homemade or store bought?

$35 dollars for a pie, YIKES!!! For me there is only one kind of pie worth $35, it ain't ricotta and it ain't coming by mail

pdaane wrote:The stuf on the website does not look very appetizing. Did you order based on the website? Did someone send this to you?

There are many pie by mail order companies out there, but IRRC, the Wall Street Journal comparison said they were all bunk compared to what you can buy close to home (said the same thing about frozen beef).

Do you also make pies at home? How did the product you were mailed compare to homemade or store bought?

$35 dollars for a pie, YIKES!!! For me there is only one kind of pie worth $35, it ain't ricotta and it ain't coming by mail

I saw them on Food Network over Thanksgiving, and had been waiting for them to start shipping.

I've never made ricotta cheese pies, but I've made apple, etc.

As for pricing, this is about the same I paid for a Junior's Cheese Cake. One difference, the list of indgrediants (mainly additives) was a heck of a lot longer on the junior's label. lol.

They should probably get a better web designer I suppose.

MMmmmmmm Junior's Cheesecake, now their pies look appetizing!! We also have Elis in town.

What kind of additives were in the Junior Cheesecakes that you did not approve of?

pdaane wrote:MMmmmmmm Junior's Cheesecake, now their pies look appetizing!! We also have Elis in town.

What kind of additives were in the Junior Cheesecakes that you did not approve of?

Oh, I don't mind at all. Mainly preservatives. I may have kept the label around. Like so many others, I enjoy good, different foods. Juniors has been recommended many times. They are well known in NYC. Like Junior's, Penza's Pies was recommended to me via Food Network.

I was within a mile of this place during a trip to NJ back in April. If I had known about it, I would have stopped by and tried a pie.

rickster wrote:I was within a mile of this place during a trip to NJ back in April. If I had known about it, I would have stopped by and tried a pie.

Next time your out there, on your way back, save us the shipping and bring back some pies!

I'llk be interested to hear how it tastes. To me, ricotta pie was a bit of an acquired taste, a bit like a gritty cheese cake. I'm not sure you can find them in Chicago.

Pastiera, the traditional sweet Easter pie for Neapolitans and, more generally, Campanians is a pie that is filled with ricotta; that it is filled with ricotta is not what makes pastiera special, though; it's the flavouring and, especially, the inclusion of whole wheat berries. Ferrara's (Taylor just west of Ogden in Tri-Taylor) and Lezza's (St. Charles Rd, just east of Mannheim, in Bellwood) produce pastiera at Easter time and, at least in the latter case, also around Christmas, I believe.

I don't know what kinds of 'cheesecake' Ferrara's usually has on hand but, since it is a rather traditionally minded Neapolitan pasticceria, they theoretically should have or at least be willing to make a ricotta pie any time of year. I would assume the same for Lezza's. With regard to Ferrara's, I'll inquire later today.

Ricotta 'pies' or 'cheesecakes' are, of course, by no means a specifically Neapolitan dish (though pastiera is very much a regional specialty of Campania) and not at all very difficult to make. And in this regard, note that the Penza's website itself offers a recipe (link above in o.p.).

For me growing up in the North Jersey/New York, 'ricotta pies' were one of the two kinds of 'cheesecake' that were commonly available and widely consumed: "Italian cheesecake," with ricotta, and the well-known "New York cheesecake," with cream cheese and a crumbly crust. In my family, we ate both, but probably the Italian style -- which is typically very much lighter than New York style -- a bit more often.

The Penza's products mentioned by the original poster look good to me but given the cost and the need to have them shipped, I think I'd be inclined to check with the local Chicagoland pasticcerie or else make my own when a jones for torta di ricotta strikes me.

Antonius

When come back, bring pie.

I would also take exception to ricotta pie being a more gritty, and thus implied inferior, version of cheesecake. I ate plenty of it while living in the Italian environs of the NY area, and actually prefer it to the traditional NY style cheesecake, which is frankly, too sweet for me. Given that I did most of the family baking (including all our bread) for 3-4 years during my teens, when cheesecake was requested, I always made ricotta pie. Don't know if I still have my recipe, but I never got any complaints, even from those requeseting cheesecake.

Annie,

The ricotta pie that I ate while living in New Jersey was more along the lines of what gormet gal pictured above. It was different than a ricotta cheesecake- baked in a pie shell usually with some fresh fruit added. I traveled the state for my work and saw it most often in Southern New Jersey.

Like the ricotta cheesecake, it wasn't as sweet as a new york style cream cheese cheesecake.

YourPalWill wrote:Annie,

The ricotta pie that I ate while living in New Jersey was more along the lines of what gormet gal pictured above. It was different than a ricotta cheesecake- baked in a pie shell usually with some fresh fruit added. I traveled the state for my work and saw it most often in Southern New Jersey.

Like the ricotta cheesecake, it wasn't as sweet as a new york style cream cheese cheesecake.

I would say this ricotta i received was a "different" kind of sweetness than regular cheesecake. Cheesecake has a dinstinct taste to it, while the ricotta pie is a more "fruity" or "fresh" taste.