Peter's Blog

Hi again.  We’ve kept a lot of recent postings on the home page because we’ve been getting a number of new viewers and one thing I’ve noticed is that most people tend to stay on the home page rather than explore the archives or section categories (I know this thanks to Google Analytics!!). So, we’re going to leave things up as long as we can before they automatically default to…Read More…

Yesterday was my birthday and among the terrific gifts I received, including a fabulous dinner with Susan at Charlotte’s  delightfully romantic Passion8 Bistro — a real gem of a place — I got some especially great news: Pizza Quest has been nominated by the International Association of Culinary Professionals (the IACP) as one of three finalists for best food blog of the year! Here’s a link to all the nominees…Read More…

A couple of weeks ago I presented a demo on gluten-free baking at the annual Professional Association of International Innkeepers Conference (PAII for short). This year the conference was held in Little Rock, Arkansas and I had a wonderful time hanging out with people who really get the spirit of hospitality. Let’s face it, to own a bed & breakfast inn or small lodge, as the attendees do, you don’t…Read More…

I had lots of things to blog about this week but something happened a few days ago in Charlotte that knocked all the other news into next week. Emeril Lagasse opened a new restaurant right here in Charlotte, called e2. This city, which is hosting the Democratic National Convention in September and has, for the past fifteen years been carrying out a dynamic strategic plan to turn Charlotte into America’s…Read More…

In the past week I received three gifts: the first was a new folding proof box for home bakers made by Brod & Taylor. I tried it out and love it for two reasons: during my baking classes for home cooks I get asked all the time how to proof bread without a professional proof box. I suggest things like using the dishwasher as a steam box, the microwave with…Read More…

Just received a call from a friend of mine from Syracuse who said she received her latest copy of Better Homes & Gardens and saw the pizza article about me. I think it hit the news stands today. I don’t know when it will go digital but I just taped a narration voice-over for a short video on how to shape a pizza dough, which should show up on their…Read More…

I’m still having trouble believing it’s already 2012. I still recall back in 1970 how long the run-up seemed to take to the Bi-Centennial in 1976 and I wondered what it was going to be like for me to be, amazingly 26 years old — an adult!– when it happened. Then, all of a sudden, it did happen, and then so many other things happened and the years just kept…Read More…

Didn’t want you to wonder where we were but we’re still on holiday break. Today is Epiphany, the 12th Day of Christmas, and traditionally the day celebrated as the visitation and gifts of the Magi, the three wise men. We’ve kept our tree up and our Christmas lights on and now, in our neighborhood at least, we’re apparently the only ones left still celebrating Christmas. When our tree goes out…Read More…

It’s the final day of 2011 and also the end of our first year of Pizza Quest. So, first, on behalf of the entire team (who I will name at the end), thank you for your loyal following of our journey, and for sharing your own.  As riders on our metaphorical “bus,” you and we went to some great places together this year, including Pizzeria Mozza and La Brea Bakery…Read More…

Hard to believe how soon Christmas and Chanukah will be upon us. If you are like Susan and me, things start to get a little frantic around now, with too many things to get done and nowhere near the time to do so. So, as a favor to us all, we’ll be wrapping up this, our first year (yes, we actually launched on Dec. 14th of 2010 — wow, seems…Read More…