Peter’s Blog, Nov. 29th

Thank you all for coming back!

It was wonderful to have a short break, the latest diet has begun in my never ending “quest” to work off all that turkey and gravy, and yet it’s time to get back on the Pizza Quest bus. My calendar suddenly filled up this week with unexpected projects and deadlines, so I’m a little behind on my weekly Tuesday blog posting, so will write in more depth later tonight when I return. But, till then, let me give you a quick preview of what’s coming up this week:

–A new recipe from Brad on Wednesday.

–A new video with Tony Gemignani in which he takes us on a field trip, literally, to the fields of Stanislaus Tomatoes, where we get to participate in the harvest, briefly, and shake some beautiful plum tomatoes off the vines.

–A guest column from the ever popular and thought-provoking Michael Hanson, in which he shares some new thoughts on “bread as the ferment of social change.”

I’ll be back later with my own thoughts, so keep checking back — another full week here on Pizza Quest…

…Okay, I’m back (yes, it’s Wed.morning — I got back too late from last night’s gala Chamber of Commerce event in which we met not only the Governor of NC, Bev Perdue, but heard the exciting announcement that Chiquita is moving their world headquarters here to Charlotte, which is huge news for our city. Now I have to find a way to make a killer banana pizza so I can get on their good side! They’ll be taking four or five floors in the NASCAR Hall of Fame building for their HQ, which is a win-win for everyone since that building, which is pretty cool in its own right, has been struggling with attendance and occupancy in this recent economy. But maybe it’s turning around — at least in this town, where we’re also gearing up for the Democratic National Convention (pizza anyone??!). On top of all that, next Tuesday we cut the ribbon for our new Seventh Street Public Market where, in January, we’ll be opening our new pizzeria featuring the sprouted wheat flour crust as well as a gluten free crust. So, whew, lots going on here…

Speaking of exciting news, and I usually don’t do this but I’m really excited for our friends Cary and Lillian Steiner. I’m reprinting a letter I just got from them about their new venture. As passionate pizza questors, creators of the passion-4-pizza.com blog, and long-time supporters of my own journey, I’m passing this on to you both as an example of folks who walk the talk and also as a possible investment for some of you armchair questors who’d like to jump on their “bus” and ride along. Here’s their note–I’ll jump back in at the end with some further comments:

Dear Friends,

As subscribers to our newsletter, you know that the two of us have been on a fascinating pizza journey since we started passion-4-pizza.com in 2008. Eating pizza in exotic (and not-very-exotic) locations, making and experimenting with our own pizza, getting to know pizza-makers and pizza lovers all over the place, and most importantly, studying both the craft and the business of pizza from the masters.

Well, we’re doing a lot more than that.

We’re in the early stages of the biggest project of our lives, the zenith of our passion for pizza. Lillian and Cary are going pro. We’re going into business by opening Pizzeria Forno in the Hudson Valley region of New York – a vegetarian pizzeria in a country setting (serving both artisanal wood-fired pizza and the New York styles we’ve always loved) and Il Forno Mobile – taking our artisanal pizza to the people via a mobile wood-fired oven from The Fire Within!

You’re among the first to know and we hope you’ll want to share in this adventure.

We’re looking for financial partners. Our business plan is encouraging and we’re offering a limited number of old and new friends, family members, and you our subscribers, the opportunity to invest in our passion, our skills and our dream as we build Pizzeria Forno and Il Forno Mobile. And we’re doing our best to make that investment affordable.

Want to know more about participating in (and profiting from) our dream-come-true? There’s so much to tell, and we’re so excited about this… send us an email at 2-of-us@passion-4-pizza.com and we’ll get right back to you!

All the best,

Cary & Lillian

Great news, Cary and Lillian!!  This is a wonderful example of folks who are following their dream, and of course, I’m thrilled to see that they are using one of the terrific mobile oven units made by our own sponsor, The Fire Within.  So, for those who can, give Cary and Lillian a shout or, better yet, if the fire is burning in your own belly to pursue such a dream, write to them and to us and we’ll all help you get out the word. Joseph, at The Fire Within, has worked up some very useful business models and plans to help, so the resources are available. All I can add is to encourage you all to go for it — as we often say, the quest never ends and you never know where it will lead.