Just American News recently got a chance to interview Su Stella in regard to her book Sizzling Hot Pizza. We got insights into her book, fun facts about Pizza and much more!
Q. Welcome. Pizza is such a universal and beloved food. What inspired you to explore the cultural impact of pizza in pop culture rather than focusing solely on recipes or traditional cooking methods?
Thanks for asking. I have been a travel writer for over twenty years, but COVID and wildfires changed everything.
In 2020, Curt, my hubby, and I worked on Hippie Day Tripper, our free online travel magazine. We were packing our RV to sell ad space when they announced the COVID lock down. I put that project on hold that day. The free magazines are still available. HippieDayTripper.com
I needed to write about something else, so I began racking my brain for a new topic I could enjoy, which included traveling. If I cannot move my feet, at least I can explore as I read.
Mentally, you cannot enjoy remote excursions if your town could burn down at any minute. So, my hubby and I started improving our cooking skills with online classes to distract ourselves.
I started a list of foods I love, including burgers, ice cream, and Italian cuisine. I watched my grandma and mom cook daily, but all those topics felt meh.
“Suddenly, my grandma’s pizza popped into my brain. She made it Sicilian style, which means the dough rises in the pan. It was constructed in a shallow square baking pan, and she cut the warm pizza into nine square slices with worn metal kitchen scissors.”
Before I realized it, I was full steam ahead on pizza, and the more I learned, the more fun I was having. There is a rumor that Queen Margherita of Italy had food poisoning, and Chef Raffaele Esposito brought her three pizzas, but only one pie changed the world: pizza Margherita. This was the first pizza delivery on record, too.
Q. Your book covers a wide range of fun facts, from pizza delivery to astronauts baking pies in space. Was there a particular story or fact you discovered during your research that surprised or delighted you the most?
Yes, I discovered we enjoyed the ‘Liquid Cheese Craze’ firsthand. My hubby and I moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, in the late 1990s; the locals recommended eating at Hugo’s for the best pizza. When the pizza arrived, a squeeze bottle of French salad dressing was placed on the table. We were told it was a local tradition. We thought it was odd, but what the heck, it was tasty. Hugos’ closed forever in 2003.
Fast-forward to October 2023, Curt and I took an epic Amtrak 49-day train trip for my upcoming sequel, ‘Sizzling Hot Pizza To Go.’ We enjoyed lunch with Hugo’s widow, Ann, and granddaughter, Cynthia, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, at Tom’s Extreme Pizzeria; Tom is a follower of Hugo.
The ladies couldn’t verify precisely when the high schoolers started the ‘Liquid Cheese’ trend that big-box pizza makers embrace today. Think of Hugo’s when you enjoy French dressing on your sizzling hot slice.
Q. You introduce readers to unique pizza-cutting styles like the tavern, the grandma, and the lunch lady. How did you come across these variations, and do you have a personal favorite?
LOL, the cutting styles are traditions, like my Sicilian grandma was a stereotype. On Fridays, our lunch ladies served pizza and golden corn, baked to perfection on giant sheet trays and cut into rectangle slices. Hairnets were required.
*As for the ‘gator back.’ I had an empty space on the page, I found the clipart and created the name myself 😉
Why are round tavern-style pizzas cut into square slices?
I was weirded out the first time I opened a pizza box and was faced with square slices, especially since some middle slices had no crust. This really bothered me, but now… I know the truth.
Tavern pizzas are often thin-crusted and square-cut for a good reason. Thin pizza cooks faster, so more pies go out the door, and when customers eat at the bar, the slices fit on a cocktail napkin. Bam! A problem and solution. Use this for a trivia night question and win prizes.
Q. Your book promises to be an adventure rather than just another cookbook. What do you hope readers take away from this deeper exploration into the world of pizza beyond just learning new recipes?
I call my books ‘Food Adventures with Recipes’ because I take you on different journeys throughout the book and finish with recipes. Here’s a condensed version of tomatoes from my book, ‘Sizzling Hot Pizza.’
The Adventurous Tomato
Tomatoes came to life in South America and were loved by the Aztec people. Conquistadors discovered the Aztecs and eventually stole everything they could, including plants and seeds.
The Conquistadors finally returned home to Europe, where the Italians enjoyed this miracle food. Eventually, these Southern European settlers brought tomato plants and seeds to America’s East Coast for food.
Wealthy Northern Europeans who ate off pewter plates got lead poisoning, as the acid in tomatoes caused the dishes to corrode, so they did not trust them. But being a variety of a ‘nightshade,’ they were grown to scare off werewolves and to decorate gardens. President Thomas Jefferson grew them ornamentally.
But Wait, That’s Not All
I love to have information at my fingertips, so I include practical information on every step of pizza making from tools to tomatoes, types of flour and yeast, and step-by-step instructions for making and kneading and stretching the dough. Then, I provide easy recipes for sauces, doughs, and toppings for brunch, dinner, and unique dessert pizzas.
For those gluten-free people, I have one chapter where I walk you through every step of a spinach-cauliflower crust pizza. I tried every method and created ninety-nine failures, but then I succeeded with a simple and delicious golden crust, making a darn tasty pizza.
Q. What’s next? Which book or project are you working on now?
I am on a personal challenge I call ‘My Trifecta.’ My goal is to publish three books in three years. Two are done, and the third is in progress.
I am currently penning ‘Sizzling Hot Pizza To Go.’ From October 17 to December 4, 2023, Curt and I rode around the US on Amtrak and Via Canada on a 49-day, 32-pizza adventure. We logged 8244 rail miles and 186 hours on trains.
Join me every day at medium.com/@lovesustella. We will start packing on October 14 and get on the train for this adventure on October 17. There will be pictures and stories that did not make the cut. There will be art, friends, and even a Monk that almost punched me in the face. Good times!
‘Sizzling Hot Pizza’ and ‘Spice and Herb Explorer’
I published Sizzling Hot Pizza in 2023. If you purchase a copy now, it will be a future collector’s item because I am revamping six to ten pages for various reasons. I hope to have the updated version out by early November 2024.
In 2024, I published Spice and Herb Explorer, which follows black pepper from the Silk Road to the recipe that almost extinct red fish worldwide and Jamaican recipes my Aunt Jo learned when locals kidnapped her while on vacation. This book is jam-packed with practical cooking tips, tricks, cool graphics, and recipes.
Q. Finally, as we ask all our guests on Jukebox Mind, do you have any closing thoughts that you would like to share with the world and our readers?
Yes. My superpowers are non-stop thinking about and creating big projects like books and murals. I love the research, the testing phase, and the complex challenges of creating a book or project. I can easily make at least one book per year.
My weakness is all the gobbly goop involved in getting work from my computer to the world, including marketing. I am using Fiverr.com, but I would love professional representation.
I am not ‘accidentally crafting’ my books. I purposefully chose to visit pizzerias for my ‘To Go’ book. My hope is that a few major pizzerias will add my books to their restaurants and online.
Curt and I loved that Amtrak adventure, and with the proper representation, I would love to be on an Amtrak ‘Sizzling Hot Pizza To Go’ Book signing tour in 2025 or 2026. I would take the same trip tomorrow, with the only change being to add a stop in New Haven for real white clam pizza.
Do you have what it takes to help format and promote my work?
I would love to hear very serious pitches only. SizzlingHotSlice@Gmail.com
Find me at
SizzlingHotPizza.com
HippieDayTripper.com
https://medium.com/@lovesustella
About the author: Su Stella of Oakridge, Oregon, has recently completed her second cookbook, Sizzling Hot Pizza. The book is a food adventure traveling through the history of modern pizza. It covers tools, ingredients, and, of course, recipes. Discover the history of the pizza box and how to have a successful and stress-free pizza party.
Visit SizzlingHotPizza.com for family-friendly pizza fun. Sizzling Hot Pizza is available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
