We the Pizza
Slangin' Pies and Savin' Lives
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Knock-out recipes for award-winning, Philadelphia-style pizzas, wings, shakes, and more, from Down North, the pizzeria owned and operated exclusively by formerly incarcerated people, featuring poignant stories from its employees.
A PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BEST COOKBOOK OF THE YEAR
Created and launched by Philly born-and-bred entrepreneur Muhammad Abdul-Hadi, the mission of Down North Pizza is to reduce recidivism rates in North Philly and serve up the most insanely delicious food while doing it.
We the Pizza tells the Down North story about how the restaurant fulfills its mission to educate and support the formerly incarcerated while serving dope food. A testament to survival and second chances, this cookbook offers recipes for the tender, crispy-edged, square-cut, sauce-on-top pies that are Down North’s signature dish; a whole chapter is devoted to vegetarian and vegan pizzas like No Better Love made with four cheeses and the arrabbiata-inspired Norf Sauce, while the meat and seafood pizza chapter features their most popular Roc the Mic pepperoni pie as well as the smoky berbere-brisket Tales of a Hustler and Say Yes, topped with jerk turkey sausage, roasted butternut squash, kale, ricotta, and lemon-honey drizzle.
The 65 recipes for pizzas along with classic and creative wings, fries, lemonades, and shakes are paired with cinematic photography of the pizzas in their natural setting and out in the wilds of Philadelphia, with lots of journalistic-style photography of the Down North crew making dough and slinging pies. At the same time, We the Pizza provides detailed historical information about incarceration in the United States along with empowering stories from Down North’s formerly incarcerated staff. And with exclusive pizza recipes from renowned chef-supporters like Marc Vetri and Marcus Samuelsson, We the Pizza celebrates ingeniously delicious pizza, as well as the power people have to rise above their circumstances—if simply given the chance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"This book is a testament to the creative output Black people give birth to, time and again, in the midst of oppressive machinations," Ajima Olaghere writes in the preface to this powerful debut from restaurateur Abdul-Hadi, who was on house arrest and wearing an ankle monitor when he launched Philadelphia's Down North Pizza, which exclusively employs formerly incarcerated people. Executive chef Michael Carter, who served seven and a half years for aggravated assault, contributes the recipes, including one for "jailhouse pizza" made with a crust of crushed ramen noodles and Cheez-Its. ("Prison forces you to get creative like that.") Local influence is strong: pies are named after songs by Philly musicians and are halal because of the large Muslim community in the area. These square pizzas are made with a flexible, no-knead dough, most featuring mozzarella, provolone, and cheddar and smoky tomato sauce. Toppings are unapologetically American and fiercely flavored, including a vegan buffalo mushroom pie and an option with ground lamb, jerk seasoning, and honey. A chapter on wings and fries and another on lemonades and milkshakes round out the recipes, which are studded with statistics about incarceration, personal stories from Down North's workers, and suggestions for getting involved. The result is both a bold culinary adventure and a stirring tribute to the strength of community.
