October is National Pizza Month

October is the month where we fall in love with autumn leaves but another reason why we should love it is because it’s National Pizza Month! The whole month of October, in America, we celebrate the incredible, delicious, and perfect thing called pizza! While some of us believe that every day is a good day for pizza, others might enjoy it more in October. If you’re not one for pizza, well maybe in October you will give it another try, or two or three. Pizza goes well with a variety of beer, and wine, for those excited for Octoberfest.

How did October become the month for pizza? It all started in a little town called Santa Claus, Indiana. A pizzeria owner was looking for a magazine that would help him become more successful. When he found nothing out there that was helpful, he decided to make his own. In October of 1984, Gerry Durnell released his first Pizza Today issue and the rest was history. Well, he proposed that October be the national pizza month because of this reason, and someone else probably said; Sure! Then, the rest was history.

Celebrating National Pizza Month

How do you celebrate pizza month? October should be a month to celebrate pizza and try as many different slices and pies your heart and stomach desire. This is the month you should go wild and step outside of your comfort zone. Maybe try a pepperoni slice, a veggie slice, heck try a white slice or a tomato slice, maybe even a chicken and broccoli slice. Is the broccoli too much? This is the month where pizzeria shops might also have a special on their pies or slices and give free pizza. Some pizza restaurants might do a charity event, a giveaway, or a theme party, so be on the lookout for those as well. Heck, ask your local pizza spots what they will be doing or inspire them to do a pizza giveaway once a week for the month!

What will you be doing for National Pizza Month? Are you going to try new pizza or make some new pies? We will be whipping up new pizzas at home and trying a few different pizza shops. With so many pizzerias, the choices are endless and we will definitely need more than a month.

National Pizza Holidays

Did you know that there are numerous of pizza holidays that we miss out on? Once you know all the holidays dedicated to pizza, you’ll stop missing them and become a true pizza fan. So what holidays should we be aware of? Every holiday that celebrates all things pizza! 

National Cheese Pizza Day

On September 5th each year we celebrate National cheese pizza day. This day celebrates the basic cheese pie. All you need is the crust, sause and plenty of cheese. 

National Pepperoni Pizza Day

September 20th is when we celebrate one of themost populat pizza toppings in America called pepperoni. On this day your pizza should include this one single toppings whether it’s turkey pepperoni, vegan pepperoni or the real thing. 

National Pizza Month

There is one month where you can eat pizza every day and not have any guilt. Octoner is national pizza month so go ahead and order that pizza, or better yet, make it at home. This month should be dedicated to trying a different pizza every day, or as many as possible. 

National Sausage Pizza Day

Another pizza holiday you have to try and remember is National Sausage Pizza Day. This is celebrated on October 11th of each year. I do love a good Polish kielbasa and need to make sure I have some ready for my pizza. 

World Pizza Makers Day

If you make pizza on a daily basis or often, you can join in on this pizza holiday. World Pizza Makers Day is celebrated October 25th. Make sure to go to your favorite pizza restaurant and thank your pizzaioli for making the best pies!

National Pizza with the Works except Anchovies Day

One day a year we tell anchovies lovers enough is enough! We don’t want anchovies on our pizza, at least I don’t. Perhaps anchovies pie was the first “pizza” ancient Greeks made but I’ll pass. On November 12th, we should order the weirdest pies we can think of, just hold the anchovies. 

National Pizza Pie Day

On February 9th, we can all join in and celebrate our favorite pizza holiday. On this day, you should have at least one pie with your friends and family. 

National Pi Day

If you remember anything from school it should be that pi equals 3.14(159265359). While some people eat a sweet pie, others choose to celebrate with another round pie, pizza pie! Needless to say, this day is celebrated on March 14th. 

National Deep Dish Pizza Day

While I’m not the biggest fan of deep dish pizza, it deserves it’s own holiday. On April 5th, we celebrate deep dish pizza day. You don’t have to live in Chicago in order to join in on this pizza holiday. You can go to your local Uno’s Pizzeria and eat the deep dish that started it all. 

National Pizza Party Day

There really isn’t a party unless you have some pizza! National Pizza Party day is celebrated on the 3rd Friday in May. So grab your friends, get some pies, and party like pizza is life! 

Pizza Margherita Day

One of my favorite pizza pies is the classic, simple, Neapolitan Margherita pizza. It’s said that the pie was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy. The national holiday is celebrated on June 11th of each year. 

Which of the above pizza holidays is your favorite?  

Is Pizza Greek?

When researching pizza, I started asking myself, is pizza Greek? How do you ask? Well, for one, Naples, Italy, was a Greek settlement. That means Naples wouldn’t have been what it is today without the Greeks. Or it might have taken a little longer to get to where they are today. 

My second observation is that Greeks were creating flatbread dishes called plakous. This flatbread would come with herbs, cheese, and garlic. It was cheap and fast to make, making it popular amongst the settlers and the city’s poor. 

Since Naples is a city by the water, the men were fishermen. According to my research, the wives would prepare a deep bread dish filled with tomato sauce. This sounds like a classing marinara pizza. 

By 1700, the city was bustling with Italians, but were there still Greeks there? In 1738 Lucianos started selling their pizza on the streets. By 1830, the family had their first pizza restaurant. Since the family was Italian, does that make the pizza Italian? 

In the states, an Italian immigrant changed the way we eat. In 1905, Gennaro Lombardi opened the first pizzeria in Little Italy. The love of the flatbread filled with tomato sauce and cheese soon spread over the states, and our passion for pizza expanded.

Is Pizza Greek or Italian or…?

The pizza we consume today in the USA is shaped to what Americans love. Classic Neapolitan pie includes sourdough pizza, cheese, tomato sauce, garlic, and oil. The pies are cooked in a wood-burning stove built from local volcanic rock. The cheese used on classic pies is usually buffalo cheese. This was changed to cow’s mozzarella cheese instead. Woodburning stoves were turned to coal-fired stoves because it was cheaper but produced the same heat and flavor. Today, you might see electric or gas pizza stove ovens in your local pizza stores. 

What do you think? Do you think pizza is Greek or Italian? Or maybe it’s neither. Perhaps the Persians and their flatbreads with dates were making the first dessert pizza.

History of Pizza

Who amongst us knows the history of pizza? I’m not sure anyone knows who started it, but we’re all glad someone thought of it. Today, we eat enough pizza to cover a lot of acres of land. Let’s not get into the logistics. Just believe me because it’s a lot. In New York alone, we have over five thousand pizzerias. With so many choices, how do we go about tasting all of them? Like all things in life, make a checklist and get on it!

All over Europe, different cultures were creating flatbreads with toppings. Everyone from Egypt to Greece and Rome had their version of a savory flatbread dish we now call pizza. Greeks in particular, had a flatbread called plakous. This flatbread would include herbs, cheese, and garlic. I guess we can say they made the first white pie? But did they make the first pizza?

Naples, Italy, was founded in 600 B.C. as a Greek settlement. By 1700s, Naples became a thriving city with plenty of water views and a growing poor population. To feed themselves and others on the street, they sold cheap and versatile flatbread with toppings. These included tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies, and garlic. 

In 1738, the Lucianos family created a street-food stand called the Antica Pizzeria Port’Alba. The pizzas were cooked in ovens lined with local volcanic rocks. In 1830, the family moved from the streets and opened their restaurant. This was the first pizza restaurant in the world, as far as we know.

In 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples. Legend has it that the pair had a variety of pies at Pizzeria Brandi. It is said that the Queen’s favorite was a pie called pizza mozzarella. This pie included soft white cheese, tomatoes, and basil. If the legend is correct, this pie was renamed, Margherita after the Queen.

History of Pizza in USA 

In the states, a Naples immigrant, Gennaro Lombardi, opened a small grocery store. One of his employees, Antonio Totonno Pero, created pizzas for the store. Were they his recipes or Lombardi’s? Does anyone know? Anyway, these pies were selling like hot cakes, which helped Lambardi open the first pizzeria in NYC called Lambardi’s in 1905. To accommodate his pizza lovers, Lombardi changed his wood-burning stove to charcoal burning, and his buffalo cheese to cow cheese. By 1924, Pero quit and opened his own pizza shop in Coney Island.

While the popularity of pizza might have been widespread in New York, it wasn’t until WWII that it became a popular dish everywhere else. Why, you ask? Soldiers got a taste of Italian pizza and wanted it back home. All over the world, pizza shops would open up in Italian-populated neighborhoods with modernized twists. Domino’s has dominated in the pizza franchise now, with over 17,000 stores in 90 countries.

Today, we have insane pies like pineapples and ham, dessert pizza such as Nutella and strawberry pizza, pasta pies, deep dish, and more! If you can think of it as pizza toppings, someone already tried it. You also have moms making pies with peas. Let’s avoid doing that and stick to normal toppings such as cheese, basil, and garlic. History of pizza is an extensive one but we’re glad that someone thought of it and made it one of our favorite go to meals.