I am always intrigued when I hear about a new pizza cookbook. While lounging around one weekend morning, I saw a story on CBS about Philadelphia’s Down North Pizza and their recent cookbook publication. I had my local bookstore order it for me. I was intrigued about the story behind the book (and the pizza)!

About the book:

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.
 
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. —from Penguin-Random House site.

About the author:

Muhammad Abdul-Hadi is the founder and owner of Down North Pizza, the mission-driven restaurant that exclusively hires formerly incarcerated individuals and serves up pies with a purpose in the Strawberry Mansion community in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Down North Pizza is the culmination of Abdul-Hadi’s 13-year vision as a serial entrepreneur. It’s a concept that has long been ingrained in him; a place where he’s contributing to the economic improvement of underserved communities through excellent food and quality customer service. “What drives me is creating opportunities for the people around me and giving them the tools and resources to succeed. Seeing staff laugh knowing they come from the same struggle but have a life to look forward to and build.” 

After graduating from West Philadelphia High School in 2006, Abdul-Hadi — no stranger to the effects of the prison industrial system in his neighborhood— tapped into his entrepreneurial spirit and went on to pursue various leadership roles and business ventures (property management, retail, and real estate development). The West Philly native later pursued higher education, graduating from Temple University in 2018 in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Administration. Ultimately, his education and work experience gave him invaluable business development skills and a strong network of connections that led him on a dedicated path toward re-imagining a business leader’s role in helping underserved communities. 

Through fair wages, innovative hiring practices, and community building, Abdul-Hadi is looking to reduce recidivism rates in the Black community on a wider scale. “We’re building a revolution for the people through business economics by looking to advance everyone, particularly the formerly incarcerated so we can shatter glass ceilings.” Living proof of his own mission, his natural leadership skills teamed with the hunger to always be a student are traits that are endlessly inspired by the entrepreneurs in his family and the legacy he wishes to leave behind. —from the Down North Pizza website

What I thought…

Let’s start with the story.

Danny Trejo (the actor and cookbook author in his own right) pens the forward for the book. He praises the recipes and the stories: “powerful, resilient stories of those impacted by the criminal legal system” and “the power of second chances” (6). The preface, “Pizza de Resistance,” is written by Ajima Olaghere, PhD and is a treatise with statistics, data and history to stand up and question the entire incarceration system. He applauds the work of Down North Pizza: “This book is a culinary ode to Black people—for us to always think free, be free, love free, eat well and be well” (9). Now we get to the introduction as Abdul-Hadi, the founder describes “Grand Opening Chaos.” He opened Down North Pizza in one of the vacant building fronts he owned without any experience in the restaurant field. He had drive and fortitude: “I knew this pizza shop would work. The mission is what drove me forward” (10).

What was the mission?

What I did not yet realize was how much value, wisdom, genius, and innovation there was in the streets themselves. You can give someone a job, but you can’t give them their humanity. All you can do is acknowledge it or deny it. In my efforts to provide formerly incarcerated people with jobs, I was reminded that my community is undeniably beautiful in spite of what the system has taken from us. We the Pizza is about our glorious journey and just how far we can go together. (10)

Slangin’ Pies + Savin’ Lives

I love a cookbook that includes a playlist and We the Pizza does that!  They name every one of their pizzas at Down North after a song from a Philly artist.

The ingredients (“The Commissary”) might seem a little out of the ordinary for a pizza cookbook but it all makes weird sense: aji amarillo pepper paste, curry paste, dried fried shallots, jerk seasoning, mayo,  Montreal steak seasoning, and Thai chili sauce. As for the basics, they recommend King Arthur bread flour, low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, Gran Moravia parmesan, Follow Your Heart vegan parmesan, and Full-Red Pizza Sauce w/Basil. Down North is a halal pizza shop so they utilize halal beef and turkey pepperoni and they make their own sausages. 

Pizza has this ability to bring people together. It’s feel-good food that people from all walks of life can get behind.   —Muhammad Abdul-Hadi

Truth be told, I actually bought this book just for the Norf sauce that was raved about on the CBS morning show. Let me tell you though, their pizza crust recipe is most worthy as well. Note that these pizzas are of the square variety with a thick crust and some great crunchy cheese borders. Now for that Norf sauce… I was a bit taken aback that the base is a premade sauce but I persevered and bought some organic pizza sauce from Sprouts since I couldn’t find a 28 oz. can of their recomended sauce. This signature sauce is based on an arrabbiata sauce and it is quite ANGRY. I did not add the full amount (1/3 cups) of red pepper flakes to my try and it was almost too hot for us, especially the leftover sauce I tried to coat pasta with. The original Norf recipe makes a very thick (and spicy) sauce but, the flavors were there.  Here’s my rendition.

Angry Pizza Sauce

By Debra (with loving nods to Down North’s Norf Sauce)

Adjust the spices to your level.  I start with a crushed tomato base and I decreased the amount of sugar and red pepper. I also added basil.

Ingredients

• 1 (28 oz.) can San Marzano tomatoes
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 2 T. red pepper flakes
• 2/3 c. dried oregano
• 2 T. dried basil
• 5 T. onion powder
• 5 T. garlic powder
• 1 t. liquid smoke
• water as needed

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients using a stick blender (or a stand blender). Add water if needed but you want a thick sauce. Top your pizza anyway you like putting the sauce directly on the crust or drizzled on top like Down North.
2. Store in a covered container in the fridge but use within a few days. This can be frozen as well. 
3. To use as a pasta sauce, dilute with a bit of red wine and simmer.

A lot of the recipes in this book start with a commercial base. The Norffalo Sauce uses Frank’s Red Hot Sauce and Sweet Baby Ray’s Nashville Hot Wing Sauce. The House BBQ sauce is based on Bull’s Eye and KC Masterpiece Mesquite sauces (but a good amount of gochujang is added). Their Flip Side BBQ Sauce though is a delicious sounding mix of fresh Vidalia onions, tomato sauce, Lee Kum Kee Black Pepper Sauce and a long list of cupboard spices. There’s a sauce for everyone: Thai Red Curry, Honey Chipotle, Basil Pesto, Spicy Cheese, Garlic-Parm, Wiz (homemade Cheez Wiz), Vegan Wiz, Vegan Caesar, Vegan and  Thousand Island.

More pizza toppings recipes are included like Pikliz (Haitian “hella hot” pickles), sautéed mushrooms (utilizing that Montreal seasoning), and roasted chicken thighs. 

Mike Carter, the executive chef of Down North, introduces the Vegetable + Vegan Pizza section. These are recipes that are not meant “as an afterthought, where you just take off the meat. Vegans want options as good as the carnivore choices” (59). Carter also shares his own story. He comes from a culinary family and knew that food was in his blood but at age fourteen he got pulled in by the streets and spent time at a boys facility. He still found his way into the kitchen. He kept his eye on the culinary world but as an ex-offender, he was an easy mark. Resilient is a word that I know I’ve overused, but he kept on.

I believe nobody should be judged solely by their last mistake. That’s why Down North’s mission is front burner. We’re trying to change the system. Before I wanted to be a gangster, I wanted to be a revolutionary, but ex-offenders can’t attend protests about this shit. Police contact is a parole violation. So, Down North is my demonstration, showing what guys given a second chance can actually do. (63)

The vegan and vegetable pies are truly made to appeal to everyone. Vegetable pizzas have a note added to each recipe on how to make them totally vegan. Two Fifteen (named after Philly’s area code) is made with pickled mushrooms and shishito peppers and garlic. 

Mar, sous chef and “Dough Guy,” introduces the Meat + Seafood section, where he tells his story:

I got my first court case when I was twelve. I didn’t commit the crime, but it didn’t matter—I was running with guys who did. And in high school, everybody gets labeled and you don’t know any better, so you start leaning into the label. It becomes who you think you are. (92)

Down North was a place he found but didn’t intend on staying. He found he wanted to support the people, himself, and the cause. 

I wouldn’t call these pies traditional but that doesn’t make them any less delicious. I made the Roc the Mic (94) pizza. This pepperoni version has a base of mozzarella, provolone and sharp white cheddar. The pepperoni is placed on top and then baked. (BTW, the thick pizza crusts are pre-baked for a while before toppings are added.) After the pizza is baked with the toppings, stripes of Norf sauce are spooned on. As I mentioned before, these pizzas have a great cheesy edge.

Here’s my rendition of a more traditional pepperoni pie I also made. (You can get at least two pizzas made from the dough recipe.) I put the sauce on the bottom and added some jalapenos. (I still used Down North’s dough and Norf sauce recipe.)

Note that vegan remixes are included in the Meat + Seafood section, too.

The What We Do pizza has a recipe for a beef sausage (ground beef, fennel seeds, garlic and onion powder, fresh ground pepper and Kosher salt). It’s topped with kale, the signature cheese mix (moz, provolone and white cheddar), pepperoni, banana peppers and Honey Chipotle Sauce. Yeah That’s Us is their Buffalo chicken version. There’s also a lamb based pizza and a turkey sausage pizza. There’s a ton of variations and different meats: beef bacon with canned pineapple, a Philly cheesesteak pie, brisket, a taco version, pesto-based, Thai pizza, etc.

There is a jail house pizza recipe (but why would you make it at home, they ask). Collaborations with the likes of Chefs Marc Vetri, Michael Solomonov, Shenarri Freeman, Marcus Samuelsson, Reem Assil, and Nicole and Michael Nicholas show some true cheffy (and over-the-top creative) pizza recipes.

Wings + Fries is the appetizer section. The standouts here are the Vegan Norffalo Wings (cauliflower) and the Norf Fries (doused with beef bacon, dirty salt, spicy cheese sauce, BBQ sauce and crispy shallots).

Beverages like classic, strawberry, blueberry, cucumber-mint, and watermelon lemonade varieties are listed along with a vanilla milkshake recipe with lots of remix ideas.

Do NOT miss reading about the Down North Community Foundation (187-189) to learn about the other worthy projects like Growing Freedom and The Healing Garden, Down North Treehouse, and Protect Ya Crib.

Sobering historical facts and statistics are listed at the bottom of every page of this cookbook. One cannot help but pause. I did pick up this book for the pizza recipes, but We the Pizza aims to educate. I feel honored to own this book and I also feel enlightened.

While I pride myself on reading cookbooks from cover-to-cover, I found myself pondering each story, each historical fact, and each statistic. Whether you make one of the recipes found in We the Pizza or not, it is worth the purchase and worth reading.

I’m linking up with April’s Foodies Read.