Gidget Goes Straw Hat Pizza- Cool Calendar

What a great way to kick off the new year, with a trip down memory lane and the good old days of Gidget, Moondoggie and "The Twist."

Thanks to the just-published Straw Hat Pizza Calendar, Californians who grew up riding the surf - and all of the rest of us Midwesterners, Easterners and Southerners who aspired to lead the California lifestyle, can "remember when," each month we flip the calendar pages.

The calendar tracks some of the highlights from the time Straw Hat Pizza opened its doors in 1959 in San Leandro, CA

Guess what the price of gas was at the time?

25 cents.

A bottle of Coca-Cola was just 1o cents; a pound of coffee was just 77 cents... And you could buy a house for $30,000.

And, Barbie made her debut as an American icon, right about the time Straw Hat opened its doors. Other highlights: "The Twist" became the newest dance craze.

As Straw Hat approaches it's 50th birthday, the chain is growing and plans to continue to support and embrace the communities that made it what it is - an awesome place to grab a pizza and make new memories with friends, family, colleagues and teammates!

Now, folks can join the Straw Hat eClub at www.strawhatpizza.com.

Groovy

Fun Foodstuffs: SH Recipe of the Stars!!!

Here's some exciting news. Check it out: Straw Hat's Caramelized Onion Pizza was recently featured as the menu of the week on a popular women's social networking site: www.BettyConfidential.com.

Now mom's across the country can serve up Straw Hat to their kids.... Let's just consider that an appetizer to the real thing - bringing the kids INTO a Straw Hat and experiencing all the excitement of these community hubs.

What's for Dinner?
Straw Hat Pizza
Turn Your Kitchen into a Pizzeria!

Straw Hat Pizza, makers of the original "California pizza" serves up a recipe for Caramelized Onion Pizza to get the whole family involved.
Here's a quick meal your family will love. It's one that is a rotating special for the Straw Hat Pizza and Straw Hat Grill eateries in California, where the original California pizza was born almost 50 years ago. One secret: The chain's chefs insist that Monterey Jack, not Mozzarella is the way to go, with a little dash of Fontina cheese to add that extra burst of flavor.
This pizza can be cut into squares to make a great appetizer for parties. It should be made with a light serving of the cheese blend and can be served with no cheese for a lite, healthy alternative.
Ingredients (dough):
1 (.25 ounce) package dry yeast1 cup warm water (110 degrees)2 cups bread flour2 tablespoons olive oil1 teaspoon salt2 teaspoons white sugar
Directions (dough):
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
3. Turn dough out into a well-floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape.
Ingredients (cheese blend):
4 ounces shredded Monterey jack 2 ounces shredded mozzarella1 ounce shredded Fontina cheese
Ingredients (pizza topping):
¼ cup olive oil for frying onions6 cups thinly sliced onions (approximately 3 pounds)6 garlic gloves3 Tbs. fresh thyme of 1 Tbs. dried thyme1 bay leafsalt & pepper2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil for dribbling on top of pizza1 Tbs. drain capers1-1/2 Tbs. pine nuts
Directions:
1. Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil and add the onions, garlic, thyme and bay leaf.Cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the moisture has evaporated and theonion mixture is very soft, almost smooth, and caramelized, about 45 minutes.Discard the bay leaf and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cover the pizza shaped dough with light amount of the cheese blend, the onion mixture, sprinkle with capers and pine nuts, and drizzle with remaining olive oil.
3. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown. The baking time will vary depending on whether you bake on a stone, a screen or in a pan. Be sure that your oven is well pre-heated before putting pizza in the oven.
Photo source

Famed Tales from the Frontlines: Guess Who Came to Dinner at Straw Hat?

It’s always intriguing to me when I go to a restaurant and there is a buzz about all kinds of celebrities that have passed through their doors. So, I decided to ask the Straw Hat owners to name the rich and famous who have been drawn to Straw Hat’s warm, welcoming ambience, and it’s down home cooking style.

It turns out; Straw Hat has its very own who’s who in the celeb world. In coming months, we’ll give you a sneak peak at some of the rich and famous who have passed through and are regular Straw Hat diners. And, please since we don’t have paparazzi chasing Hollywood types down in our parking lots, let me know of any high-profile types you may have spotted enjoying the original California pizza.

Makes you wish there was recycling back then and napkins were washed and kept for framing, when you realize that Thomas Kinkade, America’s most-collected living artist, ate many a pizza at the Rancho Cordova, near his boyhood home of Placerville. Turns out when the 50-year-old painter was in his teens, he would come into the Straw Hat and draw cartoons on napkins. His dad, who worked at the eatery back then in the ‘70s, would downplay his son’s talent, so we’ve been told.

Well, in the wish I could eat my words category, today, Thomas Kinkade’s art is said to be found in one out of every 10 American homes.

Coming from a modest background, Kinkade emphasizes simple pleasures and inspirational messages through his paintings. As a devout Christian, Kinkade uses his gift as a vehicle to communicate and spread inherent life-affirming values.

It was while growing up in the small town of Placerville, California that these important values were nurtured. It was also during this time that Kinkade began to explore the world around him. He spent a summer on a sketching tour with a college friend, producing the best-selling instructional book, The Artist's Guide to Sketching. The success of the book landed the two young artists at Ralph Bakshi Studios to create background art for the animated feature film Fire and Ice. It was also during this time that Kinkade began to explore light and imaginative worlds with abandon.

After the film, Kinkade earned his living as a painter, selling his originals in galleries throughout California. In 1982, he married his childhood sweetheart, Nanette, and two years later they began to publish his art. Today the couple has four daughters: Merritt, Chandler, Winsor and Everett, all named for famous artists.

Perhaps this famous hometown boy will accept our invitation to our upcoming 50^th anniversary bash.

Talk About Loyal Customers!!!

At the Straw Hat Pizza, 3001 Delta Fair Boulevard in Antioch, California, you can find a woman who has eaten at least three meals a week there for more than three decades. You will find she orders a pepperoni pizza, with salad bar, every Friday. You will also discover that the guy painting the parking lot is also the owner, and you will find that he’s been hanging out at Straw Hat, since he was eight-years-old and his dad and he would stop in their for a “soda” on Saturdays when they were doing errands. You can find out what it means to order a “Genuine California Pizza.” And, you will probably discover that one of the big, strapping guys inhaling a large pizza could be one of three professional football players who have been frequenting this pizzeria since their youth sports teams celebrated after-game victories.

Go to the Antioch Straw Hat and see life unvarnished, unexpurgated, in need of Garlic Parmesan Groovy Sticks, or a “Meat-E-OR” pizza.

“It’s my second home,” says Josephine Aiello, 64, the three-times-a-week regular. “We always go there, my daughter, my brothers, all week long and then for special occasions like our birthdays.”

Owner Sal Listek says “Josie is an institution.” “All our regulars know they can count on seeing her in the same seat, ordering the same pepperoni pizza every Friday.”

There was, as still is, a buzzing about the place, a consoling murmur of conversations that are familiar for decades, explains Sal, who today owns three Straw Hat locations in Antioch, Brentwood and Discovery Bay. The soda kid who came in with his dad, became a bus boy at Straw Hat in the 1970’s and today puts his own three kids – Jared, 12, Caitlin, 11 and Megan, 7, to work busing tables when they ask dad for extra cash.

He listens to a lot of conversations, but since he has heard the same ones for years, he does not listen too closely. Some of the long-timer diners were and are employees of Rowley International Inc., a major pool manufacturer.

“We’ve got two ladies who meet here two or three times a week since before 1990 when we were in another location,” says Listek. “They just moved with us.”

Indeed the Antioch Straw Hat is the community hub, a place where sports teams and townspeople have been gathering for decades. So who are the jock-looking football players who you’ll sometimes spot hanging out here? Stay tuned for an upcoming blog.

Every Day is Pizza Day

Dishing It Up: Fun Facts about Pizza- The American Pie


In my house, with my kids, the hands-down favorite food is pizza. Whenever I ask if the kids want to order out, and what they want, the collective cry rings out from three bedrooms, or sometimes IM’d to me via computer: “PIZZA.”

So, to justify our family habit, I was thrilled when one of the Straw Hat Pizza owners sent over some fun facts about pizza that point to our family’s consumption and validate that we are just like every other American family (well, on the pizza front that is).

It’s no secret Americans think the secret to living a longer, healthier life is indulging daily in their favorite food – pizza. According to Parade Magazine, 94 percent of the population in the U.S. eats pizza.

But did you also know that Americans eat about 350 slices of pizza each second, or 100 acres of pizza a day?

Here are some interesting facts about pizza some of our Straw Hat pizzeria owners have collected.

Might be fun to serve some of these up to customers. Hey, being a bit of a pizza “food” snob is a healthy way to sell the fact that pizza shouldn’t be saved for special occasion and that every day is a good day to indulge in our favorite we-deserve-it food.


· 94% of the population of the U.S. eats pizza. (Source: Parade Magazine.)
· Pizza is a $30 billion industry.
· In the U.S., there are about 61,269 pizza parlors.
· Pizzerias represent 17% of all restaurants. (Source: Food Industry News)
· 93% of Americans eat AT LEAST one pizza per month. (Source: Bolla Wines)
· Each man, woman and child in America eats and average of 46 slices, (23 pounds), of pizza per year. (Source: Packaged Facts, New York)
· Saturday night is the biggest night of the week for eating pizza.
· Three of the top 10 weeks of pizza consumption occur in January. Another pizza fact: More pizza is consumed during Super Bowl week than any other week of the year. (Source: Kraft Foods, Northfield, Ill.)
· Everyone in the United States eats about 23 lbs., or 46 slices, every year.
· Each year in the United States, 3 billion pizzas are sold.
· In America, the most popular ethnic food is Italian.
· Children ages 3-11 prefer pizza over all other foods for lunch and dinner, according to a recent Gallup Poll.
· 36 percent of all pizza orders want their pizza topping pepperoni.

Straw Hat Do-Gooders

When they're not busy serving up heart-healthy  pizzas, it turns out Straw Hat owners are on the frontlines of their communities figuring out how to give to those in need.

Recently, Olga Sehhat, owner of Straw Hat Pizza in Rancho Cordova, CA, played an integral role in an outpouring of generosity from the community towards a Folsom boy recovering from aplastic anemia, a life-threatening blood disorder that is a rare form of leukemia.

The story made headlines when Brandon Burkey's Make-A-Wish gift, a big-screen TV, was stolen from his bedroom. And thanks to do-gooders like Olga, Burkey is smiling these days. A group of Northern California Best Buy owners rallied and installed and mounted a new 42-inch Samsung TV for Brandon. Girl Scout and Brownie troops replaced his X-Box and X-Box games, and Olga, all but guaranteed Burkey's possessions are safe from now on when she purchased a state-of-the-art security system for the Burkey household.

It's always inspiring to read about ordinary people connecting to help each other.

Love to hear more Straw Hat stories. Please send them my way at:

marybethsammons@aol.com