What is Normal?

I was raised Catholic. There are rules for what you can and can’t do. What you should or shouldn't be.

Just a good little Catholic boy

Then I turned 40, I broke the rules. I divorced my wife and left our home and two kids. I also decided I had to live my life as a gay man. From that point on, nothing was ever going to be anything I considered “normal” again.

But what really is “normal” anyway? And why wasn't normal right for me? Would I be happier living a life that was not what others considered normal?

My cousin Diana and her husband Ron, before they were married, went to visit our great Aunt Marie.

Wedding day for Diana Martone and Ron Pawlikowski

Aunt Marie served them pizza. Diana recalls Ron’s amazement when Aunt Marie cut the pizza with scissors. Is that normal?

The ever so Un-Normal Aunt Marie, Uncle Mario and Frank Martone

I only had pizza with my Aunt Marie once. It was just before my family moved from New Jersey to New York State. Somehow my Dad convinced his Aunt Marie to make a “pie” for us. Up north, many people refer to pizza as a “pie”. I remember her making her special pizza in our kitchen. She brought her own pans and made the thickest pizza pie I have ever seen. She mixed butter into the crust dough and laid it in strips to fill the pan. The pizza was delicious, but really thick and unlike anything I ever saw or ate before. It certainly wasn’t what I thought of as normal pizza.

There are those that swear by thick crust pizza and those that swear by thin crust pizza. Some like a crunchy crust, others like a chewy crust. Some prefer a white pizza others a red sauce pizza. Which do you prefer? Sweet sauce or spicy sauce? With or without meat? What do you consider normal?

The best pizzas in my opinion come from a brick oven. I‘ve eaten lots of great pizzas in my day. Today my favorite pizza comes from a restaurant in downtown Richmond called Tarrants. The owner, Ted Santarella, created the recipe for his pizza from memory recalling the pizza of his youth in Glendale Long Island. It is superb. If you ever get to Richmond, you have to try it.

I am currently “between engagements” as they say in polite company when you don’t have a job. For this reason, I am looking for inexpensive things to make for dinner. A few nights ago I decided to try making pizza at home. It wasn’t normally what I do when I crave a pizza, but the results were surprisingly wonderful.

It seems as though pizza in Italy originated in Naples (in the area my father’s mother immigrated from). There pizza is really just flat bread with topping. Traditionally pizza is thought of as a street food. But don’t think for a minute the Italians take pizzas lightly. There are strict rules and standards that every pizzaiola (or pizza maker) must follow. In fact, in order to sell pizza in Italy, you must possess a license from the government to prove you meet the requirements.

Today’s recipe is not so strict, but never the less, I think you will love it. It is a traditional Italian flat bread pizza, but it is probably not the “normal” pizza that you are accustomed to. (There goes that word “normal” again).

Flatbread Pizza Dough

Ingredients:

1 ¾ Cup of warm Water

3 Teaspoons of quick-rising Active Dry Yeast

5 Cups of Bread Flour (you can also use All Purpose Flour)

1 Teaspoon of Table Salt

8 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus a little extra for oiling the bowl while the dough rises and for later when brushing the rolled dough

Directions:

Dissolve the Yeast in the warm Water. Use a whisk to combine.

In a separate large bowl, add in Flour and Salt. Using the dried whisk again, mix the Flour with the Salt. Mound the Flour/Salt mixture in the center of the bowl, then create a well in the center.

Fill the well with the Olive Oil and the Water/ Yeast mixture. Using a strong spoon, mix everything together. If needed more flour or water can be added, but do so in small amounts.

Next knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until it is soft, elastic and satiny. Form it into a ball and place it in the well-oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a wet dishtowel. The towel should rest on the top of the bowl and not touch the dough. Cover the towel-covered bowl in foil and set in a warm place (like outside on a warm day) and let rise for 1 ½ hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Raw Pizza Dough

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Divide the dough into 4 sections. Each section will make one pizza crust. Using your finger tips, flatted the dough very thin. Be gentle. You can use your rolling pin to smooth it out, but do not knead again at this stage.

Once the dough is rolled out to about 10 to12 inches in diameter, transfer it to parchment paper that has been placed on a flat cookie sheet.

Brush the top of the crust with Olive Oil and then top with your favorite toppings.

I know that tomato sauce with Mozzarella is normal, but let’s shake things up hmmm? Aren’t you getting just a little bit tired of normal anyhow?

When we made our pizzas, I brushed the top with some Garlic and Herb Goat Cheese spread that I had in the fridge, I then chopped some Kalamata Olives and added them at the last minute, just because I love them. Then I added a little bit of marinara sauce over everything.

Pizza Dough with Goat Cheese spread and Chopped Kalamata Olives

Remove the parchment paper and the pizza from the cookie sheet and then place it in the 400-degree oven. The pizza will bake on just the parchment paper. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pizza crust has browned on the edges.

To quote Andrew Zimmerman, “WOW”. The crust comes out thin and crispy with just enough olive flavor to compliment the topping. The Kalamata Olives and the Goat cheese have a flavor that is intense and unexpected.

The Finished Pizza

But I felt the need to push the envelope just a little. Jim introduced me to my love affair with Blue Cheese. We have often enjoyed Blue Cheese and fruit together. So why not try them on a pizza?

Apple, Walnut and Blue Cheese Pizza

For this version, I simply brushed the top of the raw crust with Olive Oil. Then I sliced Granny Smith Apples thinly and arranged them on top of the raw crust. I crumbled some Smoked Blue Cheese (though even a creamier Maytag Blue would work well) and then placed some chopped Walnuts over the Apples. I popped it in the oven just like the previous version and after 15 to 20 minutes, Holy Moley out came a creation.

A New Twist on an Old Favorite

Sure, it looked nothing like a normal pizza, but let me tell you, it was ummm, ummm good!!

The Pizza Crust recipe is just a stage for you to make your own creation. Whether you like traditional red sauce and mozzarella with pepperoni or want to try making a roasted salmon with lemon butter pizza, it doesn’t matter.

Cole Porter wrote a song called “Experiment” that Mabel Mercer famously recorded. It encourages us to try new things. Everyone should listen to this song or at least read the lyrics at least once.

Before you leave these portals to meet less fortunate souls,
There's just one final message I would give to you.
You all have learned reliance on the sacred teachings of science
So I hope through life you never will decline in spite of philistine defiance
To do what all good scientists do.

Experiment.
Make it your motto day and night.
Experiment and it will lead you to the light.
The apple on the top of the tree is never to high to achieve,
So take an example from Eve, experiment.
Be curious, though interfering friends may frown,
Get furious at each attempt to hold you down.
If this advice you always employ, the future can offer you infinite joy
And merriment.
Experiment and you'll see.

So, my advice is this: Don’t worry about being normal. I say, go ahead and spread your wings! Try new things in the kitchen.

Normal can be so predictable.

By the way, just in case you are wondering about the question I posed earlier. You know, the question regarding if I would be happy living a life that others did not consider normal. Well the answer is yes. I am very, very happy.

Jim and John wed 2004

I have never been happier in my life. Life is ever changing. So don’t worry about leaving behind what you always thought of as normal. We must live the life we have.

It is what Jim and I call, living the New Normal.