Even if you’ve never formally met Mr. Cannon, you’ve definitely heard his voice! As a teacher of Entrepreneurship, Economics, and history, Mr. Cannon is always making class fun with his lively energy and enthusiasm for his craft. The energetic Mr. Cannon… I was curious about what his favorite dish would be. When I asked about his favorite food, he immediately responded with pizza! This then led to our lengthy discussion about different pizzas, from Detroit-style to New York-style. He settled on the neapolitana margherita pizza, which would be the truest test of my pizza-making skills.
As a casual pizza fan myself, Mr. Cannon’s reputation as a harsh pizza critic definitely scared me, but I wanted to put my skills to the test. I did extensive research on the margherita pizza, which originated in the city of Naples. In 1889, Queen Margherita visited Naples. Bored of the French food typically served to European royalty, she summoned the most famous pizza-maker, and tasked him with making three different pizzas for her. She wasn’t a fan of the first two pizzas, but the third, inspired by the colors of the Italian flag, captured her heart. The thin-crust pizza topped with marinara, slice mozzarella, and fresh basil was thus named after her.
It was time to get cooking. I decided to use Gordon Ramsay’s margherita pizza recipe video. I preheated the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit and pulled out my cast iron skillet. I splashed in a hefty amount of olive oil and heated up the skillet.
I started off by flouring my working surface and rolled out my dough into an artisan (read: uneven) circle shape. Once that was done, and the cast-iron was at a sufficient temperature, I laid the pizza dough into the skillet. After bubbles began to rise in the pizza dough, I carefully spooned in a ladle of marinara sauce, spreading the sauce evenly across. I then layered a good amount of cheese over the top, and off to the oven it went! Once the pizza was golden brown after about eight minutes, I took the pizza out and let it cool.
As a finishing touch, I artfully placed freshly plucked basil leaves from my garden over the pizza. The margherita pizza was now complete! The pizza’s aroma wafted around my house, and my whole family and I were sorrowful that we wouldn’t be able to have a taste.
Now came the anticipated taste-testing day. After carrying the pizza around all day, my pizza and I finally made it to Entrepreneurship class. Mr. Cannon’s initial reaction was promising! His entire face lit up when he found out the pizza was for him. Tearing off the plastic wrap, he immediately stuck his nose into the dish to smell the fragrant aroma, which didn’t diminish despite having been carried around all day. Mr. Cannon enthusiastically ran to microwave it and came back with the pizza.
He immediately dug into the pizza, chewing thoughtfully as he mulled over the tastes and textures of the pizza. His final verdict was a 3.5/5. The crust was slightly too chewy, the sauce was standard, and the cheese was a bit rubbery. It was an unfortunate tasting. He did note that these factors were most likely due to the pizza having been made last night and microwaved: he would’ve loved to have tried the pizza when it was fresh out of the oven. He suggested kneading the pizza dough less, because the more you knead the dough, the less airy and fluffy the pizza crust is.
We then chatted about his deep love for pizza, which traces its roots back to his childhood. He remembers pizza as a Friday-night event for his family. They had a typical place where they would go out, a local pizza place in Almaden. When his mom brought his childhood dog from Texas, they met at their local pizza place! He tends to associate pizza with family, and pizza truly holds a deep sense of nostalgia and happiness for Mr. Cannon.
To say I wasn’t disappointed would be a lie, but I enjoyed hearing more about Mr. Cannon’s love for pizza. Even though I missed the mark on the neapolitana margherita pizza, I’m still glad Mr. Cannon enjoyed the surprise!
