Author: Jacob Perez
Holiday Hours
The holidays are here! Here are our special hours:
- Christmas Eve: All Stores closing at 7:30 pm
- Christmas Day: All Stores are closed
- New Years Eve: All Stores closing at 9:00 pm EXCEPT for our Santa Rosa Downtown location, closing at 11:00 pm
- New Years Day: All Stores open as usual!
Cookbook Preview
Curious as to what’s inside the Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook? The Table of Contents, Preface, and a list of Pastas will give you a sneak peak at what’s packed inside! Click on each Thumbnail to view.
Table of Contents
Preface 
Pastas
Some of the recipes include:
- Arancini, Pesto Bread Sticks, and Italian Potato Croquettes
- Mary’s Signature Salad (and Ranch!), Minestrone Soup, and Toto’s Italian Remedy Soup
- The Old-Fashioned Italian Tuna Melt
- Mary’s Legendary Pizza Dough and our favorite combinations
- Our Giant Meatball
- Favorite Cocktail and Dessert recipes
- Much, much more!
The Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook, available online and in-store. Last day for Holiday Shipping is December 19!
December Cookbook Signings
There are two more opportunities to have your Cookbook signed by Toto, Peggy & Anna this week!
- Wednesday, December 5, from 5:00pm – 7:00pm @ our N. McDowell (Petaluma East) location.
- Thursday, December 6, from 5:00pm – 7:00pm @ our Napa location.
Click here to learn more about our Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook. Stay tuned for more signing dates in December.
Share Your Cookbook Stories
Have you found your favorite recipe from our Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook? We love to get stories and photos from readers who enjoy cooking, and bringing a little bit of Mary’s history and food to their kitchen.
Sue in Petaluma writes:
I just wanted to tell you how much I LOVE the new cookbook! It is so well written, and the recipes are spot on and easy to follow. The home proportions are perfect too.
Tonight I made the meat sauce, meatballs, garlic bread, blue cheese dressing, ranch dressing and salad (without the egg, salami, and bean salad – but delicious nonetheless)! Later this week, I will try the pizza dough.
I appreciate so much you sharing these amazing recipes. I have Petaluma’s Della Fattoria’s cookbook, Tony’s Pizza’s cookbook from San Francisco, and all Thomas Keller’s books. It’s fun to recreate dishes at home but the goodwill of having the cookbook also sends me back to your restaurants again and again: even us cooks need a night out.
Thanks for sending your photo and note to us, Sue! We look forward to more stories and photos in the future. To share your favorite recipe, email us at news@maryspizzashack.com.
Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund – Dine & Donate
On Tuesday, on November 27, Mary’s Pizza Shack is hosting a Dine & Donate Fundraiser raising money for The Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund.
All locations (excluding Anderson & Redding) are participating. Also, Mary’s will donate 15% of ALL Dine-In, Take-Out & Delivery orders, and Gift Card Purchases for the entire day. Most importantly, no flyer is necessary to participate – just bring your friends, families and appetites!
“Our hearts go out to our neighbors in Butte County. We in Sonoma County are no strangers to fire devastation and what it takes to rebuild,” said Vince Albano, CEO of Mary’s Pizza Shack and Mary’s grandson. “We want to make a meaningful contribution to support the long-term recovery efforts any way we can.”
Furthermore, for more information on the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund, click here.
Cookbook Signings!
There are three opportunities this week to have your Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook signed by Toto, Peggy & Anna!
Tonight, Wednesday, November 14, from 5:00-7:00pm, we will be at our Summerfield Rd. location in Santa Rosa.
Tomorrow night, Thursday, November 15, from 5:00-7:00pm, we will be at our Marlow Rd. location in Santa Rosa.
And then, Friday night, November 15, from 5:00-7:oopm, we will be at our Downtown Santa Rosa location on 4th. St.
Can’t make it to these signing dates? Don’t worry! We’ll have a few more opportunities to come at the end of November and in December.
For more information about our Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook, click here.
Mary’s Chicken alla Coo Coo
In celebration of our Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook, on sale now in-store and online, we wanted to share a Mary’s original recipe, Chicken alla Coo Coo!
Mary never followed other people’s recipes, preferring to cook everything her way. Whenever she made up a dish, she’d tell nosy customers (or grandkids) that it was “alla coo coo,” her way of encouraging them to stop pestering her and start eating. Chicken alla Coo Coo was her version of chicken cacciatore, or “hunter’s style” chicken, made extra hearty with lots of roasted root vegetables in a lively tomato sauce. As Nanette remembers, Noni (Mary) always served it in a big, dented aluminum baking pan, with lots of crusty bread alongside for mopping up the sauce. Mary’s granddaughters still make it today.
Ingredients
- 1 can (28 oz) whole plum tomatoes with juices
- 2 russet potatoes (about 1 lb total weight), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup large pimiento-stuffed green olives (optional)
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 fresh time sprigs
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 bone-in whole chicken legs (drumstick and thigh)
- 2 bone-in chicken breast halves, halved crosswise
- 1 orange-fleshed yam (about 1/2 lb), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- Chopped fresh basil, for garnish
- Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish
Recipe
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees, F.
- Put the tomatoes and their juices, crushing the tomatoes with your hand as you add them, into a large roasting pan. Add the potatoes, onion, olives (if using), oil, thyme, Italian seasoning, and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper and stir to mix well. Spread the tomato mixture evenly in the pan. Nestle the chicken pieces in the mixture, turn to coat them evenly, then arrange them, skin side up, in a single layer.
- Roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the yam pieces and wine, distributing them evenly. Cover the pan with aluminum foil, return to the oven, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 45 minutes longer. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
- Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with basil and parsley and serve.
Mangia!
Order your Mary’s Italian Family Cookbook here.
WOW Wednesday: Carmen
When our Crew Members go above and beyond for our customers or employees, we love to recognize it through our WOW Program!
Our WOW Wednesday feature this week is Carmen, from at our Dixon location. Carmen, pictured above with General Manager Ryan, recently took a catering order for a business and helped them maximize their savings, making sure that their satisfaction was top priority!
Creating Partnerships
Customers love ordering Mary’s for catering, whether it’s for office lunches, staff get-togethers, or for bribing employees to stay late [we don’t judge!], and Carmen, who has been with our Mary’s in Dixon for several years, is familiar with almost all of our catering “regulars.” When Carmen makes the delivery, she also is sure to tell businesses about our Business Partner Program so that they can receive both personalized service AND substantial discounts on catering orders.
On a recent order, Carmen was preparing to go out for delivery, and noticed that this was a business she had talked to before about the program but an order for which she didn’t see the Business Partner Discount.
She approached Ryan, and asked if the company had signed up for the program; after all, they seemed delighted to find out about it when she last spoke with them. After checking our database, sure enough – they had recently signed up, but wasn’t in the habit yet of mentioning their status as Partners while ordering.
Ryan applied the discount, the customers were beyond thrilled at Carmen’s service, and they also ended up saying on their order. Fantastic catch by Carmen!
Are you a Business Partner?
Does your business regularly order for the office? We would love to talk with you and get you signed up for our program. Click here to begin or here to Request a Catering Quote.
Have a WOW Moment to Share with Us?
We love to get feedback, both good and bad. We strive to WOW our guests every day, and your comments help us improve our food and service. If you have feedback about your dining experience, please complete this form. All information will be kept confidential; we value our guests and would never sell or share your information. We look forward to hearing from you!
WOW Wednesday: Makenna
When our Crew Members go above and beyond for our customers or employees, we love to recognize it through our WOW Program!
Our WOW Wednesday feature this week is Makenna, from at our Napa location. Makenna, pictured above, helped a customer out with their delivery order in a moment when it all could have gone wrong!
Working Together
There’s nothing better than a hot pizza or fresh pasta delivered to your door. That’s why our customer’s love ordering from our full menu offered for delivery. It is the perfect compliment to a family get-together or party with friends.
On one Sunday evening, a couple called the Napa restaurant for delivery and placed their order. After the order was placed, Makenna began looking up the address to plan her route.
To her dismay, the customer’s address was in Sonoma – it turns out the customer had likely meant to call our Plaza location. Makenna stepped into action; she called the guest and explained the mistake, BUT Makenna informed the customer that she would call the Plaza location herself and handle the order transition from one store to the next.
WOW!
Working together, both Makenna and our Plaza location were able to take care of the guest and get them exactly what they needed. Incredible work, Makenna! Thank you for going above and beyond for our guests.
Have a WOW Moment to Share with Us?
We love to get feedback, both good and bad. We strive to WOW our guests every day, and your comments help us improve our food and service. If you have feedback about your dining experience, please complete this form. All information will be kept confidential; we value our guests and would never sell or share your information. We look forward to hearing from you!
WOW Wednesday: Ana
When our Crew Members go above and beyond for our customers or employees, we love to recognize it through our WOW Program!
Our WOW Wednesday feature this week is Ana, server at our Petaluma West location on East Washington. Ana, pictured above with one of our long-time regular customers, went out of her way to make a special request extra special for the customer!
No Request is Too Big!
Ana had a guest one evening that asked what kind of hot sauce we carried. She told them Tabasco and Sriracha. The customer asked if we had Tapatio but she said no. Before their food came out Ana ran to the store and purchased some Tapatio for our guest (unbeknownst to them). Surprised and delighted, they asked why she went out of her way!
Ana stated that she understands what it’s like to not have your hot sauce on hand, and that she was happy she could do this for them.
Thank you Ana for being there for our customers!
Have a WOW Moment to Share with Us?
We love to get feedback, both good and bad. We strive to WOW our guests every day, and your comments help us improve our food and service. If you have feedback about your dining experience, please complete this form. All information will be kept confidential; we value our guests and would never sell or share your information. We look forward to hearing from you!