Grilled Pizza

I have been wanting to try to make grilled pizza for awhile. The fact is - I was scared... I just pictured a screaming match between me and Tim (he mans the grill) because of dough running through the grates and it just wasn't going to be pretty. Well, I read up on the topic on a few of my favorite blogs and finally decided I would follow the instruction of Annie, from Annie's Eats blog. I followed her dough recipe and technique exactly and the pizzas were some of the best pizza I have ever had - I couldn't believe I had actually made them from scratch! I don't think we will ever use refrigerated or packaged mix dough again! It was very easy and my favorite part about the dough recipe is that it makes two batches, so you can freeze one and use the other for another time - maybe tomorrow night! I will say that I used tips from three different parts of her blog to make these little masterpieces, so I will post them all below.

Our toppings of choice tonight were prosciutto, wild mushrooms, goat cheese, Monterrey Jack cheese (we only had part-skim mozzerella and Tim "hates the way it melts") and fresh basil. I actually used Kroger brand pizza sauce as the base, mixed with a little olive oil, Italian seasoning and my basil in a tube to spice it up a little (the tubes of herbs can be found by the fresh herbs).

Annie offers two other recipes in these links below - one a chicken ranch pizza and the other with fresh veggies - both look good and I will have to try them eventually!

Oh and by the way - Tim and I did get into a mini-screaming match because he insisted that I was making them too small - but like I said, I followed her technique exactly and they turned out the perfect size. Moral of the story - don't listen to Tim, listen to Annie! Note on the picture - we made a total of four small pizzas - not pictured the BBQ Chicken pizza we made for the boys!

Pizza Dough Tutorial by Annie

Pizza Dough Recipe by Annie

Grilled Pizza Recipe and more Tips by Annie

4th of July Recipes

We had Tim's family in town for the 4th of July weekend and since the weather was nice and I am supposed to be "resting", I decided to make some easy sides and let Tim do the grilling. Saturday night we had Grilled Boneless, Skinless, Chicken thighs. Nothing to these, just marinated in BBQ sauce over night and grilled them. Sunday night we had burgers with a variety of yummy toppings and they were delicious! My mother-in-law Carol brought her yummy blueberry and peach cobbler and my sister-in-law Lauren brought the most delicious cookies ever from her home-town bakery - The Jasper Bakery.

These two side dishes turned out great. I made the Down Home Beans to go with the Chicken thighs and the Orzo Salad to go with the burgers! Both were a big hit! I changed up the Orzo salad quite a bit - it originally called for flat-leaf parsley as the fresh herb, but I wanted something with more of a kick, so I decided to substitute cilantro and I am glad I did. The only thing I changed with the beans, was to reduce the amount of brown sugar. The original recipe called for 2 cups of brown sugar, but all of the reviews said that 1 cup was plenty!


Orzo, Corn, and Roasted Bell Pepper Salad

Ingredients

2 red bell peppers
1 box uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
4 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil, divided
3 ears shucked corn
1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Cooking spray
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons of cilantro paste
6 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced

Preparation

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.
Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain. Place orzo in a large bowl; drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Cool slightly.
Place corn, red onion and peppers on grill rack or in grill basket coated with cooking spray; grill 5 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned, turning occasionally. Cut kernels from ears of corn; chop red onion and peppers. In a small bowl mix the 3 tablespoons oil, cilantro, cilantro paste and remaining ingredients. When mixed through, combine dressing, grilled vegetables and orzo. Chill before serving.

Adapted from the recipe of Joanne Weir, Cooking Light JULY 2005



Down Home Baked Beans

Ingredients

1 pound bacon
2 (28 ounce) cans baked beans (I bought Bush's Homestyle Beans - 2 of the big cans)
8 ounces of chili sauce (I bought Heinz 12 oz bottle)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 cups packed brown sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside.
In a large bowl combine beans, chili sauce, onion, brown sugar and bacon. Pour into a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Adapted from MEANJEANNE, allrecipes.com

Fresh Berry Cobbler

My friend Elizabeth made this and brought it to a dinner party we had recently! It was so good, I made it the very next night just so I could have more! I highly recommend it! The crust is outstanding - different from the typical cobbler! Elizabeth used a mix of blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I just had blueberries and it turned out great too! This is the perfect recipe just as berries are coming into season! Enjoy!



Ingredients

1 cup sugar, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 cups fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup self-rising yellow cornmeal mix
1/3 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 cup milk

Preparation

1. Combine 1/3 cup sugar and 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch in a small bowl. Combine berries, cornstarch mixture, and lemon rind in a large bowl until well blended; spoon berry mixture into a lightly greased 2-qt. baking dish.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal mix, and remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Stir in butter and milk until blended. Gently spread batter evenly over berry mixture.
3. Bake at 350° for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of topping comes out clean. Serve warm.

Southern Living AUGUST 2006

Pizza Pasta Salad

I made this for a party at Angelo and Ariel's house a few weeks ago. I think it was a big hit with the kids because of the pepperoni's and cheese. I found the best time-saver for this - Hormel makes mini pepperoni slices. They were perfect to use instead of chopping up a bigger piece of pepperoni. I also put the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, oregano and artichokes into the food processor for a few seconds to "chop" vs. rough chopping them by hand. Next time I think I will add black olives - just because I like them!

Ingredients

Salt and pepper
1 pound short pasta such as bow ties, shells or penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
3/4 cup sliced marinated artichoke hearts
8 ounces bocconcini (small fresh mozzarella nuggets), halved (about 18 pieces)
4 ounces pepperoni or salami, diced
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Preparation

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain well and spread on an oiled baking sheet to cool. (Don't worry if pasta sticks together. It will come apart when mixed with oil.)
2. Transfer cooled pasta to a large bowl and stir in oil. Add vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, bocconcini, pepperoni, basil and oregano. Toss well and season with salt and pepper.

From - All You MAY 2010

Panzanella

My friends and I recently went out to The Wine Guy wine bar for dinner. Christie had Panzanella salad and it looked so good! Full of my favorite things, so I knew I had to try it at home. The below recipe is adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe I found. It turned out great and was a big hit served with burgers at a recent cookout. The bread is the best part!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 small French bread cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large, ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 hothouse cucumber unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/2-inch thick
1/2 red onion, cut in 1/2 and thinly sliced
16 ozs of Fresh Mozzarella balls, quartered
20 large basil leaves, coarsely chopped

For the vinaigrette:
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons White Balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread and salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Add more oil as needed.
For the vinaigrette, whisk all the ingredients together.
In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, basil, and mozzarella. Add the bread cubes and toss with the vinaigrette. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve, or allow the salad to sit for about half an hour for the flavors to blend.