Pepperoni Pizza

This has definitely been the summer of homemade pizza. Ever since I realized the grill gets infinitely hotter than the broiler (essential to pizza making) I can't get enough of the homemade stuff. I have done classic pizzas and healthy pizzas, fancy flatbreads, and now finally one with a delicious crust. My latest discovery, for making the pizza look pretty, is assembly on the grill. It's much easier to get an empty crust onto the grill and assemble the toppings quickly there, than it is to get a fully assembled and unstable pizza onto the grill without collapsing the toppings into the center. So while the last of grilling season is upon us, make sure you have grilled up at least one tasty pizza this summer!

Dough:
1 cup of warm water
1 1/8 tsp of active dry yeast (1/2 a packet)
2 1/2-2 3/4 cups of flour
1/2 tsp of salt
Olive Oil for coating the bowl

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, dissolve the yeast into the water. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Add in 2 1/2 cups of flour and salt. Process by pulsing until combined. Process until dough is soft and slightly tacky, adding additional flour (1 tablespoon at a time) as necessary. Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil. Turn dough out onto the counter and roll into a ball. Put it in the greased bowl, and cover, let stand until dough has doubled inside, about 3 hours (or a little longer is fine), or refrigerate overnight and then let stand on a counter all day and it will also be ready for dinner. When dough has risen, punch down and remove from the bowl. Divide the dough in half and roll each half into a ball. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes before rolling out into pizza shape. Flatten dough into a disk, and then work your hands around the edges stretching the dough into a circle. Lay on a floured surface (preferably a movable one, like a large cutting board) and roll out to desired thickness. I rolled mine out as thin as I could without ripping the dough in the middle, but leaving it thicker around the edge for a delicious crust. Repeat with second dough ball. (adapted from Chris Bianco's Recipe)

Toppings:
1 1/2 cups of pizza sauce, bought or homemade
2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)
1/8 lb of sandwich style pepperoni

Pre-heat the grill. Make yourself a plate that has all the toppings on it. Take the dough and the toppings out next to your grill. Carefully transfer the crusts to the grill. Working quickly, top each pizza crust with sauce, the pepperoni and then cheese. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Using a large grill spatula, check to make sure crusts are firm then rotate the pizzas. Lower heat or turn off grill and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until cheese is gooey and the crust is cooked through. Slice using a pizza roller and enjoy!

Happy Eating!

Grilled Stromboli

The other night I sat staring at the ingredients for a pepperoni pizza, willing them to be something else. The dough was already made, the sauce was simmering on the stove, the grill was hot, I was having pizza, there was no way around it. I don't know why I really didn't want it, just not in the mood, I guess. In a last ditch attempt to be inspired I opened the fridge and spotted a container of ricotta. Jackpot. Next thing I new, I was grilling up some Stromboli and my whole attitude for dinner had changed. Yes I know, that pizza and Stromboli are all the same ingredients, just assembled differently, but somehow, this made everything different, new, and exciting. And I guess, that was all I needed.

Stromboli:
1 recipe of pizza dough
1 cup of ricotta cheese
2 cup of mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 lb sliced of pepperoni
Olive oil
Tomato Sauce, for serving

Preheat the grill. Divide pizza dough in half. Roll out one of the dough halves into an oval, about 1/4 inch thick. Spread half the ricotta cheese over the left side of the dough, leaving about half the dough uncovered on the right, and a small section on the left uncovered as well. Put 1/2 the pepperoni on top of the ricotta and top with half the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Roll the dough into log by pulling the right side over and folding the empty part on the left side under the right. Then wrap the right side around as far as it goes. Repeat with the remaining dough half and ingredients. Brush both Strombolis with olive oil. Grill on direct heat, fold side down for about 2 minutes, then flip over and transfer to the top rack. Cook until dough is browned lightly and puffy, about 8-10 minutes.

Happy Eating.

Grilled Salad Pizza

So you may notice an uptick in the number of grilling recipes in the next coming month, and yes it has to do with summer, but more so that I just got a brand new grill! I am absolutely in love with it, and everything that comes off it. Grilling just makes it better. So I decided to grill some pizza, which was the most fantastic idea because pizza (the restaurant kind) is cooked at extremely high temperatures, way higher than your broiler can go. The grill gets significantly hotter than the oven, so the pizza comes out delicious crisp with that amazing crustiness. I love thin crust pizza, and it happens to be easier (in my opinion) to make (you don't have to worry about the crust puffing up), so I make it every chance I get. I usually make the crust the night before and let it rise in the fridge, so I can spend the whole day dreaming what to put on it...

1/2 Wheat Crust:
1 packet of dry active yeast
3/4 cups of warm water, about 110 degrees
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 cup of bread flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt

In the food processor fitted with the dough blade, add water and yeast, let stand until foamy, about 5-10 minutes. Add olive oil, flours and salt and process until a dough forms. Continue processing until dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-7 minutes. Lightly grease or oil a bowl and place dough in it to rise, cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter until doubled in size, 1-2 hours, or refridgerate overnight. Makes one large pizza.

Pizza:
1 batch of dough
3 medium tomatoes
1/2 large vidalia onion
2 oz of goat cheese
1/2 of part skim mozzerella
2 cloves of garlic
2 packed cups of spring mix salad (or spinach, or other salad greens)
Olive oil
salt, pepper

Pre-heat the grill. Bring dough to room temperature. Roll the dough out as thin as possible, so that it just doesn't rip. This will take some time, eventually the dough will stop "springing" back. My pizza was very thin, and a rough circle, about 15 inches in diametar. Place dough on a cutting board or pizza slider. Slice tomatoes and onions and spread evenly over the dough, sprinkle with cheeses. Transfer the pizza to the grill, and cook covered for about 5 minutes. Mince garlic. Add garlic and sping mix to the pizza, and cover and cook for another minute. Remove pizza from the grill using tongs/giant spatula to help. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Slice with a pizza cutter, makes 8 large slices.

Happy Eating.

Homemade Pizza Night

I LOVE pizza! And really who doesn't. My absolute favorite in Jersey Shore Pizza, the Brooklyn style giant slices that are thin but with super thick crusts. Specifically, the Jersey shore because you can walk into any place and have the most amazing slice. Ahhhh summer, hopefully it gets here eventually, but until those blissful beach days, my close second is thin crust pizza. The crispy the better. Because, I am having so much trouble finding a decent pizza within delivery distance, I decided to try some DIY therapy, and because I was already trying, I decided to "health" it up. I have been on a flax kick lately, I love the nutty flavor and the added Omega-3s, so I tossed some into a whole wheat crust, and rolled it super thin, then topped it with quickie sauce, fresh mozzarella, and some chicken sausage. The dough was easy to work with and easy to make, I will definitely be making this again. The best part is new toppings equals a whole new dinner. So grab you favorite toppings, and lets get baking!

Wheat and Flax Crust:
2/3 cups of warm water, 105-115 degrees
1/2 packet of yeast, 1 1/8 tsp
3/4 cup of wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
2 tbsp of flax
2 tsp of olive oil
2 tsp of honey
1 tsp of salt

Dissolve yeast into warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minnutes. In a large bowl or a food processor mix flours and flax. Add in olive oil, honey, salt, and water-yeast mixture. If using a food processor: Blend everything with the dough blade attachment until everything is in a ball about 5 minutes, adding additional water or flour if necessary dough should be smooth and slightly tacky. If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon until a wet dough forms, turn out onto a floured surface and knead, incorporating more water or flour if neccesary, until smooth and slightly tacky, 5-7 minutes. Put in an oiled bowl and cover until doubles in size, about 1 hr. Punch dough down and then remove from bowl, knead a few times and return to the bowl and recover, refridgerate overnight, for up to 2 days. Remove from the fridge about 30 minutes before desired baking time. Pre-heat the broiler to 500 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and place in the broiler. Let the cookie sheet broil for about 15 minutes after the oven is pre-heated. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough as thin as possible, into a large rectangular shape (to fit the sheet). Remove pre-heated sheet from oven and brush lightly with olive oil or spray with non-stick spray. Place rolled out dough onto cookie sheet and stretch it into every corner, so that it is as close to the size of the sheet as possible. Top with your favortie sauces and toppings and bake until crust is browned and all cheeses have melted, 7 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

I topped mine with a quickie pizza sauce (recipe below), 8 oz of garlic and herb chicken sausage (chopped), 1 small yellow onion (sliced), fresh mozzarella (about 4 oz, sliced into thin and small slices), and fresh grated parmesan. After cooking I shaved some additional parmesan on top and drizzled with a little truffle oil.

Quickie Pizza Sauce:
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce (plain)
1/2 8 oz can of tomato paste
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of dried basil
1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes
salt, pepper

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and add the tomato sauce and paste. Bring to a boil. Mince the garlic and add to sauce, and dried herbs and spices to taste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the oven is ready for the pizza.

Happy Eating.

Pizza Party

So on Saturday we had the Pizza party! It was so much fun, but as usual, I made way too much food. Saturday morning we made the dough, and gave them plenty of time to rise. The I made the sauce in the afternoon, I made a vat of sauce, literally ally, I filled the largest pot available with sauce, not realizing you barely need any sauce for a pizza. We have lots of left overs, but this is possibly the best sauce I ever made, so it's getting eaten. We made 3 pizzas, a pepperoni, a mushroom, and a flat crust onion. The flat crust was my favorite, but apparently that is debatable, so I guess they were all good. It was really fun and super messy to make. We had 2 doughs, a ton of sauce, and an army of cheeses left over. So then Sunday night, well afternoon really, I made spaghetti with left over sauce and sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes, plus cheese. Then Last night I used one of the extra pizza doughs (recipe here) to make a delicious roll up, which I liked better than the pizza, so that is the sorta-recipe I am going to share.

Pizza Roll Up:
1 pizza dough
Toppings of your choice (I used pepperoni, onions, and spinach)
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan cheese
Sauce for dipping

Pre-heat the oven to 375. Roll out the pizza dough as thin as you can get it, and into a squarish shape. Spread your toppings all over then top with the mozzarella (heavy handed). Roll the dough like you would a jelly roll or a crescent roll (except end to end, not diagonal). It should look like a long tube. Pinch ends together so nothing can escape while baking. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray, and put roll on sheet. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle the top with Parmesan cheese. Cook for about 30-35 min, until the dough is cooked. Let cool slightly, then slice, serve with sauce for dipping and enjoy!

Happy Eating.