#40 (ENH) Pizza on the Grill

Shownotes for #40 Pizza on the Grill!

The music for the opening and ending of the show is Fast Food Rampage by the The Touch Ups, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network.

Stuff you need to know for this show's recipe:

All the recipes here are an hour or less. Total preparation time for is less than 30 minutes.

Talk Back! We are a Snacking Community. Go to the End of these Shownotes and click on comments. Leave your thoughts and experiences. Or email me at [e-mail].

The podsafe music used in the show:

This week, I’m featuring Rose by Geoff Smith.  Geoff's catchy piano driven pop is quite contagious these days. Geoff is also the madman behind such DSC jingles as Roger Smalls, Metrosexual Moment, and Trinity. Rose is based on a character in the venerable British Sci Fi series "Dr. Who." The song has been made into a video by Mrs. Cake. Check it out on You Tube.

Here is the lead recipe I describe in the show:

GRILLED PIZZA MARGHERITA

1 can tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
6 oz mozzarella, coarsely grated (1 1/2 cups)
Refrigerated pizza dough, divided
Flour for dusting
6 to 8 medium fresh basil leaves, torn

Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about 7 inches in diameter), covering with plastic wrap and stacking rounds. Wrap baking sheet with more plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm, about 2 to 4 hours or overnight.

Make sauce and prepare cheese:

Simmer sauce, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until very thick and reduced to about 1 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Toss together mozzarella and remaining tablespoon oil.

Prepare the charcoal grill: Open vents in lid and bottom of kettle grill and put 25 briquettes on 2 opposite sides of bottom, leaving middle clear. Oil rack and position with wider openings over briquettes. Light briquettes. (They will be ready for cooking as soon as they turn grayish-white, 20 to 30 minutes.)

Prepare the gas grill: Light element and allow the unit5 to heat up to 400 degrees or more.

Remove pizza dough from refrigerator. Lightly brush dough with some garlic oil. Trying not to stretch dough, carefully transfer it, oiled side down, with your hands to rack of grill. (If it's a very hot day, the dough may get too soft to transfer easily; if so, pop it into the freezer until firm again, about 15 minutes.) Lightly brush top with some garlic oil. When grilling pizzas, rotate them if 1 side of grill is hotter than the other. Grill crusts, covered, until undersides are golden brown on bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip crusts over with 2 metal spatulas and top each crust with half of tomato sauce, spreading evenly over dough and leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over sauce and grill pizzas, covered with grill lid, until undersides are golden brown and cheese is melted, about 3 minutes on gas grill or 5 minutes on charcoal grill.

Scatter basil over pizzas.

GRILLED PIZZA WITH YELLOW SQUASH, MOZZARELLA, AND LEMON THYME (Adapted from Gourmet, July 2006)

Refrigerated pizza crust
1 garlic clove, crushed and chopped
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow squash
3/4 cup coarsely grated fresh mozzarella (about 3 ounces)
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 2 1/4 ounces)
4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (preferably lemon thyme)
fresh thyme sprigs (preferably lemon thyme)

Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about 7 inches in diameter), covering with plastic wrap and stacking rounds. Wrap baking sheet with more plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm, about 2 to 4 hours or overnight.

In a small bowl stir together garlic and oil and let stand 15 minutes.

With a mandoline or other manual slicer, slice squash crosswise into 1/16-inch thick rounds, transferring to plate.

Heat 2 tbs of the garlic oil in a skillet until hot and sauté squash until it begins to color.

Prepare the charcoal grill: Open vents in lid and bottom of kettle grill and put 25 briquettes on 2 opposite sides of bottom, leaving middle clear. Oil rack and position with wider openings over briquettes. Light briquettes. (They will be ready for cooking as soon as they turn grayish-white, 20 to 30 minutes.)

Prepare the gas grill: Light element and allow the unit5 to heat up to 400 degrees or more.

Remove pizza dough from refrigerator. Lightly brush dough with some garlic oil. Trying not to stretch dough, carefully transfer it, oiled side down, with your hands to rack of grill. (If it's a very hot day, the dough may get too soft to transfer easily; if so, pop it into the freezer until firm again, about 15 minutes.) Lightly brush top with some garlic oil. When grilling pizzas, rotate them if 1 side of grill is hotter than the other. Grill crusts, covered, until undersides are golden brown on bottom, about 4 minutes. Flip crusts over with 2 metal spatulas and top each crust with half of cheeses, squash, and thyme and grill, covered, about 5 minutes, or until undersides are golden brown and cheeses are melted.

Garnish pizzas with thyme sprigs and cut into wedges.

GRILLED PIZZAS WITH POTATOES AND ROSEMARY (Adapted from Gourmet, July 2001)

2 lb red boiling potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 oz fresh mozzarella, grated (2 cups)

Garnish: fresh rosemary leaves and coarse sea salt.

Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about 7 inches in diameter), covering with plastic wrap and stacking rounds. Wrap baking sheet with more plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm, about 2 to 4 hours or overnight.

Make potato topping while dough is chilling: Preheat oven to 425°F.

Thinly slice potatoes (1/8 inch thick) using a mandoline or other manual slicer, then toss with oil, garlic, salt, rosemary, and pepper in a large bowl until lightly coated.

Spread potatoes in 1 layer on 2 lightly oiled baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tender, about 15 minutes total. Cool potatoes on sheets on racks.

Prepare the charcoal grill: Open vents in lid and bottom of kettle grill and put 25 briquettes on 2 opposite sides of bottom, leaving middle clear. Oil rack and position with wider openings over briquettes. Light briquettes. (They will be ready for cooking as soon as they turn grayish-white, 20 to 30 minutes.)

Prepare the gas grill: Light element and allow the unit to heat up to 400 degrees or more.

Remove pizza dough from refrigerator. Lightly brush dough with some garlic oil. Trying not to stretch dough, carefully transfer it, oiled side down, with your hands to rack of grill. (If it's a very hot day, the dough may get too soft to transfer easily; if so, pop it into the freezer until firm again, about 15 minutes.) Lightly brush top with some garlic oil.

Grill oiled rounds until undersides are browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip over with tongs, then, working quickly, sprinkle each crust with 1/3 cup mozzarella and cover with potato slices, overlapping them and leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge.

Grill, covered, until undersides are golden and cheese is melted, about 4 minutes.

SOPPRESSATA PIZZA

3/4 cup grated low fat Romano
3/4 cup grated low fat fontina
2 cups bottled roasted red peppers
1 cup low fat ricotta
40 ultra thin slices soppressata (or other Italian salami), about 4 oz
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Roll out dough 1/8 inch thick (about 7 inches in diameter), covering with plastic wrap and stacking rounds. Wrap baking sheet with more plastic wrap. Chill dough until firm, about 2 to 4 hours or overnight.

Prepare the charcoal grill: Open vents in lid and bottom of kettle grill and put 25 briquettes on 2 opposite sides of bottom, leaving middle clear. Oil rack and position with wider openings over briquettes. Light briquettes. (They will be ready for cooking as soon as they turn grayish-white, 20 to 30 minutes.)

Prepare the gas grill: Light element and allow the unit to heat up to 400 degrees or more.

In a bowl, mix the Romano and fontina.

Remove pizza dough from refrigerator. Lightly brush dough with some garlic oil. Trying not to stretch dough, carefully transfer it, oiled side down, with your hands to rack of grill. (If it's a very hot day, the dough may get too soft to transfer easily; if so, pop it into the freezer until firm again, about 15 minutes.) Lightly brush top with some garlic oil.

Grill oiled rounds until undersides are browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip over with tongs, then, working quickly, spread 1/8 cheese mixture over cooked side of each crust. Top with 1/8 peppers. Dollop 1/8 cup ricotta over each crust. Arrange 5 slices soppressata on each pizza. Sprinkle each with 1 1/2 tsp parsley. Rotate 3 to 4 minutes until bottom is evenly golden brown.

Here is the shopping list for next week:

Next week, I'm going to show you some cool fruit snacks. You'll need a ripe pineapple, 4 large bananas, a large container of vanilla yogurt, crushed cereal, any variety, 1 1/2 pound piece red or yellow seedless watermelon with rind, several limes, fresh mint leaves, curry powder, cayenne pepper, a jicama, a chayote, an orange, a cucumber, chili flakes, and fresh cilantro.