Grilled Pizzas

This emo post is brought to you by my obsession with Instagram.  I'm trying to bring a more edgy post to the blog.  Next thing you know I'm going to be sporting asymmetrical bangs.

But really, the lighting in Daum's kitchen was "interesting" and I'm doing what I can. 

I've been wanted to make grilled pizzas all summer, so naturally we wait until a chilly fall night with the promise of rain to do so.  There isn't really much of recipe to share with in this post.  We cobble together a respectable, if not extremely garlicky, almond pesto for one of our pizzas.  I'm keeping a safe distance from most of my co-workers today.  After our third trip to our second grocery store and one Walgreens we realized we forgot pizza sauce and decided to make one out of tomato paste and water with few dried Italian seasoning and fresh basil.  I was skeptical, but it works and now I will never hear the end of it.

Daum made the dough, I'm going to try and replicate the instructions; however, truth be told I was eating popcorn and drinking a gin and tonic.  I'm deviating from my usual format. 

Cause I'm emo.  And I Just. Don't. Care.

For one crust: (Adapted from a basic pizza crust recipe)

Combine 1 1/2 cups of warm water with one packet of dry active yeast and 2 teaspoons of white sugar.  Let sit for at least 10 minutes.  The mixture should be foamy.  In a separate bowl combine 2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (optional) and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

Yeast doing it's thing, flour mixture patiently waiting.

When the yeast is active, combine with the flour mixture.  

Married!

Mix to combine fully, then turn out the dough onto a floured surface and kneed until smooth and elastic.

NOT my hands!!

Smooth elastic dough

Cover and place in a warm, dry spot for at least an hour or until dough doubles in size.  We put ours in Daum's oven.  Why?  Because he told me to and I didn't feel like questioning him.  I was very excited by how much the dough grew.  I'm not much of (or at all) a baker, aside from cookies here and there and the expansion of the dough just fascinated me.  Maybe a little too much.  I didn't get any pictures of my fingerprint indents.

Ready to roll!    Out that is.

Daum was the first to roll the dough out.  Unfortunately I did not get a picture of mine for comparison.  I'm assured the "abstract" shape was intentional.

It was literally 3 feet long

We prepped all the toppings a head of time, because once we got the dough on the grill it was a bit of a race to get all the topping on in time so the cheese would melt and the crust would not burn.

Of course

the fresh Roma tomatoes really made the pesto pizza

So basically:  Dough, pizza sauce, pesto, cheese and toppings. We brushed olive oil on one side of the dough, and placed it oil side down on a hot, preheated grill (medium-high) and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes until it bubbled slightly.  We brushed the other side with oil before be flipped it over.  The toppings went on the previously charred side.

i kind of wish we had left it longer

Two pizzas with crispy dough, (the way I prefer it) slightly charred from the grill and, if I must say so myself, (and I will) perfect topping combinations:

Daum's

A tomato sauce based one that contained sliced pepperoni, sauteed mushroom and a cheese blend of mozzarella and cheddar.  Oh and a few jalapenos, but we don't talk about them, darn their beautiful green color!

MINE!

A combination of almond pesto as a sauce, with fresh Roma tomatoes, prosciutto and fresh mozzarella.

What our pizzas lacked in presentation, the certainly made up for in taste! I cannot wait to make this dough again and try out mini flat breads in my grill pan.