Pizza Dough & Grilled Hawaiian Pizza

Making pizza is one of my favorite ways to get creative in the kitchen.  The possibilities are endless, from the toppings you add to the way you cook it.

For the pizza dough:  you can buy pre-made crusts like Boboli or rolled dough in a can like Pillsbury, which are definitely great for a super quick, super simple meal.  Trader Joe's sell pizza dough or you can even ask your local pizzeria if you can buy a ball or two of dough.  Or, if you have a bit of extra time, you can make your own dough.  It may sound a bit more involved than what you're looking for, but believe me nothing could be simpler.

Some tips:

• Freeze extra extra dough for later use by placing a ball of dough on a parchment-lined cookie sheet in the freezer for 45 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a freezer Ziploc bag and store fr up to 6 months.
• Let dough come to room temperature before using.  If dough is too elastic and keeps shrinking back when you try to roll it out, let it sit out for 15 minutes and try again. 

Here is the pizza dough recipe I use:

Pizza Dough (makes 2 balls for about two 12-inch pizzas)

• 1 cup hot tap water
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Pour water into medium-large bowl.  Whisk in sugar and sprinkle yeast on the surface of the water.  Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.

Whisk oil and salt into yeast mixture.  Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated.  The dough will appear a bit dry. 

Turn out to a floured work surface (a large wooden cutting board or your counter works best).  Knead for a couple of minutes, until until dough comes together in an elastic ball.

Transfer to an oiled medium-sized bowl.  Brush top with additional oil and cover with a dampened cloth.  Place in a warm, draft-free area to let rise.  After 45 minutes, punch dough down, recover, and let rise an additional 30 minutes. 

Divide dough in half to create 2 balls.  Freeze or refrigerate unused portion, if not using.

One way I LOVE to use my pizza dough is to grill it.  I roll my dough out on a wooden cutting board that is well floured so the dough will just slide right off onto the hot grill.  It only takes a few minutes to cook a pizza this way, and the flavor is out of this world!

Grilled Hawaiian Pizza

• 1 ball pizza dough
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced into 1/4" slices
• 1/2 cup diced cooked ham (I freeze a few thick slices when I bake a ham for things just like this!)
• 1/2 cup diced pineapple
• Extra virgin olive oil

Heat grill to medium-high.

Roll out pizza dough to a 12" round circle (it doesn't have to be perfect!) on a floured cutting board.  Slide dough onto hot grill and cook for 1-2 minutes, until light grill marks appear on underside. 

With a large spatula, carefully flip dough to other side.  Brush olive oil on the top side.  Top with cheese slices, ham and pineapple.  Close the grill and cook just until cheese is melted, about 1-2 minutes longer.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Breakfast Pizzas

I was given a brunch cookbook by a food-loving friend of mine, Michele. I was looking through it recently and saw an idea for breakfast pizzas. The idea of breakfast pizzas excited me so much, I decided to try making them for the crew when we were up at the mountains over the 4th of July weekend.

I went to Trader Joe's and purchased two kinds of pizza dough (one of my favorite finds from TJ's!), regular and whole wheat. The whole wheat crust took longer to bake than the regular, so keep that in mind if you try making this recipe.

And, of course the little Preston Market at the mountains did not have exactly the bulk breakfast sausage I was looking for, so we opted for sweet Italian sausage that I just removed from the casing. It worked well, so in case you can't find bulk breakfast sausage (which is basically the sausage in one package - not in casings) that you can use that. Also, you can use ground pork and Penzey's Spices breakfast sausage seasoning.



Breakfast Pizzas (makes 4 to 5)

• 1 ball of pizza dough, room temperature (dough is much easier to roll out when it is not cold)
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
  
• 1 lb. bulk sausage
• 1 and 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1 bunch of green onions (scallions), chopped
  
• Eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out pizza dough and cut into 5x5 squares or 8" circles (they will taste the same no matter what shape you cut them *wink*). Sprinkle baking sheet with a good layer of cornmeal to prevent the dough from sticking before adding dough cutouts.

Brown sausage until fully cooked.

Make a circle of cheese on each pizza round, leaving room for an egg in the center. Top cheese with browned sausage.

Crack one egg in the center of each round. The egg will not run out if you have enough of a cheese & sausage border. Immediately put in oven.

Bake for 12-15 minutes (until eggs are cooked, a white film will develop over the yolk).

Sprinkle green onions over pizzas. Enjoy!




We also made home fries to add to the meal. To make:

• 10 small red potatoes
• 1-2 T vegetable oil
• Salt & pepper
  

Heat oil in pan over medium/medium-high heat.

Cut potatoes into quarters (or halves if they are small). Add to pan.

Saute for 10-15 minutes, until browned. If you stick a fork in one and it splits easily, they are done!

Remove from heat and sprinkle with salt & pepper, to taste.

My friend, James, and his cow serving up some whole-wheat breakfast pizza!

Grilled Pizza

I love to grill. I cannot think of any easier way to prepare a meal and nothing can compare to the taste of food hot off the Weber (except maybe food hot off a charcoal grill!). I even grill in the winter when it's snowing!

When the temps are high, I like to take the heat out of the kitchen and out to my back deck. One of my favorite things to make is grilled pizza. With pre-made dough from Trader Joe's (or I have heard that you can buy pizza dough at many pizzerias - all you have to do is ask!) nothing can be simpler!

The possibilities are endless... I like to try new combinations all the time. My favorite grilled pizza toppings are pesto, bbq sauce, grilled chicken, peppers, onions, & goat cheese. Be creative and play with your favorite toppings. Like Hawaiian pizza? This is an excellent way to make it! Just add pineapple and ham and you can practically hear the ukulele strumming away!


Grilled Pizza with Summer Vegetables

• 1 ball of pre-made pizza dough (I like Trader Joe's)
• Summer vegetables such as zucchini & yellow squash
• 1 red onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup of pre-made pesto (recipe below)
• 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• Flour (for rolling out dough)
• Cornmeal (for dusting - optional)

You will also need:

• Wooden skewers for grilling veggies (soaked in water about 30 mins)

Heat the grill to med-high (about 375 degrees), you don't need to oil grates.

Lace vegetables onto wooden skewers. Brush with oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Remove from grill, set aside.

Flour a wooden cutting board and either side of your dough very well. Roll out to large shape. It doesn't have to be a circle - whatever you feel like - just as long as the dough is no more than 1/4" thick. If you like, dust the top with cornmeal (this will be the bottom of the pizza after you flip the dough).

Slide dough off of board onto grill and cover. When dough comes easily off of the grill and there are nice grill marks, you'll it is time to flip (about 5-8 minutes)! The dough will probably form a big air bubble, just deflate it.

Close grill and let pizza cook on the other side for 3-4 minutes. Spread pesto on dough. Add vegetables and sprinkle with cheese. Cover for another minute or two - until cheese melts. Garnish with oregano.

Slice, serve, and enjoy the smiles on everyone's face after biting into this treat!


Pesto (makes 1 cup)

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

You will also need:

• A food processor (or, I use my Magic Bullet!)

Combine the basil and pine nuts in bowl of food processor. Pulse a few times. Add garlic and pulse a few more times.

Slowly pour in olive oil in a constant stream while food processor is on. Stop to scrape down sides with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt & pepper to taste.

*With the Magic Bullet, I simply add all of the ingredients at once and pulse until combined.

Add to pizza, flatbread, pasta, & more!