My Take on Italy - Making Pizza on the Grill

A Sure Bet - Bacon and Pepperoni Pizza

I realized the other day that it has been quite some time since I've written a foodie-related post. And while this is indeed a blog about vegetable gardening, sometimes it's nice to break free from the norm. So in the spirit of shaking things up a bit, let me tell you about my latest culinary addiction - backyard pizza.

I'll just come out and say it - I make a mean pizza. In fact, I'll probably never have pizza delivered again. I apologize if that sounds cocky. I'm just tell you how it is. Mind you, it wasn't always this way. I've also made my fair share of really BAD pizza. And as a result, I used to think that in order to make great pizza, you had to have a wood fired oven that can reach temperatures of 700 degree F or more. While in most cases this is true, you can still make some truly delicious pizza using your outdoor gas grill. I simply place a baking stone directly on the grill, close the lid and crank the heat up all the way. When the temperature inside reaches at least 500 degrees F, I know that I'm good to go. The pizza cooks very quickly - in about 5 minutes. The hotter the grill and quicker the bake, the better in my opinion.

So why not do this in your kitchen? Because the last thing I want to do is to have an oven on full blast during the height of summer. Plus I think a closed grill does a much better job of circulating the heat. And as an added bonus, the bottom of the pizza always browns beautifully.


Something More Exotic - Pizza Topped with Shrimp, Oyster Mushrooms, Garden Peas and Goat Cheese

It's true what they say - a pizza is only as good as its crust. In my opinion, the best pizzas have a Neapolitan style crust - one that's thin, crispy on the bottom and bubbly around the edges. The recipe I use comes from one of my favorite cookbooks - The Bread Baker's Apprentice - Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread. You can also find Peter Reinhart's recipe for Neapolitan-style pizza dough here.


Finally, here are some of my tips for making truly spectacular backyard pizza:

Use fresh herbs - commercial pizza can be really bland in my opinion. I usually sprinkle on top of my pizza plenty of chopped fresh herbs like thyme, oregano and basil from my garden. I also use herbs that pair well with certain toppings (like shrimp and dill for example).

One quick turn - I always turn my pizza 180 degrees half way during the cooking process. This ensures that it browns evenly. Aside from doing this, the grill is kept closed.

Less is more - Finding the right balance between sauce, cheese and toppings is art form in and of itself. Too much of anything and the pizza suffers.

The cheese - Use at least 3 kinds of cheese - 1 hard and 2 melting. Also, toppings should be placed on top of the crust in a certain order - sauce, then melting cheese, then toppings, followed by a light sprinkling of fresh herbs, melting cheese and hard cheese.

Shake and bake - getting the pizza onto the baking stone can be a tricky task. I don't use cornmeal to dust my peel. Semolina flour is a better alternative. However, I prefer to assemble my pizza on top of a prepared rimless baking sheet. To prepare the baking sheet, spray the surface lightly with some non-stick spray or cooking oil. Use a paper towel to evenly distribute the oil and remove the excess. Then evenly sprinkle flour onto the surface using a shaker. When you're finished assembling the pizza, transfer and bake it as soon as possible. Hold the baking sheet at a 30 degree angle to the baking stone and lightly shake from left to right to release the pizza.

Think outside the box - the beauty of making your own pizza is that you're not limited to Domino's toppings. The classics are always a sure bet, but coming up with the right mix of more exotic toppings can result in something that's truly amazing.