Pizza With Pizazz!

By Arlene Marshall (TwinLakesChef) on July 21, 2011

In the 90's we started making our pizza on the grill instead of the oven . . . especially in the summer when we don't want to the oven to heat up the house. There is very little clean-up and it gives us another excuse to be lakeside and enjoy the activities the lake has to offer.

Ingredients can vary according to your preferences. We often add mushrooms, black olives and asparagus. If you are vegetarian, the Italian sausage can be left out.

The success of your pizza is dependent upon preparation. We line up ingredients on the kitchen counter; this allows the chill of being refrigerated to come off the cheese, vegetables and vinaigrette.

The pizza dough is especially tasty with the addition of fresh minced rosemary. We use a bread machine to free us to prep the rest of the ingredients. And you can substitue one of your favorite herbs.

CLICK HERE for the Recipe

On reading the recipe it can appear to be a little complicated so let's break it down.

Assemble the Ingredients

Clean & Cut the peppers & onions, plus mushrooms we chose to add this time. We cut the ingredients in half to accomodate two people and allow for extra pizza to re-warm later. The other half of the bread dough will be wrapped and refrigerated or frozen for future use.

We cook the Hot Italian sausage ahead of time, allow it to cool and sliced it in 1/2" slices.

Whisk vinnaigrette ingredients and set aside.

Snip fresh rosemary into small bits.

These steps can be accomplished the day before. On the day you wish to actually grill the pizza, put all the ingredients on your kitchen counter several hours ahead of time to allow them to come to room temperature.

Prepare the bread dough by your chosen method; we use a bread machine.

Heat the grill on high to burn off and scrap down bits of burned food. Once it is burned off, reduce heat to Medium-High.

Baste the onions, peppers, and mushrooms with the vinnaigrette and put on the grill.

Three minutes on each side and they should have nice grill marks on them and be crisp. Further cooking will occur when the pizza is assembled.Remove them to a chopping board and cut them in your desired size and shape.

When the dough is ready to shape, allow it to sit on a lightliy floured counter for about 10 minutes after kneading. The dough relaxes and it is easier to roll out into a roundish shape with a rolling pin.
Once rolled into a round, you can pick it up with your hands and transfer it to the grill.

Within 2-3 minutes you will notice the top side puffing and if you peek underneath it will be crisp and slightly browned. Can you see the bits of rosemary in the dough?

Now is the time to flip it over and start adding toppings.

First sprinkle an even layer of the shredded mozarella over the dough; it melts and makes a barrier so that the juices from the other ingredients do not run through to the dough and make it soggy. On top of that spread a layer of peppers and onions.

Arrange the sausage, mushrooms, green onions & tomatoes. Drizzle a bit of the vinnaigrette over the veggies.

Add an even layer of goat cheese and mozarella. You might also enjoy the addition of fresh parmesian. Close the lid to your grill and in 4-5 minutes you may peek. If the cheese is melted, carefully slide it from the grill onto a cookie sheet or platter of some sort.

From there it can be served. If you are not ready to serve, it may be placed in a warm oven or warming drawer.

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bell peppers, bread dough, cheese, grill, onions, pizza, sausage, veggies

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Comments and discussion:

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I Never Knew! nap Jul 26, 2011 5:37 PM 28

The other side of the story Sharon Jul 22, 2011 5:20 PM 4