Pizza on the grill

Yep, you heard right – pizza cooked outside, directly on the gas grill grids, no stone or cookie sheet.  Let me tell you, it’s fabulous, delicious and a different social thing to do with family or when you have friends over.  By some miracle, the crust doesn't stick!  Last night was the 6^th time I’ve done it; the crust was perfectly crisp and the toppings gooey and melty and flavourful and simply the yummiest!

I’ve discovered Fleishmann’s Pizza Crust Fast and Easy yeast.   I’ve been using the recipe on the pouch at the back, starting with one cup of all purpose flour, and then adding the yeast, salt, sugar, oil and warm water.  I mix it up quickly and add enough flour so that it’s not sticky.  Then I knead it for a couple of minutes.  This is where I detour from the pouch recipe {which is not necessary, but I'm having better results doing this the last 2 times.}  I divide the dough into 2 balls per recipe, and let them rise for an hour in a floured mixing bowl with plastic wrap over and a towel to keep it draft free.  Then it goes in a warm place until it’s time to have the fun.

The toppings take a while to assemble.  Decide on a base sauce – a tomato base or a pesto base…last night my friend just brushed olive oil on hers, which was simple but looked really good too. Caramelized onions are something that hands down, simply make a yummy pizza, and lots of garlic too – so I definitely have those as a topping.  Sometimes I lightly cook mushrooms, other times I have them sliced and raw.  Gosh – really it’s whatever floats your boat.  I’m not much of a meat eater, so shrimp or prosciutto or chicken - that would be up to you.  Here are some ideas:  olives, buffalo mozzarella, artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, torn fresh basil leaves, shredded cheese.

When you’re almost ready to cook, it's time to take the dough and flatten it out into personal pizzas.  I get 2 out of each pouch of yeast/recipe.  They are bigger than a dinner plate, so about 12 inches I’d say.  You’ll know how big to make them as you can’t make holes in the dough by stretching it too much {or else you’ll have a difficult time – that’s why!}  Place each ‘pizza’ on a plate or cookie sheet, and brush the top with oil.  This will be the side that you put face down towards the flame on the grill.

When the grill is ready {last night it was set on low, said 500°F and was perfect}, carefully turn the blank pizzas over onto the grill.  They may lose their shape. Yep, that’s just the way it goes.  With grilled pizza, they aren’t all round, and you just gotta get over it!  Close the top of the grill but don’t go away!  Peek in after 5 mins and lift up a corner.  You definitely don’t want to char your pizza at this point.  When it’s nicely browned, use a spatula – a nice big one really does help  – transfer to a plate and you’re ready to put the toppings on.  If you’re making more than 2, go ahead and start the other pizza’s on the grill.

Sauce goes on the cooked side, then cheeses and then toppings.  When the grill is  ready for these to cook, using your spatula, transfer them, close the lid and bake for about 5 to 10 minutes.  It varies, but do watch like a hawk.  

Your family and guests will have their own ideas of how to do it, and how much they like to pile on, and this is definitely the fun for them.  I love watching them enjoy the novelty of making their dinner....and then eating the results. 

I just remembered this!
                                 - have yeast will travel!


Last year I took some pizza yeast with me to South Africa when I knew I'd be staying in a self catering B&B with Shannon, my daughter.  We were in the gorgeous Golden Gate National Park's traditional Basotho village, staying in a little mud hut, and having a blast waking up to a host of zebra grazing down below us on a verdant pasture.  One night we had delicious pizzas, cooked over the coals that Shannon artfully prepared from firewood on a very windy night.  We waited for what seemed like utter ages for the coals to "cool down", and even so, the crust got a bit charred.  {Okay, it was bloody black on the bottom waiting for the cheese to melt!}  We enjoyed them and it was memorable mother-daughter evening with a daughter who lives very far away!

Independence Day

Lemon cheese tart with star spangled fruit :)

Tonight I had some neighbors over for a 4^th of July cookout.   I planned  a pretty traditional menu – hamburgers and hot dogs with all the trimmings. Even though I don’t eat much beef these days, they were  - delicious!

Planning dessert, a lot of options ran through my head.  It needed to be easy because I worked today. Luckily I remembered this easy, almost cheesecake-like tart.  It made me wonder why I ever go to the trouble of making the real thing when this is all one really needs.  Here’s the recipe for Lemon Cheese Tart.  Of course you can heap on any fruit your heart desires.  Warning: there will be oohs and ahs when you pile on red, white and blues on the 4^th of July!

Centerpiece

We ate in the dining room because one, it was so hot and humid.  And two, it began to storm, so it was a very sound reason to be indoors and to be comfortable.  The table looked festive and patriotic. During dinner, I couldn’t help but eye my little flag and know what it represents. Ladies from the DAR presented it to me at my Naturalisation oath ceremony on December 3, 1982. “My” little flag has never left the pencil holder on the desk, except to grace the odd Independence Day table as it did today.  It is a fit reminder of how amazing it is to be an American citizen – what an honor, what a privilege.  I am well enough traveled to be adequately aware of how precious my freedom is.

Today, I thank all the men and women who have given of themselves and I am humbled by those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this freedom.  

Oh, and I'm just loving my hydrangeas this year. I've been picking bunches,
sharing them and keeping them on the kitchen table too.

Dusting off the yogurt maker

I bought a Donvier yogurt maker and loved making Bulgarian-type, plain yogurt but when life went to hell in a handbasket four years ago, many things in my life came to an abrupt halt.  Yogurt making was definitely one of them.

I don’t know what got into me, but a week ago I dusted it off and made a batch.  I remember now why I love homemade yogurt so much.  I simply adore the pure, delicate taste.  This week I made another batch, as well as some yogurt cheese.  Yogurt cheese was the basis for the caramel tarts I made this weekend, and not crème fraiche as Jamie Oliver stated that he used in his recipe {I still have not seen a written version of this recipe – just my notes jotted down on the plane ! }

Five years ago, when I bought my yogurt maker {online} I heard of yogurt cheese for the first time.  I’ll confess.  I thought, yug.  I could not have been more wrong. It is fabulous.  It’s a lot like the texture of softened cream cheese, but, again, it has a delicate taste and it has umpteen uses.  It can be spread on bagels and crackers, used in dip recipes, and in fact, used in any and all recipes that call for sour cream, cream cheese, creamy cottage cheese {not really available in USA}, ricotta or for crème fraiche.  Best of all, it’s healthy and low fat or non fat depending on the milk used, and did I say, quite delicious?  Here are some facts about yogurt cheese.

This is how I make it.  I place two containers of my homemade yogurt in a special funnel that I purchased for this purpose.  {The funnel has a plastic mesh liner and the point is open.}  I place the funnel over a jug,

cover it with plastic, and place it in the fridge overnight.  The whey separates from the yogurt and drips into the jug, leaving creamy cheese in the funnel.  I store the cheese in a sterilized glass jar in the fridge.

I see that the type funnel that I have is no longer available for purchase, but there are others if you do a search.  But the cookbook that I bought, Not Just Cheesecake, can still be ordered here.

Yogurt cheese is a spreadable consistency

  

Mwah on fresh fruit and berries

Caramel tartlets before caramel

...and after

Apologies to Jamie Oliver

On a 19 hour trans-Atlantic flight, I always find that I have a lot of time on my hands.  What did we do before personal entertainment screens though?  This most recent trip home, I couldn’t find a movie that appealed to me so I found myself enamoured with two documentaries.  One was Annie Leibovitz: Life Through A Lens. I confess I learned so much about Annie, her life and her art the first time, that I watched it again the next morning.

I also watched a Jamie Oliver: 30 Minute Meals twice.  Kind of dumb maybe, but when else do I have that kind of free time?  This was a complete and delicious looking dinner that Jamie prepared, in total, in half-an-hour.  I jotted down the basic ingredients after the first watching, and then I wrote down the quantities and the rough sequence the second time. {Then came home to find the whole thing on YouTube – oh well!}

LE MINUTE 30 MENU

Chicken Piri-Piri with Red Peppers

Smashed Sweet Potato with Feta and Coriander

Caramel Tartlets

Susannah came home for the weekend, so prior to her arriving and with little time to spare, I pulled off a really tasty meal.  Jamie Oliver, however, may have shuddered at some of my improvisations, which were, in part, because I was making it for two!

Making the piri-piri sauce in the blender.  I was afraid it might be too hot, but it was fabulous and the chicken was very tasty

My caramel was a little chewy - I could have cooked it longer.  There's that fine line where you can burn it
- next time I'll get it right !

One of our family traditions is giving the "best plate" to the recipient of an honor, or someone who just needs a hug or a welcome.  This was Susannah's first time home since graduating from university in May

Late night tea and madeleines

Susannah came home from college for the weekend.  I have been SO excited about this since I found out because I haven't seen her for two months. I love it when my children come home. I love to make them their favorite foods, have their rooms ready with fresh flowers and offer to help with anything I can do to make their lives easier. Sus' request for dinner last night was my oven fried chicken and "please can we make madeleines together?"

Yesterday I woke to my brother's email news about my mom and her health.  It was not good. It's possible she's had a small stroke.  I felt on the verge of "breaking down" several times and had a good cry after I spoke to her when I came home early in the afternoon.  I hung up wondering how many more times I'd have the joy of hearing my beloved mother's voice like that and at a gut level tried to grasp the knowledge that I'm still someone on earth's child.  Foremost on my mind is that I need to plan a trip over to see her, but how to time it right? 

So yesterday was a day of emotional ups and downs. It was great to end it on a happy note, welcoming Sus home and opening our birthday presents {first time we've been together since our mutual birthday apart}, sharing fresh cheese crackers with a beer, hearing about her semester and Spring break trip to Alaska before a yum dinner and then....baking those fresh little French, orange tinged cakelets together.

 I do declare that I have never before had a tea party at 11:30 at night, but when the madeleines came out of the oven we put on the kettle, made a pot of decaf Earl Grey in a girly teapot, and we had the most delightful and unexpected tea party for two!

Crisp and cheesy!

These are a lot like crispy cheese straws, but you don't have to make dough.
Check out the recipe - it's made with Saltine crackers!

The baked cheese crackers I served on Friday night were an overwhelming success. I made 3 batches last week.  Each time they got better!  The first batch, I put too much cayenne pepper on so they had a real bite.  The next batch probably had too much cheese, and the third batch was perfect!  My pottery friends snarfed them down though.  It's always satisfying when your guests like something you make that much!

I didn't find my camera cord, but I did find my card reader.  Yay! my new Canon card fits in the same slot as my Olympus card which is awesome because it's something I love having and I won't need to buy a new card reader for this camera. You might have noticed I went back and added pics to my previous posts, and I have some I took of the cheese crackers too!