The Grilled Pizza Incident

A few months after we moved back to Michigan, Mike made plans to get together with his friend Tom and his new (at least to us) girlfriend Melissa. As is probably typical with a married couple in those first sleep-deprived months of parenthood, we somehow got our signals crossed and I found myself covered in dirt from working out in our garden all afternoon with a house full of guests, no food in the house, and a vague idea in my head that I was planning on making grilled pizzas for dinner. My visions of being one of those cool, have-it-all-together moms were quickly going down the drain as introductions were being made and I was trying to downplay the awesomeness of my muddy Crocs and hide the fact that I had absolutely no fancy edible snacks to offer. (Have I mentioned that Melissa is drop-dead gorgeous and a *few* years younger? Sigh.)

After a quick shower and rushed trip to the grocery store, I returned to make amends and dazzle them all with my grilled-pizza-making-skills. Once they taste this, I thought to myself,  I will be totally redeemed and they will forget all about the stale bag of pretzels I offered them and realize I am a cool mom after all!

Yeah, not so much. I guess in my haste I forgot to look up the recipe, because the damn pizzas took FOREVER to cook. I'm pretty sure Tom and Melissa left before anything was done, claiming the need to be at a graduation party, but in reality they probably got so hungry they needed to make a break for it before they passed out from hunger.

I am proud to say that since that awful, awful May day I have totally perfected the grilling of the pizza - in fact it's probably been one our favorite summer meals.

Except Tom and Melissa just had to move to Colorado, so even if I wanted to prove to them that I'm not a total spaz, I couldn't.

The best I can do is share my recipe and technique. So here it goes...

Spoiler Alert: This is going to get long. It's really not complicated, just lots of steps, especially if you are going to be making your own dough and sauce. You can totally skip those steps and just move right on to the grilling technique if you want!

The first part is the dough. When we lived in South Carolina, our grocery store sold fresh pizza dough that was awesome. I haven't been able to find it here, but after trying a few recipes I think I've found the best one. It is, in fact, called "The Best-Ever Pizza Dough" and can be found here. It's perfectly chewy and crispy, just the way I like it. You need to make it at least a day in advance.

Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water (105-115 degrees) I never measure the temp...just use warm-ish water
1 tsp. honey
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (the little packets they sell are exactly this amount, fyi)
3 cups (or more) all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. coarse salt
2 tbsp. EVOO

1. Mix the water and the honey in a liquid measuring cup until the honey dissolves. Sprinkle with the yeast and let the mixture stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, using a food processor, pulse the flour and salt to mix.

2. Pour the yeast mixture and the EVOO over the flour mixture. Process until the dough comes together in a sticky ball, 20 to 30 seconds.

3. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

4. Add the dough to a large, oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm, draft-free area until doubled in size, about an hour - I put mine in the microwave, just so it's safe from toddler hands or curious dogs.

5. Punch the dough down and put it back on a floured work surface. Quarter the dough using a knife.

6. With each section of dough, work it into a ball and roll it until smooth.

Rolling dough and taking pictures at the same time is not so easy - sorry for the crappy lighting!

7. Each dough ball goes into a plastic bag. If you are going to be eating it soon, refrigerate it for 10 to 48 hours, otherwise you can freeze it for up to two weeks. We usually eat two pizzas at a time and freeze the other two. Let the dough sit at room temperature for about an hour before you shape it, if it's been in the freezer let it sit out for two hours.

8. Working with one dough ball at a time, press it out onto a lightly floured work surface and press into the shape you want. I usually just go with the shape naturally - they never turn out totally round, more like ovals or rectangles. You could also cut the dough here to make mini pizzas if you want!

I like to make my own sauce, mostly because I'm picky and don't like sauce that tastes over-cooked or seasoned.  Here is my basic recipe - doctor it up as you like! This is enough sauce for two rounds of pizza, so I usually keep the leftovers in the fridge until we grill the second half of the dough, as long as it's within ten days or so.

Ingredients:

1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 14.5-ounce can of tomato sauce - but you probably only use about half the can
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tbs. EVOO
Fresh garlic, grated or minced- I usually use one or two cloves

1. Throw all the diced tomatoes, half the tomato sauce, the salt, EVOO, and garlic into a blender or food processor. Pulse a few times until you get your desired consistency. I like it a little chunky, but you can make it smoother if you want. Season to taste and add more tomato sauce until it's how you like it!

Now you are ready to grill. There are tons of recipes out there for different kinds of pizzas, but I have to admit that I'm a boring simple girl when it comes to pizza. I like plain cheese. Maybe some basil or fresh mushrooms.  No BBQ sauce or other crazy concoctions for this girl. But if you are into pizza that's a little crazier (Pepperoni? Calm down, would you?!) here is where you'd want to assemble all your ingredients.

Ingredients:

Pizza sauce - half of recipe above, about a cup
Pizza Dough
EVOO
Mozzarella cheese - 1 to 2 cups
Toppings of your choosing

1. Preheat a grill to 500.

2. Lower the heat on one side of the grill to low. Oil the grate on that side of the grill. I sometimes use a paper towel soaked in oil with some tongs, other times I just use a pastry brush to put the oil directly on the crusts. I've even sprayed the crust with non-stick cooking spray before. Move the shaped dough to the grill. Lower the edge of the dough onto the oiled grill. For bigger pizzas, grill two at a time. If you're making mini pizzas you can grill eight at a time.

3. Cover the grill and cook until the crusts begin to bubble and brown, about 3 minutes. Loosen the crusts with a metal spatula and flip over, cooking until they begin to brown on the bottom, about 2 more minutes.

The back of our grill is a little hotter than the front, but even burnt it still tastes delish!

4. Flip the crusts back over to their original sides, but this time put a baking sheet underneath (thanks for the tip, Fred and Sarah!). Spread the pizza sauce over the crust and then sprinkle with cheese and any toppings you want to add. Cover and cook until the cheese is melty and golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

Can you guess which one I'm going to eat?

Hooray! You're done! I honestly think this pizza tastes way better than any you can get delivered, and it is SO much cheaper.

Plus, you could totally impress Tom and Melissa. If only they didn't live so far away...

Anna's face when I told her there were people out there who doubted my grilled-pizza-making-skills. She just can't believe it.

Happy Monday!

Noodles!

Now that the cat is out of the bag, so to speak, I want to make sure that this space doesn't become all pregnancy, baby, blah, blah, blah. Yes, obviously, I will write about my excitement and fear and all the other fun things that go along with bringing a person into the world - how could I not? But for today, I thought I'd share another of my favorite recipes. Especially since I finally feel like actually eating and cooking again.

I think I was first inspired to make this after reading a recipe in the Rachael Ray magazine. I kind of took what she offered and changed it up a bit to fit our tastes. It's an easy, quick meal that is awesome for summer, and it's totally toddler approved. It's also awesome because you can throw in whatever veggies you might have on hand. And the leftovers (if you have any) are delicious the next day - perfect to take to work or eat in the driveway while your kid creates masterpieces with sidewalk chalk!

Cold Asian Noodle Salad

What you need:

(Since this is not an actual recipe, my measurements aren't too exact. Sorry!)

1 package of Soba noodles - you could use rice noodles if you want to go gluten free, or even regular spaghetti would probably work
Ken's Lite Asian Sesame salad dressing - or something comparable. I also have made dressing from scratch using tamari sauce when feeding gluten-free eaters. Probably better for you, but I'm lazy!
Spinach, chopped - a couple of big handfuls
Carrots, grated - I used probably 7 or 8 baby carrots.
Fresh cilantro, chopped - a big handful
Peanuts, chopped - a handful
Green Onions, chopped - two or three
Any other fresh vegetables you want to add - this is a great way to sneak veggies in. I usually add an orange or yellow bell pepper, but I forgot to buy one. I usually add fresh basil, too, but I haven't started my garden yet and the basil at the grocery store didn't look that great. I bet cucumbers and tomatoes would be delicious!
Cooked Chicken - again, I'm lazy, so I used a rotisserie chicken (also, I'm struggling with raw meat these days), but you could save money by cooking your own.

What you do:

1. Prepare the noodles according to the directions. Soba noodles are super fast - they cook in about four minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.

2. Chop or grate all your veggies and herbs and the chicken.

3. Mix it all together in a big bowl and pour the dressing on top. I just eyeball it - I try to go on the light side, that way you can add more if you want more flavor. Give it another stir and you are good to go!

Warning: Lady & The Tramp inspired eating may happen as a result of serving this meal.

Enjoy!

And not to be all pregnancy, baby, blah, blah, blah on you, but we're super excited because tomorrow we have our big ultrasound. Spoiler alert: not finding out the gender! Yes, yes, I know that this will drive most people crazy. But what can I say? We love a good surprise. And the color yellow.

Happy Wednesday!

Her Soul Crawled Out From Its Hiding Place

One of my favorite books is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie, the main character, goes through a couple of rough marriages and relationships before she finally meets the man she is meant to be with - Tea Cake. Janie starts wearing blue, because for the first time in her life, someone she loves has expressed a preference for what she wears: "Tea Cake love me in blue, so Ah wears it."

I have a point, I promise.

I never was too interested in experimenting in the kitchen. My mind is definitely filled with awesome memories of decorating cookies at the holidays with my mom and sister, and I certainly always enjoyed eating the delicious food my mom put on the table, but I wasn't ever that inspired to whip something up myself.

That all changed when I met Mike.

The old saying about the way to a man's heart being through his stomach? Yeah, you can say that again.

I quickly learned that the surest way to bring a smile to Mike's face was to present him with food. And I don't know about you, but when I discover I have the ability to bring joy to someone I love - well, I'm gonna bring it. It started off simple, usually involving fifteen phone calls to my mom from the aisles in the grocery store to make sure I was buying the right ingredients. And sandwiches. Lots and lots of sandwiches.

One day, I stumbled across the Food Network and happened to catch an episode of Rachael Ray's "Thirty Minute Meals". That, my friends, is what I like to call a game changer. Because I found her website, and then my mom bought me a few of her cookbooks (perhaps to avoid all the annoying phone calls?), and I subscribed to her magazine, and before I knew it Rach had me exploring the worlds of Italian parsley and EVOO and all things Yum-o! Full disclosure here - while I love her cookbooks and her magazine and often look recipes up on her website, I have a really, really hard time watching her on television. I know she has lots of haters, but the girl expanded my cooking horizons by about a million, so I give her props, even if I can't stand the sound of her voice.


And then she published a recipe for a beef and cheddar pie in her magazine, and the angels sang and Mike's stomach did a happy dance and the circle was complete.

This recipe, for what we now call "meat pie", probably gets requested the most when I ask Mike what he would like for dinner - if anything, it's a close second to BLTs (see - back to the sandwiches!). When I first invited our friends the Mansours over for dinner, this was on the menu. And, no joke, Mike said to me, "Wait. I have to share my meat pie with strangers?" And the last time I made this, again no joke, he told me that when he dies he would like to be buried in meat pie.

So now, I would like to share the recipe with you. It's definitely not healthy, although I suppose you could reduce the amount of cheese and use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef. It is delicious, though. If you don't believe me, just ask Mike.

Meat Pie


Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dark beer - I've used Newcastle and Bell's Best Brown, anything in your fridge will work
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water


1. Preheat the oven to 375. Once you have all the veggies chopped up (for me, this is the longest/most annoying part), throw them into a big skillet with the meat. Over medium-high heat, break up the meat with a wooden spoon and stir everything up until the meat is no longer pink and some of the liquid has evaporated, probably about 15 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium, and then add your beer. Let that cook for about 10 minutes.

Throw in the cheese, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Give it a good stir, and then remove from heat and let cool. 

2. On a floured surface, roll out one of the puff pastry sheets so it's about 12 inches round. Place it on a deep-dish pie plate or a 10-inch oven-proof skillet. I use a skillet - I tried the first time to use just a regular pie dish (not deep) and it didn't all fit. I've also used a 9x9 Pyrex, but for me the skillet is the way to go.

Roll the second piece of pastry into an 11-inch round. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the meat mixture into the skillet. 

Lightly brush the edge of the crust with some of the egg wash, then put the second sheet on top. Crimp the edges together, and trim them if you need to.

3. Put the whole pie on a baking sheet. Brush the top with more of the egg wash, and cut an "x" in the middle. You can also get a little fancy here and cut out some shapes with your leftover pastry. Sprinkle it liberally with more salt and pepper. 

Bake for 45 minutes. I usually check it about halfway and throw some foil on top if it's starting to get too dark. Let it rest for about 15 minutes, and you are ready to enjoy!

I try to serve this with a salad, but Mike usually laughs it off as he's asking for seconds. It's also really good heated up as leftovers the next day - if you have any!

Even Anna gives her seal of approval.

Oh yeah - the original recipe can be found here.

I hope you enjoy!

Happy Friday!

What recipes do you make to bring it? Please share!