When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…

That’s Amore! And probably painful. Really, who wants to be hit in the eye with a slice of pie?

I think it is time to fire up the grill and make a pizza so good, that there won’t be any leftovers…..to eat or throw!

Gather your ingredients:

This makes one 12″ pizza that will serve you and a friend….or me and the mister

For the crust

1 1/2 cup of flour (any kind but self-rising)

1 tablespoon yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons buttermilk (you can use regular milk but buttermilk is better)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 oz of water….start with 2 and add more if needed

 

For the toppings

Well my friend, that is entirely up to you. I don’t know what creates pizza nirvana for you but there are a couple of things to remember when making pizza on the grill. Go easy on the cheese. It simply won’t have time to melt before the crust becomes incinerated. Two, go easy on the toppings or they won’t have the opportunity to heat through either. There is nothing more gross than cold toppings and burnt crust. Just go easy….and be brave and break with the tradition of smearing goopy tomato sauce all over. Just trust me on this.

For my toppings I chose some brown beech mushrooms, diced some artichoke hearts packed in oil and some sliced black olives. The trick here is that if you have any “raw” toppings that you want truly warmed through and/or cooked, throw those dudes into a piece of foil and get them cooking before you start on the crust. I didn’t add any oil to this, the artichokes hearts provided all that was needed.

 

The Crust

Don’t start the crust more than 15 minutes prior to being ready to cook it. Otherwise you will have a big puffy ball of dough and that isn’t what we are after. This crust will appeal more to the pizza purist. A bit doughy in the center but generally flat and cracker-crunchy. Think thin crust pizza with a risen dough taste.

On to the prep

Combine all of the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add the olive oil and then buttermilk and stir well. Dough will look “shaggy” or pea size but won’t readily stick together. Begin adding the water a little at a time until you have a nice consistency and the dough is pliable. Depending on humidity, altitude and the position of the moon, you might need more or less. Just get it to form a nice ball. Now put it on the counter on top of a piece of  parchment paper and press the ball flat. Keep working with it until you have a thin, flat circle. Or something that appears somewhat circular. Go oval or square if that is what makes you happy.

Let your crust sit for about 10 minutes while you make sure you have your grill at the right temp (between 350-400 degrees or medium high heat) and your toppings are nearly done.

Place a piece of non-stick foil on your grill that is large enough to hold your crust. Flip crust off of the parchment onto the foil and now we are cookin’! Allow to cook for 5-7 minutes, checking frequently so that crust doesn’t burn.

Flip crust over with a pair of tongs. Now get busy putting on all of those toppings…but not too much! I added basil and tomato feta, turkey pepperoni, fresh oregano and my toppings that I “sauteed” in the foil packet.

Now slide the pizza to the cold side of the grill and let all of the toppings and cheese co-mingle for the next 5 or so minutes. Pull off the grill, slice in half and share with a friend! You will be glad you did.