Foodie Friday - Poolside Pizza Party


Tonight kicked off what promises to be a very busy and friend-filled weekend for me, and what better way to get started than with good food?

Good food consisted of grilled pizzas, an idea stolen from A Good Appetite:
  • 1 c warm water (110 to 115 F)
  • 2 1/2 t active dry yeast
  • 1/2 t sugar
  • 4 T olive oil
  • 3 1/4 c all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
  • 2 t kosher salt
Combine the water, yeast & sugar in a bowl & stir until mixed. Let sit 5 minutes until it gets foamy. Stir in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil.

Mix the flour & salt together in a large bowl. Add the yeast mixture & stir until the dough forms a ball. Turn out onto a floured surface & knead until smooth & elastic, about 5 minutes. The dough should be slightly sticky, not dry. If more flour is needed, add it in 1 tablespoon at a time.

Coat the inside of a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Put the dough in the bowl & turn to coat with oil. Cover & let rise until doubled about 1 hour.

Cut four pieces of aluminum foil about 12" x 12". Spray the foil with non-stick spray or olive oil. Divide the pizza dough into four pieces. Stretch (or roll, as I did, or toss if you're really that good) each piece of dough out to about a 10" circle on the prepared pieces of foil. Flip them onto the grill, one at a time, dough side down. Peel away the foil. Close the lid & let cook 1 - 2 minutes, the top of the dough should be bubbly & the bottom should be grill-marked.

Remove from grill, add your toppings and return to grill until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked to your liking. We had on topped with sirloin and fresh mozarella, one with spinach/tomato/olive with mozzarella and romano, one with red, yellow and green bell peppers, baby bella mushrooms and red onions with mozarella and asiago, and the last consisted of everything we had left, which turned out muy delicioso.

We used my own homemade tomato sauce. I don't really use set proportions, but this is what I throw in the saucepan and it has yet to fail me:
  • diced tomatoes
  • tomato paste
  • diced yellow onion
  • minced garlic
  • fresh basil
  • crushed red pepper
  • nutmeg
  • salt
  • pepper
I think the title photo speaks for the evening, but here are a few others just to reiterate. Hope you enjoy this pizza as much as we did!

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