Customize your team colors to go with your pizzas! Now that is team spirit!

Here’s a tailgating recipe from our friends over at The Jacked Up Grill that screams “team spirit.” There’s a lot of reasons to love this recipe. It’s easy to make. Very little prep work. You can customize it to match your team colors. It is Vegetarian friendly. And it’s delicious! According to Justin, here are the directions, and you can read the full post here for additional photos.

Directions:

“I use a pre-made dough that comes from the frozen section at the grocery store. You simply let it get completely unfrozen in the refrigerator, and then start rolling it out when you’re ready to use it. You can make your own dough, but this is a cheap, easy and good tasting result.

Use a dough knife to cut the dough into six pieces that, when stretched, made little pies about three inches across.

The other side will cook once you have added your toppings. If you cook it now, it will burn later.

We found a perfect orange pepper and an orange tomato, and added alfredo sauce and cheddar cheese for the Tennessee pizza. For the Red and Black, we used a red pepper, red pizza sauce, pepperonis and black olives. Place the toppings on the side you already grilled, and place the mini pizzas, uncooked side down, onto a baking sheet or pizza pan back on the grill. Close the top so that the toppings can brown and the cheese can melt.

When they are almost done, slip them off the sheet pan and directly onto the grill just long enough to get grill lines. It should only take about 1 minute.

Enjoy!!

You can't go wrong with a simple Margherita pizza. The fresh basil on top makes this a winner.

One of my favorite things to make on the grill is pizza. Your grill is like a pizza oven and you can essentially bake your dough on the grates much like a pizza bakes in a hot coal brick oven. I got the chance to tour the kitchen at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza to see first hand how a real coal-fired pizza oven works.

Behind the scenes in Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza- look at all that pizza dough!

Along the way, I also got to taste some of their other items like their enormous meatballs and the eggplant parmesan. I hold a special place in my heart for Anthony’s because he is also the proud owner of Fort Lauderdale’s Italian restaurant “Anthony’s Runway 84” and this is one of the first places Scott and I went on a date!

This is what a coal-fired pizza oven looks like.

If you are in South Florida, or New York, New Jersey or even parts of PA or Delaware, this giveaway is for you. Simply leave a comment on the blog and like my facebook page on your favorite way to eat pizza and this $25.00 gift card could be yours. Anthony’s tag line is “Pizza Well Done” and I want to learn how you like yours!

This trip into their pizza kitchen has inspired me to figure out new Italian style items on the grill- so stay tuned. Their will be a new pizza recipe coming soon!

If you are inspired to try pizza on the grill, my “Mini Caprese Pizzas” are super easy and always a crowd pleaser. The recipe is below:

Mini Caprese Pizzas- quick and easy and always a crowd pleaser!

Grilled Mini Caprese Pizzas

Ingredients:

• One package refrigerated pizza dough (or you can make your own)
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced- drizzle slices generously with olive oil, sea salt and pepper
• Fresh, Mozzarella cheese- cut into bite size pieces
• basil
• salt, pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium heat. Then, roll out the pizza dough on a flat surface. Using a small bowl or wide mouthed glass, cut the dough into small circles to make the mini pizzas. Roll leftover dough pieces together, flatten and repeat cutting into small circular cutouts.

Brush both sides of the dough with olive oil. Make sure your grill has been sprayed with non stick spray. Grill the dough until grate marks appear, about 5 minutes. Flip the dough, then, with recently grilled side up, add tomato slices, a piece of basil, and the mozzarella.

Grill for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

This recipe can easily be adapted for meatlovers with the addition of cappicola or pepperoni.

Here are my favorite recipes to “WOW” people with lots of flavor without too much fuss:

Jalapeno Poppers:

These are not your average Jalapeno Poppers. This recipe is actually made for the oven as the bacon can make the grill flare up. If you make these on the grill put them on the upper bread grate OR put them on indirect heat. Unlike fried poppers, these are grilled and the fat cooks out of the bacon so they aren’t as bad for you as they could be. Unlike other recipes that call for you to roll the bacon INSIDE the pepper, these have a 1-1-1 bacon/cheese/pepper ratio! Yum!

Jalapeno poppers- not just for the heat addicts! Everyone LOVES these and they're perfect for a SuperBowl party!

One of my most published and popular recipes is for my Chipotle Sriracha Wings. Serve them with Scotts Blue Cheese Dip and you will most definitely be the “Hostess with the Mostess!” What is great about grilling wings is that they are much healthier than fried wings and much of the fat grills off in during the grilling process!!

Chipotle Srirach Wings

The blue cheese dip is the perfect accompaniment for these spicy wings!

Instead of making burgers, make “sliders”. Sliders cook more quickly than a full sized burger and are less “commitment”. You can have a few sliders, a few wings and a few PINTS of beer and still squeeze in a few brownies afterwards. That is why sliders are great- they’re small and fun to accessorize! Get creative and host a SLIDER BAR!

Blue Cheese Buffalo Sliders:

What say’s Superbowl like “NACHOS’?? What is  great about Nachos is that they are a great way to use up leftovers and you don’t need anything too crazy in your pantry to make them yummy!

Buffalo meat is high in iron and B vitamins- give it a try!

Churrasco (Skirt Steak) Nachos:

While it is easy to make nachos in the oven, it is equally easy to make them on the grill on indirect heat!

What says “SUPERBOWL” like an enormous sandwich stuffed with Italian Sausage, mozzarella cheese, roasted red peppers, grilled veggies and basil??

Grilled Italian Sausage Grinders

Now it wouldn’t be a Super Bowl party without a little pizza now would it? Why not surprise your guests with Gourmet Caprese Pizzas? Better yet, why not let your guests decorate their own pizzas by setting up a “decorate your own pizza bar” with toppings, different types of cheese, meats, etc??

Mini Caprese Pizzas:

Super easy gourmet Caprese Pizzas make your friends think you're a rock star!!

This is by far one of the easiest things you can make on the grill. Like I said in paragraph one, all these recipes can also be made in the oven! Compound butter Texas Toast is super easy and it makes you look like a Super Bowl Goddess. The hardest part would be having the patience to let the butter soften for a few hours. Take your favorite herbs and seasonings and make a compound butter you can slather on your favorite thickly sliced bread that you can add beatiful grill marks to!

Basil Butter Texas Toast:

Basil Butter Texas Toast makes everything better!!

Even if you don’t like asparagus, you will like this recipe. Who doesn’t like anything wrapped in bacon? Be careful if you make this on the grill, bacon grease can cause flare ups on the grill so make sure to space out the asparagus/bacon duo if grilling.

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus:

Everything is great wrapped with bacon, including asparagus!

IN conclusion, while I’m not the most avid football fan (hello, ADD!), I am a big fan of entertaining and gorging myself on lots of appetizers! Cheers to drinking lots of beer and eating large amounts of finger food this Super Bowl!

xo,

Robyn

Who knew shrimp, pomegranate and broccoli would go so well with a focaccia bread pizza?

It’s that time again folks: Time for the “4 Ingredient Challenge” that includes 4 ingredients picked randomly, 8 food bloggers, and what we came up with! October’s ingredient challenge tasked us with coming up with something tasty using these 4 ingredients: shrimp, focaccia bread, broccoli and pomegranate. Wow, what an interesting combo! The only rule is that the protein must be cooked on the grill. Everything else is fair game!

I decided to make a focaccia pizza using shrimp, broccoli and red onions as the topping. I marinated the shrimp in a citrus, ginger and pomegranate mixture for flavor, and then grilled all the veggies and shrimp accordingly. I then baked the focaccia bread on the grill, then added my toppings to cook on the grill and melt with the cheese.

I will tell you folks, I usually like to keep things pretty simple on my blog as I don’t like making fussy, 10 step recipes that turn making dinner into a big production. I empathize with busy, overworked people without a lot of extra time on their hands who still enjoy week night grilling.

Having said that, I recommend this recipe for a weekend night so you have plenty of time to let the dough rise for the focaccia bread. OR, make the dough the night before if you are doing this on a weeknight.

Step by Step Directions:

The focaccia dough is ready to go on the grill.

Step One:

Focaccia Bread Recipe: I used a foccaccia bread recipe I found online and augmented it for baking on the grill. As I stress to the women who come to my women’s grilling clinics, think of your grill like an outdoor oven! Direct heat= broiler, indirect heat= oven.

• Focaccia Bread Ingredients (as found on All Recipes)
• *1 teaspoon white sugar
• *1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• *1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• *2 cups all-purpose flour
• *2 tablespoons olive oil
• *1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a small bowl, dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture with flour; stir well to combine. Stir in additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until all of the flour is absorbed. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly for about 1 minute.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes.
4. While the dough is rising, start on your pomegranite marinade.
5. After the dough has sat and risen a bit, deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface; knead briefly. Roll the dough into a rectangle or square. Brush the dough with oil and sprinkle with sea salt.

Pomegranate-citrus marinade ingredients

• 1 pomegranite- peel removed
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 2 heaping tablespoons ginger
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons key lime infused canola oil (I used Floribbean brand). If you cant find this, use a little less oil and add a tablespoon lemon juice with zest mixed in
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Additional Ingredients:

• 1/2 to 1 lb shrimp
• 1 large head of broccoli
• 1/2 large red onion, sliced in rings
• 1 large container goat cheese or cheese of your prefernce (I used half goat cheese and half mexican cheese blend but we liked the pizza with the goat cheese best!)

Step Two

Pomegranate pairs nicely with citrus and ginger.

Marinade directions:

Peel the pomegranate. Bring the oj, pom. seeds, honey, ginger to simmer. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Take a spoon and mash the pom. seeds. in the mixture to try to release the juice. Add the keylime canola oil. After simmering for at least 15 minutes, strain the pom seeds out.

Put the marinade in the freezer so it can cool quickly. To make the best use of your time, now go ahead and wash and cut your veggies and peel your shrimp.

Once the marinade has cooled to room temp, add the shrimp. While the shrimp are marinating, go preheat the grill to medium heat, 350 degrees.

Using a grill pan, grill the broccoli and onion until slightly wilted. Remove the veggies and put them in a bowl. Next, add the shrimp. Grill for about 3 minutes or until pink, then remove. Do not overcook, they will be put back on the pizza to continue cooking.

Before adding the focaccia dough, make sure the grill is well coated with nonstick spray. Add a bit of olive oil to your foccaccia bread so it is less likely to stick. Also add a nice bit of sea salt for taste.

Bake the bread on medium low heat. Let it bake with the lid closed for 5 minutes, then go check on it to make sure it doesn’t have any hot spots (more brown than others). Grill on one side until char marks have formed, then flip over.

After flipping the focaccia over, let it cook for about 2 minutes, then add your veggies, shrimp and cheese. Close the lid and let the pizza continue to cook until the cheese has started to melt. Be careful to not burn the bottom of the foccaccia bread as you melt the cheese!

Congrats! You just made your first focaccia pizza! This pizza is nice change from your average thin crust pizza as the hearty focaccia really holds up well with lots of ingredients. The broccoli gets a nice flavor from the grill that is complemented by the goat cheese. While the pomegranate seeds can be rather tricky to remove, the health benefits (they are loaded in antioxidants) well outweigh the trouble of peeling the fruit. Hope you enjoy this interesting spin on your classic pizza on the grill.

About the “On Our Grills” 4 Ingredient Challenge Bloggers

Grilll Adventures by Broadcast Marc (our newest blogger from the Netherlands!)

Grill Adventures by broadcastmarc was started in March of 2010. I started the BBQ thing when I was 30, before that we ate a lot outside. had fun, but when the kids came into our life we started serious cooking. Most of it is really healthy I think). The grill has a special place in my heart because we love to do things outside. Everything I make is an adventure, and sometimes we use the books. We try to grill as much as we can year round.

Marc’s Ingredient Challenge Recipe:

http://broadcastmarc-grilladventures.blogspot.com/2010/10/challenge-october-2010.html

The BBQ Grail

The BBQ Grail website was created in 2007, initially to document the author’s quest to find the perfect backyard BBQ experience. Since that time The BBQ Grail has become one of the more popular BBQ blogs on the internet and is listed on Alltop.com as one of the top BBQ blogs.

Larry’s October Challenge Recipe

http://thebbqgrail.com/2010/oct-challenge

Into the Flames

Rob launched Into The Flames in the summer of 2010 as a way to share his passion for cooking, eating, and exploring food.

His October Challenge Recipe:

http://intotheflames.com/?p=1984

Nibble Me This

Nibble Me This is Chris Grove’s blog about my misadventures in live fire cooking.  ”I have no culinary training….I’m just entertaining myself with fire and food”.

Chri’s October Challenge Recipe:

http://www.nibblemethis.com/2010/10/october-on-our-grills-4-ingredient.html

The No Excuses BBQ website was started in January of 2009 as a way to record the author’s goal of barbecuing at least once a week throughout the year and showing the results to the world.  Somewhere along the way things got out of control; two years later the streak is intact and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.  In the process, No Excuses BBQ has become a fairly popular BBQ location on the web and is listed as one of the top BBQ blogs on Alltop.com.

NO Excuse’s October Ingredient Challenge Recipe:

http://noexcusesbbq.com/archives/4002

Joy and Doris try out the Garlic-Basil Butter Texas Toast.

The September Women’s Grilling Clinic was another success! I had the joy of meeting 16 wonderful women, all with a keen interest in learning to grill. We had 3 different grills out so everyone could be exposed to the grilling style that fit their needs. First things first we reviewed the basics on how to start a gas vs. charcoal grill. Gas is as easy as turning the propane tank into the “on” position and knowing which burner is the “starter” for the grill.

For Charcoal, we used a chimney starter to get the charcoal lit without using lighter fluid. Lighter fluid is considered a “no-no” in BBQ circles because it makes your food taste like lighter fluid. By using a charcaol starter, you can avoid all that. A chimney started is a modern day version of a coffee can with holes poked in it that you may have seen used in the past.

Because not everyone could make it, I have posted the fun recipes we made during the clinic! For those interested in attending a clinic- stay tuned for information on the next South Florida Women’s Grilling Clinic in January. There is the possibility that I will take these on the road. Stay tuned!

As I was so busy instructing and being the hostess with the mostess, I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked. However, there will be a video coming soon documenting how much fun we had!!

For those who didn’t get to attend the clinic, no fear- I have posted all of the recipes below for your enjoyment!

GrillGrrrl Clinic Recipe Guide

Appetizers

Jalapeno Poppers

Ingredients:

• 8-10 jalapenos, cored and seeded
• 1lb of bacon
• 1 package of Neufchatel cheese (like cream cheese but lower fat!)

Directions:

Presoak skewers in water for 20 minutes. Cut the stems off the japalenos and remove the seeds from the inside. For the large peppers, cut in half. Next, stuff the pepper with cream cheese. Wrap in bacon around the pepper so that the cream cheese cannot come out. (depending on the size you may need to cut the bacon). Put the jalapeno popper on the skewer and repeat.

Preheat the grill to medium heat (350) Grill the poppers on direct heat until the bacon becomes crispy and cooked through! This will take at least 15 minutes. The bacon will create flare-ups on the grill so be careful!!

Jalapeno Poppers on the grill- great for tailgating!

Mini Caprese Pizzas

These mini pizzas are easier to do because it is easier to flip multiple pizza dough disks than it is to do one gigantic piece of dough and also allows you to avoid “hot spots” on the grill that might burn the dough.

This recipe is great tailgating as it requires minimal ingredients and everything can be prepped the night before.

Ingredients:

• One package refrigerated pizza dough (or you can make your own)
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced- drizzle slices generously with olive oil, salt and pepper
• Mozzarella cheese- cut into bite size pieces
• basil
• salt, pepper
• olive oil

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium heat. Then, roll out the pizza dough on a flat surface. Using a small bowl or wide mouthed glass, cut the dough into small circles to make the mini pizzas. Roll leftover dough pieces together, flatten and repeat cutting into small circular cutouts.

Brush both sides of the dough with olive oil. Make sure your grill has been sprayed with non stick spray. Grill the dough until grate marks appear, about 5 minutes. Flip the dough, then, with recently grilled side up, add tomato slices, a piece of basil, and the mozzarella.

Grill for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

Main Course

Grilling Jerkerd Cornish Game Hens, Romaine and Texas Toast = "Meal on the Grill".

Jerked Cornish Game Hens

Cornish game hen sounds kind of fancy, like something you might serve at a dinner party, but really they are essentially mini-chickens. Because of their slightly higher fat content, the meat is a little juicier and, when cooked correctly (ie: not overcooked so they dry out!) lend themselves to an enjoyable dining experience.

Jerk Marinade Ingredients

• one large bunch scallions
• one red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 6 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon ground allspice
• 1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger
• t tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper or 2 habenero ***
• kosher salt
• 4 cornish game hens (1 1/2 to 2 pounds each), butterflied
• freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Combine first 11 ingredients in a food processor and make a thick sauce. Reserve 1/4 cup of the sauce in the refrigerator for serving with the hens later.

Remove the backbone from the hens so that you can butterfly them. Season the hens all over with salt and pepper; poke a few holes into the meat so the marinade can penetrate the bird. Rub 1 cup jerk sauce all over the hens in a large bowl or pan. Then, cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 hours.

Safety goggles are recommended when chopping habaneros or scotch bonnet peppers. First off, chopping will make your nose run, you will use your arm to wipe your nose and the next thing you know you have rubbed chili juice into your eyes! No bueno!!

Grilling Directions:
Preheat the grill to medium. **Note that some recipes call to use a brick covered in foil or a metal press on the grill to flatten the hens and make them extra crispy. I did not do this, I only butterflied the hens and after marinating in the fridge for 2 hours they were pretty flat already.
Cook the hens on the grill until browned on each side (this will vary according to grills and meat size), at least 7-8 minutes per side. While grilling, baste the hens with any extra jerk sauce. The hens will be done when a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 160 degrees.

Grilled Romaine

Grilled romaine is a best kept secret – it gets better and sweeter on the grill. I often do this as a side, but it makes a great mane course with grilled chicken added, seafood, roasted peppers, etc. You can get really creative with this! What is nice is that you can do everything on the grill together which eliminates the need to go back and forth from the kitchen to the grill. I love things that SIMPLIFY!!!

Ingredients:

• 2 romaine hearts, outer leaves removed. split them in half so both sides can get grilled
• olive oil
• fresh parmesan or reggiano, shaved in large pieces
• 2 lemon slices
• sea salt
• grated pepper

Directions:

Drizzle olive oil on the romaine. Put on preheated gas grill set to medium to medium/low heat. grill on each side 4-5 minutes, just long enough to cook but not charring.

Remove from grill. Chop romaine into bite sized pieces. Add 2-3 cups of baby arugula. Drizzle additional olive oil (1-2 tblsp). into the salad. Add fresh squeezed lemon juice (1 tblsp.) Shave the parmesan onto the salad (add as much as your liking- I added about 1/4 cup). Add salt and pepper to taste.

There isn’t much need for dressing as the grilling gives it so much flavor. I usually add additional sea salt/pepper.

Texas Toast is a Grilling Clinic Favorite!

Basil Butter Texas Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf bread, sliced into 2” pieces
• 1 batch compound butter

Directions:

Take a loaf of your favorite type of bread and slice 4-6 (or more depending on how many pieces you want to make) 2” inch pieces. Spread them generously with the compound butter.

While grilling your other items (wings, sliders, romaine) put your toast slices on the top shelf of the grill. They will get toasted from the heat of the grill. If

your grill doesn’t have a “top” shelf then put the bread on indirect heat on the grill.

Texas Toast is done when the bread starts to get slight grill marks and butter turns golden brown.

Basil Compound Butter

A compound butter is simply butter whipped together with your favorite ingredients. Get creative and use your own herb/ingredient combination to complement your meal!

Ingredients:

• 1 stick butter
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 heaping tablespoon of fresh basil
• Sea salt to taste

Directions:

Let butter come to room temperature. DO NOT melt in the microwave, it will change the texture of the butter. Combine butter and the rest of the ingredients

in a food processor and pulse to puree the ingredients. Put in an easy to access container and store in the refrigerator.

Congratulations, you just made your first compound butter!!

Applewood Pork Skewers- YUM!

Cuban Inspired Applewood Pork Skewers

Living in South Florida, Cuban inspiration abounds and I have one of my co-workers to thank for the idea behind these skewers. The pork shoulder meat is readily available in Latin supermarkets because it is traditionally used in the dish Masas de Cerdo Fritas (fried pork chunks). In addition to the meat selection, the cilantro, lime, garlic marinade is what adds the “cuban inspiration” to this dish.

Ingredients:

• bamboo skewers- soak in water for 30 minutes beforehand so they don’t burn on the grill
• 1 lb cuban pork chunks – (I find these in the Latin market, use something similar if you can’t find)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt, pepper to taste
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 limes
• 2 tablespoons McCormick Grillmates Applewood Rub

Directions:

Cut pork chunks into smaller pieces so they will cook more evenly on the grill. Add olive oil, salt, pepper, juice of the limes, garlic and cilantro and let marinate for at least 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

After the meat has marinated, add the applewood rub and stir into the meat mixture.

Put meat on skewers.

Grilling Directions:

Grill on a medium/high heat grill for 10 minutes total, turning halfway through, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degress.

Herbed Grilled Veggies

Ingredients:

• Equal parts Squash, zuccinni
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Fresh herbs
• Sea salt
• Pepper
• Fresh grated parmesan

Slice veggies lengthwise and drizzle with balsamic, olive oil, garlic, fresh herbs, sea salt and pepper. Grill on medium direct heat until char marks form. Once off the grill, sprinkle with fresh grated parm. Great served hot or cold!

Dessert

Grilled Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This cake is made in 2 major steps- grilling the pineapple and then baking the cake batter.

Ingredient list:

• one pineapple- cored and sliced
• jiffy yellow cake mix
• one egg (for the cake mix)
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon nutmeg
• 1 cup rum (for the cake mix- substitute rum for the water in the cake mix!)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 1 jar maraschino cherries
• 2 8″ aluminum pie pan

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium-high.

Mix batter with egg and rum, then add the nutmeg and ginger. Next, grill the pineapple slices. As the pineapples are grilling, take a grill-friendly saucepan and add a stick of butter, ½ cup rum and the dark sugar. Let this sauce get warm and bubbly on the grill. Stir occasionally.

Once the pineapple slices have nice grill marks on both sides, take them off the grill. Layer the pineapple slices on the 2 pie pans. Put cherries in the middle of each pineapple slice. Pour some of the rum sauce over the pinapple (be careful, the pan will be hot). Now, pour the batter evenly into the 2 pie pans.

Next, create a direct/indirect environment for baking your cake (charcoal to one side or one burner on/off).

Bake cakes about 12-15 minutes or until golden

Pull cakes out off the grill and drizzle the rum glaze over the cakes while it is still warm.

You won’t believe you made these cakes on the grill! Your friends will be surprised and impressed!!

Cherie grills the pineapple rings for our grilled pineapple upside down cake!

That’s right folks- it’s tailgating season again. Time to get your portable grills ready for another season of beer consumption, mardi gras beads matching your favorite team and of course, lots of finger food. I made my infamous (at least to myself) chipotle sriracha wings with Scott’s blue cheese dip and mini caprese pizzas for ESPN/WPTV Channel 5′s Jason Pugh to discuss tailgating and getting women behind the grill this season.

If you have a favorite tailgating recipe on or off the grill, please share with me!

Everything is better on the grill, including pizza!

Pizza is not just for ovens anymore. The grill is a great place to do pizza because you get nice grate marks on the dough that adds a nice touch as the grill actually cooks the pizza dough.

These mini pizzas are easier to do because it is easier to flip multiple pizza dough disks than it is to do one gigantic piece of dough and also allows you to avoid “hot spots” on the grill that might burn the dough.

This recipe is great tailgating as it requires minimal ingredients and everything can be prepped the night before.

Ingredients:

• One package refrigerated pizza dough (or you can make your own)
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced- drizzle slices generously with olive oil, salt and pepper
• Mozzarella cheese- cut into bite size pieces
• basil
• salt, pepper
• olive oil.

Directions:

Preheat grill to medium heat. Then, roll out the pizza dough on a flat surface. Using a small bowl or wide mouthed glass, cut the dough into small circles to make the mini pizzas. Roll leftover dough pieces together, flatten and repeat cutting into small circular cutouts.

Brush both sides of the dough with olive oil. Make sure your grill has been sprayed with non stick spray. Grill the dough until grate marks appear, about 5 minutes. Flip the dough, then, with recently grilled side up, add tomato slices, a piece of basil, and the mozzarella.

Grill for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.

This recipe can easily be adapted for meatlovers with the addition of cappicola or pepperoni.

For some, grilling and barbecuing IS an addiction.

As a Southern Girl, I have grown up eating Bar-B-Que. Until I moved out of the South, it never really occurred to me that this food was not something that everyone in the US ate on a regular basis. These days, BBQ has caught on all over the country and you can find decent BBQ joints in places like NYC! When I refer to BBQ, I am referring to the Pork kind, though Spare ribs and brisket fall into the BBQ category as well. Growing up, I was accustomed to “Lexington Style” NC BBQ sauce which is a Vinegar and tomato based tangy sauce. There is an invisible line drawn in the middle of the state that divides the sauces- Western NC and the Piedmont region do the Lexington Style sauce. Eastern style sauce is a purely vinegar based sauce with no tomatos included. This sauce usually consists of cider vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. It is pungent! Local South Floridian’s can find Eastern NC Style sauce at our own Dixie Pig. Go to SC and find a mustard based sauce. Texas does “Brisket”, which is in another category all to itself. Memphis style sauce is a sweet, tangy tomato based sauce. BBQ joints all over are usually a mixture of these type sauces though I believe most fall under the Memphis style category…

Pork Ribs on the Green Egg- true perfection!!

My father is an avid griller and BBQ-er and we are going to “Memphis in May” this year which hosts the truly infamous “World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest” on May 13th-15th. This is the END-ALL-BE-ALL of BBQ competitions. We plan to travel in an entourage of a few of his good ol’ boy friends who are “good eaters”.

The competition is divided into different pork categories: Whole hog, pork shoulder and ribs. There is no gas allowed- only wood and charcoal. For the newbies, there is the “Patio Porkers” category for those wanting to whet there Championship appetite. I see myself competing there in the future, just to get a feeling for the competition. I have not grown up in a BBQ team or with a PitMaster but that should not deter us from trying one day!

Basting your ribs regularly will make them extra juicy!

My father, also known as “Tropical Storm Eddie” for reasons I won’t disclose, have decided that we are going to go this year and see what we can learn. He is a wonderful griller and has his own green egg, the “Cadillac” of Grills/Smokers. He has been working on his own dry rub recipe and wants to get ideas. I believe he has aspirations of one day entering the “Ribs” category. We shall see! I’m coming prepared with my elastic waistband pants, plenty of beer and a good appetite. Looking forward to some good eating and learning some new coleslaw recipes!!

Flat-out flat bread pizzas are yummy and healthy!

This week is getting of to an interesting start. I have decided to do a “7 day rapid cleanse” and have vowed to stop drinking wine during the week, and I kicked it all off that night by finishing my taxes.

Monday we had flatbread pizza, a new favorite on my weekly “easy-backup” meal plan. “Flat Out” makes a flatbread (go figure) that is carb conscious, packed with good stuff like fiber and omegas, while also coming in cool flavors like spinach, italian, spelt… etc.

Ideas: this is not rocket science y’all! Or as we say here in South Florida- Vosotros!!

Any-hoo.

1. Set the oven for 400 degrees.
2. leftover spaghetti sauce, or pizza sauce or bruschetta topping. (I often make extra sauce and freeze it for easy dinners later).
3. Veggies
4. italian sausauge, meat, tofu, chicken or no meat at all!
5. Hard cheese

How I make this kinda healthy is that I pile on the veggies, garlic, etc… Then I shave a hard cheese like parmesan (the kind you buy in a block, not in a jar) or reggiano and put that on as an ample condiment, but not as the main show.
On top of this I throw on some baby arugula with an ample shot of ground pepper and sea salt. TASTY!!

Now, for Scott’s recipe version, my Gene-blessed skinny boyfriend (who is such a hottie):

• the base and sauce are the same
• sans the vegetables (unless they are green peppers or onions as one would get on a Domino’s)
• AMPLE cheese: mozz, provo, etc- the soft white cheese that are more fattening
• Pepperoni or italian sausage or bacon (a Guy’s gotta get his meat on).

I have never tried this with beef jerky but I bet Scott, and your guy, would be up for that as an addition.

Bake for 7-9 minutes at 400.

***Great for catching up on tivo-ed Survivor episodes

This is the second time I have endeavored to grill pizza. The first time (blog #1) was on our old grill. It was sort of a “passage rite,” if you will, for that old grill. It needed one last “hoorah” before we put it into the back alley “bulk pick-up.” (This bulk-pick up in the alley business is a nuance of Florida and I must chat about it sometime because it really does attract some weirdos, who probably own an ebay side biz solely off their bulk pick-up finds, anyway, I digress…)

So, this time, I really had full ownership of the grilled pizza process as we had our neighbor Chuck over and, unlike our last set of guest for the grilled pizza process, he wasn’t into “backseat grilling” as I like to call people who feel the need to take over the kitchen/grill and offer their opinion on everything as they (said audience/invited guests) seem to be an expert on everything and want to correct or offer advice on how to do it better every step of the way.

Perphaps this might not have been a good thing as, when I went to grill, evidently I was not familiar with the low or high positions of the knobs. Now, I had only used medium the time before (we just got it a few weeks ago) and I guess I got confused. You see, when Scott came out to see if I needed help, I evidently was completely turned around about the knob configuration on the grill. On our last grill, you had to turn the knobs in the opposite direction for high heat, and on this one, well, it was different. So, I thought the little moons that were black all the way meant the grill was on low, but instead, they were on full blast.

Needless to say the pizza turned out a little chared. Or at the least the first one did because it took the duration of the first pizza to figure out that I was a complete idiot and got my knob configuration mis-configured. Hence, there came the blonde jokes.

But, to tell you the truth, even though the first pizza was a little cruchy, the second one turned out fabulously and I was still a hero at the end.

Here’s the key to making pizza on the grill: fresh dough, fresh veggies, fresh cheese and beer!!! Pizza on the grill is great because people can personalize their own pizzas and even the most basic pizza is still really gourmet once you take it off the grill! Have people over and do this and they will think you are a rock-star!!

Below is the dough recipe I used and it made enough for two medium sized thin crust pizzas on the grill:

Pizza Dough Recipe: as seen in Southern Living (it is by Oprah’s former personal chef)

1) cup warm water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 envelope dry active yeast (1/4 oz)
2 Tsp honey
~~~~~~~
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt
Vegetable cooking spray.

Additional ingredients for the pizza
~Sauce (Scott’s special sauce recipe will be available in my next blog)
~fresh ingredients- tomatoes, basil, and whatever else you might like
~Italian sausage
~Fresh, high moisture Mozzarella

Start on the dough:
Process the first 4 ingredients in a food processor if you have one. Then add flour and salt l pulse 6-8 times until the dough forms a ball and leaves the side of the bowl. You can add more water if necessary. * If you don’t have a food processor, do this by hand, it will just take longer….

Place the dough in a large bowl coated with coking spray, cover and chill 2 hours..

Next steps:
Roll the dough onto a lightly floured surface. This recipe will make aprroxi 6 equal portions. I made 2 large pizzas for the grill but you can make smaller personal sizes.

Onto the grill:
Have the grill preheated onto medium. Before lighting the grill, spray with cooking spray so the dough is not inclined to stick.

~Grill the first side until you see grill marks and the dough appears to be done/browned. Then flip over until the next side is the same
~Turn the grill to low-medium low and add sauce, cheese and toppings. Grill with the cover closed until the cheese is melted and voila!!

Notes: Margherita Pizza

~Fresh mozzarella slice in big pieces from the grocery deli section makes a huge difference
~Other toppings such as fresh sliced tomato, basil and other herbs are a great addition (I used heirloom tomatoes and they are SO tasty)
~Cook italian Sausage on the grill while grilling the dough and then slice it and add to the pizza at the last minute.
~Pizzas are a great way to use up leftover produce such as squash and zuchini

Check out Mark Bittmen’s blog, Bitten, for another take on grilled pizza.