Rethinking the Pizza Party

 

Last spring, my hubby, knowing how much I like to cook and try new recipes, brought home a pizza cookbook from the San Diego Public Library for me to peruse.  I'll admit that I never really replicated any of the pizzas recipes from the book, but a new and fun concept that had never occurred to us previously was that of grilling pizza.  We have a nice charcoal grill and decided to fire it up and give it a shot.  To our surprise, the pizza turned out deliciously.  A big upside to this type of pizza experience is that the pizza itself does not require perfection in order to taste great and be fun.  If your pizza turns out oblong, so be it; it's just all part of the experience.  

Grilling pizza has evolved for us as we have begun to do this on a more regular basis.  Instead of buying pizza dough in the store, I now make my own.  It turns out to be fairly simple to make and it simply tastes so much better than the store-bought dough.  Another change is moving the whole production entirely outdoors.  In the beginning, we would assemble the pizzas inside and then transfer them on a cookie sheet outside to be grilled and eaten.  Now, we bring everything out of doors, including the dough, extra flour, and all the ingredients.  We let each family member and/or guest take their own piece of dough, stretch it out, choose their own toppings, and out comes a personal-size pizza.  Many Southern Californians like to capitalize on outdoor living by taking the party out on the deck or in the yard.  Grilling pizzas out can be a great new take on the traditional pizza party.  A fun addition to this dinner idea with guests is to contact everyone who is invited ahead of time and ask each individual/group to bring one favorite topping along with them.  This way, the host is assured that there will be something for everyone and will also be less stressed trying to provide a multitude of pizza toppings. 

Tips for grilling pizza:

-  Have a small bowl of oil and a pastry brush on hand.

-  Brush one side of the pizza dough with the oil and grill it until it is a very light brown.  Remove the dough from the grill.  Brush the uncooked side with oil.  Then, flip the dough over and top the grilled side with sauce, cheese, and toppings.  Return the pizza to the grill and cook until the dough is medium brown and the cheese is melted.  

-  With a charcoal grill, initially keep the coals quite far down in order to avoid burning the crust.  As the coals begin to cool, you can raise up the bed of coals as needed.  With a gas grill, be cautious with the heat to avoid burning the pizza crust.  When cooking the pizza, it will cook more efficiently with the grill cover closed.