Movie and Pizza Night on the Grill!

Well, the pizza, not the movies.

Each Friday night, the kids and I have movie and pizza night. It started when Bear was deployed about 5 years ago. It gave the kids something to look forward to while Daddy was away.

Back then I called and had it delivered or got a take and bake from the store. It was also a break for mommy, not to have to fix a meal each night.

Now that Daddy is home again, we still continue the tradition. But not so much with delivery anymore, now we make our own at home.

Making homemade pizza is not a new thing for me; I’ve been perfecting my own crust and sauce for quite some time. My sauce usually varies by what I have in the cupboard at the time, tomato sauce or paste, chunks or smooth, sometimes garlic, sometimes not; spices always.

The pizza crust is usually the same each time but I don’t go by a recipe. I start with one cup of water for each crust I’m making. Then I add one tablespoon of yeast for each cup of water. A tablespoon of sugar or so, and then I shake the salt into my hand until it covers about a quarter size area of my slightly closed palm. (About a teaspoon and a half if you are measuring.) Then I add a good sized drizzle of olive oil and a generous shake of Italian seasoning. Then I add a couple scoops of flour and start it mixing in my mixer. I add flour until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl and then let it knead for about 5 minutes.

I spread it out on my pizza stone and add the sauce and toppings. My kids like turkey bacon cut into triangles and half pineapple, topped with two big handfuls of mozzarella cheese.

Tonight I had no desire to turn on the oven at all. Our house was 97 today. Bear suggested I do pizza on the grill. So I googled it and found a bunch of recipes. I followed the examples and used medium heat to preheat my grill.

I rolled the dough out in a rectangle on an oiled piece of foil and had my toppings ready. I had a yellow pepper and an onion, sliced, the turkey bacon and some tomato slices too.

The instructions said to oil the grill grate. Carefully use a brush or spray Pam BEFORE you preheat the grill. Don’t make flaming torch out of the spray can. Then flip the rolled crust onto the grill and peel back the foil. Close the lid but keep a close eye on the underside. The dough will start to bubble and firm up.

Carefully using two pancake turners flip the crust over and oil the top. Spread your sauce, (it should be thick) and add your toppings quickly, close the lid until the cheese melts.

We pushed it off the grill onto our cutting board and brought it inside. The kids dug into it so quickly I didn’t have a chance to get a good, uncut picture. We made two pizzas one with lots of veggies for the grownups. Here’s what was left after the first round.
Fabulous!! Do this! This is the only way to make pizza in the summer! The kids loved it; the grill imparted a fabulous outdoorsy taste to the pizza.
We’ll be enjoying pizza like this until the rain starts to fall in October, no more hot kitchens!