Leslie Sarna

Throw Another Pizza on the Barbie!

Wanna know the secret for making the best pizza you'll ever make at home?  The barbecue!  Yup, that's right, the barbecue is not just for hamburgers and hot dogs.  Cooking pizza on the grill gives your crust that crisp bottom and soft center that we all love about pizza ovens.  

So how do you do this you ask?  Place your pizza stone right on the grill and heat the bbq up on high heat.  The fact that the bbq can get well above 600 degrees is the real secret.  Place the pizza on the pizza stone and close the lid.  The pizza will cook pretty quickly, about 3-5 minutes depending on how hot your bbq gets.

Here is the recipe for my pizza dough and tomato sauce.  

Now this particular pizza I added a few fun toppings.  I sliced some tomatoes and basil from the garden and after it was done cooking I topped it with a big handful of arugula.  Ever tried arugula on pizza?  It's fantastic!

So get outside, fire up the barbie and make some pizza!

Ricotta Mushroom Pizza

If you know me at all, you know I love pizza!!  More specifically, I love making homemade pizza!  It is only about 1/10 the price of buying one and it's also WAY better for you and don't even get me started on taste.  Once you go homemade you can never go back!  

This pizza is not as traditional as the typical red sauce version.  This one has no sauce and uses only ricotta and parmesan cheese.  Makes for a very yummy savory pizza : )

If you don't have a pizza peel or pizza stone, check them out here!

 Looks pretty yummy right?  Here's how you make it:

Ricotta Mushroom Pizza

What you'll need:

pizza dough, you can buy frozen, but of course I recommend making your own.  Here is the recipe.

1 carton of baby bella or crimini mushrooms, sliced (you could use any mix of mushrooms you have available, portobella are great in this)

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 onion, sliced

a big handful of fresh parsley, chopped

3/4 cup ricotta cheese, homemade makes a difference : )

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

about 5 fresh basil leaves, sliced

What you'll do:

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

Make your pizza dough and set aside to rise.

In a medium frying pan on medium low, saute the mushrooms, onions and garlic in a little olive oil.  Really you just want to make them soft, not cooked all the way.  Add half of the parsley and remove from heat.

In a small bowl mix the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, the rest of the parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.  Mix well.

Assembly:

Work your pizza dough into the desired shape.  Round for a pizza stone, pressed into an iron skillet for deep dish or pressed into a cookie sheet for sicilian style.

Lay the mushroom mix on the dough leaving room for the crust.  Make sure to use a slotted spoon for this to leave out all the liquid.  Then sprinkle the cheese mixture on top.  

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is golden.

Top with the fresh basil and let rest for about 2 minutes before you cut in.  This avoids all the toppings from sliding off when you cut.

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Pizza Fritta

Pizza Fritta literally means "fried pizza" in Italian.  So I ask the question, "how do you make pizza better?" The answer being, "Fry it!"

These come from the area of Naples, where they are considered a street food.  

People always ask me what the best thing I've ever eaten is.  Well, this is truly one of the best things I've ever eaten.  I highly recommend not trying this, because it will become addictive!!  

Pizza Fritta

First make my dough and sauce found here

When the dough has risen and the sauce is made, heat up about 1 inch of olive oil in a pan on medium high.  Using your hands form a little round with your pizza dough about 4 inches in diameter.  Carefully(!) place the dough in the pan and fry till golden on each side.  It only takes about 30 seconds on each side (depending on how hot your oil is)

Remove and place on the plate.  Put one slice of fresh mozzarella down, then a spoonful of tomato sauce and top with some parmesan and fresh basil.

Eat warm!  This tasty treat may be the best thing you've ever had, I promise!

PIZZA!

Pizza is also one of my favorite foods! My family has been making homemade pizza for generations.  I caught this pizza making bug early on and have been trying to perfect my pie for years.  This is the recipe for the one I'm stuck on right now.  I'm really liking it!  So go ahead and give it a try!

Pizza

What you'll need:

1 packet of yeast

1 large drinking glass of hot tap water

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. maple syrup (yup!  it gives it really nice depth oppose to using sugar)

a big pinch of salt

a bunch of all purpose flour (about 3 1/2 cups)

tomato sauce

a fresh ball of mozzarella, or shredded

Toppings

a pinch of oregano

 Dissolve one packet of yeast with a tall glass of hot tap water in a large bowl.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes.  The yeast will bubble.  

Add the olive oil, REAL maple syrup. (the real part is important! no aunt jemima!) and salt.  Keep stirring! 

 Gradually add All Purpose Flour and mix until a nice ball of dough is formed.  
You can do this two ways.  A: You can put all the liquid in a Kitchen Aid and add the flour until a ball forms (saves you a lot of time and sweat!)  Or B: You can simply turn the dough out on a floured cutting board or counter top and knead until a pliable ball forms (plus is your arms will get a workout so you can skip the gym today!)  

Either way, you then place your ball of dough in a large floured bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel.  Let it rest for about 45 minutes. 

During that 45 minutes we'll make the tomato sauce.  Now this is my "semi homemade" version using a can of san marzano tomatoes instead of real tomatoes.  Here is the link to my recipe.

 Preheat your oven to 500 degrees or as hot as it will go.  Make sure if you are using a pizza stone, it's in the oven at this point : )

 Ok, assembly.  I use a pizza stone so I'm going to assemble my pizza right on a pizza peal.  You can also make a deep dish or Sicilian style by using a cookie sheet, just grease it well with some olive oil.  

So, back to the assembly:  Take your dough out of the bowl and knead it just for a couple seconds, just to make sure it's not too wet. (if it is, add a little more flour)  You then want to form your dough into a round flat pizza shape.  Sure, you can toss it in the air like you've seen so many professionals, but unless you are, a professional that is, I recommend you just kinda pull and press the edges until your shape is formed.  (If you are going Sicilian style, just press the dough into the pan)  Flour your pizza peal and lay your dough on it.  Give it a little shimmy to make sure it is loose and you'll be able to slide it off.
  First, drizzle some olive oil on the dough and sprinkle with a little salt.  

Next, apply your tomato sauce.  Apply according to how saucy you like your pizza.   Ok, so time to build!  Be an artist!  Be creative!  You can put just about anything on a pizza!  Tonight I'm making two kinds: Pepperoni for Sim and Mushroom and Onion with fresh ricotta for me.  The first topping and the last topping are the most important!  First topping should be the fresh basil.  Then pile on your meats, veggies etc.  Sprinkle on your cheese.  It can be shredded mozzarella, or fresh mozzarella.  Tonight I'm going with fresh.  Also add on some shredded parmesan or romano.  The last ingredient goes on right at the end.  Shake some dried oregano on top.  (It gives awesome depth and flavor!) Ok, finally done!  Stick it in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Watch it closely, every oven cooks differently.  Basically, you are waiting for the cheese to melt and the crust to be golden. I hope you enjoy this pizza as much as Sim and I do.   

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