Grilled Margherita Pizza

I heart homemade pizza! It is so easy and delicious...it practically makes itself. Tonight, I am going to try my standard Margherita-style pizza on the grill. I love the crisp crust that evolves from cooking pizza on the grill. It is really quite something!

Grilled Margherita Pizza

Ingredients:
1 batch of Quick Homemade Pizza Dough (see below for recipe)
4 Roma or On The Vine tomatoes, sliced
2/3 cup of regular mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/3 cup of smoked mozzarella cheese, shredded
Your favorite marinara or pizza sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (use oil of good quality)
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated to taste (for topping)
Fresh basil, chiffonade (for topping)
Sliced scallions (for topping)

Directions:
Preheat grill to medium heat. Place dough on grill rack, close lid. Dough will take 5-7 minutes. Check it occasionally for bubbles. Once the bottom is golden brown (or at least not burned...ours don't always get golden brown I guess), flip the crust over. This can be tricky and may require two spatulas, depending on the size of your crust. Turn heat down to low or move pizza(s) to top rack if your grill has one. Spread a thin layer of marinara sauce on the cooked side of the crust with a spatula. Then, place the toppings on top of the sauce(tomatoes and both mozzarella cheeses). Close lid. Check after five minutes, cook until cheese is melted. Garnish with Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, fresh basil (or scallions), and drops of extra virgin olive oil. Serve and enjoy!

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Quick Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Ingredients:
1 package of active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups of AP flour
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon of garlic powder

Directions:
In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy (about 10 minutes). Stir in flour, salt, & olive oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round.

Cook on grill, as indicated in the above directions or according to your recipe instructions.





The Result:
Mmmmm...grilled pizza! This was fan-freakin'-tastic! I think grilled pizza is my new, favorite way to make pizza. The crust had that slightly smokey, charred taste. The texture was amazingly crisp. Everything cooked perfectly and tasted awesome! I did not have fresh basil (oops), so I sliced some scallions to go on top instead. I loved the smoked mozzarella on this pizza, too. Yum! This was so delicious...it totally hit the spot! I will probably make this version again and again and again.