Pizza on the Grill

But first - let me just remark on the gorgeousness of today's weather here! Absolutely fantastic. I was inspired to be outside as much as possible - and that includes cooking! Why heat up the house when you can heat up the great outdoors! The grill, it called to me ... and I answered.

So, that brings me to today's post - my first ever recipe-related post! Yay! (See, I can do more than talk about my kid, show off my shoes, complain about work and obsess over reality TV.) "Pizza?" you say. Yes! Yes you can fix pizza on the grill. It's incredibly easy and super fast to boot. Here is a play by play breakdown (with witty commentary)

First, heat up the grill. Since this is the first time in about two months that sucker had been fired off I decided to turn it up to full blast and leave it for about 10 minutes. Thus rendering all remnants of previous meals to charcoal. Clean the grill after every use? I'm too lazy busy and have neither the time nor the energy for that nonsense. I leave the heat on high with the lid closed and afterwards I knock off the charred remains with this fellow - the handy-dandy wire grill brush!

After I've scraped off the debris, I turn the heat down to medium/low. Since it is still plenty warm, I leave the top open. If you were just starting from scratch, I'd leave the lid down in order to pre-heat the grill.

Next, I prep my pizzas. I use the "personal" sized ones since everyone in this house has different tastes. Maybe someday in the future I'll actually make my own pizza dough. At this time I rely on Boboli.

First, apply some olive oil to the backside of the crust. This is something that I either read about or decided on impulse to try. I'd like to say it's the latter, but I'm pretty sure it's the former. Anyway - the olive oil creates a "non-stick" surface for the grill. Trust me, you don't want your pizza to stick. It's messy and quite disappointing.

Next, apply sauce and whatever pizza accessories you desire. Then, top with cheese.

I added green olives to my pizza. Muffin does not care for the "green slimey things." I can't believe she's my daughter...

Eh, voila! Your pizza is ready for the grill! By now the grill should be quivering in anticipation.

Plop the pizzas on the grill (which have been preheating at medium/low) and close the lid for about five minutes. FIVE MINUTES! No more! You'll find the cheese is melty and the crust is crisp and brown.

Please note the deliciousness of the melty cheese:

Please further note the delightfulness of the crispy crust:

Here's the WW Points breakdown:

Crust - 8

Sauce - 1 (actually the points are zero but I always round up)

Pepperoni - 2 (the entire pizza takes about seven pieces)

Cheese - 2 (I used around 1/4 cup 2% milk Italian Blend)

Total - 13 points

I usually cut mine in half and pair the pizza with a spinach salad dressed with Salad Spritzer. Therefore my total points value for the entire meal is 7 and I've got lunch for tomorrow! Enjoy!

Looking for a wine to pair with that pizza? I recommend Frascati! Here in the States I've only seen the Fontana Candida Frascati, but it's a deliciously light white wine that the Italians always drink with thier pizza! Grab a glass and imagine you're in an Italian piazzo watching the world go by...

Footnote - Ladies, I highly recommend taking control of the grill. I know that it has traditionally been a man's job to "burn the meat" and all that, but grilling is a low fat, low cal way to cook and you can do amazing things! Stay tuned for more grilling adventures!