In his new book Medium Raw, Anthony Bourdain argues that basic cooking skills are a virtue and that learning to feed oneself, and others, with proficiency is a moral imperative--“as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself or be trusted with money.” He goes on to suggest a few things that every man, woman and teenager should know how to do:
- Chop an onion. Basic knife skills are a must
- Roast a chicken (well)
- Cook an omelet
- Grill a steak, and rest it properly
- Make a great vinaigrette (subject of a future blog post)
- Shop for fresh, seasonal produce
And so on...
We’d add one thing to the list. Our kids should learn how to barbecue a great pizza.
Between us we have two in college and one about to venture out on her own. They don’t quite believe us when we advise them,that the quickest way to win friends and influence people is with a great meal, artfully prepared. When the meal can be done on a budget, all the better.
The math alone should point our starving college kids toward learning this art as they compare a soggy, limp and greasy $25.00 pepperoni pizza from the local Domino’s to what $8.00 wisely spent at the Farmers Market and a couple cups of flour will net you.
Pizza Night is tradition at Trinity, usually falling toward the end of the second week. We dig out the carefully wrapped sage leaves from the bottom of the produce drawer, give the basil plant we’ve brought with us from Trader Joe’s a haircut, and drag out the leftover grilled veggies from previous meals. Kathy whips up the dough by hand in the morning and at cocktail hour we fire up the grill and roll out the dough on the laminated dinette table.
The barbecue technique is courtesy of Bobby Flay who gave us the original dose of courage needed to throw raw dough on a hot grill.
One of this year’s favorite topping combos was inspired by Thomas Hill Organics, a great restaurant in downtown Paso Robles that features a wood burning stove in their outdoor patio. The other crowd favorite put good use to the hunk of pancetta that came in the “salty tasty pig parts” variety pack from Boccolone Salumeria that we had FedExed to the cabin (see, it’s really not camping). 
We didn’t make the kids take notes while they watched but we are hoping for a phone call someday when they have a crowd of college friends coming over for dinner and need a fun, cheap meal idea. Then, we’ll point them to our blog and say, “See? I told you so!”
Basic Pizza Dough Recipe
2+ cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup warm water
1 pkg yeast
1/4 teaspoon sugar or a squirt of honey
1tablespoon olive oil
Mix together flour and salt, sprinkle yeast on top of warm water sweetened with either the sugar or honey. Let mixture sit for 10 minutes. Mix together wet and dry ingredients, add olive oil and knead for a 3 minutes. Add additional flour if necessary. At this point you can either let the dough rest for a few minutes, then divide it into 3 or 4 balls, depending on your pizza size preference and roll it out or place it in a covered bowl or ziplock baggie and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Set out and allow the dough to get to room temperature, gently knead then divide and roll out.
Brush one side of the pizza round with olive oil and toss on a hot grill. The dough will firm rapidly and you'll want to pull it off the grill in 2 to 3 minutes when the bottom of the round is crisp and slightly charred. Top the grilled side with desired toppings and place back on the grill until toppings are as desired being careful to not burn the bottom of the pizza.
Pizza with grilled Meyer Lemons, Ricotta, Carmelized Onions, Sage and Honey
Inspired by Thomas Hill Organics
Makes one pizza roughly
2 Meyer Lemons
1 cup fresh Ricotta Cheese (use whole milk store bought if that’s all you can find)
A dozen fresh sage leaves
One large onion
High quality honey (we used wildflower honey)
Olive Oil
Fleur de sel.
One round of grilled pizza dough, partially prepared as directed above.
Slice onion thinly. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a sauté pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat until soft and carmelized (about 30 minutes). Can be done well ahead and set aside.
Slice Meyer lemons thinly (1/8-1/4 inch). Pick out seeds. Brush each side of the lemon slice lightly with olive oil. Grill slices on barbecue, turning as needed until lemons are lightly carmelized in appearance.
When ready to grill the pizza, brush the cooked side of a pizza round with a light coating of olive oil. Scatter carmelized onions evenly over the pizza. Arrange grilled Meyer Lemon slices on top. Dot spoonfuls of the Ricotta cheese over. Add the sage leaves. Finish with a sprinking of Fleur de Sel.
Place dough round back on the Weber and cook with the lid on until pizza is warmed and cheese is softened (about 3-5 minutes depending on how hot the grill is).
Remove pizza to board and drizzle with honey. Slice and enjoy. This one went well paired with Evolution 9 from Sokol Blosser, a fruity white blend.
Pizza with grilled Radicchio, Pancetta and Goat Cheese.
Makes one pizza roughly.
One head of Radicchio
3-4 ounces good quality pancetta such as from Boccolone
Fresh Goat Cheese, about 3-4 ounces
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Aged Balsamic Vinegar
Note: try to search out pancetta that isn’t already sliced. The beauty of this pizza is in the nice big lardoons of pancetta.
One round of grilled pizza dough, partially prepared as directed above.
Cut the radicchio into eighths through the core so that the leaves remain attached. Brush each side with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Grill wedges on barbecue until leaves are soft and blackened in spots. Set aside. Can be done an hour or so ahead of time.
Cut the pancetta into ½ inch chunks. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a sauté pan and cook the pancetta slowly over medium to medium low heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Can be done an hour or so ahead of time,
When ready to grill pizza, brush the cooked side of a pizza round with a light coating of olive oil. Place leaves of the radicchio evenly and generously over the pizza. Scatter the pancetta on top and dot the surface with spoonfuls of goat cheese.
Place dough round back on the Weber and cook with the lid on until pizza is warmed and cheese is softened (about 3-5 minutes depending on how hot the grill is).
Remove pizza to board and drizzle with the aged balsamic vinegar. Slice and eat.
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