Grilled Pizza

Ah, spring time. Flowers sprouting, warm days, and pizza on the grill.

Pizza on the grill? Yes, indeed. Easy, fun, and quick to make. Here are the details:

INGREDIENTS

Pizza Dough

Olive oil for brushing and drizzling

2 teaspoons minced fresh garlic
2 cups shredded Fontina cheese
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes in heavy puree, chopped
1 bunch basil

Pre-packaged pizza cheese works just as well. And for that matter, so does regular pizza sauce, or a can of diced tomatoes.

DIRECTIONS
Prepare pizza dough. If you're like me, all this entails is taking it out of the bag. Sure, you could make it from scratch, but that wouldn't be quick, easy, or fun.

When dough is ready, divide it into 4 equal pieces. On large, oiled cookie sheet, spread and flatten 1 piece of dough with your hands into a 10- to 12-inch free-form round, 1/8 inch thick. You may end up with a rectangle rather than a circle, the shape is unimportant, but do take care to maintain an even thickness.

Place dough on grill rack 3 to 4 inches above heat. Within a minute the dough will puff slightly, underside will stiffen, and grill marks will appear.
Using tongs, flip the crust over. Quickly brush the grilled surface with olive oil. Scatter one-fourth of garlic and cheeses over the dough, and spoon one-fourth of tomatoes in puree over the cheese in dollops. Do not cover the entire surface of the pizza with tomatoes. Finally, drizzle the pizza with 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Using tongs, rotate pizza frequently for even browning, checking underside often. The pizza is done when the top is bubbly and the cheese is melted, about 6 to 8 minutes. Serve at once, topped with about 8 basil leaves and additional olive oil, if desired. Repeat with remaining dough and topping ingredients.

VERDICT

You really can make this as easy or as difficult as you want. The tomatoes in heavy puree are fine, but it's easier to use pizza sauce or chopped tomatoes. If you do use just plain old tomatoes, a bit of Italian seasoning goes a long way to adding flavor.

Just be sure to watch the heat on your grill. As you can see from the picture, it doesn't take long to burn the bejeesus out of the crust.

I hate Rachel Ray

Why? Because she's a devious, misleading, heartless bitch. And she ruined dinner tonight.

The name of this post should be "Tilapia Baked in Cous Cous." But because this recipe was a complete and utter disaster (along the same lines as the steak with red wine reduction that turned into a pink hockey puck) and I am now starving, I am instead going to launch into a tirade against Rachel Ray.The real reason for my venom is that this was just out of nowhere. I mean, you can easily hate someone like Martha Stewart who is just so damn perfect. But Rachel Ray seems like a nice, all-American girl. Her recipes use her own quirky little terms like "EVOO," and she calls her thick soups "stoups." Her entire image seems so... attainable.

But she is devious, ladies and gentlemen. Every recipe I have ever used from her magazine or website have failed miserably. This tilapia is no different.So while I wait for the pizza to be delivered, I'll share the offending recipe with you. Why? Because maybe someone out there can tell me if this disaster was somehow my fault. More likely you can share similar stories of the evil Rachel Ray and her evil recipes.
Look at this picture. It looks tasty. Don't be deceived, I've included my own pictures below.

INGREDIENTS

1 10-oz box cous cous1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped (ok, ok, first admission. I didn't have dried tomatoes. I drained a can of whole peeled tomatoes and threw them in. Don't tell me this one little substitution ruined the entire dish.)
1 TBS ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste1/4 cup plus 2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS fresh lemon juice, plus 1 lemon, finely sliced4 8-oz tilapia fillets3 TBS chopped flat-leaf parsley
DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375°. In a large bowl, combine the couscous, almonds, sun-dried tomatoes and cumin and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the 1/4 cup olive oil and the lemon juice. (Yes, there is fish hiding under all that cous cous)

Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil over the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange the tilapia fillets in a single layer in the dish, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cover the fish with the couscous mixture and arrange the lemon slices on top. Pour 2 1/2 cups water around the fish, cover with foil and bake until tender, about 25 minutes. Top with the parsley.
(Hey look! My fish is swimming!)

VERDICT

What the hell is this crap in my baking dish? The water never evaporated. The fish never cooked until I pulled it out and placed it on top of the cous cous. The cous cous was sticky and gooey, and nearly cemented our teeth together when we took our first bite. It was atrocious.

I hate you, Rachel Ray. You're one sick... oh hey, Domino's is here!
Yuck!

Ginger Chicken Stir-Fry

Nothing is easier to make than a stir-fry. Plus you get your veggies, meat, and carbs all in one dish. This recipe doesn't have the veggies mixed in, but they're easy enough to steam and put on the side.

INGREDIENTS:

1 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8" thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
2 TBS canola oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce2 TBS white vinegar
2 TBS sugar
1/2 cup sliced scallions
Cooked pasta or rice

DIRECTIONS:

Soak ginger in cold water 10 minutes, drain
Heat oil in skillet over high heat. Brown chicken in 2 batches, 6-8 minutes. Set aside.
In same skillet, lower heat to medium. Cook onion, ginger and garlic, stirring until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, cook over high heat until thick, 3-4 minutes.

Add chicken, stir to warm. Remove from heat, stir in scallions.

VERDICT:
Wow, this was really good. I over-cooked the chicken, didn't make enough sauce, and it was STILL really good. This has tons of flavor. We tossed it over pasta, and the noodles tasted great. Definitely a keeper recipe.

Peachy Mustard Pork Chops

Ah... pork. There's nothing I have tried harder to like. I've tried all kinds of recipes. I've baked them, grilled them, thrown them in a skillet. I've topped them with cranberries, apples, and all kinds of seasoning. And yet, they are always dry. But I keep trying, here's my newest attempt.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pork chops
• 1/4 cup peach preserves
• 1/3 cup honey mustard
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Stir together preserves, mustard and lemon juice.
2. Grill chops over a medium-hot fire, turning occasionally and basting with sauce, just until done, 8-10 minutes total for 3/4-inch chop. Discard any leftover basting sauce.

VERDICT

I am not a fan of mustard- in fact I can't stand the smell of it, but these weren't bad. Of course I probably doubled the amount of peach preserves when I made the sauce.

Overall, these were pretty good. They had great flavor, and you can't get much easier for a marinade. But even though we undercooked the pork, it still dried itself out on my plate. Ugh. I don't think it's me, I think it's just pork in general.

Scallops and Tomatoes over Angel Hair

Love scallops, love angel hair. Tossed over pasta, what can go wrong?

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 TBS olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp thyme

1 TBS flour

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ lbs. bay scallops

¼ cup dry white wine

2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped

¼ cup parsley, chopped

2/3 cup ripe olive, chopped

1 lb. angel hair pasta

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oil in skillet and brown garlic (do not burn!). Add thyme, flour, salt and pepper, stirring constantly. Add scallops and tomatoes. Cook until scallops are done. Add wine, parsley and olives and heat several more minutes.

Serve over pasta.

VERDICT:

There was nothing really wrong with this recipe, but it just wasn't the greatest. The flavor of the thyme was really strong. But then again the recipe didn't specify fresh or dried, and I used dried. Maybe it was too much?

Anyways, it was just an "eh" dish. If you have any suggestions for making it a "wow!" dish, please leave your ideas in the comments.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch fresh spinach or 8 oz. frozen and thawed, drained
6 Tbsp feta cheese
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts1/2 cup chicken brothDIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°. Heat olive oil and butter together in a sauté pan. Sauté onion and garlic until soft but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add spinach and sauté for another 5 minutes. (fresh spinach should be wilted) Cool slightly and add 3 tablespoons of the feta cheese.

Wash breasts and pat dry. Cut a pocket in the side of the chicken, being careful not to cut through the other side. Divide the spinach mixture and stuff the pockets, squeeze together openings. Brown in a hot skillet, about 3 minutes per side. Mix remaining feta cheese with the chicken broth. Pour over the chicken breasts. Bake for 15 minutes in the oven or until the juices run clear.
VERDICT

We really, really liked this. And you get your veggies all in one dish :) Aside from the feta cheese all of the ingredients are from my pantry.

There is a lot more spinach mixture than can fit into the chicken, but we used what was left the following night for spanikopita (I just put a spoonful inside Pillsbury crescent rolls and baked them).