Feels like Fall

While I've yet to make a pot of soup and I'm still not back to school (hooray for teaching on the quarter system), the first Monday Night Football, my first pumpkin spice latte, and my first batch of granola since spring made it feel like fall. While we watched the games last night, we enjoyed something we started making this summer: pizza on the grill.

Anything on the grill makes for less clean up in the kitchen and pizza tastes great this way. Our friend Will makes awesome grilled pizzas and our first try at family dinner was this appetizer. You can easily serve both vegetarians and meat-eaters by making two different kinds and we made a plain cheese one for my daughter.

If you want to try it, I don't have a specific recipe but rather some guidelines.

Grilled Pizza

#1: Preheat the grill until it's good and hot and oil the grill rack.

#2: Trader Joe's premade pizza doughs are awesome but be sure and follow the directions and let the dough rest out of the refrigerator before using it.

#3: Put the dough on the grill and wait until it's all bubbly. Flip it and quickly add the toppings. Close the lid until the dough is done, the cheese is melted, and it's all bubbly and delicious looking.

#4: Cook any meat or vegetable toppings ahead of time. Last night, I caramelized onions and sauteed bell peppers and mushrooms ahead of time. It'll taste better than raw vegetables since the pizza gets done quicker than in the oven. Last night's pizza making session was a little intense trying to get the toppings on the dough quickly.

#5: Use a variety of sauces and cheeses . . . think bbq chicken pizza or pesto instead of a red sauce or gorgonzola cheese - the possibilities are endless.

#6: When you take the pizza off the grill, let it cool a couple of minutes before slicing. I like to slide it right onto a cookie sheet or pizza stone so I can cut it with the pizza slicer thing (what do you call that?)

Go Chargers!!