Pizza--the great American meal!

Earlier this summer the Today show had a segment about pizza.  They had someone on who discussed the results of some pizza surveys that had recently been completed.  One statistic stood out--on average Americans have pizza once a week.  Personally, I'm stunned by that because my family has had weeks were we had pizza as many as 5 times in a week.  We love our pizza!

I had always heard of people making grilled pizzas so we decided to give it a try.  I picked up a copy of Grill This, Not That at the library and what follows is our ever so slightly modified version of their pizza dough recipe:

1 c warm water
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp Rapid Rise yeast
2 1/2 c flour

Mix flour, salt, yeast and sugar in a bowl.  Add the water and mix.  When the dough is not sticky, remove from the bowl to knead on a flour-dusted surface.  Knead for about 5 minutes (kids are always great for this task!) then let rist for an hour. 

(Side note--I rarely use regular yeast anymore.  I like being able to cut down on steps in the kitchen and when it comes to making pizza dough, Rapid Rise yeast has always worked just fine for us)

This recipe will make enough dough for 2 10' pizzas and will keep, covered, in the fridge for up to 2 days.  You can also freeze dough for later use by putting in a large ziploc bag and flattening.  When you want to use it, remove from the bag and let thaw on a plate, covered with a clean towel.

Preheat the grill with 1 side on high heat and the other low heat.  Divide the dough into 2 balls; roll out dough into a 10" circle. 

It is important to have all your toppings ready to use when you put the dough on the grill.  Cooking goes quite fast grillside.

Place the dough on the hot side; cook for 30 seconds then rotate and cook for another 30 seconds.  Then flip onto the cool side.  Work quickly to add toppings--cheese first, then dot with sauce and complete your toppings.  Let the pizza grill for 2-3 minutes then rotate and let cook for another minute or 2.

Slide from grill onto a pan or cutting board.

Time to enjoy!