Not your typical BBQ

Our friends mentioned to us that they wanted to have a BBQ to utilize their new deck and use it as a good excuse to get everyone together for a summertime party. I have been wanting to try my hand at grilling pizza's so I suggested we have a Grilled Pizza party. They happily approved the idea and so the 1st annual Graviss Grilled Pizza party was born. Both the hostess and myself had never grilled pizzas before so it was an adventure as well as a celebration. We had to conquer several unknowns but in the end it turned out awesome. All of the party goers were impressed by the idea and the pizzas were delicious. There were six different pizzas served at the party and the two below are the ones I brought.

Three Pepper Sausage Pizza
Adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients:

I package of pizza dough
1 to 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/3 lb. mozzarella cheese, shredded
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-thick
slices
1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-thick
slices
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-thick
slices
1/4 lb. Italian sausage, cut into 1/4-inch-thick
slices (I used spicy Italian Chicken Sausage)
1 Tbs. chopped fresh oregano

Prep the Peppers by cutting them into strips.

Roll out the pre-made pizza dough using a rolling pin into a 12in diameter circle.

Preheat grill to 350 degrees and place pizza dough on grill for about 3-4 minutes.

Remove dough from grill and brush both sides with olive oil. Top the cooked side of the dough with pizza toppings

and return pizza to grill until cheese begins to melt

Grilled Potato and Pancetta Pizza
Adapted from William Sonoma

Ingredients:

14 oz. red potatoes (about 6 medium), sliced
1/8 inch thick
2 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
4 oz. pancetta, diced
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 pre-made whole wheat pizza dough
3 Tbs. olive oil
8 oz. fontina cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups baby arugula
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

Put the potatoes and the 2 tsp. salt in a saucepan and add water to cover the potatoes by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and let cool.



In a fry pan over medium heat, fry the pancetta, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Prepare a grill for indirect grilling over high heat.

Dust a wooden pizza peel with flour. Divide the pizza dough in half and form each half into a ball. Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch or roll out 1 ball of dough into a 10-inch round.

Lay the dough on the pizza peel. Using a spoon, spread 1 Tbs. of the olive oil evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on the edge. Sprinkle half of the cheese evenly over the dough. Arrange half of the potato slices


on the cheese and sprinkle half of the pancetta on top.


Using the pizza peel, carefully slide the pizza onto the preheated grill. Cover the grill and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Uncover the grill and turn the pizza 180 degrees. Cover the grill and continue to cook until the crust is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes more. Using the pizza peel, transfer the pizza to a large cutting board and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Repeat with the remaining ingredients to make the second pizza.

In a bowl, toss together the arugula, the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil, salt and pepper. Scatter the arugula evenly over the pizzas. **I accidentally forgot the arugula at home :-(

I was shocked at how easy grilling pizzas turned out. I would definitely do this again and would even make it for a weeknight meal because it was super simple and fun!