Grilled Pizza

Unfortunately, our oven completely died this past week. I did go out and buy us a new one but unless it is an emergency (what really constitutes an oven emergency?) the oven would not be delivered until Saturday. On top of the dead oven, we ran out of propane halfway through grilling salmon for dinner... but luckily the previous owner had left behind her propane tank so we were in luck on that front.

The day before the oven died I had bought all the fixin's for a delicious pizza and the dough (I love making my own dough, but really, Trader Joe's is just as good when life gets busy) was set to expire this week. So... I decided to try out some grilled pizza. And y'all, it was really good! It baked up very quickly and Mr. E. and I nearly devoured all of the pizza. Yum!

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• box of mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. mozzarella, sliced

Directions

1. Preheat grill for high heat. Heat olive oil with garlic for 30 seconds in the microwave. Set aside. Punch down dough, and divide in half. Form each half into an oblong shape 3/8 to 1/2 inch thick.
2. Brush grill grate with garlic flavored olive oil. Carefully place one piece of dough on one side of hot grill and the other pizza half onto the other side of the grill. The dough will begin to puff almost immediately (like, within 15 seconds!). When the bottom crust has lightly browned, turn the dough over using two spatulas. Working quickly, brush oil over crust, and then brush with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce. Arrange vegetables over crust. Spread cheese on top. Close the lid, and cook until the cheese melts. Remove from grill, and set aside to cool for a few minutes.

*I sauteed the mushrooms and onions in advance because I didn't think they would have enough time to cook before the pizza was finished as the cook time is so quick.

Adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-On-The-Grill-I/Detail.aspx

Mr. E's birthday

All summer long Mr. E has been craving a cherry pie. Cherry pie making doesn't come naturally to me and I don't see cherries at the farmer's market so it is not usually something I think to make. He always sees them in grocery stores or even at the bakery at the beach but honestly, they look like the filling was dumped right out of a can. So... for his birthday this year he asked for a homemade cherry pie. After a bit of research I found that no, we don't grow the kind of cherries around here that go in a pie, but yes, someone has taken the time to review cherries and found that the best cherries out there are from a company called Orgeon Fruit. Luckily, a new organic/local grocery store just opened a few miles down the road from us and I was able to find these cherries!

I hope he loves this pie as much as I do as I put a lot of love (and research) into this dessert!

Cherry Pie with Crumb Topping (I combined two recipes from Emeril & Oregon Fruit Company)

3/4 c sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch*
2 cans Oregon Red Tart Pie Cherries, drained, reserve juice from one can
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
Pastry for a 9-inch pie

Crumb Topping:
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Drain the cherries and reserve the juice from only one can. In a saucepan, stir the cherry juice into the combined mixture of the cornstarch and sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Gently stir in cherries and optional ingredients. Remove from heat. Pour filling into pastry lined pie pan. In a separate bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. Blend the butter into the dry ingredients using your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place on top of the cherry filling. Bake 30-40 minutes or until crust browns and filling begins to bubble. If necessary, cover edges with aluminum foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent over-browning. Cool pie several hours to allow filling to thicken before slicing.

*Three tablespoons quick cooking tapioca may be substituted. Discard juice, combine sugar, tapioca, cherries, and almond extract; mix well and let stand 20 minutes before pouring mixture into pastry lined pie pan. Continue as above.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/apple-and-cherry-pie-with-oatmeal-crumble-topping-recipe/index.html
http://www.oregonfruit.com/of.pl?pg=rp&rcp=Cherry%20Pie