I had a friend over for dinner and promised that I would be experimenting on her. I am pretty sure she was a little scared.
I had seen on a couple of Food Network shows, grilled romaine salad. I have always been a traditionalist when it comes to lettuce, it should be cold. UNTIL NOW! I purchased a bag of romaine hearts and sliced them in half (keeping the core at the bottom so they don't fall apart on the grill). I brushed them with olive oil and put them right on the grill. They cook very quickly, so move fast. They spent the most time on the cut side, but I moved them around. Then I took them off the grill and went inside. I made a lemon/dijon vinagrette with lemon (juice and zest), a hefty couple of tablespoons of dijon, chopped shallots, some salt and pepper and a little honey. Whisked it together with olive oil and ready... I crumbled some bacon and gorgonzola cheese over the top and yum.
Along with the salad, I decided to try grilling pizza dough. I have seen it done a number of times. Why not? Well, I learned a few things grilling it. Before I put it on the grill, I brushed olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper on one side. The first thing I learned that I should have cut the dough in half to start with. The entire Pillsbury pizza dough, 9x13 fitting crust is too big to manage. Thank you kitchen shears. I did end up with some pizza dough globs that I grilled. They were unattractive but still yummy. Secondly, I thought since this was the first time, I would put it on the higher grate on my grill to have more indirect heat. It just took a long time and got sticky. I moved the sliced pieces to the bottom.
I had intended to put grilled mushrooms on the pizza, but got the no-go from my guest because she said if it was between drinking battery acid and eating mushrooms she might have a tough time deciding but would lean towards battery acid. So I just put on a cream cheese spread I made with some CSA items, more dill and chopped up green garlic. After both sides of the pizza crust had some grill marks, I spread on the cream cheese mixture on the crust and let it get bubbly.
Overall, the experiment was a success. I learned a few things for next time, but I will continue to perfect it.
I had seen on a couple of Food Network shows, grilled romaine salad. I have always been a traditionalist when it comes to lettuce, it should be cold. UNTIL NOW! I purchased a bag of romaine hearts and sliced them in half (keeping the core at the bottom so they don't fall apart on the grill). I brushed them with olive oil and put them right on the grill. They cook very quickly, so move fast. They spent the most time on the cut side, but I moved them around. Then I took them off the grill and went inside. I made a lemon/dijon vinagrette with lemon (juice and zest), a hefty couple of tablespoons of dijon, chopped shallots, some salt and pepper and a little honey. Whisked it together with olive oil and ready... I crumbled some bacon and gorgonzola cheese over the top and yum.
Along with the salad, I decided to try grilling pizza dough. I have seen it done a number of times. Why not? Well, I learned a few things grilling it. Before I put it on the grill, I brushed olive oil and sprinkled salt and pepper on one side. The first thing I learned that I should have cut the dough in half to start with. The entire Pillsbury pizza dough, 9x13 fitting crust is too big to manage. Thank you kitchen shears. I did end up with some pizza dough globs that I grilled. They were unattractive but still yummy. Secondly, I thought since this was the first time, I would put it on the higher grate on my grill to have more indirect heat. It just took a long time and got sticky. I moved the sliced pieces to the bottom.
I had intended to put grilled mushrooms on the pizza, but got the no-go from my guest because she said if it was between drinking battery acid and eating mushrooms she might have a tough time deciding but would lean towards battery acid. So I just put on a cream cheese spread I made with some CSA items, more dill and chopped up green garlic. After both sides of the pizza crust had some grill marks, I spread on the cream cheese mixture on the crust and let it get bubbly.
Overall, the experiment was a success. I learned a few things for next time, but I will continue to perfect it.
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