No.
I’m not saying I make pizza with barbecue sauce on it…
I make regular pizzas on my barbecue.
Here’s how…
Make sure your pizza dough is resting at room temperature before you start working with it. Leave it on the counter, and start prepping your toppings…
The key is to pre-cook your veggies... Here I caramelized some onion with olive oil and garlic.
And here are some portabella mushrooms, sliced thinly and cooked to release their meaty flavor...
You know you've got to use simple fresh ingredients, so I snipped some basil from my garden.
So the thing about barbecuing a pizza is that you have to work quickly once the dough is on the grill. Because of this, you must make sure that all of your toppings are ready to go before you throw anything over the fire. I made two pizzas the other night, so I prepped my toppings like so…
Caramelized onions, portabella mushrooms, and smoked mozzarella for pizza number one...
Tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella for pizza number two.
Now time to bring out the dough!
I bought this stuff at Trader Joe’s for a few bucks, but you can make your own for a few cents…
Using hella flour on a cutting board, I prefer to stretch my dough by hand instead of rolling it. That's right. My hand is blurry. Don't judge me!
Be sure to preheat the grill to medium for 10 minutes while you are working the dough, then use your trusty pizza peel to transport the pizza to the fire…
Brush the dough with olive oil, and place it on the grill (oil side down) for 3 - 5 minutes. Brush the exposed side of the dough with olive oil while you are waiting.
Use the pizza peel to flip the dough. Immediately place all of the toppings on your pizza except for the cheese. I put tomatoes and fresh basil on this one...
This mutant pizza was topped with caramelized onion and portabella mushrooms.
Let the pizzas cook for another 5 – 7 minutes to get them all blistered and crunchy. Throw on your cheese and slam down the lid with anger for the last minute.
Here’s how they turned out…
Tomato, fresh basil, and mozzarella... Bright and whimsical.
Caramelized onion, portabella mushrooms, and smoked mozzarella... Earthy and refined.
These pizzas were so delicious, they put me into a food coma. When I awoke, I realized that I had tasting notes for a wine I had already reviewed before. The results of which were surprising…
Trader Joe's 2010 Grower's Reserve Zinfandel from Paso Robles... Again!
The first time I reviewed the Trader Joe’s 2010 Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel I was not stoked. This was a five dollar wine that I decanted for three hours… Just long enough for it to fall apart. I paired it with a pulled pork sandwich, and it just didn’t work. You can read the post yourself, or you can just trust me that I gave it an 84.
But this time…
This time it was different…
This time I popped and poured the wine immediately.
This time I paired it with two dope barbecued pizzas.
This time…
This time it worked!
Color: Red to purple.
Nose: Bright cherry and raspberry fruit.
Taste: Nice dark plums with bright cranberry and raspberry. This medium weight wine gave a nice chalky (You know I’m ’bout it!) plum skin finnish, and paired nicely with both pizzas.
Score: I was hella stoked on this wine… this time. It doesn’t have the backbone to age for a long time, but what it is bringing right now is dope. Buy this wine for a green back at TJ’s, and drink it NOW… unless you’re driving… Why you are driving while reading this blog, I’ll never know… Pull over! Give it an 89+ foo.
So… Here I am telling you to how much I loved a wine that I hated a few months ago…
Has this ever happened to you?
Was it bottle variation?
Has my palate changed?
Was it the difference in how long the wine was open?
Was it the food pairing?
Was it the food coma?
Was it some combination of these factors?
What do you think?
Leave a comment, and let me know…
Stay Rad,
Jeff
Tags: Barbecued Pizza, Food Coma, Jeff, Stay Rad, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's 2010 Grower's Reserve Zinfandel
Stay Rad 
September 24, 2011 at 2:31 pm |
I had two bottles of le crau vieux telegraphe 2005, opened both within 6 months of each other. The first bottle I opened was the best wine I have ever had. The second bottle I opened was okay. I don’t have a proper cellar so it might have gotten too hot over the summer, but i am not sure! I decanted both of them the same amount. I read online that it was going through a “dumb” period or something and that i was supposed to open it between 2012 and 2020.
September 24, 2011 at 2:35 pm |
Thanks Jonny,
I’m pretty sure I’ve opened a couple of “hot” wines in my day…
Stay Rad,
Jeff