ONE LOCAL SUMMER: WEEK THREE

It was a busy weekend here (gardening, festivals, picnics, pool) so not a tremendous amount of cooking was done. The one local summer meal this weekend was grilled pizza. I hadn't really tried grilling a pizza before and much to my amazement (!), it worked! The dough did not fall through the cracks.

The dough was made in the bread machine using flour from New Hope Mills (44 miles) and rolled into three smaller rounds. The gas grill was heated to ~400 degrees and the dough was placed on the surface and allowed to bake for about 5-6 minutes. Surface was brushed with oil in which a few cloves of local garlic had been steeping for a few days and allowed to bake another two or three minutes.

Two pizzas were topped with a mixture of yellow and red tomatoes canned from last year's garden bounty (50 ft), chopped garlic, and fresh basil from this year's early crop. I made the mozzarella last night with a gallon of Byrne Dairy whole milk (70 miles). I've made ricotta and cottage cheeses before, as well as quesos fresco and blanco but hadn't quite ventured further. Ricki Carroll's book Home Cheesemaking has a fabulously easy recipe for 30 minute mozzarella that you make in a microwave. I ended up with about a pound for soft mozzarella that worked perfectly for the pizza.

The second pizza was topped with pesto from 'Whole In the Wall' restaurant (82 miles). They advertised their pestos as the best in the universe and really, I kind of have to agree. Their chipotle pesto is outstanding!

Once the pizzas are topped they are baked for another ten minutes, with the grill on a low flame. They were served with local mesclun mix and vinaigrette. A simple supper but a good one.

If you haven't tried grilling a pizza yet, try it--it's easy, delicious and keeps the house cool.