Grilling pizza, the preparation

Tonight I'm going to grill pizza. The quest started two weeks ago when Ross, dough aficionado and owner of a Cuisinart and a Kitchen Aid (I think), brought two bags of pizza dough sitting in olive oil to a barbeque. It was kind of a half-assed attempt though, since we rolled the dough out on paper plates and one or more of us had perhaps had a little bit too much to drink before trying to read the detailed directions for making a perfect grilled pizza.

So on to attempt two. This time, we'll be more prepared and will not begin drinking until after the pizza is done.

The resources: American Pie, by Peter Reinhart; The Cheese Board Collective Works, by, predictably, the Cheese Board Collective

The implement: A Weber Spirit two-burner gas grill

The toppings: I tend to go complicated in cooking and entertaining, I think because I often cook simply when it's just Joel and I, and I like to use other people as an excuse to experiment. But with pizza, I know that in general, the simpler, the better, with the major exception of Cheese Board pizza, which often goes in for the many-toppinged pizza and almost always does it with complete success.

So based on what I've already got in the house, what I'll buy today, and what I like to eat, and also taking into account that Ross, maker of the dough pictured above and owner of the American Pie cookbook, and his wife are vegan, my approach will be four-pronged:

• Variation* on Tomato Pizza with lemon zest (Cheese Board)


• Variation* on three-onion, four-herb, and four-cheese pizza (Cheese Board)


• If I can find an eggplant that isn't too expensive, I'll make a smoked eggplant puree that Reinhart suggests for grilled pizza.


• One page over from the smoked eggplant puree recipe is one for sweet-and-sour onion marmalade. It looks pretty easy and I like pickled onions and onions in vinegar, so if I have time I'll make that as another vegan option.

*Variation indicates that I may or may not actually follow through with the whole recipe.