I used to go to a lot of home parties as a young wife & mother. Tupperware, Creative Memories, Pampered Chef, Mary Kay, Stampin’ Up and whatever else friends & acquaintances were hosting. That’s where all the new & innovative products were back in the days before internet buying. I usually ended up buying some products, some that we loved, some that we didn’t. Our first pizza stone was in the didn’t category. We tried it out a few times and found it to be more trouble that it was worth. We stopped using it and eventually got rid of that pizza stone in a garage sale.
Fast forward about 20 years. Kelly & Gilbert are preparing for their wedding and doing the registry thing. One of the items they selected was a pizza stone. I kept my mouth shut, but I was remembering what a waste of money our last one had been. Kelly & Gilbert were given the stone they had chosen as a shower gift & tried it out in their new place. They loved it! Today’s pizza stones are nothing like the one I had bought so many years ago. They were so impressed with it that they bought one to give to Eric as a gift. And Andrew gave Eric a pizza peel. Eric was so thrilled that we had to have pizza on a Tuesday night, just so he could try out his new cooking tools! The stone can be used on the grill or in the oven and the peel (the long handled paddle you see pros using in pizza parlors) makes a world of difference in transferring the pizza to & from the heated stone. And our Friday night pizzas are even better tasting!
Our latest tools in the quest for perfect pizza at home.
Roasted Beet & Fig Pizza (adapted from finecooking.com)
Serves 4
- 4 medium beets with tops, beets peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick and beet greens washed, stems removed & discarded, and the leaves thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound of pizza dough, at room temperature
- All-purpose flour, as needed
- Cornmeal, as needed
- 4 ounces goat cheese, softened
- 4 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 2/3 cup chopped dried figs, about 4 ounces
- 4 thin slices provolone, about 3 ounces, diced
Prepare a high gas or charcoal grill fire.
In a medium bowl, toss the sliced beets with 2 teaspoons of the oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, toss the beet greens with 2 teaspoons of oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Set the greens aside. Spread the beets on a baking sheet and roast them in a 450° oven for 10 minutes or grill the beets, with the lid of the grill closed, until they are tender and spotty brown on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Cut the roasted beets into bite sized pieces, return them to their bowl and set them aside.
Reduce the grill heat to medium high, about 375° – 400°. Place the pizza stone on the grill, allowing it to heat up while you prepare the pizza. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or stretch the dough out to the size needed on a pizza peel or baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Brush the pizza crust with the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil then add the garlic. Sprinkle the crust with the shredded mozzarella, then the beets, beet greens, chopped figs & goat cheese. Top the pizza with the provolone, and transfer the pizza to the heated pizza stone. Grill for 8 minutes, until the pizza bottom is brown & the cheese is melted. Remove the pizza from the stone to a cutting board, slice & serve.
I like when the distribution of ingredients is perfectly spaced so each bite gives you all the individual flavors. No signs of OCD in that statement!
(If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can still grill individual pizzas. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, stretch or roll each piece of dough into a roughly round shape. Transfer the rounds to a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Arrange the pizza crusts on the grill. Cover and grill, moving them around as needed to ensure even cooking, until the bottoms are spotty brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Top the grilled side of the crusts with the toppings as stated above.
Return the pizzas to the grill, with the uncooked side down this time. Close the grill and cook the pizzas until the bottoms are spotty brown, the greens are wilted, and the cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board, cut it into pieces and serve.)
Such diverse flavor combinations but great together!
Love having grilled pizza on Fridays in the summer! ~Linda
Roasted Beet & Fig Pizza (adapted from finecooking.com)
Serves 4
- 4 medium beets with tops, beets peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick and beet greens washed, stems removed & discarded, and the leaves thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound of pizza dough, at room temperature
- All-purpose flour, as needed
- Cornmeal, as needed
- 4 ounces goat cheese, softened
- 4 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 2/3 cup chopped dried figs, about 4 ounces
- 4 thin slices provolone, about 3 ounces, diced
Prepare a high gas or charcoal grill fire.
In a medium bowl, toss the sliced beets with 2 teaspoons of the oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. In another medium bowl, toss the beet greens with 2 teaspoons of oil and a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Set the greens aside. Spread the beets on a baking sheet and roast them in a 450° oven for 10 minutes or grill the beets, covered, until they are tender and spotty brown on both sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cut the roasted beets into bite sized pieces, return them to their bowl and set them aside.
Reduce the grill heat to medium high, about 375° – 400°. Place the pizza stone on the grill, allowing it to heat up while you prepare the pizza. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll or stretch the dough out to the size needed on a pizza peel or baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
Brush the pizza crust with the remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil then add the garlic. Sprinkle the crust with the shredded mozzarella, then the beets, beet greens, chopped figs & goat cheese. Top the pizza with the provolone, and transfer the pizza to the heated pizza stone. Grill for 8 minutes, until the pizza bottom is brown & the cheese is melted. Remove the pizza from the stone to a cutting board, slice & serve.
(If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can still grill individual pizzas. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Working with 1 piece at a time, stretch or roll each piece of dough into a roughly round shape. Transfer the rounds to a large baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Arrange the pizza crusts on the grill. Cover and grill, moving them around as needed to ensure even cooking, until the bottoms are spotty brown, about 2 to 4 minutes. Top the grilled side of the crusts with the toppings as stated above.
Return the pizzas to the grill, with the uncooked side down this time. Close the grill and cook the pizzas until the bottoms are spotty brown, the greens are wilted, and the cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board, cut it into pieces and serve.)