Shawn-A-Palooza

It just so happened that Kevin's best friend (and Best Man) turned 30 the weekend after our wedding. Since this is such a momentous event, he decided to forgo a simple one day celebration and turned his birthday into a week long event....called Shawn-A-Palooza. It officially began Sunday, September September 28th and kicked off with homemade pizzas on the grill! Since we liked the previous pizza dough recipe I posted so much, we just used the same one!

Earlier that day we went to a near by amusement park, here are some of the pictures:

We had so much fun with all our amazing friends. We were so sad to see them go. If only we could get everyone to live in the same place, or even the same area code......honestly, at this point, I'd settle for the same time zone - lol! :)

A New Summer Favorite - Pizza on the Grill!

During warmer months, I spend as much time outside as possible; which, makes grilling the obvious place to make dinner. I have been wanting to try pizzas on the grill for a while but, I've been a bit nervous. Luckily, I had a "grill master" (my fiance, Kevin) there to help. :)

The pizza dough recipe is from Epicourious:

3/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

1 envelope active dry yeast

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp sugar

3/4 tsp salt

3 Tbsp olive oil

1-2 Tbsp cornmeal

Add yeast to 3/4 cup warm water. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Brush large bowl lightly with olive oil. In another bowl, mix 2 cups flour, sugar, and salt. Add yeast mixture and 3 tablespoons oil; process until dough forms a sticky ball. Transfer to lightly floured surface. Knead dough until smooth, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer to prepared bowl; turn dough in bowl to coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

After dough has risen, punch down and divide into 4. On a lightly floured surface, roll each crust thin (6-7″ diameter, or larger if desired).

Preheat grill burners on high, covered, 10 minutes, then reduce heat to moderate. Prepare all toppings and have nearby grill. Lightly brush crusts with olive oil. Carefully flip dough rounds, oiled sides down, with your hands onto middle of lightly oiled grill rack and brush top of each with oil. Grill crusts, uncovered, until undersides are golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on gas grill. Flip crusts over. Top with tomato sauce, cheese and other toppings as desired - we used mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil. Cook for about 3-5 minutes. Enjoy!!