As I've said before, homemade pizza is a favorite around here. I've made it more times than I can count and I love coming up with non-traditional varieties. Tonight I'm making a grilled pizza with shrimp, scallops, caramelized onion, mushrooms, and roasted poblano pepper.

You'll need some pizza dough. Check out my pizza dough post for all the details. You can use store bought if you really have to, but I want to encourage you to try making it at least once. It's easy and it's so much better than anything you buy at the store.

Here's what you'll need for this pizza:

6 sea scallops
10 shrimp
1 yellow onion, caramelized
1 poblano pepper, roasted
1/2 C shredded pepperjack cheese
1/2 C shredded parmesan
1 cup sliced crimini mushrooms, cooked
1/2 C pesto

The most important thing to do when you make grilled pizza is to prepare all your ingredients so that they are ready to go. Grilling pizza is a much faster process than baking and you won't have time to get ingredients ready once you put the dough on the grill.

First, let's roast the poblano. Put the pepper over a high flame until it blisters and chars, turning to get all sides. Now put the pepper in a zip top bag and seal it. The steam will loosen the peel. After about 5 minutes, remove the pepper from the bag and, using your hands, remove the charred peel. Don't be tempted to run it under water to clean it. You don't want to wash off all that good smokey flavor and a few bits left on just add to the taste. Now remove the stem and the seeds and chop and set aside.

Now slice the mushrooms and sauté them until just done. In case no one has ever told you this, don't wash your mushrooms in water to clean them. I used to dump mine into a bowl of water to get the dirt off and I wondered why they were always so sog… — Now slice the mushrooms and sauté them until just done. In case no one has ever told you this, don't wash your mushrooms in water to clean them. I used to dump mine into a bowl of water to get the dirt off and I wondered why they were always so soggy. Mushrooms are like sponges and they soak up the water. Just use a cloth or paper towel to wipe off any soil. I cook my mushrooms in my dry wok on high heat. Because of the high moisture content of the mushrooms you don't need any oil or butter. Just add a little salt and stir until they're ready. After they're done, you can add any oil or butter or seasonings you like.

Now for the shrimp and scallops. First peel and devein the shrimp. Cut each shrimp in half lengthwise so that you have 2 skinny shrimp pieces instead of one whole one. Season them with a little Old Bay and flash fry them in a nonstick skillet on high heat for about 30 seconds. That's really all it takes because you don't want to over cook them. Now clean the scallops. There is often a little muscle still attached to the side of the scallop that you need to remove because it's tough. Just give it a little tug and it comes right off. Throw that piece away. Now cut the scallops into discs. You want them to be thin so you should get 3-4 discs per scallop. Flash fry the scallops too. Just about 15 seconds on each side on high heat and you'll get a nice tender scallop with a golden brown sear.

I have another post on how to make caramelized onions so if you don't know how, check it out. I'm afraid this post is getting way too long...

Put all your ingredients on something you can carry out to the grill, because it's time to make pizza!

Fire up your grill and get it smoking hot. I have a gas grill and I light all 3 burners and leave them on high for about 15 minutes. While it's getting hot, roll out your dough. I roll mine on parchment paper because it's easy to just pick up and carry to the grill and the paper peels right off. I used to spend a lot of time making perfectly round circles, but I decided I really like the more rustic, freeform look of the irregular shaped pizza. It is homemade after all. Brush olive oil over the entire surface of your crust. This will be the side you cook first. Now carry everything outside.

Put the dough oiled side down on your grill. The oil will keep it from sticking. You will notice bubbles start to form on the top and the bottom will get charred grill marks. While the crust is cooking, oil the top side of the crust. This will end up being the bottom of the pizza when you turn it and add your toppings. Using a pizza peel. turn the crust.

Now you can turn the heat down a little on your grill. I put mine on medium. If you are using a charcoal grill, just put the pizza to whatever side is a little cooler. Spread on the pesto first. Now add the onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Next come the shrimp and scallops and finally the 2 kinds of cheese. Close the lid and let the cheese melt and the crust finish cooking. This will only take a couple more minutes and now you're done. Cut the pizza and serve.

I realize that this is a really long post, but I wanted to give you as many details as possible. Don't be intimated but the seemingly endless steps. It's not as bad as it probably looks right now. The key is in the prep work. It does take a little time, but I promise the results are worth it.

Enjoy!

Lynn

Pizza Dough

I've been making pizza for years. In fact, it's kind of what i'm known for. It's definitely my most requested meal. Pizza is not difficult to make, but it does take a little time. I usually make my dough in the morning. It only take about 5 minutes to get it going and then I'm one step ahead. I've made it so often that I don't use a recipe or measure anymore, but I've looked around and found my original recipe to share with you.

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 C warm water (105 degrees or warm to the touch)
1 envelope active dry yeast (be sure to check the expiration to make sure it's good)
1 1/4 C water at room temperature (you may need a little more/less but I'll explain later)
2 TBL olive oil
4 C bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
any seasoning you want to add for flavor (I'll explain that too)

Add the yeast to the warm water and set aside. You should see the yeast begin to bloom within a couple of minutes. That just means the little granules start to puff up and look spongy. If it doesn't do that, throw it out and start over because your … — Add the yeast to the warm water and set aside. You should see the yeast begin to bloom within a couple of minutes. That just means the little granules start to puff up and look spongy. If it doesn't do that, throw it out and start over because your yeast is expired.

I make my dough in my food processor because it's so fast, but if you don't have one you can make it by hand or with a mixer. Add the flour and the salt to the bowl of the food processor. This is the time to decide whether you want plain dough or if… — I make my dough in my food processor because it's so fast, but if you don't have one you can make it by hand or with a mixer. Add the flour and the salt to the bowl of the food processor. This is the time to decide whether you want plain dough or if you'd like to add something to flavor it. Some of the seasonings I use are fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes or parmesan cheese. I decide which one I want based on the type of pizza I'm making. Today you can see I added red pepper flakes. Now put the lid on and pulse it a few times. This will break up the pepper flakes and mix them in evenly.

By now your yeast should be ready so add the olive oil to the mixture and give it a little stir to loosen whatever is stuck to the sides.

With the food processor running, pour the yeast mixture into the feeding tube. After you've added all of it, get the other 1 1/4 C of water and start slowing adding it until the dough comes together and forms a ball. This is not an exact science. The amount of water can vary each time you make it depending on things like the humidity levels that day. Just be sure to add it slowly and stop as soon as the ball forms. Now let the dough mix for another minute or two and you won't have to knead it when you take it out. The dough will be slightly sticky but manageable. if you added too much water and the dough is gooey, just dump it out on your bread board and sprinkle on more flour and hand mix it in until it can be rolled into a ball and keeps it's shape.

Now put some olive oil into whatever bowl you want to use for the dough to rise. I use an old wooden bowl but you can use glass or metal if that's what you have. Be sure to spread the oil around to cover the entire surface so that the dough doesn't stick when it rises.

Now form the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Roll it around so that all of it is covered with some of the olive oil so that it doesn't dry out while it's rising. Now cover it with a clean towel or plastic wrap and set it aside for a couple of hours to rise. I use a towel because plastic wrap doesn't stick to my bowl. If you use plastic wrap, spray the side that is towards the dough so that it won't stick.

Now you're ready to make pizza. You can see how much the dough has risen. Pinch off the amount you need and roll it out and add toppings and bake. I'll be posting some of our favorite combinations periodically.

So how much dough does this recipe make? Well, that depends on how you like it. I'd say it makes 2 large, medium thickness crusts. I usually make 4 smaller pizzas, some thin crust and some thicker with a variety of toppings. so everyone is happy. My only warning is this--once you start making homemade pizza no one is ever going to want to order out again!

Enjoy!

Lynn

Grilled Scallop and Shrimp Pizza

Pizza Dough

My Home, My Heart