Grilled Chicken, Plum & Balsamic Pizza

                                                                       
My husband was inspired to make this pizza after seeing Bobby Flay do something similar on his grilling show. I contributed by making the balsamic vinaigrette that we drizzled over the top, and I made the dough, but that was about it, so I can't be precise about the ingredient amounts Zach used. I'll give you my best guess, but pizza is one of those things you use personal taste to decide topping amounts anyway.

For the dough, I used my rosemary, basil pizza crust , sans the rosemary and basil. Instead, once it was rolled out, it got a nice sprinkle of salt and pepper.

My husband used one grilled chicken breast (sliced), about two sliced plums, one cup blue cheese, one and a half cups monterey jack cheese. Fresh chives and a sweet balsamic vinaigrette were used to top it.

The process of grilling the pizza gave the dough that flavor of smokiness that can only come from a grill. He grilled the rolled out dough before topping it. After the dough had picked up some grill marks and was fully cooked, he topped it and put it back on the grill until the cheese was melted.

I don't have the exact measurements for the balsamic drizzle, but I used approximately equal parts salad oil and balsamic vinegar, a pinch of salt and pepper, some dried Italian herbs, and about a tablespoon of sugar. The balsamic needed to be sweet in order to balance the tartness of the plums (the plums we got were pretty tart).

Chi-town Inspired, Deep Dish Pizza

Back in 2007, my husband and I (along with my mother and oldest son, who was still an only child at the time) went to Chicago for my cousin's wedding. Foodies that we are, we had to indulge in some of the famous local cuisine. We had the most amazing deep dish pizza at Pizzeria Due. They had Sam Adam's Summer Ale on draft. It was really a spectacular lunch, followed up with a trip to The Field Museum, a place I had not been to since I was probably ten-years-old.

But enough about the trip! The pizza was amazing (like I already said), but there was something about the crust that seemed different. It was almost like there was some cornmeal in it. It's been a few years since I've eaten it, so maybe some of this is just imagined, but I thought that if I made a pie crust using some cornmeal, I might be able to replicate the flavor. That's what I did, and I made it like a butter pastry crust, not a yeast-dough crust. My husband and I loved it! Here's what I did...

For the 9in crust:
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, cold and cubed
1/4 cup ice water

Filling:
6 to 8oz cooked sausage
1 sliced, sauteed onion
2 cups pizza cheese, a mozzarella and provolone mix
Sauce:
1 can diced, herbed tomatoes, slightly drained
1 small can tomato paste

Directions:
Make the pie crust and refrigerate at least an hour before use. In a food processor, combine cornmeal, flour and salt; pulse to mix. Then, add cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles a crumble. Slowly add ice water while pulsing. It will only take about half a minute. Turn the dough out onto plastic wrap and work into a flat disk, wrap and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out dough and place in a 9in round, deep baking pan. Layer the filling and sauce. Start with a thin layer of cheese, followed by toppings and sauce. Repeat until the pan is full. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Note: You can use any sort of toppings or pizza sauce that you prefer.