Donna's Test Kitchen - Grilled Boboli Pizza

Reminder: The Boboli Grilled Pizza Recipe Challenge still running. Check out the challenge and entry information.

My parents won’t be able to make the Boboli Beat BBQ Boredom Grilled Pizza Party in a few weeks and having been offered the opportunity to virtually participate in advance, my Mom (Donna) really came through. Thanks Mom!

We all converged on the family place in VT for the weekend where Mom had prepared to make a grilled pizza with a whole-wheat Boboli for lunch. This was definitely a good opportunity to try the process ahead of time and have a fantastic lunch. And I got a serious run for my money when it comes to flavor combinations with this one. Check this out.

Grilled Rosemary Apple, Cheese & Tomato Jam Pizza

½ jar homemade tomato jam

1 granny smith apple

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

2 oz grated Monterey Jack cheese

1 oz crumbled blue cheese

2 tbsp butter

According to all of the Boboli resources we got or have access to as party host, and HouseParty.com does a great job with this, we learned a couple simple rules for grilling pizza:

• Cook all your large pieces for toppings first, especially meats.
• Leave one grill burner off to create some heat circulation
• Carefully grill the crust before topping and cooking 

The grill in VT has two burners and both were used to preheat the grill. Then we shut off on and put the heat down to medium for the other.

Using some olive oil we grilled the crust for 4-5 minutes per side, watching closely for burning. It came off the grill to be topped hissing a bit and with a nice crisp outside. The apples were sautéed in the butter until fork tender. The rosemary was added at the end of the sauté until fragrant. The tomato jam was used to cover the warm crust and the apples were arranged around the crust, including the center. We spread the cheese on top and went back the grill. Here is where we observed a useful logistical lesson but avoided learning it the hard way. Have tools ready to move the pizza back and forth from the grill. The Boboli will not support itself and nor do you want it to. A large spatula and tongs or a flat pan with no sides will work best.

The pizza needs to be rotated for even cooking and melting and requires a watchful eye. Cooking times will vary. We removed it from the grilled, let it stand a bit and dug in.

 

Mom and Dad are hotly anticipating some delightful pizza So was the camera guy!

The tomato jam provides a sweet base for the pizza and while it could be served as a dessert pizza, I found that the rosemary and blue cheese kept it firmly on the savory side of the house for me. The apples were perfectly cooked and fell apart with each bite. A little butter flavor doesn't hurt either.

How can you pass up something that looks like that? The crust was crispy on the outside and warm and chewy on the inside. The two kinds of cheese provided different flavors in each bit and as crazy as this might sound and look I am combinations like this show up in upscale restaurants all the time.

We tried a couple of wine pairings and found that nothing we opened was a good match for the sweetness of the jam. The Ancient Fire 2008 Gewurztraminer/Riesling Blend tried admirably, but couldn't do it. The wine on its own is still drinking very well to its credit. The Jewell Towne Orange Muscat dessert wine was too tart to stand up to the pizza. Some medium-dry hard cider was better and had it had carbonation it might have done well. No harm, the pizza was excellent!

I hope you have been appropriately teased for our upcoming grilled pizza party. We are still accepting recipes until Saturday and will be drawing winners over the weekend.  The guest list is growing and we are expecting some enjoyable times trying different grilled pizza styles in the backyard.

Cheers!

Jason