Karen Adler - Patio Pizzeria: Artisan Pizza and Flatbreads on the Grill

Copyright 2014 by Karen Adler and Judith Fertig

Photographs 2014 by Steve Legato

Published by Running Press,

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013943526

E-book ISBN 978-0-7624-5179-1

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Digit on the right indicates the number of this printing

Cover design and interior design by Jason Kayser

Edited by Kristen Green Wiewora

Typography: Chronicle, Gin, and Sentinel

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For Grillers and Pizzeria Lovers Everywhere!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

When you go to your neighborhood pizzeria, you expect toasty bruschetta, panini, sandwiches, pizzas, and flatbreads that are bubbly and browned on the edges.

Yet somehow, when you try to make all of that at home in your oven, theyre not nearly as good as when the pizzeria bakes them. Why is that?

Pizza ovens generally operate on a higher heat than we can achieve in an indoor oventemperatures from at least 450 to over 900F. But what your indoor oven cant do, your outdoor grill can.

Take a grill on a patio and youve got a pizzeria in the making.

In our previous book, The Gardener and the Grill, we grew vegetables, fruits, and herbs in our gardens and then sizzled them on the grillwith fresh, colorful, and delicious results.

For Patio Pizzeria, weve gone from gardeners and grillers to pizzaiole, or pizza women. Its a natural progression because it also fits the way we want to eatdishes that are fresh, flavorful, filling, budget-friendly, and on the grill. When we pair bruschetta, panini, flatbreads, or pizzas with salads that complement or contrast with the pizza toppings, weve got great casual meals with a wide appeal that feel virtuous to eat.

Our communal love of pizza began after World War II. When soldiers who had been stationed in Italy came home, they brought with them a love for the traditional Italian pie. But the first American-style pizza that resultedwith thicker crust, lots of cheese, more meatwas not like true Italian pizza you might get in Naples. Mom-and-pop pizzerias opened up across the country, from Boston to Cincinnati, Chicago, and San Francisco. In the 1970s when the dollar was very strong against European currencies and American college students went abroad (like the two of us), they came back with a new/old idea of pizza. Although we were in Rome and Naples at different times, we both remembered how differentand deliciousthe thin-crust pizza capricciosa (with its quadrant of toppingsartichoke, ham, mushroom, and black oliveand a baked egg in the middle) was than the thick-crusted pepperoni and mushroom we knew at home in the Midwest.

Likewise, our made-at-home pizza tastes have changed. From the early formula of pat-in the-pan crust from a box, tomato-based pizza sauce, packaged pepperoni, and lots of shredded cheese, we might now enjoy a grill-marked or blistered crust topped with a swirl of artisan pesto, fresh veggies or herbs, dots of goat cheese, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

Today, we like pizza because its full-flavored without being heavy, ethnic without being weird, and can be customized any way we like itplain, loaded, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, seasonalthe possibilities are many.

Flatbreads, bruschetta, panini, and pizzas on the grill can also have a tie to the garden.

In spring, Pizza Biancoverde ().

We also like to grill elements of a bruschetta, sandwich, flatbread, or pizza to add flavor to the topping. Try our Big Easy Tenderloin Bruschetta with Parmesan Aoli and Arugula () for that one-two grill punch.

If you like wood-burning oven fare, try a few of these places across the country:

Whole Foods Markets (and their 750F oven); La Bicyclette in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California; Pizza in Tampa, Florida; Ellas Pizza in Washington, DC; A16 and Flour + Water in San Francisco, California; Pizzaiolo in Oakland, California; Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach, California; Al Forno in Providence, Rhode Island; Frannys in Brooklyn, New York; Paulie Gees in Queens, New York; Kens Artisan Pizza in Portland, Oregon; or SPIN! Neapolitan Pizza in greater Kansas City and Orange, California.

Now lets get started in your own backyard.