BBQ Pizza

I fondly remember my mother making pizza when I was a kid. She'd go to the store, and come home with some pepperoni, cheese, and a little yellow box of Kraft Pizza Mix. The package of dough mix, the little can of sauce, and the seasoning packet of herbs.... oh, it brings back memories!

I have since learned to make my own pizza dough, and I love making homemade pizza for the family. I use this recipe for the dough (although I've since learned that I really don't like multigrain flour, so I just use all-purpose flour.) But instead of baking it in the oven, I tried it on the barbeque last night and was THRILLED with the results!

I used a new recipe from Epicure Selections' "Ultimate Grilling Collection" cookbook, and it was perfect.

EPICURE'S SOUTHWEST GRILLED CHICKEN PIZZA (with a few changes)

1 batch of pizza dough (see link above)

2 small chicken breasts

1 green pepper, sliced

1 red onion, sliced into rings

1 tbsp. olive oil

Tex-Mex Rub (or Fajita Seasoning)

1/2 c. Tex-Mex Barbeque Sauce (recipe below)

4 tbsp. mayonnaise

grated cheese

Prepare pizza dough and let it rise. Sprinkle chicken breasts with Tex-Mex Rub and cook in a grill pan, flipping once. Dice into small pieces and set aside. Put green pepper and red onion slices in grill pan, and toss with olive oil and Tex-Mex Rub. Cook over medium heat until lightly charred, and then set aside with chicken. Mix together barbeque sauce and mayonnaise and set aside. Roll pizza dough into two circles, and place on the barbeque over medium heat for a few minutes, making sure it doesn't burn on the bottom. (Don't make your dough too thin or it will be too crispy.) Remove from heat, and spread barbeque sauce mixture over each pizza crust. Top with grilled chicken and veggies, and sprinkle with cheese. Put pizzas back on the barbeque for a couple minutes until cheese melts. Slices into wedges and serve.

We made one Southwest Chicken pizza, and one with just pepperoni for the kids, but the measurments I used in the recipe should give you enough to make two of the chicken pizzas. And it was sooooooooooo good!!! I can't believe I didn't make pizza on the grill before! The crust was nice and crispy on the bottom, and soft on top. It tasted like a fancy wood-oven pizza that you'd get at a restaurant. I can't wait to make this recipe again!

Now I'll be honest, I didn't make my own barbeque sauce. I intended to use the recipe below, which is apparently the same recipe Epicure used for the Tex-Mex sauce they sold in bottles last year. Since I had an un-opened bottle in my stash, I decided to use it instead of trying out this homemade version.

TEX-MEX BARBEQUE SAUCE (makes 4 c.)
2 c. ketchup
1 c. water
1/2 c. vinegar
1 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Tex-Mex Rub
1 tbsp. Fajita Seasoning
1 tbsp. Vegetable Seasoning

Combine ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-hight heat. Reduce heat and simmer 5-7 minutes, stirring often. Can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.