Grilled Pizza. A Great Idea for Outdoor Entertaining

Warmer weather reminds me of having pool parties and cooking outside. One meal that guests really appreciate is grilled pizzas. I think there are a couple of reasons for this. First, they taste really good! Second, your guests can personalize them to their own taste. For the host, this is a great make ahead idea.

Finally, stop worrying about it. Often, we spend more time dreading and fretting about doing something we dislike than we spend actually doing it. Plus, all that worrying and fussing only reinforces our dislike of the job. It�s almost like doing it over and over again in our heads, instead of just doing it once, for real. . "do your best" to act like your intended Reader (you can do it if you need to)Here's a simple example. An e-mail tells you to call someone, but the message leaves out the phone number. You are expected to find the phone number on your own. The writer probably knew the phone number, but left it out. This "information oversight" gets expensive within a company when the e-mail is sent to many employees...each looking up the phone number on his/her own.Tomatoes. Most of us keep them in a refrigerator. However, storing them in a refrigerator will ruin the taste and nutrition of tomatoes. Tomatoes should be stored on a kitchen counter at room temperature, until they are cut. Once cut, tomatoes should then be stored in the refrigerator.It�s rarely true that "Everyone Knows That". Just because you find something to be obvious, it does not mean everyone knows that something.So there are a few suggestions on how to change your attitude about those nasty chores. Play around with them until you find one that works for you. Because if we can�t get rid of the chores, at least we can change how we feel about them. And there�s no good reason for making ourselves feel miserable.Some ideas for toppings include bowls of cooked Italian sausage, pepperoni, chicken breast pieces, Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, basil leaves, sage leaves, Italian parsley, thinly sliced tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, pizza sauce and whatever ingredients you may prefer. These are some that I use.Do It:(By the way, I still don�t like cooked carrots. I don�t know if it�s because I know what they are and have made up my mind already, or if the carrots at that restaurant were just exceptional. I suspect it�s a bit of both.)Don�t leave things for the User/Reader to figure out for themselves. It takes you only a few moments to include the material your Reader needs, and will save many Readers many hours in figuring things out.1. "Everyone Knows That". "the User can figure it out" (by seeing if my other dates provide clues to the format)If you set up an assembly line of sorts for the ingredients, it is easy for guests to put together their own pizzas.If you prefer not to make your own pizza dough, you can purchase it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store - or, you could use flour tortillas. But, I think the dough gives a more authentic flavor to the pizzas.EitherWhen in doubt, add a reference to that earlier (background) information. Tell your Reader where to find it, or provide a link to it if your document is electronic.

Adapted from Eating Well's May/June 1994 Issue.

Author: Mary Mechler