Book of Yum

I wasn’t exactly intending to blog about tonight’s dinner, honestly. I mean, how many pizza recipes does one need? We’ve already had some pretty fancy pizza recipes here at the Book of Yum. But this week, due to a chaotic household, it just seemed better not to use the oven, and so when I was planning the menu I thought I’d try a new pizza technique- grilling the pizza crust. It’s a technique I’ve heard about many times but never tried myself, and I thought it was high time. It’s perfect, really, especially in hot weather when turning on the oven seems like cruel and unusual punishment. (Granted, it hasn’t been all that hot here… but it should be!) I have a lot of Chebe mixes left from the last bulk order I did with them, and during busy weeks, there’s nothing I love more than the “open the package and dump it in the bowl” style of baking. This time I made two small ones from the mix because I just love making more than one topping but still having separate pizzas. Then it was time to grill. I’m big into the propane grill, baby. Supposedly it is the DH’s, but I use it about 10 times more often than he does- I’m always grilling veggies or tofu or something because it adds so much flavor to everything. But what could a grill do to a pizza crust? The answer? A lot. I was worried that the crust might stick to the grill, but happily, it didn’t. And it baked so fast- far quicker than if you had baked it in the oven. Just a few minutes and one side of the pizza looked DONE, and even had sexy grill marks to prove it. I turned it over, let it grill for another few minutes, and then went happy with my toppings. To be honest, I had something of a little problem- largely, no pasta sauce in the house whatsoever. I did have half of the juice from a can of chopped tomatoes, and some tomato paste, so I made a very basic red sauce base. To my surprise, it worked just fine and actually tasted great. Then I grilled up a portabella mushroom basted with olive oil, garlic, and seasoning, and did the same to my sweet red pepper. With the addition of some sliced calamata olives and cheese, I had a great basic veggie pizza that matched my taste buds perfectly. But I still didn’t have enough red sauce for the second pizza, so I decided to go all out and try something I’d never had before- marguerita pizza. According to online sources, this is one of the first official pizzas and was produced by Italy’s Royal chefs in honor of Queen Marguerita in 1896 when she asked them to make her an assortment of pizzas resembling the bread pizzas she had enjoyed among commoners. Traditionally, the marguerita pizza contains “fresh sliced tomato, mozzarella, fresh basil, fresh garlic, onion and a hint of Romano (no tomato sauce).” (source: In Mama’s Kitchen) Sounded good to me! And in fact, it was absolutely delicious. I’ll definitely be making BOTH of these pizzas again, and I have a feeling that my grill is going to be even busier this summer baking up a slew of yummy pizzas. Oh, and since there was cheese AND grill marks involved, the DH loved this recipe too.

This pizza would be perfect for an Independence Day party, or just for a quick dinner before you see the fireworks. Looking for other gluten-free fourth of July recipes?

Try my Recipe for Grilled Sesame Vegetables
with this accompanying Ginger Peanut Sauce (Complete with pics from our 4th of July last year)
My World-Famous Grilled Sesame Tofu Recipe
a classic Gluten-Free Macaroni Salad Recipe
Japanese potato salad Recipe
Grilled Kabocha and Sundried Tomato Pate
GF Lemon Blueberry Muffin Recipe (Add raspberries and white frosting for a red,white and blue treat!)

Want another yummy pizza recipe?
Try my favorite Grilled Veggie and Smoked Cheese Pizza Recipe
Allergen Free Gluten-Free Pizza Recipe (with crust recipe)
Or this unexpected Zucchini Crust Pizza Recipe

Hope this helps you get some ideas for your Fourth of July Celebration! If you have links to your favorite recipes for the forth of July, share in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Gluten Free Grilled Chebe Marguerita Pizza and Grilled Veggie Pizza Recipe Main Course  Alternative Grains  Italian

Ingredients Pizza Dough: 1 pkg. Chebe pizza mix 2 eggs 1 tbsp. oil 4 tbsp. your choice of “milk” (dairy or non-dairy) Marguerita topping: Grated nonfat mozzarella cheese (1/4 packaged ball) or favorite non-dairy substitute 1 medium organic tomato Handful fresh basil salt Traditional topping- Tomato sauce: 3 tbsp juice from can of chopped canned tomato 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 tsp. olive oil sprinkle of sugar and salt Veggies: 1 portabella mushroom 3 peeled garlic cloves 1/2 sweet red pepper 8 kalamata olives nonfat mozzarella cheese, grated (or favorite nondairy cheese substitute) Directions Combine Chebe pizza ingredients according to package instructions and knead dough into a ball. Separate into two balls. Take a gallon sized ziploc bag and place your chebe dough inside the bag and flatten it out (pressing on the OUTSIDE of the bag so your hands don’t get icky) into a nice circle in about 1/4 or 1/8 of an inch thick. Remove dough from bag and place on a plate, and reserve. Now make your second pizza. Turn on your grill to medium high heat and place your pizza crusts on the grill (without toppings) letting it cook with the lid open for a few minutes. You may wish to rotate the dough if your grill cooks unevenly. Turn your pizza crust over when that side has nice grill marks and grill the other side for another few minutes. Remove from grill and cover with toppings.* Grill for a few minutes on low, covered. When cheese has nicely melted, remove from grill and cut into pieces. Yummy! *For the marguerita pizzas, top the pizza with mozzarella cheese, tomato slices, a sprinkle of salt and a handful of basil. Drizzle with a little high quality olive oil and finish grilling. *For the traditional veggie pizza, crush your garlic cloves and put them in a small bowl with a tablespoon of high quality olive oil and your favorite pasta/italian seasoning herbs. Baste your portabella mushroom and red pepper and grill, turning when each side is done. Remove from heat and chop into pieces. Also mix your tomato sauce ingredients in another bowl. Top your pizza with tomato sauce, grilled veggies, and cheese, adding olives on very top. If you like, after the pizza has baked with toppings, you can broil it in the oven so the cheese gets all brown on top. Be careful not to burn!

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Grilling technique from chebe site, toppings my own creation. Please do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1263 Added:  July 1, 2008 Last Modified:  July 1, 2008

Sometimes all a gluten-free girl wants is pizza and fries. Is that supposed to be a burger and fries? Well, veggie burgers are good, too. But in this case, I wanted my pizza and to have fries too. But not any old potato fry would do! Lately I’ve been absolutely obsessed with finding new, interesting ways to use my Pocono Organic Cream of Buckwheat Cereal. I love it plain, as is, or topped with some kind of fresh veggie vinaigrette bit or roasted veggies- but it can be almost more fun to use it in other, more standardly corn or semolina grit recipes. I made some really tasty buckwheat gnocchi, and that was good, but I have recently been inspired by Kate of Gluten Free Gobsmacked to make fries out of polenta. One day when I made a little too much buckwheat cereal and had some leftover vegan pesto, it occurred to me- why not make “polenta” fries out of buckwheat cereal instead of corn grits? And a new dish was born! I stirred in some pesto into the mash, cooled it, cut it into fries and browned it in the oven until all crispy and crunchy. The texture of buckwheat is a bit different than corn- Buckwheat mash has a larger flakes so the fries have more texture, almost like tempeh, but nevertheless, it makes a darned tasty fry, and if any bits crumble off, you can just gobble them up before anyone is the wiser. Not that, ahem, I did any such thing. Cough. Cough. I had some leftover tomato juice from stewed tomatoes as well, so I reduced that into a nice, sweet sauce and dipped my tasty little fries in that and had a very nice mid-afternoon snack.

Admittedly NOT on the same day (a day or so before in fact) I’d played with an onion marmalade recipe I’d found in this Amazing Soy cookbook (the recipe actually contained no soy whatsoever, so take heart if you are soy intolerant) and made up a very yummy mini pizza with caramelized onion topping, thyme and pecans. Vegan pizzas, including ones I’ve made, often try to recreate “cheesiness” and can succeed or fail based on the palatability of that cheese substitute. However, another way to go is to forgo any attempt at “cheese” and just celebrate the merits of vegetables on their own. Caramelizing onions until gewy and intensely sweet is one way to do that- and the fresh thyme brightened the flavor notes while the pecan added just the right nutty “meat” to the dish. I also made an old favorite- a simple vegan basil pesto topping that can be as simple or complex as you like, depending on what you pile on top of it. I was in the mood for simple food, so we just had our pizza with straight pesto. DH proclaimed them both a success on the Chebe crusts, but his favorite was definitely the onion. Unfortunately we liked them so much I didn’t have any to photograph the next morning in good light, so I’m afraid you’re stuck with my nighttime shots. Both were oh-so-good and perfect for vegan diners as well as dairy-intolerant gluten-free folk. (If you want to make your pizza from scratch, I recommend Carol Fenster’s pizza recipe SANS gelatin, a totally unnecessary ingredient.)

The next time you’re in the mood for pizza and/or fries, why not try one of my gloriously vegan pizzas? Less calories than cheese and just as flavorful, if not more so, than their dairy friends. And the fries, well, those are definite crowd pleasers- although when I ate mine, it was a banquet for one at our sunny dining room table. I warn you- this recipe is addicting, so if you have to share, you might want to double or even triple the recipe. And I couldn’t resist naming them Goddess Fries, because I felt like a green goddess stirring that bright green pesto into the buckwheat grits!


If you love buckwheat cereal as I do, you might enjoy my
Buckwheat Gnocchi Recipe (not vegan as written, but adaptable)

*If it’s not in your local store, you can get a good price on your Wheat-free, Gluten-free Pocono Organic Cereal, Cream of Buckwheatfrom Amazon.

Green Goddess Baked Basil Pesto Buckwheat Fries Recipe Side Dish  Alternative Grains  American

Ingredients 2-1/2 Cups Water 1/2 tsp Salt (optional) 1/2 cup Cream of Buckwheat (Pocono) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 or 2 tbsp. dairy free (or your favorite) basil pesto recipe Materials: Small Bread pan lined with aluminum foil Baking sheet Sweet homemade ketchup: leftover tomato liquid from jar of seasoned, stewed tomatoes- maybe a cup or so two swigs of organic white wine capful of balsalmic vinegar 1/2 tsp cornstarch Directions Bring water and salt to a boil and add your cream of buckwheat in a slow, steady stream, whisking continuously. When cereal is completely distributed, add your olive oil. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring or whisking frequently so you don’t have any lumps. At the end, add your basil pesto and mix completely throughout your buckwheat grits. Pour your basil pesto grits into your small bread pan lined with aluminum foil and let cool COMPLETELY. When the mixture has set and is cool to the touch, carefully remove the block of grits (with aluminum intact) and then peel the aluminum foil off. Slice into french fry shapes and then place in single layer on a baking sheet. You can line it with aluminum foil if you like. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and bake your fries for twenty minutes or so and then turn over and bake until your fries have reached the ultimate golden coating (maybe another 15 minutes). You can turn multiple times until each side is browned to your satisfaction. Sprinkle with coarse grain kosher or black salt. Enjoy! To make sauce, reduce your tomato liquid in a saucepan on the stove on medium heat, adding swigs of white wine and balsalmic vinegar to taste. Let reduce until it has thickened. If you want a really thick sauce, remove a tablespoon or so of the tomato liquid, let it cool slightly, and whisk in the tsp. of cornstarch. Add the cornstarch tomato slurry to the sauce after it has reduced to your heart’s content, let the sauce thicken, and then remove from heat and serve with your fries.

Rating:  9 Original Source:  Original recipe inspired by Kate’s polenta fries. An original recipe, do not replicate anywhere without my permission. Recipe ID:  1209 Added:  March 16, 2008 Last Modified:  March 16, 2008

Vegan Caramelized Onion Thyme Pecan Pizza Recipe Main Course  Vegetables  Italian

Ingredients 1 large yellow onion 1 large red onion 2 tbsp olive oil 1 cup vegetable broth (from bullion or freshly made) fresh cracked pepper Your favorite GF Pizza crust (Carol Fenster, Chebe, or other) sprigs fresh thyme A few tablespoons of pecans Directions Slice and chop your onion so you have consistently sized pieces. Heat your oil in a cast iron or dutch oven pan to medium-high and add your onions. Mix the onions into the oil until covered and saute until onions are quite translucent (10 minutes or so). Cover, lower heat and let the onions cook on a low heat for about half an hour, stirring a few times. Try not to let the onions brown excessively. Add your broth and let come to a boil before you cover it and lower the heat, letting the onions get increasingly soft. Remove the lid and let the liquid reduce until onions are no longer liquidy. Stir as needed and don’t let any bits burn on the bottom. Season with pepper. Remove from heat and let cool. Prepare your favorite gluten-free pizza crust (from mix, from scratch, or pre-cooked) and generously spread your onion marmalade on the pizza. Sprinkle with some fresh, chopped thyme (including one or two sprigs in the center of the pizza) and add pecans to taste. Bake according to your pizza instructions and enjoy! Notes This deceptively simple recipe made for a very satisfying vegan pizza- if desired add grilled mushroom strips, spinach, or any other veggies that sound good to you!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Inspired by Onion Marmalade recipe in Amazing Soy cookbook. Recipe ID:  1207 Added:  March 15, 2008 Last Modified:  March 16, 2008

Dairy Free Basil Pesto Recipe for Pizza or Pasta Main Course  Sauces & Condiments  American

Ingredients 2 cups basil leaves, destemmed, and packed tightly 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (*Edited to have more nuts) 1/6 cup rice wine or cider vinegar 1/8 cup water 1/6 cup nutritional yeast flakes (optional) 2 cloves roasted garlic (bake with other dishes in the oven or use raw if you like) 1/4 cup olive oil salt and pepper Your favorite gluten-free pizza recipe (from mix, scratch (carol fenster) or pre-made) Directions Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender through the garlic, and pulse until ingredients are combined and chopped. Add olive oil in a steady stream with the machine on until you form a nice pesto paste. Scrape out pesto into a bowl and reserve. Notes Reserve one or two tablespoons of pesto for other recipes like my buckwheat grit pesto fries! You can use it for pizza: Prepare your gluten-free pizza according to recipe and top with pesto. Add any other ingredients you like (olives? artichoke hearts? portabella mushroom slices?) and bake according to instructions. (Usually 10-15 minutes). Slice and enjoy! Or for pasta: Combine with gluten-free pasta, grilled veggies and plenty of pesto. Yum!

Rating:  8 Original Source:  modified version of this recipe: http://www.bookofyum.com/recipes/showrecipe.php?recipe=1024 Recipe ID:  1208 Added:  March 16, 2008 Last Modified:  May 15, 2008