Grilled Pizza

I've heard people talk all about grilled pizza and finally got around to making one for myself last night. Michael and I agreed it was so good! He was brainstorming what toppings he wanted for next time (I took that as a good sign). Prepare the grill for high direct heat. Prepare a small bowl with olive oil for greasing the grill grates and for brushing the pizza. Prepare the toppings so they are ready to go on the pizza - for this one we used pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, and green bell peppers.

Shape the pizza dough by flattening it with your hands on a slightly floured cookie sheet. *For the pizza dough, I bought the Publix brand from their deli, it comes in a refrigerated section in the deli. Either use your fingers to stretch the dough out, or hold up the edges of the dough with your fingers, letting the dough hang and stretch, while working around the edges of the dough. Once you've stretched the dough, let it sit for 5 minutes and then push out the edges with your fingers again, until you have a nice round shape, about 12-inches in diameter. I wish I would have stretched it a bit more because we like thinner crust, but it was still very good. Do not make a raised rim, it will interfere with the grilling process. Once the grill is hot, brush the grates with olive oil. If cooking veggies, brush lightly with olive oil and grill them first so they will be soft enough. Let the dough slide off the cookie sheet onto the hot grill grates. Close the lid of the grill and let cook for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, open the grill and check underneath the dough to see if it is getting browned. Once the pizza dough has browned lightly on one side, remove it from the grill. Use a spatula to flip the dough over so that the grilled side is now up. Keep the grill covered so it retains its heat for the next step. Paint the grilled surface of the pizza with 1 ladle of sauce. Sprinkle the toppings, ending with Mozarella cheese. Remember to go light on the toppings, or your pizza will be heavy and soggy. Slide the topped pizza back onto the grill and reduce the heat. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until the bottom begins to char and the cheese is bubbly. Pull off the grate with a spatula onto a cutting board or other flat surface and let rest for a couple minutes before cutting into slices.