Steak & Blue Grilled Pizza

Things of note:

Summer is here! It’s been SUPER hot lately [like everywhere]. We went to Astoria, OR over the weekend [the beach!] to play in the ocean with the dog, drink a lot of beer from Fort George Brewery, check out the Goonies house, watch the sunset from the Astoria Column, and eat the biggest bagel and lox plate of my life from Street 14 Coffee.

Currently reading: The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones because one can never have too much pleasure from cooking.

Our office is rocking three different types of bubbly water these days. Hydration has never been more fun.

I switched back to green smoothies for breakfast. This week = avocado, celery, spinach, rolled oats, sweetener, water, ice.

The light in the fridge went out. Why does that feel way more ominous than a normal light?

I made a fresh salad dressing to go with dinner. It’s from the same book that I’ve been getting the pizza recipes. I’m dubbing it walnut honey dressing: walnut oil, rice vinegar, honey, salt, shallot, dry mustard powder. Shaken and poured over butter lettuce and a handful of fresh blueberries.

I made this pizza for our good friend who came over to help us with some fun house stuff. Who doesn’t want to work in a nearly 100° garage? Did I mention we have nice friends? The least I could do was treat him to dinner. This is the epitome of rich, meaty deliciousness. I overcooked the steak a little too much for my liking. I like it way more pink, but it was still juicy at least. I’ll take it. I’m in love with the roasted garlic paste these pizzas are suggesting. It’s my new favorite pizza base. There was a note in the margin of the book to add a little bit of horseradish. I wish I would have seen that before I’d gone to the store. That would have been a perfect substitute for the inevitable blanket of chile flakes.

PS – Have you ever seen such a misshapen pizza before? I’m naming it North Carolina. It still tastes good.

Inspiration: Pizza on the Grill

Ingredients

• 16oz top sirloin steak, approx. 1 1/2 inches thick, room temperature
• olive oil for drizzling
• 1 ball of pizza dough
• 1/4 cup grits or corn meal
• 1/2 cup roasted garlic paste [3 heads of roasted garlic + olive oil, pureed]
• 1/2 cup caramelized onions [I sauteed a medium sized onion in 1 tablespoon of butter for about 20 minutes]
• 4oz Roquefort or other blue cheese, grumbled
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat the grill on high for 10 minutes before turning it down to medium.

Drizzle both sides of the steak with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side for medium rare. Remove to a plate and tent with foil.

Sprinkle the grits around on your dough rolling surface. Roll out the dough to your desired thickness. Drizzle both sides with olive oil before place one side down on the grill. Grill for three minutes or until grill marks show up on the one side. It shouldn’t be sticking, and will be easy to pull off to a rimless baking sheet, grilled side up. Turn off the middle burner if your grill has three of them.

Smother the grilled side of the pizza with the garlic paste. Sprinkle it with the caramelized onions. Thinly slice the steak against the grain. Arrange the steak on the onion and garlic mixture. Sprinkle with the cheese, and return to the grill for 7-9 minutes. The bottom will be crisp and the cheese melted.

Remove from the grill and sprinkle with the parsley. Cut and serve immediately.