A Rare Warm Night In Early Spring In Ohio, And Grilled Pizzas!!

[GrilledPizzaLover]

A while back, I ask if anyone had ever used olive tapenade as a "sauce" for pizza. I ran it by my boss- uh, I mean my wife- same thing, right?! She said, w/o hesitation, UHH, YUCK! Well, tonight, the overnight low was 52F, and I was inspired to fire up the grill- A Char-Griller Super-Pro. I didn't use the side fire box, but as always, used Royal Oak lump and started it w/ a chimney starter- never lighter fluid, thank you very much! In addition to the new red potatoes, chicken legs and thighs, and my new favorite- chuck eye steak, I made 2 pizzas. I used Carrabba's online recipe for pizza dough, but made a few modifications to meet my personal preferences. The recipe can be found here: http://www.carrabbas.com/meet_cookingbasics_pizzadough.asp
The first pizza was simply an olive oil base, with sliced plum tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. The second one had the olive tapenade for a "sauce", with sliced plum tomatoes, a little fresh mozzarella, and Feta cheese.  My "boss"- I mean, loving wife of course, tried each pizza. When she got to the pizza w/ the tapenade (To which she had previously decided sounded awful, as I'm sure you remember!), she closed her eyes, and uttered an "inhuman" growl, as best as I can describe it, and once she had gathered her senses, said- wow, this is awesome! It was also her favorite of the 2 pizzas tonight! If you want the recipe for the tapenade, or anything else, let me know! I'll be happy to share! Thanks again for all of the knowledge of everything pizzas that is represented here!     

[zalicious]

Very funny post. Thanks for the chuckle first thing this AM . My husband comments on me growling, too. I have no idea what he's talking about.
Would love to hear more about your olive tapenade recipe...

[GrilledPizzaLover]

Thanks- I'm glad you enjoyed the post. Here is the recipe for olive tapenade. I got it from Food Network, from an episode of Good Eats.

1/2 pound pitted mixed olives
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed
1 small clove garlic
2 tablespoons capers
2 to 3 fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

I use kalamata olives, don't use anchovies, use a little more garlic, and use dried basil and bottled lemon juice when I don't have fresh, although fresh is definitely better. Also, I don't measure- just whatever amount looks good.

Thoroughly rinse the olives in cool water. Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process to combine, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture becomes a coarse paste, approximately 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a bowl and serve.

This is also a great topping for bruschetta. I use an unsliced loaf of French bread, and cut slices about 1/2" thick. Brush both sides w/ olive oil, and broil both sides until browned. I prefer to grill the slices of bread over charcoal- it gives it that smoky flavor. As soon as it is browned, rub one side with the cut side of a garlic clove. Spread with the olive tapenade. This is awesome!! 

[MertVS]

I love tapenade but I've never tried it on pizza.  I think I will soon though (providing Iowa gets one of those warm nights!)

[zalicious]

That sounds delicious. I've had something similar at a restaurant (also without the anchovies ). I loved it so much , I hunted down something like it at the Italian deli. It was called Olive Paste ( I think ).

[scott r]

I love it on white pizzas, but I have to admit you must be careful.  That stuff can get way salty!  I usually combine it with veggies because of this. HUGE fan of anything involving olives.

[pnj]

Pics or it didn't happen.....

[Brien]

I've been wondering how a tapenade base would taste. Now I've got to try it.

[GrilledPizzaLover]

Pics or it didn't happen.....

I would love to be able to post pics, but I don't have a digital camera. We were going to get one with our tax refund, but unfortunately, our car broke down, and it will be about $500 to fix it. There goes that camera  .