A pair of friends of mine, Dara and Russ Arouh, are making their national TV debut tomorrow morning on Good Morning America. Here's the fun story:
Dara and Russ make this truly excellent grilled vegetable pizza. I last sampled it in February, and trust me, it's good. Anyway, they heard that this wine company (Cavit Collection) was sponsoring a pizza recipe contest, they decided to enter. They then, of course, promptly forgot all about it. Just before midnight on the final day of the contest's entry period, Dara remembered about the contest, got herself out of bed and typed the recipe into the online form.
They found out a few weeks later that they were one of the three finalists. As a finalist, they are being flown up to New York City to appear live on Good Morning America on Wednesday, May 31st (that's tomorrow)!
Ready for the even better part? Originally the trip up to New York was the prize, but apparently this wine company decided that wasn't good enough so now the grand prize winner gets an all expense paid trip to Italy! Even better than that? This trip to New York happens to coincide with their wedding anniversary, so even if they don't win they got a free anniversary trip to New York.
Check out their pizza recipe here.
On second thought, since the URL for the recipe has already changed once on the Cavit Collection site, here is the recipe in its entirety:
INGREDIENTS
1 portobello mushroom
1 small eggplant cut into 3/8” slices
3 small bell peppers, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange, seeded and cut lengthwise into 1/2” strips
1 lb. refrigerated pizza dough, or fresh dough purchased from local pizzeria
1 Tbsp. flour for dusting
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. pesto sauce
1 cup chopped tomatoes, well-drained
1 tsp. minced garlic
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
Fresh basil leaves for garnish
| 1. |
Heat grill to medium. |
| 2. |
Grill mushroom, eggplant and peppers. When cooked, remove from heat (leaving grill on). Cut vegetables into thin slices and set aside. |
| 3. |
Unroll dough onto lightly floured cutting board, and pull gently into rectangular shape. Brush lightly with pesto sauce. |
| 4. |
Brush grill grates with olive oil and turn pizza dough onto grill, pesto-coated surface face down. Close grill and heat dough 3-5 minutes, or until underside is cooked and no longer sticks to grill. |
| 5. |
Lightly brush top surface of dough with remaining olive oil, then flip dough carefully, using tongs and grill spatula. Brush with additional pesto sauce, if desired. |
| 6. |
Spoon on generous helping of chopped tomatoes, as desired. Add sliced vegetables and garlic. Top with mozzarella cheese. Close the lid again, reduce heat slightly and let toppings heat through 5-7 minutes. |
| 7. |
Turn off heat. Slide pizza onto a cutting board. |
| 8. |
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