grilled pizza, take 2

So a little while ago I grilled pizza for the first time.

This is a photo of my 1st pizza grilling adventure. For this, I used a recipe for pizza dough found in the July/August 2010 Everyday Food magazine. I also used the sausage and olive topping suggested in that magazine.

Today, I decided to create my own recipe (!) I hardly ever do this. There is a very good reason that there are no photos of tonight's dinner. It's because it was really, really ugly. :) I mean, seriously ugly. My pizza, in particular, was shaped kind of like a foot. Ha!

This was mostly due to the fact that the meat took a lot longer than I thought it would to cook. This is a shame because my pizza dough was actually rolled into circles. I've spent, like, 5 years trying to roll ANYTHING into a circle (pie crust, pizza dough, whatever). Unfortunately, it had to sit too long before I threw it on the grill and it got too soft. Oh well. It still tasted good!

I will try to write the recipe here. Let's see if I can do this. Like I said, it's not very often that I create my own recipes!

Smoked Duck, Caramelized Onion, and Brie Grilled Pizza

Ingredients (serves 2)
1 duck leg quarter
hickory chips for smoking on the grill
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil + more for pan
1 sprig rosemary
1 clove garlic
1/2 large vidalia onion (or 1 small)
brie (no, I didn't measure how much brie. I used part of a wedge)
salt and pepper

Soak hickory chips in water for at least 30 minutes. Preheat grill to about 400 degrees. Add smoker box with hickory chips. When chips are smoking, place duck leg quarter in grill on a rack above a drip pan lined with aluminum foil. Cook (lid down) for about 10-15 minutes per side (or until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers at least 165 degrees). Let rest about 10 minutes. Remove skin. Remove meat from bones and shred or cut into small pieces.

Meanwhile, in a small pot on stove or on the grill, add 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 1 sprig rosemary (bruised - that is, rub it in between your fingers first to release oils), and 1 garlic clove, smashed. Heat until simmering and let simmer for about 2 minutes to infuse oil.

Also, while waiting for duck to cook, thinly slice onion. Put about 2 teaspoons olive oil into skillet and add onion. Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring often, to caramelize onion. Onion should turn a medium caramel color, but not too dark.

Thinly slice brie.

Once duck is off the grill, roll or stretch pizza dough into 2 small rounds or 1 large round. Brush top of dough with rosemary garlic-infused olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place onto grill with lid up. Let dough cook for 3-5 minutes, or until grill marks appear and dough starts to firm up. Flip dough with tongs, brush with more of the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and let cook for another few minutes on that side. When dough is almost fully cooked, add toppings: shredded duck, brie, and caramelized onion. Close grill and reduce heat so toppings can melt / warm through.

I served the pizza with an arugula and heirloom tomato salad with blue cheese dressing. (No, I didn't make the dressing. No, it wasn't my first choice to go with the pizza. Yes, I went with it because it's Ben's favorite.)   :)

Besides creating a new recipe tonight, today was rather uneventful! Did a lot of laundry, did some reading, ran 6 miles on the treadmill at the gym because it was so hot and humid out. Plus, I wanted to keep a steady speed while pushing myself to get faster at the end of the run. Treadmills definitely help me stay steady!

Tomorrow: going to the gym twice... crazy, I know! Weight lifting with my dad for a bit in the morning (he invited me to come along, and I'm free, so why not?) and Zumba in the evening.

Oh, also today - I agreed to play a gig in July! I'll be playing in the pit for Sound of Music. 2 rehearsals (well, there are 3 but I can't make it to the first one), and 9 shows. Yay pit orchestra!! :)

random thoughts

1. See below post. I can text my blog and things will show up. COOL! I am apparently easily amused, but what can I say? I have yet to try this feature with a photo through MMS. That would just be spiffy. Yes, folks, I just said spiffy.

2. Yesterday I revised a grad paper, wrote an abstract, posted everything to my online class website, emailed an update to my professor, and commented on someone else's post. In the end, my paper was 19 pages. I remember when that seemed like a lot. I am very VERY thankful for everything I learned about writing in HS.

3. Speaking of writing, "else's" just got the red squiggly underline that things get when they are spelled wrong (see Random Thought #2). Is "else's" not a word? Do I have yet another apostrophe issue?

4. Wegmans now sells WINE! Yes, in PA. They are testing wine sales in one Wegmans and one Giant (I think) for a period of time to see how it goes. We bought a bottle of Chianti just to see how the process worked. The kiosk area only opened a few days ago, so they had an employee there to help. Basically, there are 3 flat screen monitors above the kiosks that display varieties of wine, and then there are shelves of wine behind locked glass doors underneath. You go to a touch screen, choose your wine (there were 50 varieties available today, including sparkling and pretty decent brands), swipe your license, and then blow on this little thing that is kind of like a breathalizer (I have no idea how to spell breathalizer) test. You don't have to put your mouth on anything; you just have to be within 10-12 inches from the little screen. If you "pass," you swipe a credit card and pay for your wine. Then, the particular kiosk with your bottle(s) of wine unlocks and the shelf and column with your chosen wine bottle lights up. You pick up your bottle, bag it, and go. AWESOME. Ben had a group of people watching him do it...it was pretty amusing that we attracted a crowd. Fun stuff, though! I hope they keep it around. So convenient!

5. I am 100% certain that there is no apostrophe in Wegmans. Click over there <---- and scroll down through the FAQs if you don't believe me. :)

6. I am, indeed, capable of running 10 miles a few days after a really tough Zumba workout followed by a 6 mile run in a lot of heat. In addition, I can go to sleep at about 1 am (just couldn't sleep), hear my alarm go off at 4:45, and be out the door for said 10 mile run by 5:30 am. *yawn*

7. Did you know that American Express has a little chip in many of their credit cards that allows you to just wave your credit card over the little payment box in some stores instead of actually swiping your card? This is supposed to be faster, but also help with security. Did you know that even though both numbers refer to the same exact account, there will be a different final 4 digits if you use the chip waving payment instead of the swiping payment? I think this is so that if someone finds a receipt with the last 4 digits of the card used for a sale, and then they also find your credit card, they won't think it's the same card. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THIS MAKES IT TO MAKE A RETURN WITH AN EMPLOYEE WHO DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT??? (Please excuse the "yelling.") Yes, ma'am, this is indeed the same card I used at your store less than 24 hours ago. No, I'm not confused. No, I'm not hiding some other credit card from you. No, I didn't accidentally have my husband's card. No, I'm not trying to "pull one over" on you. You should remember me. You gave me bad advice to buy this product just last night. Then, I went home, wised up, and want my $ back. o.m.g.
p.s. This included super-level-headed-Ben-who-runs-credit-cards-for-his-customers-all-the-time trying to reason with the woman and 2 additional workers at the store (one of whom condescendingly called him "sir" several times). In the end, Ben decided I should buy a $2.99 pair of hot pink shoelaces (because, you know, why not??) with the "chip waving method" to prove that the numbers did indeed match. He's a genius; it worked. My $ is returned.

8. Back to Wemgans. :) We love eating there! This photo was taken on their patio where sat to eat some very excellent Indian food.

9. I am going to try to make this tomorrow. I told Ben dessert was going to be a pie-type dessert, but it was going to be a surprise. We'll see if he actually reads my blog when he either does or doesn't seem surprised tomorrow. ;) teehee

10. Sports Authority is growing on me. It used to annoy me for some reason, but first they actually had a functional bathing suit in my size last week (women with short torsos unite!), and today they had the Nike sneakers that I wanted for Zumba. I got them in black (with purple accents) because they reminded me of dance shoes; the white ones with pink accents made me feel a bit like a cheerleader. :) I'm excited to try them out! (p.s. This is all related to the return transaction described in #7, but - in case you couldn't tell - I'm still so annoyed about the whole thing that I'm barely able to make sense of it myself yet.) Just trust me, these are the right ones (finally)!

Phew, longer list than I thought it would be. I should sleep since I've been awake since before 5 this morning. I also rehearsed with the trio I'm playing with in the camp faculty recital at the pianist's house today. It was fun! It's been a very long time since I've played in a chamber music setting like that.

Tomorrow, besides much baking and experimenting with a buffalo chicken soup recipe I'm trying to create, Ben and I are going to head to the pool at the gym for the first time. We'll probably hit the indoor pool to avoid potential sunburn; Ben and the sun are not friends. *crosses fingers for anti-drowning luck* haha

Testing. I think I'm going to post this to my blog from a text. Cool!

run, post-zumba

So I woke up this morning somewhere around 8:30... it was a late night last night. Dinner was late because I got home from Zumba late, and then I just wasn't tired. I figured I should get my 6 mile run out of the way early, before it got too hot, I got too lazy, or it stormed. I wanted to avoid the treadmill if possible so I could work in some hills. Plus, running on the road just feels so different to me. I know I will be better prepared for the R'nR Chicago if I do most of my training outside.

I got up, got dressed, ate an organic "pop tart" (my current favorite food pre-run), grabbed my water bottle, and headed outside.

The first 2 miles went really well! I ran them just faster than a 10 min. mile, which is a good training pace for 6 miles for me at this stage of the game. Then, I got out of the neighborhood and got into farmland. Hilly, wide-open farmland, with no shade.

Right. This is what the weather channel told me when I finally got back to my house. Now, normally I'm fine as long as the air is "moving," and it was certainly windy when I set out today. The problem was that the winds were occasionally gusty at times when I was running into the wind...uphill...in the heat...you get the picture! Needless to say, I did a lot of interval walking / running for miles 3-6. I'm just glad that I made it through the whole run and didn't wimp out and come back early. 

p.s. My body HURTS today. Holy cow. Especially my upper body. I knew I was slacking on the total body workouts and just running a lot, but I had no idea how out of shape I was. Phew! I have a lot of work to do.

This afternoon I spent some time with a repair man for our refrigerator. The guys who originally installed it didn't quite know what they were doing (a.k.a. one of them actually said, "Huh. Well. I've never seen anything like this before. This is the first one of these we've installed!" haha) Anyway, we had a specialized guy come and confirm that our freezer drawer (it's a french door w/ freezer at the bottom) was never adjusted properly. All is now well. Woo!

Dinner tonight was from the July/Aug 2010 Everyday Food. Again, I couldn't post a link because it's not up on their website yet, but it was very good (if you like antipasti!) It was the Antipasti Sandwich. It claimed I could prep everything (including roasting my own red pepper) in just 25 minutes, and then the sandwich gets flattened in the fridge for a few hours (or up to 1 day) until you're ready to eat it. This makes it a great "make ahead" option! It was also pretty neat to eat, so it would make great picnic food. In reality, it took me nearly 50 min. to prep... but please keep in mind that I was using my toaster oven's broiler for the first time to roast the pepper (due to the storm) which took way longer than a grill or gas burner would have taken. Also, I wasn't exactly focused. I stopped a lot to check email, fb, grab a diet coke... and I'm also moving really slowly today because apparently my body is reacting to the whole Zumba / 6 mile run in lots of heat combo. :)

Dessert was the summer fruit salad from the same issue of Everyday Food, with a little vanilla bean ice cream.

Ok, time for some more water, then bed. Tomorrow I have to finish a paper for this grad class I'm taking online. We'll see if I can focus tomorrow...ha.

zumba recap

Well, we made it! Here's a picture of us in the car (yes, I still stink at taking self-photos). We're sweaty, we're tired, we're hungry....but we had SO MUCH FUN!!! Oh my gosh, seriously. I figured that Zumba was either going to be one of those things that I loved or that I hated. Sometimes classes like that are "either or" for me.

It's absolutely a love. Now, granted, half way through I realized I should probably take it easy because I have a 6 mile run scheduled for tomorrow...but I was having so much fun I couldn't help it. Yay! Can't wait to go back again. The instructor was awesome, too. I could definitely tell she was (is) a trained dancer. That helped make everything feel more like dance and less like a workout.

All of that said, I think I might need new sneakers if I intend to continue taking this class. I wore my running sneakers out of habit, but the treads are too...sticky? I guess? to do all the pivots and things on the gym floor.

I did a little bit of work on some of the weight machines before class started, too, and the good news is that I remember how to work those specific machines. Woohoo!

Dinner tonight was grilled hot dogs and "quick black-eyed peas with tomatoes" (from the July/Aug 2010 Everyday Food). I really liked the side dish! I would post the recipe, but it's not up on their website yet. It was fun because they recommended taking a pot outside and cooking the whole thing right on the grill. I would have taken a photo, but even though it was tasty it was really, really ugly, haha.

Ok, time to finish watching So You Think You Can Dance. I love this show so much!!

zumba

Well... instead of weight lifting at the gym today (which is probably what I should do to help my training for the upcoming 1/2), my mom and I are going to go take our first Zumba class tonight. Wish us luck! ;) I will update later to let you know if we survive. I'm having bad mental images... don't you have to be able to move your hips for Zumba? Yeah, about that... haha

munchkin

I'm pretty sure my mom doesn't believe we have 2 cats anymore. This is because Munchkin (see above) is super, super shy. He's not hiding out afraid of life, really he's not! He just doesn't like noise and activity. He prefers quiet mornings with breeze coming through the windows and lots of birds chirping. Otherwise, if the house is busy and loud, he prefers to chill in a dark corner somewhere. No biggie. :)

In the above picture, which I took right when I woke up this morning, I believe he's looking for an owl. Owls "whoo-ing" are nothing new around here, but this morning's owl is particularly loud! It's the only sound that's out of the ordinary; I think that's what might have caught his attention.

In other kind-of-related news, did you know that the new iPhone software added a zoom feature for its camera? Woohoo! This is even for my ancient 3G. Another feature that I love is that I can organize my apps into folders. Ahh, folders. You should see how many folders I have on my computer! Wait, no you shouldn't. You'd make fun of me.

The 3GS also has the ability to run multiple apps at the same time. I'm a little jealous of that, I can't lie. I'm also jealous of the new iPhone's front-facing camera and flash. My contract's not up until April, though, so I guess patient I shall be.

Ok, next up: coffee and laundry. (typical summer morning!) Later today I might go back to the gym, but I'm not sure what I'll do. I want to do some weight lifting, but I'm not sure I trust myself to use new machines (new to me) without a "friend buffer" so at least if I look like an idiot I'm not alone. We'll see how brave I feel. ;-)