Grilled Mexican Pizza – Pizza a la Parrilla Mexicana

Grilled Mexican Pizza – Pizza a la Parrilla Mexicana

When mi carino joined the Army I knew there would be lots and lots of moving involved.  I had forced myself to understand that for the first time in my life I would be away from family and my childhood home.  It will be an adventure; it will be exciting I said to myself over and over.  And I convinced myself it would one of the greatest decisions we would ever make as a newly married couple.

Today as I look back it was, it is and always will be one of best decisions.  But the moment I saw my family drive away after helping us move into our newly rented house I began to see things a lot differently.Mi carino had long work hours, I didn’t know a soul in town and my little gal was still a toddler.  So I had a lot of time on my hands. I even purchased a sewing machine in hopes that I would pick up a new hobby.  I used it once to try to add a patch to his uniform and I broke it.  Sewing was not in the cards for me.

One weekend mi carino decided it was time to get out of the house for a while, explore the city and get some fresh air.

“How about some new clothes or maybe a pair of new shoes?” he asked.

“Nah I’ve got plenty of clothes,” I said. And really who was I kidding I had no where to go.

“What about a new set of dishes?” he asked as we walked the aisles.  “No, thanks,”

As I walked I came upon the cast iron selection and spotted a double-sided cast iron griddle.

“Look I can practice making tortillas,” I still had not nailed the whole taste like your mami’s tortillas thing… even to this day, hers are still tastier. Ugh!

With a relieved look he grabbed the griddle and we headed home.

Did I practice making tortillas?  Heck ya…like every freaking day and they still lacked something.

One day out of frustration I chucked the tortilla making process and sat down to watch TV.  I clicked over to the food network channel where Tyler was teaching a home cook how to grill pizza.  Hmm, I thought I can so do that with my new spiffy pan and I headed back into the kitchen.

And the pizza was amazing, crispy crust with a bite of charred dough from the grill marks.  It was a winner mi carino ate half of the pizza and my daughter had a blast helping me prep the toppings.  And Friday pizza night was in full swing.  My daughter and I grilled pizzas every Friday night that year, while hubby grabbed a movie on his way home.  We tried endless combinations for toppings and even made a few dessert pizzas.

Grilled pizzas became a new distraction for me which eventually lead to me perfecting grilled fajitas, to grilled fish.  I was spending more and more time in the kitchen with my daughter to help fill the time while hubby was at work.  When my family came to visit we would make triple batches of dough and everyone got to make their own personal pizza. Mami thought it was the greatest idea and papi (my dad) couldn’t get enough. He made three in one night.

Four moves, a new baby, a new home and two puppies and 8 years later that griddle pan is still grilling up the pizza after pizza.   Last month I was invited to Oregon with one of my favorite cheese companies Tillamook.  I had the pleasure of touring their factory, sampling loads of new cheeses and visiting a local farmer who produces the milk that Tillamook uses to make their all natural cheese.

What an experience for this Texan.  Seeing the change of season completely caught me by surprise, here in South Texas we get very little fall or winter, so to view the fall colors was truly a pleasure.

When I returned home I browsed through the Tillamook cookbook and spotted a recipe for grilled Mexican Pizzas, it was a no brainer.  Grilled pizza dough with Tillamook cheese, double-win.

Do you love Tillamook cheese? I do.  Here is a bit of their wonderful history:

Established in 1909 to ensure the highest quality, most consistent dairy products and the collective well-being of local farmers, the Tillamook County Creamery Association is guided by century-old values of cooperation, integrity, stewardship and responsiveness. As a co-op, profits are directed back to approximately 110 dairy farming families that make up the cooperative’s ownership, many of whom are third-generation co-op members. In addition to a commitment to the economic sustainability of its farmers, the co-op is continually looking for new ways to minimize its environmental footprint and contribute to the health of the food system.

The Tillamook Tradition

Tillamook uses only the highest quality milk from healthy cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. Herds primarily made up of Jerseys and Holsteins produce milk with just the right natural balance of protein and fat. Delivered fresh daily to the plant, all milk is tested to ensure strict quality standards before it’s made into naturally aged cheddars every day of the year.

It takes 10 ppunds (1.16 gallons) of milk to make 1 pound of Tillamook Cheese

More than 1.7 millions pounds of milk arrive at the Tillamook plant each day.  Approxiamatley 167,000 pounds of cheese are made each day.

Originally cheddar cheese was made in long, shallow open vats. Cheesemakers separated the curds and why by hand.  Tillamook uses state-of-the-art Cheddarmasters to separate the curd from the whey and at automate the cheddaring process. 

On the Farm

You can’t be a member of the Tillamook County Creamery Association without a commitment to animal care, monitored through strict milk quality standards and guided by best management practices:

• Animals are treated with respect and compassion

• Cows receive proper nutrition

• Appropriate shelter for environmental conditions is provided

• Animal handling minimizes stress and risk of injury

• Preventative care is established

• Milk is free of antibiotics

• Feed is based on a healthy mixture of forage, grasses, grains and corn silage

Print

Grilled Mexican Pizza

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

• ¼ pound chorizo sausage
• 12 ounces purchased pizza dough divided into 4 pieces
• Flour for rolling dough
• 1 tablespoons olive oil divided
• Salt
• 2 green onions thinly sliced
• 1 medium Anaheim pepper seeded ribs removed, thinly sliced
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1 cup grated Tillamook Pepper Jack cheese
• Garnish:
• ½ avocado peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. Remove the casing from the chorizo, crumble the meat, and cook thoroughly on medium high heat.
2. Drain well and reserve.
3. Pre-heat grill to high.
4. Unroll pizza dough onto a baking sheet, stretching to desired length, less for thicker crust d more for thinner crust.
5. Cover with clean kitchen towel until ready to use.
6. When you’re ready to grill, invert the dough onto the grill rack.
7. Grill until the bottom of dough is lightly browned and crisp. Flip and continue to grill for a minute or two. Top with chorizo, green onion, chiles, tomatoes and cheese.
8. Lower heat, cover and grill until the cheese melts.
9. Remove from the grill with a large spatula; allow to rest for a few minutes; garnish and slice.

Recipe Notes

recipe adapted from The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook

Print

Grilled Mexican Pizza

Author: Vianney Rodriguez

Ingredients

• ¼ pound chorizo sausage
• 12 ounces purchased pizza dough divided into 4 pieces
• Flour for rolling dough
• 1 tablespoons olive oil divided
• Salt
• 2 green onions thinly sliced
• 1 medium Anaheim pepper seeded ribs removed, thinly sliced
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1 cup grated Tillamook Pepper Jack cheese
• Garnish:
• ½ avocado peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Instructions

1. Remove the casing from the chorizo, crumble the meat, and cook thoroughly on medium high heat.
2. Drain well and reserve.
3. Pre-heat grill to high.
4. Unroll pizza dough onto a baking sheet, stretching to desired length, less for thicker crust d more for thinner crust.
5. Cover with clean kitchen towel until ready to use.
6. When you’re ready to grill, invert the dough onto the grill rack.
7. Grill until the bottom of dough is lightly browned and crisp. Flip and continue to grill for a minute or two. Top with chorizo, green onion, chiles, tomatoes and cheese.
8. Lower heat, cover and grill until the cheese melts.
9. Remove from the grill with a large spatula; allow to rest for a few minutes; garnish and slice.

Recipe Notes

recipe adapted from The Tillamook Cheese Cookbook