Sara Moulton's Fourth of July Recipes
July 4, 2005 — -- "Good Morning America" food editor Sara Moulton kicks off the Fourth of July with unique recipes for pizza cooked on the barbecue grill. She also shares a recipe for a tangy homemade barbecue sauce, and tops it all off with a festive red, white and blue berry tart.
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Sara's BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza
Ingredients:
Food processor pizza dough (recipe below) or 1 lb. thawed frozen pizza dough, divided and formed into 4 balls
¾ cup shredded rotisserie chicken
¼ cup barbecue sauce (homemade or store-bought)
¼ cup chopped scallion
¼ cup chopped red bell pepper
½ cup coarsely grated sharp cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat grill so that one half is high heat and the other half is medium heat.
Divide food processor pizza dough recipe into fourths. Roll each fourth into a square or rectangle, 1/8-inch thick, on an oiled cutting board.
Brush dough lightly with olive oil and flip, oiled side down, on to hot side of grill. Grill until marks form, about two minutes. Flip and transfer to medium heat side of grill.
Toss chicken with barbecue sauce. Top pizza crust with tossed chicken, chopped scallion, red bell pepper, and cheese.
Cover and grill until cheese is melted and underside is nicely browned.
Sara's Grilled Pizza Margherita
Ingredients:
Food processor pizza dough (recipe below) or 1 lb. thawed frozen pizza dough, divided and formed into 4 balls
1 lb. plum tomatoes or 1 (28 to 32 oz.) can whole tomatoes in juice, drained
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus additional for brushing
6 oz. mozzarella, coarsely grated (1½ cups)
6 to 8 medium fresh basil leaves, torn
Directions:
If using fresh tomatoes, cut an X (just through skin) in each, at end opposite stem, and immerse in boiling water for 10 seconds. Transfer to cold water with a slotted spoon, then peel.
Seed and chop tomatoes (fresh or canned).
Simmer tomatoes, salt, and two tablespoons oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until very thick and reduced to about 1 cup, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
Toss together mozzarella and remaining tablespoon oil.
Follow same method as BBQ Chicken Grilled Pizza. When ready, add ¼ of sauce, and ¼ of the mozzarella to crust. When cheese has melted, scatter basil over pizzas just before serving.
Cook's note:
Pizzas can also be cooked in a well-seasoned 10- to 12-inch ridged grill pan. Heat pan over high heat until hot, about five minutes, then cook pizzas one at a time over moderately high heat, following grilling instructions in recipe above, covering pan after sprinkling with cheese, and using cooking times for charcoal grill.
Food Processor Pizza Dough
Makes about 4 servings.
Ingredients:
One 1/4-ounce package yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons)
1 teaspoon sugar
2 to 2½ cups bread flour
1 teaspoon table salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
Combine 3/4 cup warm water (105° to 115° F), the yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade; let stand five minutes.
Add 1¾ cups of the flour, the salt, and oil; process until a soft dough forms. Add as much of the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, as necessary to make the dough manageable.
Shape the dough in a ball, place in an oiled bowl, turning so an oiled surface is up.
Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in size, about 35 minutes.
Use as directed in a recipe or refrigerate for use up to one day later. If refrigerated, bring to room temperature before using.
Tangy Barbecue Sauce
Apparently almost everyone who has ever eaten barbecue has invented his or her own customized barbecue sauce. I know, because I read through dozens and dozens of these recipes before I invented my own. This one is much less sweet than the usual, so feel free to add more sugar or maple syrup. Likewise, add more cayenne if you want more heat. It creates a finger-licking glaze if you brush it onto your chicken, pork chops or ribs when they're almost done grilling.
Makes about 3 cups
Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Total preparation time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
2 cups ketchup (24-ounce bottle)
¼ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
½ small onion, very finely chopped (about ¼ cup)
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup Grade B maple syrup
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons hot sauce, or to taste
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly milled black pepper
Directions:
Whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, onion, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, chili powder, hot sauce, dry mustard, garlic and cayenne in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for eight minutes.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Use in a recipe or cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Red, White and Blueberry Tart
Ingredients:
Basic pastry dough (recipe below or store-bought)
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 large egg
¾ cup (3 ounces) skinned whole almonds, finely ground in a food processor
1 tablespoon amaretto (optional)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups (12 ounces) strawberries, hulled and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
2 cups (8 ounces) raspberries
2 cups (8 ounces) blueberries
¼ cup strawberry or raspberry jam, melted and strained
Special Equipment:
10- or 11-inch fluted round tart pan with a removable bottom
Directions:
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into tart pan, then roll rolling pin over top of pan to trim edges of dough flush with rim. Refrigerate for one hour.
Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 375° F.
Lightly prick dough in several places with a fork. Line shell with foil and fill with pie weights, raw rice, or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights and bake shell until just golden, 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool on a rack. (Leave oven on).
Beat together butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg, almonds, extract, amaretto (if using), flour, and salt. Spread this pastry cream mixture evenly in bottom of shell.
Bake tart until pastry cream is just golden, 20 to 25 minutes. (If crust looks too brown after 15 minutes, cover with a pie shield or loosely with foil.) Cool tart on rack for about 30 minutes.
Arrange overlapping strawberry slices and raspberries decoratively on pastry cream. Brush gently with jam (if jam is too thick, thin it with hot water, 1 teaspoon at a time, as necessary). Remove rim of pan before serving.
Enjoy with vanilla ice cream.
Basic Pastry Dough
*For a single-crust pie or tart
Ingredients:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
¼ teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons ice water
Directions:
Blend together flour, butter, shortening, and salt in a bowl with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or pulse in a food processor) just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-sized) lumps of butter. Drizzle 3 tablespoons of ice water evenly over mixture and gently stir with a fork (or pulse) until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful of dough: if it doesn't hold together, add more ice water ½ teaspoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
Turn dough out onto a work surface. Divide into four portions. With the heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute the fat.
Gather all dough together, with a pastry scraper if you have one. Press into a ball, then flatten into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour.
Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least one hour.
Dough can be refrigerated for up to one day