Karen and I had some friends and family over to the house for a barbecue last Sunday, which presented some interesting entertainment dilemmas that I thought, would make a good column since I’m sure all of face the same kind of problems daily.

The group of people had various dietary needs (one my cousin, Jerry, owner of the Cracker Box Restaurant, having just survived a heart attack) ranging from low-fat, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian and one person garlic sensitive.

As you can see, and probably have experienced, this presented us with some interesting thoughts. Karen and I certainly did not want to make multiple entrees, since the temperatures were to be in the 100’s and spending all day in the kitchen was not appealing.

I thought we would barbecue some fresh fish. That idea was quickly eliminated after an extremely busy weekend at the restaurant. All my fish choices were gone. With fewer than 24 hours to Sunday dinner and my prime dish gone, I thought the perfect solution would be to do Portofino (Italy) style grilled (barbecued) vegetarian pizza and large tossed green salad with an appetizer course of a selection of European cheeses and fresh fruit.

The week’s offerings from the Farmer’s Market had my refrigerator full of wonderful fresh veggies. So, I eyeballed some eggplant, fresh shallots, black Greek olives and a nice block of Fontina cheese. So, Karen and I embarked on our plan for dinner.

After breakfast (in the courtyard, of course) Karen and I went to Wild Oats Market in Reno to check out their selection of cheeses. It has been our experience that they have the broadest selection of different kinds of cheeses in this area and the portions are large enough but not too big. We bought English Cheddar, dry Basque-style Jack cheese and dry goat cheese from Montrache, France. While there we also picked up some Italian flat, herb-infused no-fat cracker bread.

With this course, we had a lovely Martinelli Sauvignon Blanc. This small winery is one of my favorites, it has been established long since before Prohibition it produces some of California’s finest wines. The winemaker, Helen Turley, is one of California’s premier wine makers.

Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to obtain in northern Nevada or anywhere else for that matter. On your next visit to Dry creek, Sonoma, stop at the winery and put your name on the mailing list because they only sell by mail or in person.

Anyhow, back to the pizza extravaganza. In preparing the fruit and cheese plate, slicing the hard cheeses into wedges and leaving the soft-ripened cheeses in larger portions so you can spread on fruit/crackers as needed is the best way to go. Use your artistic imagination.

Pizza Topping
(Recipe for four pizzas)

The basil you will want to finely shred, not chopped. Using a sharp knife slice leaves into slaw-style. Smith and Smith Farmers or Sue’s Garden, at the Farmer’s Market have wonderful fresh basil.

The Italian pear tomatoes are pureed in a Cuisinart to a rough texture, a couple of presses should do. If you do not have a Cuisinart, put the tomatoes in a bowl and crush by hand. This method will be just fine.

Thinly slice the shallots or sweet onions. pit and roughly chop the olives. The garlic (if using) I prefer roasting in the oven and then pureeing it or finely mashing it and blending with the tomatoes.

To roast the garlic easier, remove the skin from the cloves (Do not use heads). Turn oven to 375F. Leave them whole and place in a small baking dish. Pour olive oil in the dish and immerse the garlic by at least half. Sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt and place in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Check. The consistency should be soft.

Remove the skin of the egglplant and slice into 3/8 – 1/2 inch slices, pat dry with paper towels and place on fresh paper towels, lightly sprinkle with sea salt or kosher salt, press more paper towels on top to draw excess liquid from the eggplant. Let sit for approximately 20 minutes.

While waiting for the eggplant, start to assemble the pizza dough. Karen’s recipe, which she finagled from Santa Marguarita Portofino, is easy to prepare. Once done and the dough is proofing, cut the eggplant to 1/2 inch cubes.

Pizza Dough

Dissolve: 1 package of yeast in 1/4 cup of warm water for 10 minutes.

Mix the following: 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon sugar, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 cup cool water and pour into mound of 3- 1/4 cups flour. Add yeast mixture.

Knead on a flat surface until elastic and smooth or use a food processor and pulse until dough forms a ball then knead by hand.

Place the dough in a buttered, floured bowl and let rise for 30 minutes.

Roll into one large or two small circles and brush with olive oil. Make sure when rolling out dough you use lots of cornmeal on the surface and roll dough thin.

Layer the pizza with toppings and grill on the barbeque 10 to 15 minutes.

We are going to finish up by talking about the barbecue method of this pizza. If using an open-style charcoal or gas barbeque, heat it to 350-400F. You may need to cook the pizza a little longer with this type of barbecue. Use your eyes as a guide. An oven thermometer, which can be obtained in the kitchen section of any grocery store, is highly recommended to make sure the barbecue is at the right temperature.

It is my experience that using a covered barbecue is the best way but it definitely works both ways. Make sure the pizza is not close to the flames, adjust accordingly. On my barbecue, I use the setting between medium and low after I have preheated it to 400F.

Also, another technique that works is to par-grill the pizza dough on both sides, put on the toppings and then grill 10-15 minutes.

In any case the whole idea is to have fun. With this pizza. I recommend a hearty zinfandel or a Rhone-style wine. Visit with Marlo’s or Ben’s. They are very helpful in selecting a perfect wine to go with your meal.