Kevin and my husband, Vic, go way back. Really way back if you take into account the transient nature of friendships in Las Vegas.
They worked together probably ten years ago at a Vegas Dot Com prior to the big Dot ,Com bust. The company they worked for also went bust—but that’s a bigger, different story.
Vic wanted to pick Kevin’s brain (he’s got a good one—very analytical) so Kevin was going to come over Saturday afternoon. I told Vic to invite Kevin to dinner instead.
My plan was grilled pizza and a green salad. Great combo. Especially if preceded by an appetizer that doesn’t mimic the main course but complements what you are serving.
And a good cocktail. And, with pizza, a glass or two of red wine.
I used a pizza dough recipe from the book I’ve mentioned before, “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day” and I got that made first thing in the morning so I could let it rest in the refrigerator for a few hours.
I defrosted a jar of Marinara sauce I had frozen, sautéed some mushrooms in butter, olive oil, s & p, garlic and lemon juice, sliced mozzarella and a ripe tomato, defrosted a container of pesto from the freezer and sliced some pepperoni from the Italian Deli.
Next I made my salad. I had the Justin Wilson vinaigrette from the Block Party so I used that.
Fresh Green Salad
For my cocktail: I did a Whiskey Peach Smash from a recipe of Dale Degroff’s. But changed slightly in the execution. I already had some almost overripe Utah peaches waiting to be used…so I combined those with lemon, mint Canadian whiskey, simple syrup and water. Combined, strained, pressed and poured over ice garnished with a mint sprig and a peach slice. Delicious.
Ingredients for the Whiskey Peach Smash
Appetizer was Ina Garten’s onion dip and Wavy Lay’s Potato Chips. So, so good. Every last bit was licked out the bowl. These are pictures of how the onions had to be sauteed down to the right color and sweetness.
Fresh onions sauteeing in butter and oil
Onions are close to the right color
color's just right
Finished sauteed Onion Dip
For the pizza, I broke out a grapefruit-sized hunk, floured and shaped it. Then put it right on the grill for a minute or so. Flipped it over. Brushed the grilled side with olive oil and took it off. Put on some toppings, sparingly, for one I used fresh thin tomato slices, fresh mozzarella, salt, Parmesan and a drizzle of Pesto sauce. On another I used Marinara, mozzarella, Parmesan, mushrooms and Pepperoni.
Then the pizza get placed on the grill and moved around every minute or so. I also turn the grill down where the pizza is cooking and leave the other side high to keep the heat at 500 degrees.
Pizza Margarita
We drank the rest of the Louis M. Martini Cab that we opened for the block party. Great with the grilled pizza.
So relaxing, sitting outside, eating, drinking and enjoying the evening and the conversation.
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