Sunshine State of Mind Pizza

Sunshine State of Mind Pizza

Tranquil beaches with warm ocean breezes and soft sand, it’s always grilling season in Florida… This grilled pizza has all your favorite Florida flavors fresh-squeezed Orange juice and Tupelo honey plus a smoky aroma that will have your family and friends begging for more. 

Paired with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, it’s perfect for a beach picnic or backyard pool party.

INGREDIENTS 

Pizza Dough

• 2 cups “00” flour 
• 3/4 cup lukewarm water
• 1 packet of Active Dry Yeast
• 1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp Granulated Sugar
• 1 tablespoon EVOO

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon EVOO
• 1 medium shallot, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼  teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• ¼  cup freshly squeezed Orange juice
• ¼ cup Tupelo Honey
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoon Sauvignon Blanc
• ¼ teaspoon salt 
• Dash of pepper

Toppings

• 4 oz goat cheese
• 1 cup arugula
• 4 slices thinly sliced prosciutto
• 1 teaspoon orange zest

INSTRUCTIONS 

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the water, the yeast and sugar, let it sit for 5 minutes. Then pour it into the flour mixture. Knead with your hands until well combined, adding flour as needed to make smooth dough, approximately 5 minutes. Pour a small amount of EVOO into a large bowl and coat the bottom and sides. Add the dough, turning to coat. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes. Remove ball, knead and form a new ball of dough, cover with towel and let rest for additional 30 minutes. 

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of EVOO medium heat. Sauté the shallot garlic and red pepper flakes until softened. Add honey, orange zest and juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, a dash of pepper. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Add the wine, stir and simmer for 5 more minutes. 

Prepare a small bowl with olive oil for greasing the grill grates and for brushing the pizza.

Once the grill is hot, dip a tightly folded up paper towel in olive oil and use tongs to wipe the grill grates. Then place a pizza dough round on a lightly 00 floured pizza peel. Let the dough slide onto the hot grill grates. Close the lid of the grill and let cook for 2 minutes.

Once the pizza dough has browned lightly on one side, use your cookie sheet or pizza peel to remove it from the grill. Use a spatula to flip the dough over so that the grilled side is now up. Brush the honey orange sauce onto the grilled surface of the pizza, then top with dollops of goat cheese and slices of prosciutto. If you are using a gas grill, reduce the heat. If working with a charcoal grill, close the vents on the cover almost all the way. Close the lid and cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until the bottom begins to char.

Pull off the grate with a spatula onto a cutting board or other flat surface and let rest for a couple minutes before cutting into slices. Top with a handful of arugula and drizzle of the remaining sauce. Slice and serve!

Oven Method

If using the oven, Preheat the oven an hour before making pizza. 

450°F to 500 °F degrees.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is browned. Remove from the oven and top with arugula and orange zest. Drizzle with remaining honey orange sauce.

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Beef Short Rib Sliders

Short rib sliders with spicy slaw are the perfect make-ahead dishes for any party.

You can make these on the smoker like we did or in the crock pot! I include both method instructions below.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: food is the best thing about football season.

For years, that’s all we had as Buccaneers fans…Our tailgates! We never gave up on our team but it’s tough to watch your team lose on an empty stomach. 

Our friend, John, each season makes a tailgate game menu based on the home game schedule. We all would cook something that matches the theme. 

For example, when we play the Saints, our tailgate is New Orleans food theme- jambalaya, cajun chicken wings and so on. 

The best game-day eats are ones that are easily assembled and eaten whether you’re parked on the couch or tailgating outside the stadium! 

These short rib sliders are perfect for that – compact and easy to eat. Tender, fall-apart shredded short ribs piled on toasted sweet Hawaiian rolls and topped with cheddar, onion rings, & Spicy and Sweet Coleslaw – they’re so full of flavor, I promise, they will be a huge hit. 

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Ingredients

Short Ribs

• 2 pounds beef short ribs
• 1 teaspoon paprika 
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Kosher salt and Black pepper

Barbecue Sauce

• 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Cheddar Cheese

Sweet Hawaiian Rolls

Instructions

Crockpot Method

Season the ribs with salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne pepper. 

Transfer the ribs to a slow cooker combine the short ribs, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic, brown sugar, ketchup,, mustard, Worcestershire, vinegar, and 1 cup water. Turn the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 to 8 hours until the ribs are tender and falling apart. Use two forks to shred up the meat.

Big Green Egg Method

Scatter hickory chips over the preheated charcoal. Using mitts, place the grid in the EGG.

Place the ribs on the grilling grate bone side down and let smoke for an hour before checking

Look to see if the rib surface is drying out and spray with a mist of water (you can use a mix with cider vinegar if you wish)

After 3 hours in the smoke the meat should measure 165° and it is time to wrap

Place the ribs in an aluminum pan with 1 cup of red wine (or beef broth) and seal with foil

Let this cook for another 2-3 hours until the meat is probe tender and measures 204°

Wrap and place in cooler for another 1-2 hours

While the beef is in the cooking make the sauce. If you are doing the crockpot method, then the sauce is already in the crockpot so you can skip this step. 

Whisk together all ingredients in a medium saucepan situated over medium heat. Allow to come to a bubble and then reduce the heat to low. Allow to simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. 

Serve immediately or allow to cool slightly and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Assemble the sliders

Place the cheese and beef on one side of the roll and top with my Spicy & Sweet coleslaw.

Smoke Spicy Meatballs

These smoked meatballs are slowly smoked on the grill, and then finished with a homemade spicy & sweet BBQ sauce glaze. The ultimate game day food or appetizer for your next party.

I start with the meat. In this case I combined ground Italian turkey and pork for added flavor. You can  also use chicken or ground beef. Then added flavor and binding with Panko bread crumbs, garlic and egg. For the cheese, I used blue cheese but there are plenty of options (cheddar, mozzarella, fontina, provolone, anything that melts well). 

Here’s my little secret to help the meatballs stay moist, I use butter. I know Paula Deen would be proud! 

Just form your ball and make a little well in it, and place a small square of butter in the well, then cover it up and reshape the ball.

I made this recipe on my Green Mountain smoker, but you can make it on your grill or in the oven.

Once the meatballs are cooked, add the homemade BBQ sauce. Gently toss the meatballs around (or use a large spoon) to get the balls fully covered in the sauce.

Make sure to dig in while they’re still warm!.

INGREDIENTS:

• ½ lb Italian ground chicken or turkey sausage
• ½ lb ground Pork 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large eggs
• 3 teaspoon of Frank’s Red Hot Ranch Dip seasoning packet 
• 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 cup Blue Cheese crumbles 
• ½ stick of butter, cut into tiny pieces- about the size of your pinky finger nail. 

The Sauce:

• ½ cup Frank’s Red Hot sauce
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes – you can add more or less depending on your spice preference
• Pinch of salt

INSTRUCTIONS

Makes about 28 medium sized meatballs

Prepare the meatballs: 

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs. 

Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together. Shape the meat mixture into balls, about 3 tablespoons per ball. I like to use my medium size cookie scooper. 

Now here’s my little secret to help your meatballs stay moist, once your meatball is formed poke one piece of butter into the center and roll back into the meatball shape. 

The Smoker Method:

Preheat the smoker to 225ºF

Place the meatballs on your smoker at 225ºF. After 20 minutes of cooking, brush each meatball with the sauce. Continue cooking until internal temperature reaches 155ºF (one hour).

Turn the smoker up to 350 for 15 minutes to finish them off! You will know they are done when the internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

The Oven Method:

Preheat the oven to 475ºF. 

Place shaped meatballs on a baking sheet.

Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the meatballs are completely cooked- internal temperature reaches 165ºF.

Brush each meatball with the sauce. 

Place back on the baking sheet and bake for an additional 1-2 minutes. 

Place on a serving tray and drizzle with additional sauce.

The Sauce:

In a saucepan, combine the ingredients of the sauce over medium high heat, allow it to come to a boil, reduce the heat so it simmers. 

Let simmer for 8-10 minutes. 

Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool. 

The sauce will thicken as it cools so don’t worry if it looks thin.

Gently toss the meatballs around (or use a large spoon) to get the balls fully covered in the sauce.

Serve and eat them while they warm!