When I Think of Hummus, Veggies, & Goat Cheese I Think of?

Why pizza, of course!  What?  You don't?  Well, truthfully, neither did I, until we started playing this game.  I'm a week behind again.  I've been battling the flu, so please forgive me.  Anyway, I ended up with TV again, what is up with that, and this time I had Grill It! with Bobby Flay.  I'm not a huge Flay fan, but his Grilled Pizza with Spicy Hummus, Vegetables, Goat Cheese, and Black Olives recipe sounded really interesting, especially since I've never tried grilling pizza.  Now we have an actual outside grill, but it was raining this week when we made it so I substituted and it worked wonderfully.  Plus it will hopefully show you that you can make something this elaborate from your apartment kitchen too.

To start this dish you either need to have a package of pre-made pizza crust or you'll need to make your own.  I followed the one Bobby Flay listed on the recipe and let it rise in my laundry room while the dryer ran.  What?  I was multi-tasking and the laundry room was the warmest room at that moment.  So either my dough will smell spring time fresh or my laundry will smell like a bread factory.  Either is fine with me!

While the dough is rising I made my hummus.  This is actually much simpler than I thought it would be initially.  I threw two cans of drained chickpeas into the food processor with all the required ingredients and then I turned that puppy on. Wheeeee!  Food processor, oh how I love thee! 

Now once you grind up all the chickpeas you'll need to add olive oil until it emulsifies.  I actually used more than the recipe stated because I thought the hummus was still a bit lumpy looking.  

Your hummus should have a nice texture and seasoning.  If you feel it needs a bit more then salt and pepper to taste.  If you feel it's over seasoned then... ummm... start over, because I don't think you can unseason.  If you figure out to please let me know.  We could make a fortune off that tidbit of information.  So at this point you can either leave the hummus to wait in the food processor or transfer it over to a bowl like I did.

My best advice at this point is to keep Shorty away from the hummus by any means necessary.  You will need enough to cover your pizza and he will begin dipping everything - spoons, stale biscuits, chips, crackers, fingers - into it that he can find.  Who knew that he liked hummus so much?

Okay now since it was raining I broke out my George Foreman grill and prepped my veggies.  I used a standard purple eggplant, a zucchini, and a red bell pepper.  I sliced the eggplant and zucchini down the center and removed the center of the bell pepper.  Aren't they pretty all laid out nicely?

At this point, you'll want to place them on the grill.  Initially, I left it open, but decided I would go ahead and close it to see if it worked better.  You'll need to be aware that due to the size of the eggplant it will get most of the quick grilling by doing this because the lid will press down on it.  I actually ended up removing the eggplant first so that the others could grill more completely.  Once they are grilled to your liking, remove them and chop or slice them to your preference.  I must apologize for my cutting board picture.  I tried to make it look all pretty, but really, it had just seen some serious abuse.  Even still the veggies look delicious.

I took a quick moment to clean my grill and prep it for the next step.  I advise you to do the same or you may regret it in the end, and no one should live with regret.  I know I have enough of it already.  Like that one time I posted a picture of my dirty cutting board on my food blog, oh wait that was this post wasn't it?  Le sigh!

But I digress...  So I went to the laundry room and took out the dough. (I left the laundry for Shorty to fold.  I hate folding.)  It had doubled in size and looked pretty.  I just couldn't take it rubbing its perfection in my face so I punched it!

 Wait! Wait, before you call the police and report me for dough abuse you should know that this is the next step.  See the dough likes it rough, kind of like me... oh wait this isn't that kind of blog.  Forget I said that!!! So, um, now where were we?  Oh yes, roll your dough out.  Since I am making it on the indoor grill I tried to go for a longer shape.  Once I had the shape down I slathered some olive oil on both sides and tossed it on the grill.

You can close the lid and it will toast up nicely.  I flipped it once it looked about half way done to me.  I wanted to make sure it looked good on both sides.  See the pretty grill marks?  While that's grilling cut up your goat cheese and crumble it. 

Goat cheese has a strong flavor and might not be for everyone, but remember the Scrumdeliocious motto: Try everything at least once!  If you survive, and still hate it, then wait a few years and try it again.  If you keep this mindset you might be surprised by what you discover a taste for.  As a kid I hated broccoli and now I can't get enough of it.  Okay, lets get back to our crust.

Your crust should be nicely grilled by this point so pull it off the grill and lay it out on a good working surface.  Now, if you haven't eaten it all already, you should grab your hummus.  Spread it evenly on the crust while trying desperately to avoid the urge to just pick the whole thing up and devour it whole.  Note:  I believe that strange red blur, in the photo to the left, is the spatula that I'm using to spread the hummus.  Of course, it could just as easily be the ghost of some great Italian chef who is angry at me for bastardizing pizza in such a way.  I'll let you decide once you try the final product.

Now grab those veggies and layer them on the hummus.  This is your pizza so you can feel free to sprinkle as many or as few as you want.  Do try to remember, though, that a variety of color is going to make it look more delicious so spread out your purple eggplant, green zucchini, and red peppers.  See isn't that pretty?

Gasp!!! I forgot the scallions!!!  Looking at this picture reminds me that I forgot to mention them, just like I forgot to grill them initially while cooking this dish.  I had to go back and grill them separately.  Apparently, I'm a secret hater of scallions.  Who knew?  What isn't a secret is that I hate olives.  Blakk!  So I left them off.  Hey at least I can say I've tried them several times to make my determination.  

Sprinkle on your goat cheese and, since we didn't use an outside grill, pop the pizza in the oven to heat it through.  Shorty sprinkled his with a little extra cayenne pepper before he put it in the oven.  Goat cheese doesn't really spread when it melts so don't use that as your determining factor on when it is done.   I left it in for about five minutes, which seemed to be perfect.

Yum!  Yum!  I wasn't sure I was going to like it but all the flavors blended beautifully.  I took a few pieces to work and received rave reviews.  (Hi Jill *waving hand frantically*)  I think I will definitely make this one again.