Grilled mushroom with pesto and goat cheese

There's something about the taste of grilled food that makes my taste buds excited.
And this is coming from a vegetarian!

On Sunday evening, Karel and I decided to fire-up the outdoor grill for a delicious dinner to finish a great weekend of training. Although my training volume/intensity is low relative to Karel (who is training for Ironman Mont Tremblant in a few weeks), we were both in need of a good meal to nourish and fuel our bodies.

My garden is overflowing with basil so the first thing that came to mind was pesto. I just love pesto on a grilled mushroom (thanks Katie Malone for the idea!) and as I was feeling extra creative, I didn't follow a recipe but instead, I made up my own -  a handful of fresh basil, a small handful of Parmesan and Asiago shredded cheese, a few long drizzles of olive oil and a sliced clove of garlic all into a food processor. My pesto was extra garlicky and had a nice kick to it.
(I found this recipe for you in case you want to make your own pesto at home)

While Karel had his grass-fed beef burger cooking on the grill (he has a special spot on the grill for his meat so that my food doesn't touch his), I built our grilled mushrooms.

Grilled mushroom with pesto and goat cheese
-1 large portobello mushroom cap (stem removed)
-Pesto (to cover the mushroom)
-Goat cheese (crumbled on top)
-Sliced baby tomatoes (from my garden)
-Olive oil (just a drizzle to give it a little more flavor)
-Shredded Parmesan and Asiago cheese (a nice salty taste)
-Salt (just a pinch)

The mushrooms do not need a long time to cook (~4-8 minutes depending on the heat of the grill, position of the rack with the mushroom and the size of your mushroom) and to help the presentation, I keep the mushroom on tinfoil, instead of directly on the grill rack.

To go with our grilled mushroom (and Karel's meat patty), we grilled a few boiled potatoes that I had left over from dinner on Saturday, when I made homemade mashed potatoes.  I find that boiling potatoes ahead of time helps for quicker cooking on the grill.

To prep the gold potatoes, I sliced them in half, coated the bottoms with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Karel grilled face down, directly on the grill.

And to change things up, instead of a salad, I kept it simple with a large handful of Leasa alfalfa sprouts.
Did you know that 1 cup sprouts has 3g of protein??

If you find yourself in a food rut, consider grilling food (whether outside or in your oven) as it can change up the taste and texture of your food, giving you a new exciting taste-bud happy experience every time you eat.

Homemade grilled pizza

Last weekend we had our friends/athletes Anthony and Peggy in town (and their furry child Brutus) and we had a lot of fun. The primary reason for traveling from DC to Greenville was to get a RETUL fit/re-fit from Karel on their new tri bikes but we also did a little working out (exercising) and a lot of eating. With every meal, there was a lot of yumming.
Like us, Anthony and Peggy share a love for home cooking but we couldn't resist going out for crepes at Tandem Creperie on Sunday morning after an hour run (our longest and 2nd run since IM Kona).



After our "brunch", we picked up the doggies and we headed downtown for a few hours. 

The dogs were almost exhausted as we were (we all hiked at Ceaser's Head on Saturday morning so our legs were a bit tired) so by 3pm, we drove back to our place with a quick stop at Publix to get some ingredients for our pizza dinner.

Here are a few pics from our beautiful hike: 

Anyways - back to food. 

Anthony had the great idea to grill our pizzas and since Karel and I have never used our grill for pizzas, we couldn't resist!

After letting the pizza dough sit out at room temperature for a few hours, Anthony went to work on the dough (with some flour) to form the pizzas.

We then started up the grill (and by we, I mean Anthony and Karel - Peggy and I were having too much fun in the kitchen)

First, Anthony coated the grill with some olive oil.
Put olive oil in a baggy and then dip a paper towel into the baggy. Use tongs to hold the towel and then rub the oil on the grill.

Then place the pizza dough on the grill.

Let the pizza dough cook (covered in the grill) until golden brown and firm on the bottom. Depending on the pizza thickness and shape, this will vary from pizza to pizza. It's a good idea to just hang outside with the pizza and check on it after a few minutes with a grill spatula.



To make the "waiting" easier, Karel suggest some appetizers and an IPA beer....along with your furry best friend to protect you from the birds in the sky and the squirrels in the trees.

An important tip: Because you will be putting on your toppings on to partially cooked dough, it is a good idea to prep all of your toppings before grilling the dough.

I sauteed some veggies, heated frozen corn, grilled some peppers on the skillet and chopped the meat (Brutus and Campy helped me) and Peggy made the sauce (chopped tomatoes cooked down with a pinch of sugar, chopped basil and garlic). 

After the pizza dough is cooked on one side, flip the dough and it's time for the sauce. 

Spread a layer of sauce on the dough.



You can certainly used bottled sauce if you'd like. 

Next it was time for the cheese.

And then the toppings. 

We made three different pizzas - a meat lovers with ham and sausage (not Marni friendly), a veggie lovers (pictured below) and a Margarita pizza with basil, mozzarella and sliced tomatoes (this one was my favorite - pictured at the top of the blog). 

It only took a few minutes for the bottom of the pizza to cook and to melt the cheese. 

Anthony and Peggy gave us the great idea to use leftover paper grocery bags for the pizza as an easy way to slice the pizza and to collect crumbs for an easy clean up.

We didn't even bother with plates as we were standing around in the back watching the doggies chase each other.

Our friend Meredith came over with her silver lab Gabby to meet silver lab Brutus. Campy served as the referee of all the fun.




In honor of Halloween, check out some of the cool spooky pizzas on the internet that you can make for your friends, family, kids or yourself.
Just Google "Halloween pizza ideas"



Source