Blue Cheese Toasts

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 12 1/2-inch-thick rounds sourdough baguette
  • Sugar

Preparation
Preheat broiler. Mix cheese and butter in small bowl. Spread cheese mixture over bread rounds, dividing equally. Arrange rounds on baking sheet. Sprinkle each lightly with sugar. Broil until topping is just brown and cheese softens, about 1 minute. Transfer toasts to platter.

Makes 12 servings.

The Best Fresh Margaritas

Ingredients

  • 4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup juice from 2 to 3 medium limes
  • 4 teaspoons grated zest plus 1/2 cup juice from 2 to 3 medium lemons
  • 1/4 cup superfine sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 cups crushed ice
  • 1 cup 100 percent agave tequila, preferably Reposado
  • 1 cup Triple Sec

Preparation
Combine lime zest and juice, lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt in large liquid measuring cup; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until flavors meld, 4 to 24 hours.

Divide 1 cup crushed ice between 4 or 6 margarita or double old-fashioned glasses. Strain juice mixture into 1-quart pitcher or cocktail shaker. Add tequila, Triple Sec, and remaining crushed ice; stir or shake until thoroughly combined and chilled, 20 to 60 seconds. Strain into ice-filled glasses; serve immediately.

NOTE: The longer the zest and juice mixture is allowed to steep, the more developed the citrus flavors in the finished margaritas. We recommend steeping for the full 24 hours, although the margaritas will still be great if the mixture is steeped only for the minimum 4 hours. If you’re in a rush and need to serve margaritas immediately, omit the zest and skip the steeping process altogether.

Makes about 1 quart, serving 4 to 6

The Best Sangria

The longer sangria sits before drinking, the more smooth and mellow it will taste. A full day is best, but if that’s impossible, give it an absolute minimum of two hours to sit. Use large, heavy juicy oranges and lemons for the best flavor. Doubling or tripling the recipe is fine, but you’ll have to switch to a large punch bowl in place of the pitcher. An inexpensive Merlot is the best choice for this recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 large juice oranges, washed; one orange sliced; remaining orange juiced
  • 1 large lemon, washed and sliced
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup Triple Sec
  • 1 bottle inexpensive, fruity, medium-bodied red wine (750 milliliters), chilled

Preparation
Add sliced orange, lemon, and sugar to large pitcher; mash gently with wooden spoon until fruit releases some juice, but is not totally crushed, and sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Stir in orange juice, Triple Sec, and wine; refrigerate for at least 2, and up to 8, hours.

Before serving, add 6 to 8 ice cubes and stir briskly to distribute settled fruit and pulp; serve immediately.

Yield: Serves 4

Grilled Tomato & Cheese Pizzas for Gas Grill

Ingredients

Dough

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup water (8 ounces), room temperature
  • 2 cups bread flour (11 ounces), plus more for work surface
  • 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons table salt
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast

Topping

  • 1 1/2 pounds medium plum tomatoes (5 to 6), cored, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dices
  • 3/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 6 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
  • 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese , finely grated (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
  • Spicy Garlic Oil
  • Coarse salt

Preparation
The pizzas cook very quickly on the grill, so before you begin grilling them, be sure to have all the equipment and ingredients you need at hand. Equipment includes a pizza peel (or a rimless baking sheet), a pair of tongs, a paring knife, a large cutting board, and a pastry brush; ingredients include all the toppings and a small bowl of flour for dusting. Timing and coordination are crucial; if you are unsure of your skill level, try cooking the first two pizzas one at a time, then work up to cooking the final two in tandem. The pizzas are best served hot off the grill but can be kept warm for 20 to 30 minutes on a wire rack in a 200 degree oven.

Makes four 9-inch pizzas

1. FOR THE CRUST: Combine oil and water in liquid measuring cup. In food processor fitted with plastic dough blade or metal blade, process bread flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, and yeast until combined, about 5 seconds. With machine running, slowly add liquid through feed tube; continue to process until dough forms tacky, elastic ball that clears sides of workbowl, about 1 1/2 minutes. If dough ball does not form, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time and process until dough ball forms. Spray medium bowl lightly with nonstick cooking spray or rub lightly with oil. Transfer dough to bowl and press down to flatten surface; cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in draft-free spot until doubled in volume, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

2. When dough has doubled, press down gently to deflate; turn dough out onto work surface and divide into 4 equal-sized pieces. With cupped palm, form each piece into smooth, tight ball. Set dough balls on well-floured work surface. Press dough rounds with hand to flatten; cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. FOR THE TOPPING: Meanwhile, toss tomatoes and table salt in medium bowl; transfer to colander and drain 30 minutes (wipe out and reserve bowl). Shake colander to drain off excess liquid; transfer tomatoes to now-empty bowl and set aside. Combine cheeses in second medium bowl and set aside.

4. Gently stretch dough rounds into disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Working one piece at a time and keeping the rest covered, roll out each disk to 1/8-inch thickness, 9 to 10 inches in diameter, on well-floured sheet of parchment paper, dusting with additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. (If dough shrinks when rolled out, cover with plastic wrap and let rest until relaxed, 10 to 15 minutes.) Dust surface of rolled dough with flour and set aside. Repeat with remaining dough, stacking sheets of rolled dough on top of each other (with parchment in between) and covering stack with plastic wrap; set aside until grill is ready.

5. TO GRILL: Light all burners and turn to high heat, cover grill, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes; scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush.

6. Lightly flour pizza peel; invert 1 dough round onto peel, gently stretching it as needed to retain shape (do not stretch dough too thin; thin spots will burn quickly). Peel off and discard parchment; carefully slide round onto hot side of grill. Immediately repeat with another dough round. Cook (with grill lid down) until tops are covered with bubbles (pierce larger bubbles with paring knife) and bottoms are grill marked and charred in spots, 2 to 3 minutes; while rounds cook, check undersides and slide to cool area of grill if browning too quickly. Transfer crusts to cutting board browned sides up. Repeat with 2 remaining dough rounds.

7. Brush 2 crusts generously with Spicy Garlic Oil; top each evenly with one-quarter of cheese mixture and one-quarter of tomatoes. Return pizzas to grill and cover grill with lid; cook until bottoms are well browned and cheese is melted, 3 to 5 minutes, checking bottoms frequently to prevent burning. Transfer pizzas to cutting board; repeat with remaining 2 crusts. Sprinkle pizzas with basil and coarse salt to taste; cut into wedges and serve immediately.

STEP BY STEP: Grilled Pizza 101

  1. Shape dough into 4 smooth, tight balls.
  2. With pin, roll each dough ball on parchment paper to form 9-inch round.
  3. Stack dough rounds, separated by parchment.
  4. Arrange lit coals in even layer over three-quarters of grill.
  5. Invert dough round onto floured peel, remove parchment, and slide onto grill. Cook 2 dough rounds at once.
  6. Using tongs, lift up dough round and peek to make sure it’s not scorching. If it’s cooking too fast, slide pizza to cool part of grill.
  7. Transfer dough round to cutting board, browned side up. Brush dough round with garlic oil and top with cheese mixture and tomatoes.
  8. Return pizza to grill and cover grill to help cheese melt.