Bake Dad a pizza on the grill

(Homemade pizza is easy to make on an outdoor grill)

Homemade pizza is a favorite meal in our house; it's something that never gets old. It can be made so many different ways with toppings that are fresh in season or just the basic tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and basil as the standard.

I recently posted about making quick pizza on the grill using naan, an Indian flatbread. Large pitas work well, too, but there is nothing like a homemade dough to take pizza over the top.

So for Father's Day, what could be better than hanging around with family, sauce simmering on the stove and a fresh pizza baking in the grill. I say "baking" in the grill because we set the pizza stone on top of a grill wok to raise it off the heat. This way, the pizza can "bake" with the lid shut without fear of burning the bottom of the crust.

We've adapted Adele Davis' recipe from the 1970 "Let's Eat Right to Stay Fit." A little whole wheat flour and cornmeal are combined with the white flour for a delicious, grainy crust. It's fast and doesn't require a long rising time. Top it off with fresh mozzarella, vegetables and basil — anything goes with pizza toppings.

I might sound like a broken record when it comes to pizza, but you can never have too much of a good thing, right?

Happy Father's Day to all the special men in our lives!

(Fresh mushrooms and onions top off this homemade pie)

Baked Pizza on the Grill

1. Dissolve a tablespoon of yeast into a cup of warm water; add a tablespoon of honey; set aside to rest about five minutes.
2. Add a teaspoon of salt and a hefty tablespoon of olive oil to the yeast mixture, after it's awakened from its little nap.
3. Add about 1 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 cup of white flour and a 1/2 cup of good cornmeal.
4. Mix it all together; don't overknead. If it feels too sticky, add a little more white flour.
5. Shape it into a ball and put back in the bowl to rise about 20 minutes.

• In the meantime, get your toppings going — good homemade sauce and mozzarella, both Parmesan and Reggiano cheeses, fresh basil and whatever else you like on top.
• Get your hands coated with flour and grab that ball of dough. Roll it and pat it to fit your pizza stone (a must-have for good pizza).
• Shape the dough onto a pizza peel that has been dusted with cornmeal, let it rest for about 15 minutes.
• Pile on the sauce and toppings; make sure you give it a good drizzle of olive oil when you're done, and slide it onto the pizza stone that has been set on top of a grill wok. We usually don't let the stone preheat in the grill; just set it in place, turn on the gas and let it cook off a few minutes. That's something you can play around with on your grill; everyone is a bit different.

It takes about 15-20 minutes to get the cheese bubbling.
Use the peel to slide it off the stone and then onto a big breadboard.
Let it cool a bit before slicing.

Raise your glass of wine to Dad and let him enjoy a homemade pizza for his special day.