Chef Name: Food Network Kitchen Full Recipe Name: Kids Can Make: Pizza Skewers Talent Recipe: FNK Recipe: Project: Foodnetwork.com, SUMMER/APPETIZERS/PASTA Show Name: Food Network / Cooking Channel: Food Network

Recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen
Pizza Skewers

 

Pizza Skewers Recipe

Pizza meets kebabs on the grill and gets the kids in the kitchen! Everyone will love to pull the chunks of sausage, bread and tomatoes off the skewers with their hands, dip them in tomato sauce and eat-just like a New York slice, no forks allowed. Little kids can dump the ingredients into the bowl, stir them up and tear the basil leaves over the skewers. Older kids can measure out the ingredients, roll out the dough and thread the skewers. Kids of all ages can eat and enjoy! 

The recipe takes about 5 minutes to prep, 30 minutes of inactive time and 5 minutes to cook. Makes 4 servings. 

[ezcol_1third]Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for oiling the grill grates
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
Kosher salt
All-purpose flour, for dusting
1/2 pound pizza dough, cool to the touch
1 pint grape tomatoes (24 to 30)
12 ounces cooked sweet Italian chicken sausage links (about 4 links), sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup of your favorite marinara sauce, warmed, for dipping
Grated Parmesan, optional
Crushed red pepper flakes, optional[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_2third_end]Directions
Special equipment: eight 12-inch wooden skewers

Soak eight 12-inch wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes. Prepare a grill for medium heat. Cut a 12-inch-square piece of aluminum foil.

Stir together the oil, Italian seasoning and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Dust a work surface with flour. Roll the dough into a rectangle about 11 by 6 by 1/4 inches. Using a pizza wheel or a knife, cut the dough into 1-inch strips, then into 1-inch squares. Add the dough squares, tomatoes and sausage to the seasoned oil, and toss gently to coat.

Working quickly to keep the dough from getting warm, thread the skewers, alternating sausage pieces (skewer them through the casings), tomatoes and dough squares (skewer them through opposite sides of each square, keeping them as flat as possible so they cook through). Leave 1/2 inch of the skewer at both ends empty. Each skewer should have 4 pieces each of sausage and dough and about 3 tomatoes.

Grill the skewers, covered, until the tomatoes have dark grill lines and the dough squares have started to puff, 2 to 3 minutes. Put the prepared foil square on the grill, and transfer the skewers onto the foil cooked-side up, so that they are almost touching. Top with the mozzarella, and grill, covered, until the tomatoes are soft, the dough squares have doubled in size and the mozzarella has melted, 3 minutes more.

Divide the skewers among 4 plates. Tear the basil leaves over the tops. Serve with the marinara sauce, for dipping, and pass the Parmesan and red pepper flakes.[/ezcol_2third_end]

KIDS WARNING: Note to parents: Never leave a child unattended in the kitchen. These recipes are appropriate for children of various ages, 4 to 10. When a recipe calls for cooking on the stove or using a paring knife, an adult should do those activities and let the child assist, if age appropriate.

New Season of Pizza Masters

Love pizza? Yes, that’s a rhetorical question! Why not whip up a batch of these fun pizza skewers to enjoy while watching the new season of Pizza Masters?! That’s right, Sal Basille and Francis Garcia are back for all new culinary adventures and fun in season two of Pizza Masters premiering Wednesday, September 23rd  at 9:00pm ET/6:00pmPT on Cooking Channel. First cousins by birth and best friends by choice, these pizza aficionados are always on the hunt for good times and great food – and not just pizza!  Join the boys on the road as they make stops all the way from Rhode Island to Louisiana to Alaska and back again, trying delicious dishes everywhere they go.  

From mom and pop joints to legendary establishments, these Pizza Masters know delicious pizza and amazing food when they find it, and are always up for having a good time along the way.  Of course a new season wouldn’t be complete without new adventures and Sal and Fran do not disappoint.  Over the course of ten episodes, they’ll visit a working ranch with hardworking cowboys, judge a pageant contest and search for buried treasure just to name a few.  Sit back and enjoy the ride with these food- and fun-loving cousins at the wheel! 

Visit CookingChanneltv.com/PizzaMasters to check out the web-only series Pizza Masters: Sliced! to see Sal and Fran compete to make the best pizza possible using the craziest mystery ingredients on CookingChannelTV.com. Join the cheese and pepperoni chatter with #PizzaMasters.