tuesday - pizza and a peacock

Tuesdays are our no commitment days.  Nothing before, during, or after school.  No classes, lessons, appointments.  I like to stay home on Tuesdays and work on the house, work on projects, and plan great things for dinner. 

Yesterday, I spent the morning putting together a Christmas wreath for my mom.  Yes, I know, I wandered a off of the reservation a little bit with this one, but I did show my mom all of the fabric and the peacock before I started on the wreath.  I wanted to avoid possible peacock shock. 

And, I also realize that there's nothing Christmasy, per se, about this wreath.  But love it or hate it, you can't argue with the fact that it's festive.  This is going to sound strange, but I have the wreath hanging on my front door, and every time I look at it it seems to be emanating its own soft blue light. 

Moving on to make your own pizza night.  Last night was the first time Grace wasn't interested in making her own pizza, instead she wanted Papa John's.  So, Carter helped me put the pizzas together. 

I don't think I've blogged about this before, but I have perfected the art of cooking homemade pizza on the grill.  After reading about this, watching youtube videos, and burning a couple of crusts beyond recognition, I figured out that elevating the pizzas makes all the difference. 

I used that little metal bucket on the right side of the picture to raise the big pizza a few inches off of the grill rack to keep the bottom of the crust from getting too hot.  The small pizzas cook well on the upper shelf.  The result is perfect pizza crust.  Crispy on the outside, but chewy on the inside.  Everyone loved their pizza last night.  Even Grace. 

To accompany the pizza, I tried a new recipe I found on Pinterest.  Zucchini halves brushed with minced garlic, olive oil, and black pepper, topped with Campari tomatoes and baked.  Then a sprinkling of fresh Asiago cheese and fresh basil and finishing under the broiler made these absolutely burst with flavor. 

Grace completely devoured the artichoke before anyone else even had a chance to take a leaf.  Just for the record,  Papa John's doesn't do artichokes.