Grilled Focaccia Pizza

The weather has been unseasonably warm in St. Louis this winter, so we've definitely kept grill season open! Nothing really stops us but snow and ice anyway. But also, my husband picked up some fresh garlic focaccia bread at a little Italian grocery last Saturday when traveling back from Des Moines. Mmmm... We decided to turn it into grilled pizzas--Bobby Flay style.

Making homemade pizza is both fun and a great way to reinvent a traditionally higher fat food into something healthy and satisfying. Plus, everyone in the household can create their own pizza just the way they like it! Mr. Patton (he chooses to remain nameless) and I definitely have different tastes when it comes to pizza. Usually we make our own crust and bake them in the oven, but this was a bit easier since the "crust" was already made.

Start by slicing the focaccia horizontally through the center, kind of like you would filet a piece of meat. Then brush both sides of each piece with olive oil and seasonings, if you wish. Since our focaccia was already infused with garlic, we didn't add anything this time. Grill each piece cut side down for about 4-5 minutes, until it starts to get brown, but not charred.

I couldn't help it--I took a nibble!

Then bring 'em back in and layer on the toppings! The toppings also go on the cut side of the bread. Here was my ingredient list this time:

A very fine spread of pizza sauce
A thin layer of shredded mozzarella
Frozen spinach (rinsed to thaw, then drained)
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced, seasoned green olives (from the Italian grocery too!)
Sliced Kalamata olives
Sliced mushrooms
Just a few crumbles of Italian sausage (cooked at breakfast)
Herbed goat cheese

Bobby's always seem to get done on the grill, but seeing as though our pizzas were a lot thicker on the focaccia, we had to bring them back in and broil them in the oven for a few minutes. But then...delish! As if it couldn't get any better, I ate the remainder for lunch yesterday. Nice treat.

How will you make yours?