Apricots are superb little fruits that lend themselves to all kinds of dishes, including salads.

Here they’re tossed with a bit of honey to accentuate their sweetness, and then grilled. Paired with crunchy fennel, spunky arugula, sweet Spanish Marcona almonds and a flavorful vinaigrette, the grilled apricots are a revelation – they contribute a wonderfully sweet-smoky essence to the refreshing salad, as well as a shot of color!

All in all, this is a gorgeous, massively flavorful first course that makes you wish summer would never end.

Now, how about a sip of this apricot Mojito with lemon balm?

When you think about grilled pizza, you might think of the kind you bake on a stone. But that isn’t what this grilled pizza is about. This pizza is made directly on the grill (no stone!) and has gorgeous grill marks all over it.

It takes a bit of practice to handle the dough and learn to slap it on the grill with confidence, but after performing the technique a few times, you’ll become a pro and have a roaring good time grilling pizzas!

Of course, I’ve made video clips of the entire process, so don’t feel like you’re alone in this endeavor – I hope that by seeing how it’s done first hand, you’ll feel confident giving this technique a try.

This recipe is a classic tomato and mozzarella pizza, but with a twist – fresh heirloom tomatoes are used rather than tomato sauce. And there’s another variation: just before serving, you’ll sprinkle the pizzas with loads of fresh herbs and a drizzle of lemon oil. All this goodness gives us a smoky, crisp-yet-chewy crust crowned with the most succulent toppings.

Time to fire up the grill… and your appetite!

Though it’s a year-round favorite of mine, this pizza recipe is never better than in the spring and fall, when you can get just-picked spinach from your farmers’ market (or from your vegetable garden!). In truth, it’s my own abundant harvest of young spinach that gave birth to this recipe.

Here, the spinach is sautéed until barely wilted to preserve its mellow green flavor. The other ingredients need to complement the spinach – not overwhelm it – and for cheese, that means ricotta! It adds a delicious moisture and lightness to the pizza, without overpowering the delicate wilted greens. Then a little Parmesan is added for a hint of saltiness, and pickled shallots are scattered on top of the pie – their tanginess brings an amazing punch, drawing out the flavors of the other toppings!

Light and flavorful, this pizza is perfect weekend fare.

Making the perfect pizza dough is most certainly a creative act, and for me it has been an obsession. I have experimented for years with different ways of making pizza dough: different flours, yeasts, resting time, kneading techniques, no-knead dough… A few months ago I decided that I wanted to publish a pizza dough that was easy to make and would yield the results you might expect from a top pizzeria. So I rolled up my sleeves, read as much as I could on the chemistry of yeast and flour, and made dough – lots of dough.

Today’s recipe is the result of all my research and experiments (failures too!), and I must say that I am extremely excited to finally publish this recipe.

To make a superb pizza crust, the dough needs to have the right consistency and the oven (or grill!) needs to deliver tons of heat. This pizza dough recipe addresses the texture of the dough. The individual pizza recipes following will deal with the heat issue.

And of course, let’s not forget about the flour! This recipe calls for either bread flour (I use King Arthur’s) or Caputo Tipo “00” Pizza Flour. Both flours yield superb crusts that are almost identical in texture and flavor, with the “00” flour delivering a slightly firmer, chewier pizza.

Are you ready to roll up your sleeves? I am… Let’s make pizza dough!

Recipes
- Pizza with ricotta, wilted spinach and pickled shallots
- Grilled pizza with heirloom tomatoes, garden herbs and lemon oil

Apricot season is very short-lived, and you have to make the most of it. So aside from eating them on their own (or in sumptuous desserts), why not enjoy them in cocktails—as in this mojito?

Here the aromatic fruits are muddled with lemon balm and mint to make a truly refreshing, seasonal libation.