Friday Flatbread

 This is Bobby Flay’s Grilled Flatbread with Mozzarella, Fresh Tomato, Basil and Roasted Garlic (Boy Meets Grill page 36). I added Genoa Salami and Provolone. I spread out the dough on a cookie sheet and put it right on the grill. I brushed the dough with olive oil and placed the sliced tomatoes on the upper grate of the grill to heat up. When the dough was about half done I added all the ingredients right on the grill and then let the cheese melt.

Wisdom of the Grill. I also have a “pizza stone” that I use for pizza on the grill. The stone (actually ceramic) is round and is great for baking pizza and bread right on the grill. In this recipe I wanted rectangular flatbreads so I used the cookie sheet instead of the round stone, but either way it’s a unique use of a grill. You build the pizza right on the grill one layer at a time, just keep some olive oil for spreading. The grill should be on a low setting or use indirect heat and keep an eye on it.

Dorothy and I drove to the local grocery store in the snow, so its obviously not growing or harvesting season in Tennessee, but the store still had plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. We took a quick tour and started readying the little stickers on the produce. The sticker indicates the item code but also the country of origin. I found fresh produce from Guatemala, Columbia, Chili, Mexico, Ecuador, New Zealand, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Honduras and Italy. So how is it that the world’s fruits and vegetables ended up in a supermarket in snowed-in America? How do farmers who produce these good on different continent away, find a market in America? The answer is – airplanes.

Aviation is suffering from an image problem these days – some of it is unfair. Aviation impacts people everyday in a positive way even if they never themselves fly. Most are totally unaware of these benefits. My fellow shoppers at the Kroger store were probably completely ignorant of the fact that airplanes brought them their dinner. What people see of aviation is terror threats, long lines, canceled flights and lost luggage not bananas and cantaloupes. This misperception is bad because if people are not aware of the benefits of aviation and they see only the bad stuff then they form a negatively-bias opinion. This makes it tough for my students and in the long run would be harmful to us all. The next time you bite into a crisp apple in January, think about the pilot and the airplane that was part of the chain that brought it too you.

Weather Report. The wind chill factor while grilling was -4 degrees. The actual temperature is forecast to be 9 tonight and we had flurries most of the day. It will be cold, but as long as I can keep the grill fired up we will keep going!

Paul