Cobb Cooker: Pizza!

Some weeks I really look forward to Friday, not because anything dreadful has happened during the week or anything wonderful is planned for the weekend - just that I like the feeling of  Friday afternoon!

Last Friday, I packed a picnic afternoon tea and collected Vaughan from school.  He, Erin and I spent a lovely hour in the sunshine feeding some local ducks and geese.  On the way home we bought a few extra pizza ingredients, then made pizza on the Cobb cooker for dinner.  We didn't eat till late, partly cos of the laid-back vibe and partly cos the process was slower using the Cobb.

I made four pizzas, using our deep-dish enamel camping plates.  They fitted well onto the trivets (atop the Cobb grill plates).  I used both ovens, each with eight heat beads.  The pizza bases were crisper than necessary in an attempt to brown the cheese on top - probably 30 minutes each time, perhaps longer.  Further experimentation is definitely warranted but as a first effort, I was well pleased!   

(Vaughan and I have previously made camp oven pizza with excellent results, so we can always use that method using the Cobb Cooker as the heat source - if necessary).

I've watched a couple of YouTube videos about Cobb cooked pizza.  Both made the pizza directly onto the frypan plate.  The cheese on top was melted, not browned.  I'm pondering that.  I've also been watching The Hairy Bikers on DVD.  They often use Cobb cookers/charcoal ovens.  I was interested to see one of them use a small blow-torch to brown the top of a soufflé made in the cooker.  Now, that might be a gadget worth getting!