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Thrill of the grill? Hers went up in smoke Summer's the grilling season, sure, but don't you think we've taken this barbecue thing just a little too far? I'm thinking here of the ongoing trend toward grilling foods that, to my mind, were never meant to meet open flame. Grapes, for instance. Or lettuce. Or ice cream. Yet I have on my desk a stack of press releases from some pretty slick food folks, and every one, whether it's from the cherry growers or the grape producers or the people who make wheat germ, pushes their product as the next best thing to toss on the barbie. Call me a purist, or just a person who has yet to embrace the full thrill of the grill, but I don't get it. Why go to all the trouble to barbecue every element of a meal, from appetizers to dessert, when there's a perfectly good kitchen nearby? Take this recipe for instance: Grilled Beef and Smoked Gouda Pizza.It sounds good, doesn't it? And it probably is good, if a person has all night to spend cooking pizza over coals. Grilling this dish requires nearly a dozen steps, including building a fire and creating a special pan to barbecue the crust. In between, the recipe calls for grilling the meat, grilling the vegetables and grilling the crust, all separately and at two different levels of heat. Then cooks are supposed to slice the meat and vegetables, assemble the ingredients atop the crust, and grill the whole deal again, all the while being careful not to scorch anything. I'm trying to understand this passion for grilling for reasons both personal and professional. My husband, the guy born with a spatula in his hand, could easily exist on nothing but food that has been blackened over a batch of Match Light. Meat and fish, vegetables and bread, it all tastes better with a few grid marks, he believes. If he could figure out a way to barbecue breakfast, he'd do that, too. Winer or summer, spring or fall, every time I ask him what he'd like for dinner, the answer's always the same: "Wanna barbecue?" Inwardly, I groan. I mean, it would be different if we had one of those fancy gas grills, the shiny silver ones with more bells and whistles than a basketball game, the kind that cost more than my first car. With a grill like that at my disposal, barbecuing would be a cinch, every bit as easy as firing up the range. But, no. My husband goes all Neanderthal on this point, insisting on his beloved kettle barbecue and a bag of grocery store charcoal. I guess I should be glad he doesn't forage for kindling. "It's more authentic," he says, removing the husks of used charcoal from the pan. "It's not so sanitized," he says, building a careful pyramid of fresh briquets. "It's the way God intended meat to be cooked," he intones, lighting yet another match, praying that the coals catch fire. I sigh. It's not that I don't appreciate the final flavor of grilled foods. Far from it. I've got a great recipe for an orange marinade that turns out sweet, smoky chicken breasts. I'm partial to grilled onions and mushrooms, and I don't turn down a well-grilled steak every now and then. But if I have a choice between whipping up an entree easily or spending an hour gathering fuel and building a fire, I'll choose ease any evening. There's a reason we humans progressed from meat-on-a-spit, after all. Attached, you'll find the recipe for that complicated grilled pizza recipe. The folks at the Oregon Beef Council estimate that it takes 90 minutes to make. If you're a true-blue fan of the flame, knock yourself out. I'll be in the house, relaxing. NOTE : Thanks again to everyone who contributed to the recent discussion about shrimp sauce. Some readers called back to argue that mayonnaise should replace the oil and egg in the June 9 recipe; others swore that the published directions are perfect. Grilled Beef and Smoked Gouda Pizza 1 1/4 pound boneless beef top sirloin steak, cut 3/4 inch thick 2 tablespoons cornmeal 2 10-ounce packages refrigerated pizza dough 3 tablespoons olive oil* 1 small eggplant cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices 1 large yellow bell pepper, quartered 2 teaspoons lemon pepper 2 medium plum tomatoes, very thinly sliced 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded smoked Gouda cheese Sprinkle cornmeal on two large baking sheets. Unroll each pizza dough and cut in half. Place two halves on each baking sheet. Press each piece into an 8x5-inch rectangle; brush lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Brush eggplant and bell pepper with oil. Press lemon pepper evenly into both sides of beef steak. Place steak on grid over medium, ash-covered coals; arrange eggplant and pepper around steak. Grill, uncovered, 13 to 16 minutes, or until steak is medium rare to medium in doneness and vegetables are tender, turning occasionally. Brush eggplant with remaining oil during grilling, if necessary. Remove steak and vegetables from grill; cool slightly. Allow coals to cool to medium-low. Carefully place pizza crusts, cornmeal-side down, directly on grid over medium-low coals. Grill, uncovered 3 to 4 minutes or until edges are puffy and bottoms have brown grill marks. (Watch carefully so crusts do not burn.) Turn crusts over. Grill second side 1 minute or until partially cooked. Return crusts to baking sheet, cornmeal-side up. Cut eggplant slices into quarter. Cut bell pepper into thin strips. Carve steak crosswise into thin slices. Arrange eggplant, tomatoes, beef and bell peppers on pizza crusts; sprinkle with cheese. Grill, covered, over medium-low coals 2 to 3 minutes or until crusts are cooked and browned on bottom, and cheese is softened. Watch carefully so that crusts do not burn; rotate pizzas as necessary. Makes 4 servings. Nutrition information per serving: 745 calories; 48 grams protein; 78 grams carbohydrates; 28 grams fat; 7.4 milligrams iron; 1,833 milligrams sodium; 108 milligrams cholesterol. Send cooking questions to JoNel Aleccia, The Mail Tribune, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501. Call 776-4465, or send e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA