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Zah\'s and birthdays (lots O pics)

RGBHV
RGBHV Posts: 1,318
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
My boys had a birthday party this weekend. The youngest's B-day is actually in the summer so he rarely gets a party with his school chums on his actual birthday. He graciously agreed to have it at the same time as his big brother. And why not, he gets a birthday party in the summer with our friends/family and then another birthday party in the fall with his buddies.

Ice cream cake wouldn't have done well on the egg...

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We decided to have about 20 kids + adults over for a video game party. We had 3 gaming systems (Wii, X-Box and PS3). The kids had a blast. Dad rented 6 video games but there must have been 30 games on site as all the kids wanted to show off their latest and greatest games and accomplishments. The greatest challenge was keeping track of who owned what.

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Mum and dad prepared the dough early in the AM. I wasn't really happy with the dough - it didn't seem to rise as much as it has in the past. I had my doubts that it would work at all and was preparing my telephone finger and credit card for delivery!

Mum prepared the zah's while Dad cooked them on the eggs. I miscalculated how much lump I would need for the cooks and had to re-load the large about half way through. Waiting for the second load of lump to be ready seemed like an eternity so I made a few pies on the weber. What a difference in taste/texture/cooks.

Here's a few samples of the egg'd zah's...

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When all was said and done, we cooked 12 zah's and had about 4 slices left over. The kids devoured them!

As for the crust - it was a thin crust - a lot like a thicker version than a tortilla. We got a lot of compliments. Good thing I put away the phone and my credit card.

Michael

Comments

  • Great pics, Michael!
    Looks like y'all had a great party. :woohoo:
  • What a great party for the boys. I'm sure they had fun and the pizza looks great. That's a very economical way to entertain all those kids.
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • the pizzas look great. was the asparagus for the adults?

    what temp did you run at, and how much lump did you end up using? all good reference info.

    i have done maybe 4 pizzas at once, and was glad i didn't have too many more, because i roared thru the lump.
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Hi Faith:

    We were trying to secure a local laser quest location. (a place we've gone to for about 4 years in a row) and then it fell through. You snooze you loose!

    Dad and Mum came up with a quick solution to fill the void and it worked great. I managed to get some flat screens from work. If I hadn't bought the X-Box, it would have been very economical. Next year it will for sure!

    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    I cooked the zahs about 550.

    I loaded the large about 3/4 of the way up and then let it burn for about an hour. Not really planned that way, but it happened. I got distracted by the dough as it wasn't rising the way I expected it to.

    About half way through the cook I realized the lump was barely covering the the grate so I decided to fill the egg. I had to wait about 30-40 minutes for everything to burn off before I could load more zah.

    There was more than enough lump to finish the cook. So much so, that I brought the temp down to 300 and threw a ham on for dinner.

    Live and learn!

    I do need to learn how to cook multiple zahs at the same time. I was cooking for about 2.5 hours. One after the other, after the other.

    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Thanks - it was fun.

    Michael
  • that's great. sounds like you think you could have done that dozen pizzas in one go, if the egg hadn't cruised for an hour and you had loaded it right up?

    pretty impressive cook, not because of any complexity in the pizza-making maybe, but because of the total "hero" aspect of firing that many pizzas.

    i guarantee some of those kids went away thinking that "thing" was a dedicated pizza oven. gonna have to have them back for chicken wings or ribs. hahhaha
  • SmokeyPitt
    SmokeyPitt Posts: 10,490
    Pizza, video games, egging...these are some of my favorite things.

    I also am a super-geek and have the console trifecta in the basement "for the kids".

    Great looking pies! You'll have to have your mom share how she did the thin crust.


    Which came first the chicken or the egg?  I egged the chicken and then I ate his leg. 

  • eenie meenie
    eenie meenie Posts: 4,394
    Michael, what a fun party for the kids! The pizzas all look great! :)
  • Beli
    Beli Posts: 10,751
    A great party they'll never forget...food & games, felicidades!!
  • WWSis
    WWSis Posts: 1,448
    You brave, brave man! :lol: :woohoo: Everything looks great - 14 pizzas with a bunch of hormonal kids running around?...glad it was you, not me! :blink: :laugh:
  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Michael.

    That is a lot of pizza. Hopefully one of your wives kept you supplied with cool beverages whilst you were in front of that inferno for so long. Wish the boys happy birthday for us.

    Steve

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    I'm sure if I had loaded up the egg and gave it 30-45 minutes to fire up, I would have been able to cook all 12 pizzas (probably more) on one load of lump. When I had to reload the lump I lost my rhythm.

    And yes, I was standing a little taller and puffing out my chest during and after the cook.

    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    I just hope that we can replicate it.

    Crust is one thing - but I'm all about the toppings.

    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Thanks Rebecca!

    The party just took on a mind of it's own. All the kids had their own games and there was a lot of one up man ship going on. It was so noisy - I'm glad I was cooking on the egg.

    Next year I think I'll borrow some projectors from work and do a 20' W wall for video, put in a high end sound system and maybe some lighting effects - make it like a real arcade!


    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Thanks Beli!

    We're here on this earth to create memories for our family!

    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    I got to spend the time outside with the egg.

    Now Anke on the other hand - she was inside preparing pizza and listening to screaming kids.

    Michael
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Absolutely...

    Anke made the pies and Karin was in charge of beverages.

    Michael
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,452
    Michael, happy birthday to Liam and Martin. Pizzas look great, you won't believe that I've never tried pizza in the egg yet :blush:
    Gary
    canuckland
  • RGBHV
    RGBHV Posts: 1,318
    Thanks Gary:

    I'll pass on your wishes to the boys.

    I can't believe that you haven't done a zah yet. I'm sure you will soon and it will be great. I really quite easy. Not so good on gaskets, but I don't have a gasket anymore so I don't care.

    Ha! Ha!

    Michael