"Pizza on the Grill: 100 Fiesty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More" by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer (Taunton, $16).

It's a good sign that Elizabeth Karmel barbecues year-round on the balcony of her Chicago loft. The kind of enthusiasm and dedication needed during freezing Midwestern winters is what you want in an author thinking up 100 "feisty" fire-roasted pizzas.

If some of the entries in her book, "Pizzas on the Grill," seem downright surreal (Port-Drizzled Fig and Stilton pizza that's an after-meal sweet cheese course; or one that's smoked salmon sitting atop creamy garlic cheese, for instance) it's probably the influence of co-author Bob Blumer. Millions of cookbook readers and TV viewers know him as the Surreal Gourmet, owner of one wicked culinary imagination.

Their passion for pizza is catching. Once you pick up the book, it will be hard to put down. The authors tried to quit the habit long ago but admit they couldn't and say the prime attraction is the slightly smoky, very crispy crusts. This is the best pizza-grilling book ever written, and each spring I eagerly pull it out to begin a new year of barbecued feasts.

The crusts are appealing because of their rustic flame-kissed appearances and irregular shapes. They scream homemade, even if you use store-bought dough. No one will think this is a delivery take-out meal — even more so if you include some of the suggested crust add-ins, such as chopped fresh herbs, grated citrus zest or chopped nuts or seeds.

The grill leads to fun things you can do with the toppings, too. You can blister your corn for a corn, asparagus and pesto pizza; fire-roast garlic, tomatoes, peppers and walnuts for various pies, and caramelize pears for a nutty dessert pizza.

The voluminous sides are just as splashy. A grilled watermelon salad is bursting with olive oil, lime juice, cayenne pepper, fresh mint and feta cheese, and an appetizer of Thai hot chile-lime cashews is as addictive as any of the pizzas.