Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pizza. Show all posts

Monday, 21 February 2011

A variation on a theme..

Can't remember where the inspiration came for these... when I remember I will come back and let you know. I'M BACK...Thanks for reminding me Marie! I should have known it was you that had inspired me. I was reading your blog ' A year at Oak Cottage' and came across your Tear and Share Ring and needed to feed the crowd so filled in the ring to make more, it was just about enough with the dessert that followed!


I used my quick rise pizza dough rolled it out into circles and filled it with my favourite pizza sauce and some chopped Italian sausage along with a small ball of mozzarella cheese, enclosed it all in the pizza dough, turning the circle into a ball with all that lovely filling hidden inside. I then popped it into my very well seasoned deep dish baker and painted the top with melted garlic butter then scattered herbs on top!  It was ready for the oven.... 200c for 30-35 mins or until it was brown and gorgeous!!!

It was a great meal to share, we just tore piece off it and ate them with our fingers.
The top was crispy and garlicky the middles were soft and doughy


This is one I pulled apart to let you see;
the cheese was ooozy...
the sauce fragrant and hot...
and sausage gave it all a peppery goodness...
oh I could eat that again!

Happy 25 years Paulus!

Friday, 28 May 2010

22 years of wedded bliss!

It was the 80s so excuse the hair (on both of us!)

Its amazing to think how long we've been together, and I'm totally surprised we haven't managed to kill each other over the years. I know I could have happily killed him on a number of occasions and pleaded insanity. I'm sure I could have got away with it too, my hormones made me do it your honour - he's beaten me for years!!! In truth the only abuse I have suffered over the years is from his music collection, his jokes and his ability to cook only two meals, beans on toast and his speciality.... cheese on toast! I don't think that would be considered adequate grounds for murder though, seen as I very rarely allow him into the kitchen, unless its to do the washing up that is!!!  The good thing about this blog is I get to write it so he doesn't have a chance to tell you how many times and why he'd like to have killed me over the years! But hey, it can't be all that bad, we're still here and still smiling and soppy as it sounds we're still best mates!

Jam and Coconut Sponge with thick Custard

For the past 12 months he's had to work away from home, this has meant he's had to fend for himself, making sure he stores the 4 tupperware boxes of prepared food in the fridge or freezer properly then heat them up without giving himself food poisoning! So far so good, he has not suffered any untoward symptoms. Over the year he has gone from strength to strength, heating up my homemade lasagna, boiling pasta 'al-dente'  and adding my sauce to it. We are now heading into summer and he is cooking marinated chops and boiling new potatoes and steaming fresh vegetables! I am, if truth be known rather proud of him. He's always ringing to check on cooking times and letting me know how dishes have turned out. He's making great use of his Pampered Chef small bar pan and his medium pizza plate, don't tell him but if you slap a  chicken breast on one of those you're not going to go far wrong, juicy on the inside and no amount of cooking with turn it dry. But hey he's doing fine so I'm not going to knock him.

It does make me come all over domesticated when he comes home on a Friday though. I try really hard to make sure I have his favourite dishes ready for the weekend, the cake tins are filled on a Thursday night so he can dive straight in when he lands on Friday afternoon.

Cherry Jam Bakewell Slices

Today being our anniversary I racked my brains for something that would be special. I didn't want to go down the steak and chips route which is usually one of our celebration menu dishes so I got to thinking....

When we were courting (such an old fashioned word!) we used to eat a lot in Pizza Hut, there they used to serve pizza pies, our favourite was a meatball one called the Verona, every time we went we'd choose this! It was delicious, a pizza dough pie filled with their famous sauce, meaty meatballs and oozying with melted cheese. So using my never fails quick pizza dough I lined my deep dish baker with the rolled out dough, creating the base of my pizza pie. I had homemade meatballs in the freezer ( I use Kittencal's meatball recipe) so used them along side the Pizza Hut Copycat tomato pasta  sauce. filling the cavity of the pie, I then topped it with another piece of dough rolled to fit the top of the pie, trapping all those lovely meatballs and sauce within. I then sprinkled grated cheddar cheese on top and baked it in the oven for 35mins until it was all bubbling and golden.  It wasn't as heart attack inducing as the real thing but served with a homemade garlic mayonnaise and a mixed leaf salad it made the perfect meal!

This is how it turned out!
Ooooozy Cheese and succulent meatballs

Verdict?  He still loves me!

Wednesday, 13 May 2009

Cauliflower Pizza Base

Step 1 - make your cauliflower base
Cook it on a pampered chef pizza stone for 2-25mins @ 200c
Make a Homemade Tomato Sauce  with hidden vegetables or a Pizza Hut Copy Cat Sauce
Load it with your favourite toppings - Here I've just got pepperoni, cheddar and mozzarella

Fresh out of the oven....nom-nom

Lifts like a regular pizza, it re-heats brilliantly but you can eat it at room temp its just as nice!

Saturday, 2 May 2009

Pampered Chef Pizza

First make the super quick pizza dough (printable recipe here). I always double the quantity and save one in the freezer for another day.

Roll dough straight onto your pizza stone using a baker roll

Here's my spare one for the freezer. I rolled it straight on to my rectangular stone 
Open freeze it directly on the stone, when frozen insert the long spreader between stone and pizza and lift frozen dough from stone. Wrap in greaseproof or pop in a freezer bag, date and label before storing back in the freezer!


I made my hidden vegetable sauce and spread it over the dough (printable recipe here)

Added grated cheese
My kids were being boring and wanted it plain but this is the time to heap on the toppings!
Cook it in the oven on 200c for 20 - 25 mintues or until the topping is bubbling and golden.

The Pampered Chef pizza stone cooks the dough to perfection, it was crispy right through to the middle...no soggy bottoms in this house!!!

Make double sauce, it freezes well and can be served with your spare pizza base OR heated and stirred through pasta

Wednesday, 14 May 2008

Cauliflower Pizza with a garden ranch topping

topped with pampered chef's garden ranch pizza topping


Cooked on a pampered chef pizza stone and fresh out of the oven.
The base was crispy round the edges, firm in the middle and the toppings were cooked to perfection. We have leftovers cold for lunch today!