Mostly About Food today . . .

What a windy and yucky day we have out there today! It's no surpise that we are right on the cusp of Autumn! I expect there will be a lot of apples blown off the trees today, which is . . . umm . . . good news for those of us who frequent the orchards this time of year and love to avail ourselves of the windfalls!

I can remember when I was a girl, eating green apples off of a tree with a friend of mine and being sick afterwards for hours with a tummy ache. Serves us right for stealing apples doesn't it? Nevermind, we learned an important lesson there. Never pick apples and eat them until they are ripe for the picking . . . and more important than that, if you take something that doesn't belong to you, there is always a consequence to be paid.



I was contacted by a lady named Victoria the other day who is representing Kerrymaid Garlic Butter. I get offers from her from time to time and I am always more than happy to oblige. This time she passed on to me that they have a few free hampers to give away to someone who could come up with a great recipe to use their product. I thought to myself, hmmm . . . I can do that! Easy Peasy Lemon Squeasy. I had so many ideas it was hard to pin it down to just one, but I think this will do.



Keep your fingers crossed for me, I'd just love a free food hamper, wouldn't you? If perchance I win, I'll pass on some of the goodies to you. It's a Win/Win situation. I love that!



*Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Don't you just love it when you are able to bring together two of your favourite things you love and they work together in such a delicious way?

1 12-inch thin crust pizza crust (your own or purchased)
2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into cubes
2 ounces thinly sliced proscuitto ham
1 cup of shredded medium cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded harvarti cheese
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup good quality Caesar Salad Dressing (I use Hellman's)
a handful of oil cured, dry pitted black olives
For The Salad:
1 head of shredded Cos Lettuce (Romaine)
a handful of rocket leaves (arugula)
2 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup caesar salad dressing
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
For the Garlic Croutons:
2 large crusty white or whole wheat rolls
1 sachet of Kerrymaid Garlic Butter*
salt and black pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 205*C/425*F. If you are using your own homemade crust, take out a large baking tray and lightly grease it. Spread the crust out onto the tray into a large thin rectangle, about 9 inches by 15 inches in size. Prick it all over with a fork, and then bang it into the pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. (If you are using a purchased crust, place it onto a large baking sheet)

Take the first quantity of salad dressing, and spread it evenly over top of the partially baked crust. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese evenly over top, along with the harvarti. Scatter the cooked chicken and black olives over top as well. Top with the grated Parmesan cheese.

Return to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned, and the cheese is bubbling.

While the pizza is baking make your croutons. Cut your rolls into 1 inch chunks. Melt the butter in a large skillet, and toss in the bread chunks when it starts to sizzle. Season with some salt and pepper if desired and give them a good stir. Cook, stirring, until nicely golden and crisp. Remove from the heat and set aside.

About 5 minutes before the pizza is ready to come out of the oven, place your salad leaves in a large bowl. Toss together with the onions, lemon juice and the salad dressing.

Remove the pizza from the oven. Let sit for 5 minutes before topping with the dressed salad leaves. Sprinkle with the grated Parmesan and the garlic croutons. Cut into quarters to serve.

Note* If you can't get the Kerrymaid garlic butter, you may use a combination of 2 TBS good quality olive oil and 2 fat cloves of garlic crushed. Just heat the oil along with the garlic until it gets very fragrant. Discard the garlic and proceed as per the recipe.

*Thin Crust Pizza Dough*
Makes 2 twelve inch crusts
Printable Recipe

I love a thin crust on a pizza, slightly crispy and not too doughy. This fits the bill on all counts.


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (may substitute whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose)
1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water, with 1 tsp sugar dissolved into it
1 tablespoon olive oil
cornmeal, for sprinkling on the pan


Put the warm water into a large bowl along with the sugar, stirring to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let it sit for aobut 10 minutes until it gets all foamy. give it a stir. Add the flour, salt and olive oil all at once. Mix in well and then dump it out onto a lightly floured board
and knead it for about 6-8 minutes until you have a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic, adding a bit more flour if you need to. Shape into a round smooth ball.

Wash out the bowl with warm water and dry. Grease with a little olive oil and then put the dough into this bowl, turning it once to coat it with the olive oil. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 20 to 30 minutes.

Lightly grease with shortening two 12-inch pizza pans. Sprinkle each with some cornmeal.
Divide the dough in half and place each half on a pizza pan. Spread and pat it out with your fingertips until it stretches to fit the whole pan, making it a bit thicker around the edges. Prick it all over with a fork.

If desired, pre-bake at 200*C/425 *F for 10 minutes, then spread with pizza sauce and use the toppings of your choice. We like to use three cheeses, a really good Parmesan, a good fresh mozzarella and some grated cheddar. We then use meats such as pepperoni, lightly fried bacon and salami. We also like to use some olive cured sun dried tomatoes drained and cut into strips, as well as some really good dry cured black olives. Some chopped sweet pickled little hot cherry peppers are a must as well, with a final dusting of Parmesan cheese on the top.
Bake at 425 F for 10-20 minutes longer or until bubbly and hot.

*If you don't want to use all the dough, you can freeze it. Take a portion of dough, form into a ball, rub olive oil over it and place it in a freezer bag (the oil makes it easier to take out of the bag). When you want to make a pizza, take the dough out of the freezer and allow to thaw before using.



If after that you are desiring something for your sweet tooth, and really . . . how could you not be . . . pop on over to The English Kitchen for some really scrummy Coconut Slices!