One pizza, four meals

One pizza made on Friday night has become four meals. This use of leftover pizza is how I’m approaching portion control.

Pork sausage sandwich

I love working from home on Fridays. I can cook lunch.

Ciabatta fried in a nudge of Lurpak butter, melted provolone, sliced tomato and avocado and the last pork sausage, halved and fried in butter served with mushrooms and onions.

I also had a great morning tea too.

Morning tea. Atlas coffee and a Dobinsons vanilla slice with passionfruit icing.

Tonight was pizza.

Friday night meat-free pizza

It’s Friday night, and that means pizza.

I had some dough in the refrigerator from last week for tonight. When I opened the container, I noticed the dough was more moist than usual, and it also had a bit of a sour, funky sort of smell. It was more like sourdough.

I’m bloody hopeless at shaping pizza dough. Take a look at tonight’s effort. I really need help.

Tonight’s toppings included tomato paste, mozzarella cheese, porcini mushrooms, gorgonzola, and basil. I also threw on a few cherry tomatoes.
Check out the apron I wore tonight.

Hawaiian pizza Yummy Lummy-style

Hawaiian pizza Yummy Lummy-style

I’ve now been making a pizza on Friday nights for a few months. I’m grateful to my Italian pizza mentor, GC, who has been helping with flavour combinations for toppings and different ideas.

Me in my Spam Hawaii T-shirt with a tin of Bacon Spam with a background of **Acacia pycnantha** Wattle

It’s been a most enjoyable exploration into an area I never thought I’d venture.

While I remain very much the student, my “big kid” attitude started thinking on Thursday about venturing somewhere beyond the traditional (and possibly acceptable).

Out of respect for GC, I did ask if we’d still be friends if I went out on a limb. Fortunately, GC is a very accommodating soul and agreed we can remain friends. 😊

I’ve noticed on some on-line food forums the thought of pineapple on a pizza stirs up high emotions. I’ve certainly eaten pineapple on pizza before, and I don’t mind it. Given a choice though, like if I’m paying for a pizza or making one, generally, I avoid pineapple. Tonight will be the exception which proves the rule. 😉

Pizza base (bread making machine)

Ingredients

Water 200 mL
Olive oil one tablespoon
Iodised salt one teaspoon
Caster sugar one teaspoon
Bread flour 375 g
Tandaco yeast one sachet (1¾ teaspoons)

Instructions

Follow the dough making instructions for your machine
Split the dough into two and put one portion into an airtight container and refrigerate for a week.
Roll the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface into a 25 cm round for a thin based pizza.
Place onto a lightly floured baking tray.
Add selected toppings.
Bake in a preheated oven at 250 °C for 12–15 minutes.

Toppings

Diced bacon flavoured Spam
Crushed pineapple
Tomato paste
Mozzarella
Gorgonzola
Baby capsicums

Most people think ham and pineapple when they think of Hawaiian pizza, but for me, Hawaii means Spam. I mean check out my T-shirt. 🍕

I was very happy with how this turned out. It tasted delicious and best part was the gorgonzola contrasting with the sweetness of pineapple. 🍍

Meat-free pizza

Another Friday pizza, this time it was sans bocconcini and sans meat. The aim was to get a crispy base rather than a soggy bottom which happens when I load up on the bocconcini balls. I don’t like a soggy bottom 😜 I should listen to my friend GC more about achieving a crispy pizza base.

Ingredients

Homemade pizza dough (from last week)
Tomato paste
Mozzarella cheese
Baby capsicums
Caramelised onions
Porcini mushrooms
Kalamata olives
Capers
Basil

Instructions

Remove the pizza dough (made from last week) out of the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature.
Rehydrate the dried porcini mushrooms in warm water and allow the mushrooms to plump up over about 20 minutes.
Drain the mushroom water from the mushrooms.
Cut the baby capsicums into slices.
Turn the oven on to its highest setting.
Begin to work the dough and attempt to form a circle (hoping one day I’ll learn the secret of how to make a circular pizza base rather than the weirdly shaped pizza bases I seem ‘good‘ at).
With the back of a spoon, smear the tomato paste across the surface of the pizza base.
Layout some slices of mozzarella on the pizza base.
With artistic flare add some caramelised onions, capsicum slices, mushrooms, olives, capers, and basil.
Season with some salt and pepper.
Put into the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Slow cooker caramelised onion pizza

#meatfree

It’s Friday and I worked from home today. The last few Fridays I’ve been making a pizza for tea so I thought I would try to keep this going. Given I was home I figured I’d caramelise some onions in the slow cooker.

Leftover refrigerated pizza dough with ham, bocconcini, ham, and Kalamata olives

A blogger friend reckons if I leave pizza dough in my refrigerator for a week or more it will sour and the pizza base will have a sourdough-like taste. So this is an experiment. I am enjoying this pizza dough venture 😃🤤 I’m grateful to my friend GC for getting me on to it.

What I didn’t expect was how much gas was formed by the yeast as it fermented carbohydrates. If I remember my chemistry it should be carbon dioxide so I’m sorry for contributing to a little more CO₂ in the atmosphere.

Pizza dough bubble after a week in the refrigerator

When I pierced the bag, there was definitely yeasty goodness feelings as I could smell the yeast. I don’t know that the pizza base tasted any different. It was nice and crisp and I really enjoyed it. This was a mighty fine pizza.