Pizza makes my heart flutter.

Hopefully not literally though!  I adore pizza.  I love good pizza, bad pizza, great pizza.  A slice would have to be pretty gross for me to snub my nose at it.  When I think of pizza though, it can be almost anything, not just a crust with a tomato sauce, pepperoni and cheese... that's probably my least favorite variety of pizza.

My favorite toppings on any pizza are Kalamata olives and mushrooms.  Those two toppings alone can make me a pretty happy camper.  I want to try to make a pizza a week (life is hard) to try out some different crust and topping combinations.  I also need to get my hands on a pizza peel, but since I'm trying oh so hard to be frugal, it might have to wait to be a birthday present for me in July (hint hint friends and family). 

Earlier this week I made what I call a 'Greekish' BBQ Chicken Pizza.  This confirms that pizza can be made with pretty much anything you happen to have in the fridge.  I shredded the breast of a grocery store rotisserie chicken and mixed it up with a bit of Bull's Eye, but not too goopy (like my technical terms?).  When my dough was ready (recipe coming, I swear!) I brushed it with some additional Bull's Eye, and some shredded old cheddar.  I then put on the shredded chicken, sauteed chopped mini bella mushrooms, kalamata olives (pitted and halved) and some feta/old cheddar/shredded parm.  When it came out of the oven, I put on a big handful of chopped green onion and a drizzle of olive oil.  Why no mozzarella?  I didn't have any :)

My 'Just Pizza Dough' Pizza Dough

1 pkg active dry yeast
1 cup (plus 1 to 2 tbsp) warm water
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
cornmeal for dusting

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water and honey in the KitchenAid mixing bowl.  Let rest about 5 minutes or until it starts to bubble.  Add remaining ingredients and mix with dough hook on speed 2 for 6 minutes.  If your dough seems dry, add the extra water (or if too wet, add some more flour about 2 tbsp at a time... but I've never had this happen).  Put the dough in a greased bowl, and turn to cover with oil.  Cover and let rise in your favorite rising spot for about an hour or until doubled.  Then roll or stretch out on pan (or peel) sprinkled with cornmeal.  Top with your favorite toppings and bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

A couple of my favorite pizza's in Halifax:
Salvatores - A slice of Original from my old neighbourhood still makes me weep happy tears.
Ristorante a Mano - I love the Tartufata with wild mushrooms, caramelized onions, béchamel, fresh mozzarella and truffle oil.