Now it is time to get down to the business of sampling the new fresh pizza bases sent to me from Bakers Delight. I decided to use one of the plain bases to make this yummy sweet pizza.  I hope the picture and recipe inspires you to create some gourmet pizza's of your own.

Just in case you do get inspired don’t forget I have some $5 Bakers Delight vouchers to giveaways to readers.  I want to know what gourmet pizzas you will make with your base. Check out the details at the bottom of the page to enter.

The first thing I noticed about the bases is that they are quite thick.  I decided to make good use of this volume by adding some toppings that may perhaps have too much liquid for a regular pizza base to handle.

The bases have also been pre baked at Bakers Delight which allowed me to create this delicious Berry Pizza without fear of the fruit becoming over cooked or the base becoming soggy.

Ingredients:

1 Fresh Bakers Delight Pizza Base

1/4 cup Strawberry Jam

1/2 punnet chopped strawberries

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen mixed berries

1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

Vanilla Mascarpone Topping:

100gm Mascarpone

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 Tablespoon icing sugar

Method:

Spread the pizza base with strawberry jam.

Add the fruit to the base ensuring an even coverage.

Sprinkle the caster sugar over the fruit.

Bake at 220 degrees for 7 minutes.

Meanwhile mix the Vanilla Mascarpone ingredients together and set aside.

Remove the pizza from the oven and drop teaspoons of the mascarpone onto the pizza.

This is the most deliciously fresh tasting pizza, it is loaded with fruit and makes a really quick “special” breakfast. I usually serve it with more fresh strawberries and mascarpone.

The Bakers Delight pizza base suited this pizza perfectly. I love that the pizza was ready for eating after only seven minutes cooking time.  This is a drastic reduction to the time it would usually take to cook pizza.

The fresh Bakers Delight Pizza Base lifted this pizza to a gourmet status. The fruit remained fresh and lush and the addition of the creamy vanilla mascarpone to the finished product was sublime.

If you would like to try a Bakers Delight Pizza base in the comfort of your own home I would you to share your pizza creation with me.  Use the comments section below to describe your perfect gourmet pizza. I would like to know what you would call your pizza plus, what type of sauce and toppings you would use.

Make sure you "like" Gourmet Getaways on FB as the winner of the vouchers will be announced on Saturday 9th July.

Don’t forget to vote for my Berry Breakfast Pizza on the Bakers Delight page.

Let’s give a big cheer! We have finally made it to Friday!!

Is it just me, or does the weekend seem to take forever to come around some weeks?

If you are planning to curl up on the lounge with a glass of wine or a beer this weekend, why not add a delicious gourmet pizza to the plan and call it the perfect night in.

I had been hearing some great reviews about the new local pizza place.  So last night I organized a group of 14 (including quite a large group of hungry kids) and we descended on the Pizzeria.  LaKiss Jetty Pizzeria opened in January this year and serves a range of tradition and gourmet pizza’s, pasta’s and breads.

Our initial plans had been to order the pizza and eat it on the beach, but after a game of beach cricket we found the weather was turning a little cool.  We decided we would take advantage of the “dine in” option at LaKiss and dragged the troops up from the beach.

Jac & I were the first through the doors and we both just melted with the delicious homemade pizza aroma.  The smell took me right back to 20 years ago in Crown Street, Surry Hills when I used to get my Pizza’s from an Italian family business.

This is another family pizzeria owned by Paul & Katie a young husband and wife team.  Paulie is a big Lebanese guy who we watched spinning the dough like a pro in the newly opened business, Katie is a local girl who has been working in the hospitality industry in the Coffs Area.

The story goes that right after their wedding Paul announced that 2010 was going to be the year of the pizza! Paul grew up in Sydney and had over a decade experience in Pizzeria and had always wanted to own his own shop.

After moving to Coffs Harbour in 2005, he realized there was a place here for some new tastes in Pizza, and he decided that one day he would be the man to deliver it to the locals.

Paul's experience resulted in the imaginative menu, and was mainly influenced by his own taste. He told me the nachos pizza came to him in a dream. He hates the mess of nachos and dreamed about the solution, he put his nachos on a pizza base.

I am certainly pleased he did.  The Nachos Pizza was one of the many delicious pizza’s I tried, and thoroughly enjoyed. It included corn chips smothered in a tasty chili con carne and served with sour cream and guacamole.

Perhaps I am getting ahead of myself; I should mention that the Pizzeria also has a selection of tempting “starter” pizza’s.  We ordered a Garlic Pizza Bread, Garlic and Cheese Pizza and I had to try the Olive & Feta Bread.

I was so impressed as I watched my bread being made, I love olive tapenade and lots of delicious tapenade was being spread liberally over the pizza base.  Ooh I was so in love with my pizza by this stage.  I turned my head as the olive oil was being liberally splash over the feta.  I figured that it won’t affect my waistline if I don’t see it going on.

When the starters arrived they were just as delicious as they looked.  I also tried the cheesey garlic bread and I was in heaven, the cheese was so deliciously garlicky and lush. Oh my god, I could have just eaten these, never mind the pizza! But with all the great smells it wasn’t going to be long before I was tempted away from my pizza bread.

The next pizza up was the Moroccan Lamb Pizza. Being Lebanese, Paul has always known labneh is the perfect accompaniment to lamb, so naturally the Moroccan lamb pizza is served with a delicious, creamy tangy labneh, roasted capsicum and baby spinach leaves. Marinating the lamb prior to cooking meant that the lamb was lusciously moist and full of flavour.

The LaKiss menu reflects Paul’s belief that pizza isn’t bad for you. Using good quality healthy ingredients pizza can be a healthy family meal.  I ordered the Smoked Salmon pizza and I have to agree with Paul.  It was a gorgeous pizza with ricotta cheese, Spanish onion, lemon, capers and baby spinach. I would consider this a perfectly healthy dish, and soo good!

Now as you all probably know I can’t go past blue cheese, I adore the creamy tang and I just crave it. I spotted a Pizza called the Blue Spud which includes potato chopped into matchstick, blue vein cheese, cracked pepper and fresh thyme. I just had to give that one a go as well.  My tummy space was running a little low by this stage but it was mouthwateringly delicious.

I hadn’t quite eaten my body weight in pizza yet and everyone was raving over Jacqui Mexican pizza so I sat up a little straighter to make room for another slice and took the plunge.  Jacs pizza had more spice and kick than most Mexican pizza’s I’ve had which is why our table was enjoying it so much, it was just so tasty!

Paul & Katie said that so far the local favourites are the Moroccan Lamb, Nacho, the Jetty Super Special and Gourmet Vegetarian.  I a little embarrassed to say that I also had a few bites of hubby’s Jetty Super Special and it was exactly as the name suggests “Super Special”.

I watched the Gourmet Vegetarian being made for another order and it will be high on my list of pizza to order next time.  This pizza includes eggplant, artichoke, sun dried tomato and feta cheese, YUMMY! You just can’t go wrong with this combination.

We did also order a Papa Joe which is basically a meat lover’s pizza but I think it may have been demolished before I had a chance to grab a bite.  I have the photo as evidence that it was received but its stay with us was short lived.

LaKiss is BYO and has a great friendly atmosphere. Children are very much welcome, our six little monkeys were given colouring in to keep them amused while the pizza cooked, and the waitress was great bring jugs of water when the kids needed more.

I tried to get a general consensus on the two favourite pizza’s for the night. Most of the votes seemed to be for the Mexicana and the Nachos Pizza, but my favourites were the Smoked Salmon and the Moroccan Lamb.  The children polished off three Hawaiian pizzas between them, a fair effort given that the age range is 3 to 6 years.  So I think it is safe to say there is something on the menu for everyone.

Katie tells me that diners are welcome to customize pizzas to their own tastes but I think we will be working our way though the menu before we start mixing things up.  There are so many great flavour combinations already.

LaKiss Pizzeria offers dine in, takeaway and home delivery, Tuesday though to Sunday. For orders or reservations Ph: 6652 1939.

Katie also mentioned a “stalkers special.” From time to time LaKiss will offer a special to their Facebook followers.  So follow the link and “Like” LaKiss Jetty Pizzeria.

At the end of the meal Paul brough out a delicious plate of Dragonfruit for the adults... maybe it was for the kids too but we weren't sharing too many peices.  (The kids were given their own little treat ;)  )

Di Lusso Estate is dubbed “an Italian Experience, in the heart of Mudge.”  The vineyard specialized in producing wine made with traditional Italian grape varities such as Pinot Grigio, and Sangiovese.  The vineyard also continues the Italian tradition of growing figs and olives for use in cooking, on the table, and in condiments and oils.  These products are available to be tasted at the cellar door.

We were visiting di Lusso to experience the restaurants gourmet wood fired pizzas. We were pleased to notice a table at the lakes edge which was big enough to accommodate our large group.

We had a look over the menu and decided to order all five of the savoury pizzas. This way we could all have a slice of each pizza. I was pleased with the decision as I was struggling to choose just one pizza from the range.

We intended to do a little wine tasting while we waited for the meal, and perhaps choose a bottle to enjoy over lunch.  Unfortunately the cellar door was busy the whole time!  We were unable to do more than sample the olive oils and figs which are available on a tasting table.

Our table by the lake was an ideal spot to watch the kids play bocce and run around on the grass. My curiosity got the better of me and I wandered over to where the pizzas were being made.  The set up was all outdoors so I watched the pizzas being topped and then loaded into the pizza oven. It was fascinating and it made me hungry all over again.

In addition to the pizza range there’s a menu which is changed weekly.  Two specials which caught my eye were the chicken roasted in tarragon and a pinot grigio wine sauce, and a chorizo and mushroom risotto.  I am pretty confident with our decision to order the wood fired pizza, the aroma while they were cooking was just magic.

It wasn’t long before the pizzas started appearing on the table. They were each cut into six slices which suited our group perfectly. The first pizza I tried was the Quattro Fromaggi, or four cheese pizza. I took a deep breath in to inhale all the divine melted cheese smells. With my mouth watering I devoured the slice! It was the cheeseiest, tasties pizza ever! It reminded me straight away of the four cheese panini hubby and I shared in Paris a few years ago.  It’s funny how smells and tastes bring back such clear memories.

Once I emerged from my food daze I tried the anchovy and caper pizza with Italian parsely and mozzarella cheese.  It was another immediate favourite, a seafoody, salty and cheesey pizza full of flavour.

I shared my slice of Tuscan pizza with the kids. It was made with Tuscan salami, olives sundried tomato and mozzerella cheese.  I am always pleased that my kids will eat whatever we are having, it makes dining out much easier.

The vegetable pizza relies on seasonal local produce and is another changing feature on the menu.  We enjoyed a pizza of roasted pumpkin, olives, zucchini, eggplant, cherry tomato and mozzarella cheese. This seemed to be a favourite pizza of the kids.

I had been looking forward to trying the pear, proscuitto and gorgonzola pizza. I love strong cheese and I thought the combination sounded perfect.  Whilst the pizza was nice, it wasn’t quite what I had hoped. I couldn’t taste gorgonzola at all, and it seemed it had been given a sprinkle of parmesan instead.  As a result it was a little dry.

Not to be deterred we decided we would be able to manage one more pizza.  We ordered the dessert pizza special.  It featured apple and rhubarb with slivers of almond and Mudgee honey in a double cream. I have become a real fan of the dessert pizza lately.  This pizza was moist and lush with a beautiful fruity flavour and a great note to end our meal.

We called the kids over to try a slice of the dessert pizza and it was devoured in seconds, so it is safe to say they gave it the big thumbs up also.

The kids continued to play bocce and the adults enjoyed a quiet moment relaxing by the lake.

Di Lusso Estate is located at 1094 Eurundee Lane, Mudgee.  It is open Mon- Fri from 9.00 – 5.00pm and from 10.00am -6.00pm on the weekend. For restaurant reservation phone: 02 6373 3125