It is a cold, windy and rainy day in Tucson – quite unusual weather for the month of May. OK, by cold I mean 67o and by rainy I mean a few intermittent spritzes as the wind blows the clouds through. It feels like a dreary late winter’s day in Connecticut, and I am thinking of warm comfort food. So what’s new? This will be a good night to test a pizza and it will have to be something that is warm, creamy, tasty and just plain comforting. The choice is made – Auntie Ann’s Creamy Chick ’n Mushroom Pizza, good old fashioned comfort food reminiscent of the chicken and cream of mushroom soup casserole popular in the 60s and possibly the 70s that every woman knew by heart.
I created this pizza for my cousin Kenny who described his favorite food as the aforementioned chicken and mushroom dish his mother, my Auntie Ann, used to make for him. I could almost taste it as he spoke of the ‘usual’ spices she added and of the garlic. Kenny said, “Everything had garlic as I remember.”…a statement that brought me right back to our childhood days. I never thought of Auntie Ann as a great cook because I saw her as more of a career woman who kept very busy running Ann’s Newfield Bakery, but Kenny said he “…used to love that chicken served with the mandatory salad containing plenty of olives.” My guess is that Auntie Ann would never have imagined that her son’s very favorite chicken dish would one day become a pizza. When you make this pizza, don’t forget to serve the ‘mandatory’ salad.
Auntie Ann’s Creamy Chick ’n Mushroom Pizza
Ingredients:
1 cup | From one can (10 ¾ oz.) cream of mushroom soup – recommended brand Campbell’s |
3 tablespoons | Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped; plus additional for garnish |
¼ teaspoon | Kosher salt, plus additional for seasoning |
½ teaspoon | Freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning |
4 ounces | Whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded |
1 - 6 ounce | Boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh cut into ½” strips * |
¼ teaspoon | Garlic powder |
4 tablespoons | Extra virgin olive oil |
1 tablespoon | Unsalted butter |
3 cloves | Garlic, chopped |
6 ounce | White button mushrooms, cleaned and thickly sliced ** |
8 to 9 ounces | Prepared pizza dough at room temperature |
2 ounces | St. Andre triple crème cheese cut into ¼” slices |
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, combine cream of mushroom soup, parsley, salt, pepper and mozzarella cheese. Set aside for topping.
2. About 15 to 20 minutes before preparing pizza, season chicken strips with salt and pepper to taste and garlic powder. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. Sauté chicken until it loses its pink color and browns slightly. Remove from pan and when cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces. Set aside for topping.
3. Add the butter to the pan in which you sautéed the chicken. Heat on medium-high until butter foams. After foam subsides, add garlic and stir a few times. Add mushrooms and season with pepper to taste; toss to combine. Cook for a few minutes undisturbed, then stir occasionally and cook until mushrooms are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool and use for topping.
4. Roll, stretch and shape dough into an unrefined 12 by 14 inch rectangular or circular shape according to basic directions. Brush both sides of dough with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and place on a large, rimless baking sheet or pizza peel that has been dusted with cornmeal. Carefully lift dough and lay it on the preheated grill (see Grilled Pizza Primer). Close grill lid and grill for 3 to 5 minutes or until bottom of crust is golden brown with darker grill marks. Remove from grill with tongs and place grilled side up on a flat baking sheet or pizza peel.
5. Spread soup/cheese mixture evenly over grilled side of dough to within 1/2” from edge. Carefully slide pizza onto grill, turning burner directly under pizza to low. Close lid and bake for 4 minutes, or until soup and cheese begin to melt. Using tongs, carefully remove pizza to a pizza peel; immediately close grill lid. Scatter chicken strips over pizza, top with sautéed mushrooms and St. Andre cheese. Turn off burner directly under pizza. Return to grill and bake for 6 to 8 minutes longer or until crust is firm, topping is bubbling and cheese is melted.
6. Remove from heat and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Cut and serve immediately.
**Tip: To clean mushrooms, brush with a dry pastry brush or wipe with a damp paper towel; trim stems and
*Super Time Saver: Use 4 to 6oz. of cooked chicken breast or thigh meat, sliced, cubed or shredded and skip step #2.
I have to be honest; my expectations for this pizza were not that great. Even as I was creating the recipe, I doubted that it could work, but was determined to give it my best shot. I’m happy to report that I was so very wrong! The seasoned condensed cream of mushroom soup and shredded mozzarella cheese had just the right consistency to hold everything together as the pizza baked. The mushrooms had a full earthy, garlic flavor – Aunt Lena would be proud of me. The final layer of St. Andre’s Triple Crème cheese was this pizza’s crowning glory; it completed the pizza with a depth of flavor and a creaminess that not only replicated the original chicken and mushroom dish, but elevated it to a whole new place in the food chain. As we came to the end of our meal, pizza peel sitting in the middle of the table with only crumbs to remind us of the wonderful meal we had just consumed, I could swear I heard Auntie Ann singing “The Party’s Over!”
