Disclosure: This post has been created in partnership with the Dairy Farmers of Canada. All opinions on this blog are my own.
Around this time of year, many Canadians can look forward to the free delivery of Dairy Farmers of Canada’s iconic Milk Calendar. It’s been around for 41 years – longer than I’ve been alive! I always get excited when I see its arrival in my local newspaper. Over 2 million Canadian households in Ontario and Atlantic Canada have received the calendar already. Not only does it help me keep track of important dates and appointments, but it’s also a source of fantastic recipes. I’ve tried many recipes over the years from the Milk Calendar and have always been impressed with the quality.
The 2018 Milk Calendar is packed full of nutritious and simple recipes – 19 in total! All the recipes feature ingredients made with 100% Canadian milk and celebrate local, sustainable, handcrafted foods. You’ll also find food pairing ideas and entertaining tips and tricks. I’m glad they delivered it in November because I found a few recipes I want to try for the holidays including this mouthwatering Festive Seafood Pizza.
This year’s recipes were developed by Heather Trim, an accomplished food writer and recipe developer. After browsing through the Milk Calendar, I’m excited to try several of them. I love that they are healthy and made with quality ingredients that I know my family will eat and enjoy.
The December 2017 recipe is a Festive Seafood Pizza. I put it to the test recently in my home and was WOW-ed by the results. It’s a bit of a twist on a typical pizza, but a delicious one. It may look like it has a lot of ingredients, but it doesn’t take long to make.
You can’t have a pizza without loads of ooey gooey cheese! This recipe is made with shredded Canadian mozzarella – an ingredient we always have on hand here. My family loves cheese both as a quick snack and in meals as an ingredient.
It also includes butter – it’s used to make the roux for the creamy milk sauce.
Instead of a tomato based sauce, this pizza has a creamy, flavourful milk sauce made with 100% Canadian milk. My daughter drinks milk like it’s going out of style and I had to tell her to save me some so I’d have enough to make this recipe!
I had to show you a photo of what the creamy sauce looks like because you can’t really see it on the bottom layer of the final photos. It’s so smooth and practically melts in your mouth. It pairs perfectly with the flavours of the seafood.
This recipe is great for the kids to help you make. The crust is made with frozen puff pastry which is easy to work with and gives the pizza a delicious, homemade taste.
Kids love to help add the toppings. I often bring my youngest daughter into the kitchen with me when I’m cooking. I can share tips with her and hopefully, get her to fall in love with cooking like I have.
Plus, she is more apt to try a recipe with new ingredients when she has been involved in the preparation. Surprisingly, she liked this pizza even though she isn’t a huge seafood fan. I think all that yummy cheese and sauce helped!
I like that this recipe is versatile. It can be served as a main course with a green salad for your supper or as an appetizer, cut into small pieces, for a holiday gathering. Either way, it will be gobbled up in a flash!
I’ve never added seafood to a pizza before. This recipe has three yummy varieties – smoked salmon, shrimp and scallops. It’s a delicious twist on a classic.
I’ll be putting the Milk Calendar up on my fridge and plan to make December’s recipe again. I have a few parties planned for the holidays and think my friends and family will be impressed by my culinary skills. Thanks Dairy Farmers of Canada!
Visit milkcalendar.ca to find out how to get your copy of the Milk Calendar and to discover more yummy recipes to try. They also feature videos and cooking tips and tricks!
Did you get your copy of the Milk Calendar? If so, what recipe are you looking forward to trying?
You might also like Pizza Soup, Chicken Pesto Pizza, Christmas Lasagna, Buffalo Chicken Pizza and Vegetable Pizza.
Connect with the Dairy Farmers of Canada on Facebook and Instagram.
Seafood Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 sheets frozen puff pastry 450g pkg, thawed
- ¾ cup cooked small shrimp thawed if frozen
- ¾ cup uncooked small scallops thawed if frozen
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp dried thyme leaves
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 package smoked salmon 70g package, thawed if needed
- ½ red pepper
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- microgreens optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Unroll pastry and place side by side (overlapping slightly to form pizza crust) to fit on a large parchment-lined baking sheet. Press overlapped dough together so it sticks. Prick all over with a fork. Fold and press ½ inch (1 cm) of pastry all around outside edge to form a rim. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Using your hands, over the sink, squeeze out excess water from shrimp and scallops. Place in paper towel then gently squeeze again.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; cook 1 min. Sprinkle with flour, thyme and salt; whisk. Gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, whisking for 2 min or until smooth and thickened. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate.
- Slice salmon crosswise. Chop red pepper into ½-inch (1 cm) pieces. Remove pastry from fridge. Thinly spread with milk sauce. Sprinkle with half the Mozzarella. Scatter with red pepper and onion. Add shrimp, scallops, smoked salmon and remaining cheese.
- Bake 18 min or until a deep golden brown. Let stand for 5 min before slicing. Garnish with microgreens.
Kitchen Tools
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Madalyn says
Looks delicious! I’ll have try this in a gluten-free version and let you know how it tastes! Thanks for sharing on Happiness is Homemade!
Miz Helen says
This pizza will be great for our Friday Night Pizza Party! Hope you have a great week and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday.
Miz Helen
Calvin says
Rarely have seafood on pizza, this is a great idea because it’s all on one piece of pizza lol
Jenn Erin says
I don’t often put seafood on my pizza but this recipe tells me I should! It looks amazing! Also, it’s my 3rd year getting the Milk Calendar, and I love it too! The recipes in them always look amazing.