Friday, March 14, 2008

Calzones

Since I enjoy making pizza dough, and the kids want pizza every couple weeks, I decided that this time I'd make calzones for Sleek and myself. The dough recipe from VWaV makes enough for two large pizzas, so I made the kids their usual cheese pizza and had just enough dough for two calzones. I decided to fill them with a mixture of ricotta, mozzerella, fresh spinach and lightly steamed broccoli. I went really light on the cheese and heavy on the veggies for mine. I honestly had no idea how these would turn out, but I hoped for the best. I baked them on a pre-heated pizza stone at 500 degrees. I'd say they baked for 10 minutes or so. I didn't time them, just kept an eye on them.

Well...They turned out AWESOME. Holy smokes, I almost can't wait to make them again. Next time I want to just do veggies. Maybe some sauteed eggplant, sundried tomatoes and onions. Now THAT really sounds good. You could really put anything in these. I dipped mine in some pizza sauce I'd made. I use pureed tomatoes with some salt, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. I swear, it's so much better than any pre-made pizza sauce I've bought. YU-HUM! Sleek actually said it may have been the best calzone he's ever had.

Last night, I made another recipe from Vegetarian. It was a sweet and sour bean hot-pot. Really interesting, and very good. Some different flavors for sure. It had limas, great northerns, chickpeas and green beans. Also shallots. The sauce was made with tomato sauce, ketchup, apple juice, cider vinegar, dry sherry, butter (I used Earth Balance), soy sauce and brown sugar. With a little thyme and marjoram added before baking. All this was topped with sliced potatoes that had been blanched. The liquid came up over the potatoes while baking, so the topping wasn't as crisp as the one in the cookbook photo. It was very good, though. Super-easy too. I forgot to take a pic before I dug in!

6 comments:

carrie said...

YUM - Your calzones look awesome. I almost made calzones last night, but did pizza instead. I think I'll made them in the next few weeks though.

Anonymous said...

That looks so good! I make a stromboli with pretty much the same ingredients (plus mushrooms) and it is my favorite.

Veggies + cheese + bread = you can't go wrong!

Susan Chipley said...

Carrie: I love my pizza, but the calzones are a nice and easy option if you're wanting something different.

Becky: I've always wondered what the difference is between calzones and stromboli. I have to agree with your equation!

Anonymous said...

I made these yesterday, and added roasted garlic and mushrooms to the spinach. I forgot how much the spinach cooks down so I will use more next time.

Leftovers for lunch today -- everyone in the teacher's workroom wanted to know where I bought it.

Anonymous said...

PS Stromboli is really just a huge calzone, really. Typically, it's got layers and layers of Italian meats in it, and you slice it and serve it up like sandwiches. I make mine with veggies (unless I'm cooking for my Dad or for friends) and it works just as well -- just use sturdy, chunky slices so it will hold a slice well... or eat it with a fork. :)

Susan Chipley said...

Becky: Ohhhhhh. Cool! I would love to make a good veggie stromboli! Maybe with fresh mozzerella. YUM!