Family Chow Hall

Calzones

September 20th, 2006

It’s a pizza… It’s a sandwich… It’s gone before you know it.

Why does my family sometimes prefer calzones to pizza? It seems like the same food to me, just alot more work. They insist it’s not. Maybe they just get a chuckle out of watching me slave for an hour in the kitchen, coat myself with flour, and curse a few times so they can gobble down the results in mere moments.

Whatever the reason, we do have calzones occasionally. They’re not that difficult, but definitely more work than pizza…

Calzones
serves 6 / prep. time: 45 minutes / cook time: 20 minutes

Dough: If you have a favorite pizza dough, use it. Here’s mine:
3/4 c. water
1 T. oil
1 T. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 1/4 c. flout
1 t. yeast

Put all in the bread machine. (If you don’t have one, for heaven’s sakes, go buy one already.) Set it to the dough cycle and take a nap. When it’s done, punch it down and knead it a few minutes. Let it rest while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Choose your favorites:
3/4 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
Black olives
green olives
chopped spinach
pepperoni
mushrooms
Canadian bacon
sausage
etc. (you get the idea - anything you like on pizza)
1 egg, beaten

Separate the dough into 8 pieces and form into balls. Cover them so they stay moist. One at a time, roll them out into about a 8-9″ diameter circle. Place filling ingredients on half. Wet the edge of that half, fold the other half over and pinch to seal. Prick with a fork and place on a cookie sheet. (About halfway through this process, heat your oven to 375) When all 8 are finished, brush the beaten egg on their tops and place them in the oven.

While your oh-so-delicious-o calzones are baking, warm up some pizza sauce. If you want to make it yourself, here’s my recipe:

Sauce:
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
1 c. water
1/2 t. basil
1/4 t. oregano
1/4 t. thyme
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. salt
dash of black pepper

Whisk it all together and heat on the stove.

Serve your calzones with the sauce on the side. They disappear quickly.

Entry Filed under: Italian, Mixed bag, Most Popular Posts, Recipes, Supper, sandwiches