Calzones were a success.
my friend Sherry Wrote:
Lazy Girl Calzones
This meal is facilitated by the easy ingredients available at Trader Joe's. It is certainly do-able without a TJ's, but then it is less lazy that way. I've been way too busy to cook real food lately, and this is one of my quick dishes.
Ingredients:
chèvre cheese - 8 oz
1 package whole wheat pizza dough (I used the garlic herb dough - d)
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 package small/tiny sweet peppers
1 package small portobello mushrooms (6 shrooms) (I used crimini, think you could get creative here -d)
2 pesto chicken sausages (next to the pre-cooked sausages)
4-10 leaves of basil
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
1/4 cup corn meal to dust pan (didn't have corn meal on hand, but my Chicago Metallic sheet is excellent for this sort of thing -d)
1/3 cup flour for working dough
pasta sauce
parmesan cheese to taste
You'll need an hour from start to finish, but you'll only prep for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 400F.
Pull out medium to large skillet and heat 2 tablespoons olive oil until fragrant over medium heat. In the mean time dice onion and slice garlic. Add these to pan when ready and turn heat to medium low. While waiting for that, place cheese into medium mixing bowl. Slice/dice 5 (or so) small sweet peppers. When onions are translucent, transfer to bowl with cheese and mix. Add a little oil to pan and saute peppers for about 3 minutes. In the mean time, slice/chop mushrooms. When peppers are finished, add to cheese mixture. Place mushrooms into pan and add about 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar. Set heat to medium and stir occasionally until mushrooms begin to shrink. Raise temperature slightly to reduce liquid. Thinly slice sausages. When mushrooms are done, transfer to new, small bowl. Saute sausage slices until sides are slightly browned and transfer to another new bowl. Chop basil and blend into cheese mixture now.
When everything (cheese, shrooms, sausage) is in place, then it is time to assemble the calzones. If oven is still pre-heating, that is fine, the calzones need a few minutes to 'rest' after assembly anyway. Pull out baking sheet with sides and dust with cornmeal. Clean a work surface and dust with flour. Cut top of bag of dough. Thoroughly flour your hands (take off rings), and pull dough out of bag. Try not to molest it too much. Divide it into 4 small blobs and place on edge of floured surface (still on flour). Just like the pizzeria guy, create a little disk with the first small blob of dough. Set onto main part of floured surface and on one half place 1/4 of the cheese mixture, topped with some mushrooms, then topped with 5-6 slices of sausage. Quickly pull other side of disk up and over this layered pile and seal edges. You can use a little bit of water between the edges to help them adhere, but you don't really need to. (it should look kind of like a football) Immediately transfer to baking sheet. Make sure flour is still dusted over work surface (add more if needed). Repeat assembly with remaining 3 blobs of dough. Let 'rest' for about 5 minutes (checking the seals). Bake for 25 minutes.
When you pull from oven, brush with olive oil to make pretty and easier to cut.
To serve, place on plate and slice down fat part of 'football', pour hot pasta sauce over cut and grate some parmesan cheese over that. Enjoy!
Serves 2 with leftovers for next night.
optional ingredients: sun dried tomatoes, sliced olives, pepperoncini, pepperoni, salami, mozzarella, etc. The trick is not to put too much into the little pocket.
Definitely need a cooking sheet with sides, as in my case, some of the cheese mixture did leak out, and you don't want to have to deal with cleaning your oven right afterwards. I think my biggest challenge with this was just getting the dough pockets the right size, in terms of making the little disc and putting the ingredients on before folding up. I think with a few more tries, I could get the technique down.
Also, I think next time I'd buy a hotter, spicier sausage, and take the meat out of the casing and brown up like you would ground beef.
