At least we had some ham that I could stuff them with. I decided it was worth the risk. I also didn't have a backup plan.
I preheated the oven to 350 degrees and filled a pitcher with about a cup of warm water. I let it sit with some active yeast and agave nectar for a few minutes, and then poured it into a mixing bowl with the flour.
After getting the dough to the right consistency, I melted some butter and added garlic and Parmesan cheese. I dusted the cookie sheet with flour and stretched out the dough in a circle. I painted the garlic Parmesan butter onto the crust and then made my calzone filling.
Everything in the fridge ended up in the filling. Half a jalapeno, a fourth of an onion, five pepperoncini peppers, three spoonfuls of crushed pineapple, and six slices of lunch meat ham (cut into tiny squares). Then I threw in about a tablespoon of Italian spaghetti seasoning. Imagine my surprise when that actually turned out good.
I mean, really good. Tangy, sweet, and flavorful. I was really blown away. I’m glad I wrote down the ingredients because I started to think about other ways I could use a similar filling. Chickpea salad, anyone? Maybe with some diced tomatoes?
Back to calzones. I splashed some tomato sauce onto the crust and piled on the filling. An extra dousing with Parmesan cheese, and a generous blanket of shredded mozzarella, and it was ready. Folding the crust over, I ripped a big hole in the dough. Oops.
But luckily I had enough dough left to patch it up and Ed never noticed the difference (shh). I brushed more garlic Parmesan butter on top and baked it at 350 for 35 minutes, and then turned up the oven to 400 for five minutes. This involved a lot of opening the oven, using ed’s flashlight to examine “brownness,” and probing my gooey calzones with a fork till they became firm and bready.
For the marinara sauce that usually comes with calzones, I poured the remainder of a can of tomato sauce into a little corning-ware saucepan and seasoned it with the aforementioned spaghetti seasoning. When I pulled the calzones out, I was brimming with excitement for the moment of truth.
I cut one in half and divided it on to plates. The dough was sweet and wheaty with a hint of garlic and Parmesan. The tangy, meaty, cheesy filling had a kick of spicy pineapple. And the steaming hot marinara sauce made every bite comfort food. It left my tummy feeling warm and happy, and it put Ed to sleep.
This meal is definitely going on our meal-planning menu. I'm very glad that I was brave enough to try something new, and I'm feeling motivated and happy about our new meal-planning habits. After all, if I can spend less and still eat like this, than what do I have to complain about? I wish you all much good luck in your kitchens. I would love to hear your latest culinary success story. Please share in the comments!
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