I was on "vacation" last week. Vacation from work, from my home & my responsibilities there, and from cooking. It was enjoyable to eat out for a few nights and not have to worry about did I have this ingredient or that, was there enough time to fix this before it got too late, and especially not having to do the dishes.

Dan and I had a wonderful time exploring the North Georgia mountains - Tallulah Falls, Clayton, Hiawassee, and Blue Ridge.We enjoyed fish & chips, coleslaw, and fried green tomatoes at Rumor Hazit in Clayton (this restaurant was decorated very "beachy"; probably the closest I will get to the beach this summer) and prime rib, baked potatoes, and fresh veggies at The Stockton House while taking in beautiful views of the mountains. But I was definitely glad to get back home to my family and to my kitchen. Some people say they hate to cook. I love to cook - just don't like all the clean up after I'm done! Tonight I decided to try a new recipe for Calzones. I'm still waiting for Greg to get home from the lake and give it his approval, but Dan & Erin said this recipe is a keeper.

The basic recipe I followed was on allrecipes.com, posted by D. Adams. I changed it just a bit.

Calzone Dough - (should make enough dough for 8 calzones)
1 7/8 cups warm water
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour + 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp. dry milk powder
2 1/4 Tbsp. sugar
3 tsp. active dry yeast

Fillings -

Pepperoni
Italian Sausage
Mushrooms
Green Peppers
Onions
Mozzarella Cheese

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer & dough hook to make the dough, but you could also do this in a food processor. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Combine flours, salt, dry milk, and sugar. Slowly add yeast & water and mix until a ball is formed. Dough should be soft and hold together. Depending on the weather you may need to add a bit more water or flour.

Pour 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil in a large bowl, put dough in and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or heavy kitchen towel and set in warm place and let rise until doubled.



Once dough is doubled, punch down and shape into a ball. Knead it a few times and then divide it into 8 pieces. On a lightly floured board, roll each piece out into about a 6-7 inch circle.

Fillings - fill with anything "italian". I used sweet italian sausage links that I sliced into pieces and browned while I was waiting for the dough to rise, pepperoni, chopped onions & green peppers, sliced mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese. I used maybe 1/2-3/4 c. filling for each
calzone, keeping the filling just off center on one side of the calzone. Then gently lift the side of the dough that has no filling on it and stretch it over the filling so you have a half-circle shape. Take a fork and push the back of the tines into the dough to "seal the edges. Then poke the fork gently in the top of each calzone about 4-5 times to let the steam escape when cooking. Place on a baking sheet you've lightly sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. About half way through the cooking time, I beat one egg and added 1 Tbsp. of water. I brushed this on the top and edges of each calzone to help it brown and be a little shiny.


I served my sauce on top of the calzones.
1 14 oz. jar of pizza sauce
leftover green pepper, onions & mushrooms
1 clove garlic

Saute any leftover green pepper and onions in pan with olive oil. Add chopped garlic and stir until veggies begin to sweat. Add mushrooms and sauce. Simmer over medium low heat until calzones are done.


Buon appetito!