CALZONES MADE AT HOME

Welcome back to 'Let's Cook.'

Today is 'experiment day.'

Why experiment ???  Good question. Because it is something I have never done, but always wanted to do.

We are going to make Home Made Calzones.

If you are a pizza lover, (like we are) you are going to love this folded over Pizza.

But why not just make a Pizza ???  

Due to space limitations, we can only make one pizza at a time. 

So someone eats alone while the other tends to their pizza.

So for various reasons, we thought we would give this idea a try.

1) It's something different.

2) We like to eat at the same time

3) It's a new (for us) thing to make

4) We had a rough week and needed something different.

Since this is an experiment we decided to break another rule and use a store bought pizza dough.

You can get pizza dough at any large grocery store. I am sure places like Sam's or Costco would have it. Ask your store people.

The real reason for using store bought was to save a bit of time. And if it all sucked for air, we would not have waisted time making the dough.

So ONWARD we go !!!!

Place your dough in a bowl. Cover with a towel and let it come to room temp.

Prepare the toppings of your choice. 

We had some left over sketti sauce in the fridge, so we decided to start with it.

We like sausage, so I fried some up. Always pre cook any fresh meat that you use.

Spice up your sausage with some Red Pepper Flakes.

We made two Calzones, so start by weighing your dough.

Now divide that in half and (using your hands) roll each into a bowl. 

On a flowered surface, (kitchen table or counter)  lay the dough ball out and start to gently roll it out into a circle.

Place your topping on one half of the circle. Make sure you add some fennel and oregano. 

Also some grated Parmesan cheese.

Fold the other half over the toppings and pinch it closed.

Stab a fork into the calzones in several places to allow for the steam to escape.

Place the rolled out circle on a grid. (make sure to spray the grid with oil.) Using a grid makes it easier to remove from the oven AND gives you nice cooking marks on the bottom of the calzone.

Place on a pre heated (450 degree) oven stone. And cook.

Cooking time will vary. Check it after ten minutes, and rotate.

Then check ever 5 minutes until the internal temp comes up to 175-180 degrees. 

Let cool for 5 minutes.

We cut ours in half.

Time to serve and pass judgement.

And the results are in...

All through this process, Penny and I are asking ourselves. "Do we have the Pizza place on speed dial?"

You must always have a Plan B.

Didn't need it.

This was G O O D !!!! A bit different than Pizza, even with the same toppings.

It was fun making these with the boss. We laugh a bit, tell each other they are wrong, laugh some more, then drink.

Life is good.

It was fun playing with dough. And I have to admit the store bought dough was good. 

IF I HAD IT TO DO ALL OVER AGAIN.

I will make these again. But I will use Home Made dough. Maybe make them a bit bigger ???? We shall see.

Belly full, beer in hand. It's time to pet the poochie mutt and watch some good TV.

P.O.T.U.S. 22 &24 - GROVER CLEVELAND

Shameless plug here. If you have NOT seen this one, you MUST !!!! If you loved Dowton Abbey, you will enjoy this one as well.

That's all the time we have for now friends. Hope to see you again on......LET'S COOK.

Live long, and prosper

PRESIDENT REAGAN'S MAC AND CHEESE

Greeting fellow food lovers. I know I am LATE, and have not cooked for a few months. Some surgery got in the way and the recuperation lasted longer than I cared for. But I am WELL and doing great. And it's time to COOK AGAN !!!!

As many of you know, my lovely wife Penny worked for a U.S. Congressman (Cliff Stearns R-FL) for many years. From Bush 1 to Bush 2, she helped numerous people (Republicans and Democrats) with their federal issues. From speedy passports to foreign adoptions, she was who you talked to when you "called your Congressman".

Her first Christmas with the House, the staff got her a copy of the Congressional cookbook in the gift exchange. 

Just like your school and church cook books, the Congressional Cookbook was a compilation of recipes from those on the hill as well as many Governors. 

We had forgotten it was on the shelf until a few weeks ago, and I thought it might be fun to find a couple of recipes to try.

(Remember, this book was published in 1987 - Reagan was still President and Bill Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas.)

No, I am NOT making Bill Clinton's 'POUND' cake.

So the first recipe will be from the President himself.

no not that President.

not that one either, although Grover Cleveland is my favorite President of all time)

It's Ronnie Reagan's FAVORITE MAC AND CHEESE

PRESIDENT REAGAN'S MAC AND CHEESE

So let's take a look at what we will need.

½ LB MACARONI

1 TSP BUTTER

1 EGG , BEATEN

3 CUPS GRATED SHARP CHEESE

1 TSP, DRY MUSTARD

1 TSP SALT

1 TBL HOT WATER

1 CUP OF MILK

Boil the Macaroni in water until tender. Drain thoroughly. 

Put back in the pan, and stir in the butter and egg. Add cheese reserving some to sprinkle on top. Stir on medium heat until cheese is melted.

 Put mixture into a buttered casserole dish (oven safe) 

Mix the dry mustard and salt with the hot water and add the milk. Pour over Macaroni mixture. Sprinkle the top with the left over cheese.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until top is crusty. 

Serve.

I served my mac & cheese with a meat loaf recipe I wanted to try. The meatloaf was NOT a success. Tasted OK but it fell apart. I think using rolled oats as a binder is just a myth. Did not work for me

As far as the MAC and CHEESE goes, it was a W I N N E R.

I must say it is not as good as Penny's, but I wanted to try a few recipes to compare with. 

HELPFULL HINT..... You can have more than ONE recipe for a dish. Don't get into a cooking RUT !!!

I will make this again.

IF I HAD IT TO DO AGAIN...

I would not change a thing about this recipe.

You should give this one a try. You can thank me later.

And yes, I WILL try the meatloaf recipe again. I think I will give my buddy Gator's recipe to look at. More on that later on.......

......LET'S COOK. (at HOME)

   

Live Long and Prosper.