Calzones

Calzones are the oft neglected brother of the pizza. When faced with the option of calzone or pizza, most people I know would choose the pizza. But what most people don't realize is that at home it is 10 times easier to recreate a delicious takeout calzone then it is a takeout pizza. And what's better is you can do it with leftovers! Last night we made these calzones because we had made pizza over the weekend and had pepperoni, peppers and onion leftover. Mandi made some cheesesteaks for a work event and had a bunch of leftover cheesesteak filling. These would also be good with a filling of leftover Buffalo wings, pasta, sausage, chicken parm, taco meat, or really anything you could think of! My opinion is that the wackier the filling the better the calzone. (Disclaimer: this is the opinion of Dan only and not the opinion of Mandi. Also TFIMB is not responsible for your awful chicken parm-pad thai-taco-mozzarella stick calzone with orange flavored dipping sauce)

The reason I say we had leftover pizza FILLINGS and no leftover dough is important. The homemade dough we use for pizza making is awful for calzones! I have tried many times and had many failures. The best dough for calzones is the dough you find in the freezer section at your local grocery store. It comes in packs of 2, 3, or 5 and is marked either pizza or bread dough. Sometimes when it is called bread dough it is marked as 5 loaves. Apparently this is somewhat hard to find because multiple friends of mine have come back from the store with the wrong stuff! If you can't find it, ask someone.

The workspace

Leftover peppers and onions.

Some leftover sauce from the pizza. This does not go inside the calzones, it is for dipping. To make this sauce start with 2 large cans of whole plum tomatoes. Heat a few tablespoons of evoo in a small saucepan on medium. Add some salt and pepper and some crushed pepper flakes. Then add diced garlic and simmer for 1 minute. Begin adding the tomatoes one by one by reaching in the can, pulling one out and crushing it between your fingers. When you're done, add a bit of shredded parm and oregano. Delicious, quick, and simple.

Amy is anxious to start the Top Chef marathon. We were all 3 episodes behind so we got together to watch them all in a row. Pissed Andrew is gone but he definitely did not follow the guidelines of that contest.

Stretch out the dough after it is fully thawed and place the fillings in half of it.

Cheesesteak awesomeness

Fold the dough over the fillings and seal the edges.

This is my favorite calzone: pepperoni, caramelized onions and peppers, mozzarella, and ricotta. Make sure to taste your ricotta. Some ricotta is a little bland and needs to be salted a bit before using. Plus ricotta is delicious so why wouldn't you taste it.