Calzones

My love for calzones started at Dighton House of Pizza. Greasy fingers... extra sauce. It's all good. Now I'm spoiled since I can get almost any type of food, from Peruvian to Moroccan, by walking a few blocks. Growing up though the Greek joint was the spot.. the closest spot...almost the only spot now that I think of it.

Well, I started making my own calzones... and they are delish.

I have two recipes: one for a spinach and feta calzone and the other for ham, sopressata (or salami) and provolone. The both take about 35 minutes total.

Spinach and Feta Calzone:
-Buy frozen pizza dough and let it thaw for a few hours.
-Also buy and defrost 2 packages of frozen spinach. You'll want to squeeze out the extra water.
-get some feta cheese and a ball of mozzarella.
-Now that you have a bowl of squeezed spinach add a twirl of olive oil, some grated Parmesan, a little pepper and fresh garlic that has either been minced or pressed. Mix it all together in that bowl.
-Roll out the dough with a pin so you make a rectangle...about 1/4 inch thick or less (otherwise it gets too doughy). Then place the spinach mixture evenly and chunks of feta and mozzarella. The feta really makes this dish so be generous. Then I fold the ends of the calzone and then roll it so the edge is on the bottom. Less spills out while it is cooking if you do this.. although I put so much in it it still sometimes comes out-like in the picture.
-Get this on a pan with tin foil and cut three slices along the top so the steam can come out.
-I brush a beaten egg on the top for a nice golden color and then stick it in a preheated oven at about 375 for about 25 minutes. You can probably do even less since there is no meat but 25 will definitely do the trick. All in all, with prep, this should maybe take you 35 minutes.

Sopressata, Ham and Provolone Calzone
-start this the same way by buying and thawing out pizza dough and then rolling it out into a rectangle.
-I buy about a 1/4 pound of sopressata (or salami), 1/4 of ham and a 1/4 of provolone. Any extra can be used for sandwiches or paninis. Then I just place it evenly down the middle of the rectangle of dough. If you have any feta in your fridge toss some in too for a nice white color.
-Roll in the short edges again as it is described above and then roll the whole calzone so the crack is on the bottom.
-Cut three slices along the top for the steam to escape and brush the egg on it for that golden color. Cook for 25 minutes at 375.

Always serve with some marinara sauce and vino rosso! che magnifico! The picture I am including again is from my cellphone. This is actually my first attempt making these. The second time I made them, when my friend Stephanie came to visit, it came out even better. This picture is of two spinach and feta calzones. You can see the difference in egg wash as well (plus that one was in the back of the oven - nicer color). Enjoy!