Thursday, December 23, 2010

Pizza Bombs a.k.a Calzones

We're starting a new tradition at our house: Pizza Bomb Thursdays... or Fridays... or Saturdays. (I needed some flexibility on the day, because sometimes I just can't "deliver"- no pun intended.) Basically, the tradition is that we will have these at least once a week! They were so good, and surprisingly easy to whip up! I have tried several pizza crust recipes, and some have even been pretty good, but so far, I've had the most success with this one. It is just hard to beat a "Betty Crocker." This is also fun, because the family can assemble their own, and everyone gets a "personal" pizza bomb... it makes you feel special. We filled ours really full- can you tell! :) I'm thinking we might make this for our Christmas dinner... would that be too non-traditional? Do we even care? ... It's just good stuff. :)

Pizza Crust (Betty Crocker's "Big Red" Cookbook)
2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose or bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 package regular or quick active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
1 cup very warm water (120 degrees to 130 degrees F)
In large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the sugar, salt, and yeast. Add oil and warm water. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl frequently. Stir in enough remaining flour until dough is soft and leaves sides of bowl. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 5 to 8 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
Also, a side note, Betty Crocker has a great tasting pizza crust mix in a pouch as well.

Pizza Bombs (a.k.a. Calzones) also from Betty
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1/4 lb salami (pepperoni), cut into thin strips
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (cottage cheese works great)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (I didn't have fresh so we sprinkled in some pizza seasoning, Italian seasoning, oregano, and basil.)
2 roma tomatoes chopped (I was more traditional, and we just used tomato sauce)
freshly ground pepper
1 large egg, slightly beaten

Make dough for pizza crust; let rest for 30 minutes. (This give you a minute to gather the other ingredients.)
Heat oven to 375. Grease 2 cookie sheets.
Divide dough into 6 equal parts. Roll each part into 7-inch circles on lightly floured surface with floured rolling pin.
Top half of each dough circle with mozzarella cheese, salami, ricotta, basil, and tomatoes to within 1 inch of edge. Sprinkle with pepper. Carefully fold dough over filling; pinch edges or press with a fork to seal securely.
Place calzones on cookie sheets. Brush with egg. Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown.
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1 comment:

jess and seth said...

I really like this tradition--and I have no problem with atypical Christmas foods--what matters is that it's your family's tradition. Heck, we eat out for a tradition on Christmas Eve, and how festive is that? (Hey, last year we did run into Santa at Applebee's . . . :)