recipes 38, 39, 40, and 41: TRIFECTA THE SECOND- calzones (plus Aunt Chickie's roasted red peppers)

I promised a trifecta of trifecta AGES ago but have yet to deliver... until now, when I am going to deliver both of the two remaining trifectas at once. I'm full of surprises! Making calzones from scratch harkens back to the college days. Remember Erin from the semester abroad in Sweden? Well, when we got back from Sweden, we focused our energy on making calzones from scratch (among other college activities... I don't want anybody to be under the impression that we spent all of our senior year in college whipping up homemade calzones because that would be a total misrepresentation). Anyway, one time we made them in my apartment and turned my storage trunk, which was covered in Dave Matthews Band stickers, into a dining room table. I think her recipe came from one of her Moosewood cookbooks, but I'm not entirely sure. I've linked to the Moosewood site before but here it is again: http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/. This restaurant was definitely popular in Ithaca, NY! The first calzone recipe is the Erin original and was enjoyed atop the Dave Matthews Band stickers. The next two are Tiffany-made-up-variations-on-the-theme-over-the-years-enjoyed-atop-actual-tables. The roasted red peppers come from my Great Aunt Chickie's recipe. Aunt Chickie is an amazing cook. You'll see more of her recipes for sure.

SPINACH CALZONES (serves 6, or at least 4 hungry college kids)
Ingredients:
-tomato sauce for dipping

Dough
-2 T honey
-3 t yeast
-2 c room temperature water
-3 t salt
-3 c flour

Filling
-1 lb baby spinach
-1 lb ricotta
-2 c shredded mozzarella
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-1/2 white or yellow onion, diced
-2 T butter, plus extra butter for brushing the cooked calzones
-salt, pepper, dash of nutmeg

Instructions:
1) mix all of the dough ingredients and knead for 10-15 minutes
2) let the dough rise in a big bowl until it has doubled (approximately an hour)
3) preheat the oven to 450 degrees
4) saute the garlic and onion in the butter until the onions are softened but not browned
5) steam the spinach until it is reduced
6) mix together the garlic, onion, spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella and stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg
7) divide the dough into 6 portions, flatten the 6 dough portions, divide the filling into 6 parts, and place the filling on one half of each of the dough portions, leaving room around the edges
8) fold the empty half of the dough onto the half of the dough with the topping, and sprinkle some water onto the edges to seal
9) prick holes into the calzones with a fork before baking (lest they explode)
10) bake the calzones on lightly oiled cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned
11) brush on some melted butter immediately after removing from the oven
12) serve with some good tomato sauce on the side

(Note: this picture actually depicts mini calzones. I made them half of the normal size once, because I made different varietals for a dinner party and wanted people to be able to sample more than one type. To make mini calzones, make 12 dough portions instead of 6, and definitely begin checking for doneness around 8 minutes, because they will cook faster).

ROASTED RED PEPPER AND SOPPRESSATA CALZONES
Ingredients:
-tomato sauce for dipping

Dough
-2 T honey
-3 t yeast
-2 c room temperature water
-3 t salt
-3 c flour

Filling
-1 stick of cured soppressata, cut into small chunks or slices
-1 lb ricotta
-2 c shredded mozzarella
-2 cloves garlic, chopped
-1 c Aunt Chickie's roasted red peppers (see below), chunked
-a little bit of olive oil
-melted butter for brushing the cooked calzones
-salt and pepper

Instructions:
1) mix all of the dough ingredients and knead for 10-15 minutes
2) let the dough rise in a big bowl until it has doubled (approximately an hour)
3) preheat the oven to 450 degrees
4) heat up the olive oil, saute the garlic, and add the roasted red peppers and soppressata just until it is heated through
5) mix together the garlic, red peppers, soppressata, ricotta, and mozzarella and stir in the salt and pepper
6) divide the dough into 6 portions, flatten the 6 dough portions, divide the filling into 6 parts, and place the filling on one half of each of the dough portions, leaving room around the edges
7) fold the empty half of the dough onto the half of the dough with the topping, and sprinkle some water onto the edges to seal
8) prick holes into the calzones with a fork before baking (lest they explode)
9) bake the calzones on lightly oiled cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned
10) brush on some melted butter immediately after removing from the oven
11) serve with some good tomato sauce on the side

AUNT CHICKIE'S ROASTED RED PEPPERS
Ingredients:
-6 large red bell peppers
-lots of minced garlic cloves
-salt, pepper, and basil
-enough olive oil to coat the peppers
-a small can of sliced olives

Instructions:
1) preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2) core the peppers by removing the seeds and stems but leave the pepper whole otherwise
3) layer a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray
4) cook the peppers in the oven until the skins are blackened
5) remove the peppers from the oven and place them into a brown bag (I am unsure of the science behind the brown bag phenomenon, but that's how Aunt Chickie does it and so that's how I'm telling you to do it) until they cool down, approximately 20-30 minutes
6) peels the peppers from their skins, discard the skins, and rip or slice the peppers into strips
7) mix together: the peppers, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, olives, and just enough olive oil to coat
8) store in the refrigerator in a closed container for up to one week

ROSEMARY, FIG, PROSCIUTTO, AND GORGONZOLA CALZONES
Ingredients:
Dough
-2 T honey
-3 t yeast
-2 c room temperature water
-3 t salt
-3 c flour
-approximately 1 T chopped fresh rosemary, mixed into the dough

Filling
-6 oz dried mission figs, halved
-1 lb ricotta
-1 c shredded mozzarella
-1/2 c - 1 c crumbled gorgonzola (depending on how much you like gorgonzola)
-a little bit of olive oil
-1/4 c port mixed with 1/4 c balsamic vinegar
-4 oz prosciutto, cut into small pieces
-melted butter for brushing the cooked calzones
-salt, pepper, and extra fresh rosemary

Instructions:
1) mix all of the dough ingredients (including the rosemary) and knead for 10-15 minutes
2) let the dough rise in a big bowl until it has doubled (approximately an hour)
3) preheat the oven to 450 degrees
4) heat up the olive oil, saute the prosciutto and figs, and add the port/balsamic mixture; reduce over medium high heat until the figs/prosciutto look sticky
5) mix together the fig/prosciutto mixture, ricotta, mozzarella, and gorgonzola, and stir in the salt, pepper, and rosemary
6) divide the dough into 6 portions, flatten the 6 dough portions, divide the filling into 6 parts, and place the filling on one half of each of the dough portions, leaving room around the edges
7) fold the empty half of the dough onto the half of the dough with the topping, and sprinkle some water onto the edges to seal
8) prick holes into the calzones with a fork before baking (lest they explode)
9) bake the calzones on lightly oiled cookie sheets for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned
10) brush on some melted butter immediately after removing from the oven
11) do NOT serve with tomato sauce... I tried this once and it is gross! These can be eaten plain or you can also reduce some port/balsamic vinegar and mix in a little bit of gorgonzola and drizzle on top.