{"id":4339,"date":"2010-08-02T08:25:26","date_gmt":"2010-08-02T14:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/?p=4339"},"modified":"2010-08-02T08:27:17","modified_gmt":"2010-08-02T14:27:17","slug":"calzones-and-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hottie-biscotti.com\/blog\/2010\/08\/02\/calzones-and-cake\/","title":{"rendered":"Calzones and Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"
My birthday and our wedding anniversary are exactly one week apart. \u00a0This makes the dates easy to remember, but its hard to have \u00a0two celebrations so close together. \u00a0For my birthday, Ben took me to Boot Hill Saloon in Vega, Texas<\/a>. \u00a0It was a really fun experience and we had a great meal. \u00a0If you live in the Amarillo area and haven’t yet been there, then I encourage you to make the trip to Vega.<\/div>\n

For our anniversary, we couldn’t decide what to do. \u00a0We figured we’d eat at home, so I decided to make something a little out of the ordinary. \u00a0I made two different kinds of calzones, and they were both pretty delicious.<\/p>\n

The meaty version was a Philly Cheese Steak Calzone. \u00a0I grilled a strip steak, sliced it up thinly, sauteed onion and green peppers and topped it all off with provolone cheese.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The veggie version was spinach, cheese and mushroom. \u00a0I sauteed the spinach with some garlic and squeezed it dry. \u00a0Then I mixed the spinach with ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. \u00a0These ingredients alone would be perfect, but I added some sauteed mushrooms.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I tried a new recipe for dough, and I liked it a lot. \u00a0It rose well and was incredibly easy to roll out and make the calzones. \u00a0The only issue we had was that we had to break out the steak knives to cut through the bottom of the calzone. \u00a0Other than that, the dough had a good chew and good flavor.<\/p>\n

I doubled the dough recipe and only baked 6 calzones for dinner and for leftovers this weekend. \u00a0I made the other 6 dough balls into calzones and froze them to thaw out and eat later. \u00a0It is so nice to have homemade meals in the freezer. \u00a0As long as you can remember to put them in the fridge the morning before you plan to enjoy them, kitchen time is cut to a minimum….as is clean up!<\/p>\n

The recipe for the dough came from My Kitchen Cafe<\/a>. \u00a0It is a French dinner roll recipe used as calzone dough, so I will probably try it for rolls at some point. \u00a0You make the dough as you would for the rolls, but divide the dough into about 6 pieces after the first rise for the calzones.<\/p>\n

The Philly calzones recipe is also courtesy of \u00a0My Kitchen Cafe<\/a> and the spinach and cheese came from Tyler Florence<\/a>, although I did make a few changes. \u00a0All the recipes are at the bottom of this post.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Now, on to the cake. \u00a0I had planned for us to eat my Daring Bakers July dessert <\/a>for our anniversary. \u00a0But when Ben got home from work he had a lovely pink box with him that contained this beautiful cake!<\/p>\n

It was such a great surprise. \u00a0The cake was made by Cara Linn Cakes in Amarillo<\/a>. \u00a0I took a cake decorating class from her a few months ago. \u00a0She is a great teacher, and is incredibly talented. \u00a0I am so pleased to have someone like her in Amarillo. \u00a0If you are a fan of the Food Network challenges, then you may have seen Alisa Strauss on a few of the cake challenges. \u00a0Cara interned for her in New York, before opening her own store. \u00a0If you’re not impressed by this, you should be!<\/p>\n

The cake not only looked beautiful, it tasted even better. \u00a0The cake itself was a dense vanilla that was sweet and delicious, but not a fake sweet like cake mixes and most bakery cakes. \u00a0The buttercream was strawberry, that had actual pieces of strawberry in it. \u00a0Yum. \u00a0The fondant that covers the cake is unique in that it looks smooth and beautiful and<\/em> it tastes good! \u00a0Cara changed my opinion of fondant.<\/p>\n

If you are in need of a cake, cupcakes, or other sweet treats, please call Cara. \u00a0She was a huge help to my husband when he ordered the cake and she does an incredible job. \u00a0The cake classes are well worth your time and money. \u00a0I had such a fun time and I learned a lot. \u00a0You also get to take your cake creation home!<\/p>\n

Read on for the calzone recipes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Calzone Dough (French Bread Rolls)<\/h6>\n

From My Kitchen Cafe<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 1 1\/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F\/45 degrees C)<\/li>\n
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast<\/li>\n
  • 2 tablespoons white sugar<\/li>\n
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil<\/li>\n
  • 1 teaspoon salt<\/li>\n
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Directions<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.<\/li>\n
    2. To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1\/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl.<\/li>\n
    3. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes OR mix with the bread dough hook on your mixer for about 8 minutes.<\/li>\n
    4. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.<\/li>\n
    5. Punch dough down, turn out onto a floured surface and divide into 6 equally sized pieces. \u00a0Place on a cookie sheet, cover and let rest for 15 minutes.<\/li>\n
    6. Roll each piece out into an 8-10 inch diameter circle. \u00a0Place desired fillings onto half of the circle, leaving an edge. \u00a0Fold over and pinch edges to seal.<\/li>\n
    7. Bake according to recipe instructions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      Philly Cheese Steak Calzone<\/h6>\n

      Ingredients<\/p>\n

        \n
      • 16 ounces deli roast beef, thinly sliced OR one strip steak, grilled and thinly sliced<\/li>\n
      • 1 medium yellow onions, cut in half and sliced into thin half moons<\/li>\n
      • 1 green peppers, sliced thinly<\/li>\n
      • 8 ounces provolone cheese, grated or thinly sliced<\/li>\n
      • 1 recipe calzone dough<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Directions<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.<\/li>\n
        2. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add the onions and cook, stirring now and then, until the onions begin to become translucent, about 3 minutes.<\/li>\n
        3. Add the peppers and continue to cook until the vegetables are tender and most of the liquid has cooked off, about another 3-5 minutes.<\/li>\n
        4. Toss in the roast beef and cook until the beef is warmed through (if there is still a lot of liquid left in the skillet from adding the roast beef, either drain the liquid or cook until the liquid evaporates). Take the skillet off the heat.<\/li>\n
        5. Put meat mixture in center of each dough round, top with cheese, fold over, press together and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          Spinach, Mushroom and Cheese Calzones<\/h6>\n

          Courtesy of Tyler Florence, Food Network<\/p>\n

          Ingredients<\/p>\n

            \n
          • 2 tablespoons olive oil<\/li>\n
          • 2 garlic cloves, minced<\/li>\n
          • 1 pound baby\u00a0spinach, washed and dried<\/li>\n
          • 8 ounces sliced mushrooms<\/li>\n
          • Salt and pepper<\/li>\n
          • 15 ounces ricotta (low fat is fine)<\/li>\n
          • 3\/4 cup grated Parmesan<\/li>\n
          • 3\/4 cup shredded mozzarella<\/li>\n
          • 1 egg<\/li>\n
          • 1 recipe calzone dough<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Directions<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. In a saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes until lightly browned. Add the spinach, season, and continue to cook until wilted, about 5 minutes.<\/li>\n
            2. Transfer to a colander and squeeze out the excess liquid. If necessary, drain the ricotta in a sieve to remove excess moisture also. Calzone filling should be fairly dry.<\/li>\n
            3. Saute mushrooms in a bit of olive oil until softened, about 10 minutes.<\/li>\n
            4. Combine spinach, cheeses, egg, and pepper in a large bowl.<\/li>\n
            5. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. If you don’t have a stone, simply grease a baking pan. Roll or spread the dough discs into 10-inch circles, leave the dough slightly thick so that the filling will not ooze out.<\/li>\n
            6. Spoon about 1\/2 cup of the filling onto 1 side of the dough round, then top with some of the mushrooms. \u00a0Be careful not to over-stuff the calzone.<\/li>\n
            7. Fold dough over to enclose the filling and form a large turnover. Roll up the edges with your fingers to close tightly and prevent leaking.<\/li>\n
            8. Cut a few slashes in the top to allow steam to escape during baking and brush with egg wash if desired. Repeat with remaining rounds.<\/li>\n
            9. Sprinkle a pizza peel (or prepared baking pan) with cornmeal and carefully transfer the calzones to the oven.<\/li>\n
            10. Bake directly on pizza stone for 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n