Calzones

I thought I'd be a little clever. I whipped up a pizza dough and searched through the fridge for an interesting filling. I landed on radicchio. I sautéed it in olive oil and garlic with big chunks of salty Jamon Serrano. I let the mixture cool while I mixed together ricotta cheese, parmesan, oregano, parsley, a touch of cream and S&P. I spread the ricotta mixture on half of the rolled dough, layered the soft radicchio on top, sealed the edges and baked for 15 minutes at 500º. James might have suspected my fridge clearing motives, but hot pizza dough with toasty cheese is hard to resist no matter the reason.

Experimental Calzone

Pizza dough in the freezer and a drawer full of cheese called out for calzones. For one, I went more traditional. I spooned leftover fennel tomato sauce, shreds of pecorino cheese, sliced salami, chopped parsley and basil onto half the crust, sealed the edges and brushed the top with olive oil and a sprinkle of corse salt (I don't always do that but it did make a nice golden crust). Once I had a safety, I figured why not go more daring. I layered prosciutto, sliced mushrooms, Tomme de Crayeuse cheese, and slivers of butter on top of the crust. I placed the ingredients with a space in the middle and cracked an egg in the center before I quickly closed the dough and again brushed the top with olive oil and a shower of Maldon salt. Consider the experiment, my French inspired Calzone, a success. Tomato sauce? Waiting in the fridge (minus a bite) to be a late night snack.