This calzone is easy enough to throw together in 30 minutes and you’ll be a hero in your kitchen! Once you crack it open you smell the metled cheese, the yummy herbs that add such flavor and, and… you want to make this!
This post is to celebrate having my camera back! For the last 5 months I’ve been using an “old camera” (a semi-broken, duct-taped together older camera)… but I keep it around for posterity sake. It was my first digital camera … and it inhabits a soft spot in my heart.
THAT SAID, I’m once again getting used to this camera and feel the need to apologize for some of the blurryness (even though it’s only in a picture or two). Pardon me, just getting reacquainted after 5 months…
However, my camera issues didn’t keep me from being a hero in the kitchen tonight!
Here’s where I started: prepared pizza dough, some dried herbs, crumbled bacon, pepperoni, mozzarella and ricotta cheeses and some garlic-infused olive oil.
But first preheat your oven… to 425 degrees F.
Mix together the cheeses, herbs, bacon and a pinch of red pepper flakes (not pictured here). Toss in the crumbled bacon.
Roll out the prepared pizza dough to about 12-14 inches (on a lightly floured surface).
Note on the pizza dough: I bought it at Trader Joe’s, already prepared. It’s sold in the refrigerated section (near the cheeses). And they sell both “plain” and “whole wheat”. Tonight we went with the plain…
Pile the filling on one half of the dough (spreading it out evenly), top with pepperoni, leaving at least an inch of dough at the edge of the crust.
Drizzle with some of the garlic-infused olive oil and pull the other half of the dough over the filling.
Crimp the edges together and curl the dough under slightly.
Transfer calzone to a broiler pan and drizzle/brush on a little more garlic-infused olive oil.
Bake in a 425 degrees F oven, on a rack positioned in the middle of the oven, until it puffs up nicely and browns (about 18-20 minutes).
Remove from broiler pan with a pizza peel and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. And it doesn’t hurt to grate some fresh parmesan over the top… right?!
Cut it into a few pieces and serve up… but more than that, ENJOY!
You’ll be the hero too!
Simple Calzone
Recipe courtesy Lori Tisdale
Ingredients
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
½ cup ricotta
½ cup bacon, crumbled
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Red pepper flakes, pinch
handful of pepperoni (about 18-20 slices)
1 store bought pizza dough
2 tablespoons garlic-infused olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F; position rack in middle of oven. Toss together mozzarella cheese, ricotta, herbs, bacon and red pepper flakes. Unroll dough onto a lightly-floured flat surface. Roll dough out to at least 12-14 inch diameter. Mound filling on one half of dough; leaving 1 inch of dough around the edge. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil and top with pepperoni. Fold dough over and crimp dough together; fold edges of dough under to create soft edge.
Transfer calzone to broiler pan or pizza stone. Bake until dough puffs and browns slightly, about 20 minutes. Brush with other tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil. Transfer to a pizza peel (or cutting board) and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before cutting into 4 pieces and serving.
NOTE TO SELF: Next time I make this use meatballs inside of this! Yum!!!
enjoy your time in the kitchen…