Calzones

All-American Calzones

This is a great recipe for nights when the family cooks together. Start with homemade pizza dough, and let everyone prepare his or her own calzone. You may use any toppings you like—just don’t fill the dough too full.

MAKES 4 CALZONES

 Basic Pizza Crust, below

 1 tablespoon cornmeal

Ketchup and/or mustard

8 ounces lean ground beef, cooked and crumbled

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 ounces Cheddar or American cheese, sliced

1/4 cup chopped onion

4 dill pickle slices, chopped

 Heat oven to 400°F with rack in lower third. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Lightly flour working surface. Divide pizza dough into 4 parts. Roll each part into an 8-inch circle. Spread ketchup and/or mustard over half of each circle. Sprinkle 1/4 cup ground beef, crumbled bacon, an ounce of cheese, 1 tablespoon onion and dill pickle over condiments. You can add about 1/2 cup additional “extras” to each calzone. Fold circles in half. Press edges together and pinch to seal. After I pinch the edges, I roll them and press again. Place on baking sheet and cut several slits into top of each calzone.

Bake about 18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.

Fillings for Traditional Calzones: Pepperoni slices, cooked and crumbled Italian sausage,    fresh sliced mushrooms, chopped green pepper, sliced ripe olives, shredded mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese.

 Basic Pizza

 This easy crust makes enough dough for two pizza crusts and four calzones. When I only need one pizza, I pre-bake the second crust and freeze it. With a crust from the freezer, homemade pizza arrives faster than delivery!

 MAKES 2 (12-inch) PIZZAS

                 1  (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast

                  1     cup warm water (105–115°F)

                  3       cups all-purpose flour, divided

                  1   tablespoon sugar

                 1/2 teaspoon salt

                  1   tablespoon olive oil

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in small bowl and let stand about 5 minutes. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour, sugar, and salt in large bowl. Stir in yeast mixture and olive oil. Continue stirring until flour is absorbed. Stir in remaining flour until a soft dough is formed. Dough will be sticky to start with, but after kneading it becomes easier to handle.

Place dough on well-floured surface and shape it into a ball. Place your fingers on top of dough ball, curled slightly, and pull dough toward you; then push it away, using palms of your hands. Turn dough1/4 turn and repeat. Knead dough 6 to 8 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic.

To judge whether dough has been sufficiently kneaded, place it on work surface, pull both ends gently, and release. Dough should be elastic and spring back.

If dough is sticky, gradually add flour while kneading but limit flour to 3 cups. Shape dough into a ball by pulling sides underneath forming a smooth top. Cover dough and let it rest while you prepare toppings. I just invert a bowl over the dough for this short rest.

Heat oven to 450°F. For crispest crust, place rack toward bottom of oven.

Grease two 12-inch pizza pans. Leave about 1 inch around edge of each pan ungreased so dough has something to cling to as it is stretched to fill pan. Place half of dough in center of each pan, and push it out to pan edges, rotating pan as you go. Form a raised edge around the crust’s perimeter.

Bake crusts 7 to 10 minutes or until they are just beginning to brown. Remove from oven. (The crusts can be frozen at this point. Cool to room temperature and wrap tightly before freezing.) Top as desired.

WHITE CHOCOLATE LEMON TRUFFLES

White Chocolate Lemon Truffles 

Makes 2-3 dozen

⅓ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
grated zest of 1 lemon
9 ounces best-quality white chocolate, very finely chopped
pinch salt
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch cubes
2 teaspoons lemon juice
½ cup granulated sugar

1. In a small, heavy, nonaluminum saucepan, combine heavy cream and lemon zest. Heat on medium heat until cream comes to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cover tightly and allow to stand 20 minutes at room temperature.

2. Meanwhile, combine white chocolate, salt, and butter in a medium heatproof bowl. When cream has stood 20 minutes, remove cover. Reheat the cream mixture over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it reaches a simmer again. Strain cream through a fine-meshed strainer into the white chocolate mixture. Press down on the lemon zest left in the strainer to extract all of the liquid from it.

3. Melt the chocolate mixture in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring frequently, until just it’s just over half melted. Remove it from the heat and the hot water. Continue stirring until the mixture is completely melted and smooth. (Note: White chocolate, even of excellent quality, can be stubborn about melting. If there are small lumps of white chocolate in your truffle base, transfer the truffle base to a food processor fitted with a steel blade; process at high speed just until smooth.) Stir in lemon juice. Chill at least 4 hours.

4. Using a small cookie scoop or a spoon, form balls of about 1 inch diameter from the cold truffle base. Roll in granulated sugar until well-coated. Continue until all base is used.

5. Store truffles airtight in refrigerator for up to one week; freeze for longer storage. To serve, remove from refrigerator 15 to 20 minutes prior to serving time.