Roasted Veggie Calzone

When I see a calzone, I imagine it as a mega-sized empanada. Haha... But I do love the stuff. It's a pizza on the go. Which by the way, I finally made my own pizza dough. Woohoo! I made a batch enough for 4 pizzas. Used one and kept the other three dough balls in the freezer for future pizzas or whatever I decide to make with them.

I rummaged through my little recipe box for a dough recipe, I knew I had one, I just never used it until now. I don't remember where I had gotten it as I had written it out on a small piece of index card. Since I've been making my own bread, I'm slowly becoming a little more confident in trying to make things I normally wouldn't.

Anyway...For the calzone, you can use premade dough from the store, if you don't have time to make your own. I roasted some eggplant and zucchini that I had gotten from the farmer's market. Sliced up some fresh tomato and had some grated parmesan. There were a couple sandwich slices of swiss cheese, so I added that on top of the crust a few minutes before taking it out of the oven. That part is completely optional.

Mmmm...Layered veggie goodness!!!

This will serve 2-3.



Pizza Dough
4 C All Purpose Flour
2 c warm water (110 to 120˚F)
1 packet or 2 tsp dry active yeast
2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (plus extra for the bowl and basting)
1 tsp sugar

Combine the water, yeast and sugar together. Let is sit for roughly 5 min..

In a large bowl combine the flour, salt and oil. Blend well. Add in the yeast mixture and mix all together until it forms into a dough ball.

On a well-floured surface. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes until almost elastic in feel. Place the dough into another bowl lubed with olive oil. Cover with platic wrap and a towel and keep away from light until the dough rises and doubles in size. Roughly 1-2 hours.

When the dough doubles, lightly punch down the dough to release the gases inside.

Layout the dough on a well-floured surface and divide into 4 ball. Wrap unused dough in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer until ready to use.



Roasted Veggie Calzone

1 pizza dough - homemade or store bought
1 medium eggplant - sliced
2 small zucchini - sliced
1/2 medium onion - sliced into half moons
1 tomato - sliced
tomato sauce
olive oil
salt
pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Toss the eggplant and zucchini in olive oil and season with some salt and pepper. Lay the veggies out on a baking sheet and roast for 20-25 min. Give them a toss half way though.

On a well-floured surface, roll out your dough into a circle using a rolling pin or by gently stretching it with your hands. Then gently place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Layer the tomato sauce in a full circle. Be sure to leave at least an inch of dough untouched. Then layer the eggplant, zucchini and tomato slices on on half of the dough. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese over them. you may also put some cheese in between layers.

Fold over the other half of the dough and crimp the edges to seal. Brush the top of the dough with some olive oil and bake for roughly 15-20 min until the dough is golden brown.

Chicken Parmesan Pita Sammies

I love chicken parmesan. I remember having it once in a sandwich and well...it wasn't the best thing I ever ate. And I'm saying that nicely. This had occured many years ago and I haven't had it since. Now I'm replacing that "not-so-great" memory with a good, better and tastier one with my version of the chicken parmesan pita sammie.

Baked the chicken in the oven with melted mozzarella and made a simple marinara sauce. Placed it in a warm pita bread with a bed of red leaf lettuce inside.

This will make 4 sammies.



Chicken Parmesan Pita Sammies

2 pita rounds (cut in half)
1 large chicken breast (cut into chunks) or 4 chicken tenders
1 large egg
3 Tbsp milk
2 c panko crumbs
salt
pepper
1 1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 c shredded mozzarella
pieces of red leaf lettuce

Preheat your oven to 400˚F

Pat the chicken dry of any water. Season all sides with some salt and pepper.

In two separate dishes 1-beat egg and combine with milk 2-panko crumbs mixed with 1 c of the parmesan cheese.. Coat the chicken pieces with the egg mix. Wiggle off any excess, then coat with the panko crumbs and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake for 20 min. Flip after about 10 min for an even browning. 2-3 min before removing from the oven, top the chicken with the shredded mozzarella and the remain half of the parmesan.

Remove from the oven and let it rest.

Note: you may also pan fry the chicken strips for 3-5 min on a medium flame.


Quick Marinara Sauce:
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 small sweet onion (diced)
salt
pepper
1 large garlic clove (minced)
1 Tbsp dry thyme
1 Tbsp dry basil
1 Tbsp dry oregano
Olive oil
1 fresh tomato diced (optional)

In a sauce pan, heat a small drizzle of oil and saute the garlic and onions until they are tender and slightly translucent.

Add the tomato sauce and optional diced tomato. Season with some salt and pepper, then add in the thyme, basil and oregano. Stir well and bring the sauce to a simmer. Remove from heat and cover until ready to use.


Putting it all together:
Wrap the pita bread in foil and warm in the oven for a few minutes.

Take one of the halves of the pita bread and open it. Layer some of the lettuce pieces at the bottom. This will be like a bedding for the sauce and chicken. Take some of the sauce them place a piece of the chicken on top. Do the same with the other three.

Enjoy!

Baked Spam Frittata

You've only got today and tomorrow to enter the BSI challenge with this week's ingredient of choice Bell Pepper. (here) There's some really awesome recipes listed. It's going to be a tough decision.

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Spam. Don't be frightened. You can substitute spam for whatever meat you prefer like bacon, beef, turkey or chicken. I happened to use spam because it was in the cupboard and well... growing up in a Filipino household, canned meats were very much a part of the "balanced" diet and easy to come by. It was spam lite, so that's got to count for something. Plus, this was the result when my brain decided to shutdown on me right before I had to decide what to cook for dinner. Optimal brain function had failed due to over-excessive use for two straight weeks of writing two drafts of a script. I've gotten loopy. Loopy, I tell you!!!! LOOOOOOOPY!!

Besides, spam ain't all that bad. I actually had the idea to use it as the BSI secret ingredient. haha... Just kidding. But seriously. *nodding head slightly with a grin* I was actually about to call these "spamtatas", but that just sounded way too funny. Have I mention that I was feeling loopy?

Frittatas are the Italian version of the American and French omelettes. It is generally made in a skillet, partially cooked on the stove and finished in the broiler. Since I don't really have a sizable skillet, I used a 9-inch pie tin. (I knew those Marie Callenders pie tins would come in handy one day.) Mixed it up with half an onion and some herbs. I skipped the whole stovetop portion of the process and decided to fully baked it instead. Topped it off with a couple of slices of provolone and served it with some banana ketchup and a pan de sal. I've turned this dish into a Filiplian hybrid.

Not bad for a slight loss of brain function, eh?



Baked Spam Frittatas

1/2 can of spam lite (diced)
1/2 medium sweet onion (sliced)
salt
pepper
dry or fresh oregano
dry or fresh thyme
dry or fresh basil
4 eggs (beaten)
3-4 slices provolone

Preheat oven to 350˚F

Lightly grease a 9-inch pie tin or skillet.

Mix together spam, onion, oregano, thyme, basil and egg. Season with a tiny pinch of salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into a skillet or pie tin.

Bake for 40 min. 5 min before taking it out, place the provolone slices on top. Enjoy.

Pesto #1: Sun-dried Tomato

Reminder: The BSI challenge with this week's ingredient of choice Bell Pepper. You have until Sunday, Sunday, Sunday night to enter. (here) Few have already submitted. Have you? Yes, you?

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The other day I had an idea to make two different kinds of pesto. I was debating which one to make first. I tweeted my dilemma on twitter, but that did not help as the replies were tied. Eek! Also, I was running short on time as I still had to prepare dinner, too. Double eek!

Finally, I just decided to do both. If you remember a few weeks back when I tried making wheat pasta, I had served it with some sun-dried tomato pesto, I had gotten from the Farmer's Market. And I wanted to make something a little similar. Here's my version. Simple and easy to make. Mix it with pasta or spread it on some bread.

So, here's pesto #1: Sun-Dried Tomato. I used small shell pasta and served it with a couple of warm baby pan de sal. Scoop some of the pasta into the bread and eat it like a sandwich. That's what they do in the Philippines. It may sound a little weird, but it's really good.

This pesto will serve about 4-6. Come back tomorrow for pesto #2.



Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

1 1/2 c fresh basil
5 oz sun-dried tomatoes in Olive Oil (a small jar)
1 c pine nuts
2 Garlic cloves
salt
pepper
8 cherry tomatoes - quartered (optional)


Combine fresh basil, garlic, pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes, including oil, and the cherry tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Season with a little salt and pepper to taste. Blend until a paste consistency.


Here's a way to make pesto by hand: Reserve the oil from the sun-dried tomato in a bowl. On a chopping board, finely chop the garlic, then gradually begin chopping in the basil. Don't do it all at once or it will be a big mess. Do the scrap and chop method until you get a near mince. Do the same method with the pine nuts, and sun-dried tomato, until you get a paste like consistency. Mix in some salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture in another bowl then drizzle over in the reserved olive oil from the sun-dried tomato.

Serve with your choice of pasta and/or bread.

Wheat Pasta

For my next attempt, I dared to make pasta. The upside to this is that it is homemade and delicious. But the down side out-weighed the upside. I don't have a pasta machine of any kind and had to roll the dough by hand using a rolling pin. Major chore! It was literally a workout. My arms still feel sore from excessive rolling. I literally had sweat falling down my forehead and neck. Trying to get the thickness of the pasta just right. I kept thinking...is this thick enough? And when will I be done because I had some writing to do.

Once I got all the rolling and cutting done, I hung the pasta to dry on the back of two dining chairs overnight, so that way all I had to do was cook it the next day. I had to cook them a little longer than usual because I had made them a little too thick. Note to self: roll dough thinner.



I had gotten the original recipe many years ago. I don't remember who gave it to me or where I had gotten it. It was a recipe for regular white pasta. I modified it a bit to make into a wheat pasta. It was a good experience, but I think I'll stick to the "ready made" version until I get my own little pasta maker.

I served this with some Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto that I had bought from Domenico's Artisanal Foods at Gigi's Farmer's Market the other day. They were the ones that I had mentioned a few weeks ago, who were featured in Bon Appetit Magazine. It was so good! I mixed it with some pan-fried shrimp, liberally seasoned with salt and pepper. Topped it with some shredded Manchego Cheese.



Wheat Pasta

1 c All Purpose Flour
1 c Wheat Flour
3 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

By food processor: combine all ingredients until it forms a dough.

By hand: Combine the flours and salt. Place on flat surface and create a little well in between. Kind of like a volcano. Place eggs and oil in the well and mix well until a dough forms.

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Knead the dough into a ball then wrap in some plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.

Roll out the dough into the desired thickness using a rolling pin. Cut into strips or make into ravioli.

Hang the pasta to dry at least 15 min.

Homemade pasta generally will cook in half the time as store bought.

Pesto Penne & Garlic Bread

I made another batch of pesto as I'm going to try my Pillsbury recipe again and I only needed half. I decided to make a simple Filipino-Italian dinner with the other half. You can do these two dishes with any kind of bread and pasta you prefer. My choice for this dish was penne rigate and wheat pan de sal (a Filipino version of the dinner roll). The latter is the Filipno aspect of the meal. It was delish, filling and just right. No need to go to Olive Garden anymore. Although, I do like their endless soup and salad deal.






Garlic Bread
3 Tbps butter or margarine (softened)
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder or 2 minced garlic cloves
2 Tbsp Dry Basil
2 Tbsp Dry Oregano
2 Tbsp Grated Parmesan (plus extra for garnish)

Combine ingredients. (Sometimes rather than combining them, I'll layer each on the bread like butter, garlic, parmesan, oregano, then basil in that order. Takes a bit more time, but I like doing it that way too.)

Take your bread of choice (dinner roll, baguette, white, wheat...), sliced, exposing the chewy innards, and spread a thin coat of the butter mixture from edge to edge. Please the slices under the broiler until bread is nice and toasted. Roughly 5 mins, if broiler is preheated.

If you're not in a hurry you can toast the bread in a preheated 350˚ oven (roughly 10min) or in a toaster oven. You'll need to keep an eye on these as bread can burn pretty easily especially if you don't have a timer. No one wants burnt toast.

When toasted, sprinkle a little parmesan on top for garnish and enjoy.

This makes about 4 servings.


Pesto
You can see my pesto recipe here.

For this mix, I chopped in some sun-dried tomatoes.


Cooking Pasta
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. When water is bubbling like crazy, add in pasta of your choice. Season the water liberally with salt. (It'll give the pasta a little flavor). Stir a few time to keep the pasta from stick to each other.

Pasta generally takes about 8-12 minutes to cook, but when in doubt follow the directions on the package.

When the pasta is ready, drain in a strainer or carefully dump out the water from the pot. You'll want a tiny bit of that pasta water for when you mix in the pesto. It'll help combine the two together.


Note: Half the pesto mix will make about 2-3 servings. The full pesto mix will be 4-6 servings. Again it's all what you're in the mood for and how many people.

Mix in pesto with the pasta. I added in a few whole sun-dried tomatoes to give the dish a little color contrast. Add more grated parmesan, mix well and...voila! You're ready to eat.

Eggplant Parmesan - Dinner for Two

I decided to make some eggplant parmesan for dinner. I baked the eggplant rather than fry it before hand as some recipes tend to call for. The pic below has a paprika bottle in it, which is actually supposed to be oregano. I didn't realize that I had put the wrong herb out until I already started cooking.



Ingredients:

2 medium sized eggplants

1 1/2 c Panko Crumbs
1/2 Grated Parmesan
1 egg

1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 small tomato diced and deseeded
1/4 sweet onion (chopped)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp dry oregano
Salt and pepper

fresh mozzorella

Preheat oven to 375˚


For marinara sauce:
in a sauce pan, heat some extra virgin olive oil and sautee the garlic. Add onions and cook until semi-translucent. Then add in diced tomatoes and stir to mix flavors. Add in tomato sauce. Season with basil, parsley, oregano and a nice pinch of salt and pepper. Cook to simmer.

Baked Eggplant:
Grease baking sheet or ovenware with a little olive or canola oil. (I use pam)

Cut off both ends of each eggplant, slice down the center and divide each half into two. You should have 8 pieces. You may peel the skin, if you'd like.

In two separate dishes, place one with the panko crumbs and parmesan, the other with the egg - scrambled. Dip each piece of eggplant in the egg (coating well), then into the crumb mix (again coating well) and place onto baking pan.

Bake in oven for a good 20-30min.

To serve in casserole, ladle 1/3 of the tomato sauce coating the bottom. Arrange eggplant accordingly on top and pour over the rest of the sauce. Place pieces of the mozzarella on top and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese look like melted blobs.




My wacked scoop, which doesn't do the inside justice. But it was delicious.