Leftovers Calzones

The other day, I roasted one of these. It's a kabocha squash; basically a pumpkin but sweeter.


This is what the insides look like.


After scooping out the seeds, I used a big, sharp knife to cut the squash into 1 inch cubes. One of the wonderful things about kabochas is that you don't have to peel them. The skin is quite tender once it's cooked.


Next, I tossed it with olive oil and a generous pinch of salt. Ordinarily I would add a ton of pepper too, but I was going to put the squash in some sushi rolls I was making, so I decided against it.


Next, I spread the cubes in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet and roasted them for about half an hour at around 400 degrees. You are trying to achieve a soft consistency with some caramelization around the edges.


I had about half of the squash left over last night so I was thinking what I could make. I also had a store-bought ball of pizza dough, some goat cheese, and a handful of each parmesan and shredded mozzarella. Pizza seemed like the obvious choice, but since the ingredients I had were a little dry, I decided they'd be perfect for calzones. I also decided to use pesto instead of a red sauce.

I preheated the oven to 475. There are a couple of little-known secrets to homemade pizza with a good crust texture. The first is a very high temperature. Trust me. The second is, if you don't have a pizza stone (which I don't) and are using a cookie sheet, let it preheat in the oven. This will help brown the bottom of the pizza or calzone.

Then I took my premade pizza dough out of the fridge and laid it on a lightly floured surface to relax a bit. I like to make things from scratch, but pizza dough is one of the things I'm perfectly happy to buy premade. It's cheap, good, and saves a ton of work!


Then I started with the pesto. I made quite a small batch, since my basil plant needs to recover from the last time (it's looking a little bare). I threw a bunch of leaves into the food processor, a pinch of salt, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, a handful of parmesan, a generous 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and some olive oil. The amount of oil depends on how the texture is when you process it. If it's not moving well within the food processor, add a bit of oil. I'd wager I used about a 1/3 of a cup.


Next I cut the pizza dough into four pieces and put three of them aside. I rolled the first piece into a ball then started flattening it out. You can either roll it, pound it, or stretch it. It doesn't matter, as long as you don't futz with it too much or the gluten will go crazy and your dough will be so stretchy that it will bounce back no matter when shape you try to coax it into.


Once the dough was a flat round about the size of my hand with my fingers outstretched, I spread it with pesto, some squash, bits of goat cheese and a sprinkling of mozzarella. The pesto can go on the whole thing but the rest of the toppings should stick to one side. Also, leave a rim for the dough to stick together. Fold over one side and pinch the edges closed with a fork. You want a good seal so the filling doesn't leak out and burn to the cookie sheet. Place it on a sheet of foil.


Repeat with the other calzones. Now take the hot cookie sheet out of the hot oven and lift the foil with the calzones onto it. Get it back into the oven and bake. Mine took about 20 minutes. I also decided about halfway through that I wanted to sprinkle a bit of parmesan on top of the calzones.


Once the outside is slightly golden and the crust sounds a bit hollow when tapped, take them out of the oven.


Serve hot.

Bruschetta with Caramelized Onions and Goat Cheese

I love making food that seems impressive but really took no effort whatsoever. This bruschetta falls under that heading. Bruschetta is basically toasty bread slathered with whatever you want. I had goat cheese so I decided to do a caramelized onion and goat cheese bruschetta. Very little effort is involved but it does take a while to caramelize the onions.

The ingredients


Preheat your oven to 375.

Peel and half an onion lengthwise. Slice it very thinly into crescents.


Heat a skillet to low heat and pour in enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Throw in the onion, making sure to separate the layers. Add salt and continue to cook until they get dark, being careful not to burn them. This will take quite a while, like over a half hour. Be patient.


Meanwhile, slice a baguette thinly. I do it at an angle because it's prettier and makes bigger pieces, but you can cut straight across too. It really makes no difference. I used a fresh seeded sourdough baguette, but it is my professional opinion that stale bread is why bruschetta was invented.


Place the slices on a cookie sheet and drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle salt on them. Throw them in the oven. It doesn't have to be hot yet. Your aim is to dry out the bread and make it crispy, like a big crouton. Take them out of the oven when they seem crisp and very slightly golden.


When the onions are done, they'll have reduced a lot. At this point, place them on a cutting board and roughly chop them.


Slather as much or as little goat cheese on each slice of bread as you want. Grind some black pepper on, then add a little of the caramelized onion to each.


Toss back in the oven for a few minutes, until the cheese becomes melty. They are best hot, but I'm taking them to an opera rehearsal this evening so they'll be room temperature. They'll still be delicious though.

A Partial Panini Success

I had a DMV appointment with my dad this morning so I was back at my parents' house. I decided the best way to perk up after a long morning in the recycled air of one of my least favorite places was to make a really good lunch. There was half a loaf of stale baguette lying around, as well as some avocados and goat cheese. These gave me the idea of a panini.

The ingredients: I also used half a yellow bell pepper which is not pictured.


The first thing I did was revive the baseball bat masquerading as bread. I splashed it with water. Okay, i ran it under the faucet for a second or two, then popped it in the toaster oven and set it to 350. A few minutes later, when the water evaporated and the bread was hot, I was left with something resembling a fresh loaf of bread! Of course, you could just use fresh bread, but not all of us have that luxury.
Then I minced a clove of garlic and threw it in a microwave safe ramekin thingy. A bowl will work fine. I covered it with a few tablespoons of olive oil and microwaved it for 30 seconds. This essentially makes garlic oil.


I used a fancy silicone pastry brush and brushed it on the bread. Pouring works just as well. Just don't have a pile of garlic. Spread it out a bit. Then i drizzled (read: dumped) some balsamic on too.


Then i layered the bread with some chevre (aka goat cheese), avocado, and sliced bell pepper.


Next I added a handful of spring mix and a good coupla grinds of black pepper. In retrospect, I should have added a pinch of salt too.


Then I grilled it on the panini press I bought my dad one Christmas. Here is where I went wrong. You can't tell, but the bottom of the sandwich is Cajun-style. I heated the pan a bit too much. On my stove this wouldn't be a problem, but on an eighteen BTU (it's hot!) burner, it was. Next time I'll heat it at a lower heat and for less time. But whatever, knives were invented for a reason. You think cavemen didn't have to scrape char off their mammoth chops every once in a while?


And ta-da! a melty, warm, soft-but-crispy sandwich ready for your consumption. Actually no, me and my dad already ate it. But you can make your own!