Mushroom and Spinach Calzones

We had some fellow Bama fans over today to watch the Tide pound Duke.  After the game, we ate calzones.
Usually, my calzones involve everyone getting a hunk of dough and filling it with whatever they want.  But, I came across a tasty looking recipe on the Epicurious app for a Three Cheese Mushroom and Spinach Calzone, so, I gave it a try.


Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil plus additional for brushing

1 8-ounce package sliced crimini (baby bella) mushrooms

3/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 garlic cloves, pressed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

4 cups (packed) baby spinach

All purpose flour (for sprinkling)

1 pound fresh pizza dough (or one 13.8-ounce tube refrigerated) (I made my own.  See recipe below.)

5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 1/2 cups grated Fontina cheese, divided (Since Kroger didn't have this, I used mozzarella.)

1/4 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and fennel seeds; sauté until mushrooms are brown, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and oregano; stir 1 minute. Add spinach; stir just until wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Line rimless baking sheet with parchment. Sprinkle paper with flour. Roll out dough on lined baking sheet to 15 x 10-inch rectangle. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons Parmesan crosswise over half of crust, leaving 1-inch plain border. Top with 3/4 cup Fontina, then mushroom mixture, distributing evenly. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons Parmesan and 3/4 cup Fontina over mushrooms. Spoon dollops of ricotta cheese over; sprinkle with crushed red pepper. Fold plain half of dough up over filling. Crimp edges tightly to seal. Brush with oil.

Bake calzone until puffed and brown, about 18 minutes. Brush with oil and serve.

Calzone Dough Recipe

Ingredients

2 pkg yeast

1 cup very warm water

1/4 tsp sugar

Combine these ingredients in a small bowl.  Let rest until foamy, about 10 minutes.

2 cups bread flour

4 Tab sugar

2 Tab olive oil

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup water

Combine ingredients with yeast mixture in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.  Stir for a few minutes.  (Or, just combine in a bowl and stir.  Then, knead the dough for a few minutes.)

Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover.  Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.   Proceed with recipe.  

The mushroom and spinach filling was very flavorful and would combine well with most other calzone fillings.  I liked the creaminess of the ricotta cheese in the calzone, but Art didn't care for it.  Apparently, he doesn't like ricotta.  After seven years of marriage, I thought I knew everything about him...

Back and Better Than Ever

Since my last post four months ago, my family has had some major changes:

-  We now have a daughter- Taylor Grace.  She was born on June 16 and is so precious.  She eats a lot, so I know she will enjoy my cooking one day.   For now, I spend a lot of time feeding her and less time preparing labor-intensive meals.

-  Jacob has become s a very selective eater.  I do not describe him as picky, because he will eat just about anything.  He just has to select when and where he will eat.  Food on his tray often goes untouched during supper and is put in the fridge to be pulled out when he wants it at 9:30am the next day.

-  Our home office has been converted in to a room for Taylor Grace.  So, our computer is now in the kitchen.  This invasion of my favorite room in the house is surprisingly convenient- reason number one being I no longer have to tip-toe across the incredibly creaky hallway during nap-time to write a blog post.  (Being able to play videos from www.sesamestreet.org while cooking is also amazing.)  I hope this improvement encourages more posts.

- Art and I have recently obtained smart phones.  This virtually unlimited connection with the world has revolutionized our lives.  Among many other things, I have been using recipe apps to easily find new and exciting dishes.  This translates into more new and exciting recipes on this blog. 

Today's recipe for Thai Tofu Crunch is from the Whole Foods Market app.  This is a unique, easy recipe that is good for a hot summer day.  I doubled the recipe and used a whole container of firm tofu.  I marinated the sliced tofu in 1/4 cup water and 1/4 cup soy sauce for 2 hours.  Then, I broiled it for about 7 minutes and let it cool. 

Ingredients

1 (3-ounce) package uncooked all-natural ramen noodles
4 to 6 tablespoons prepared peanut sauce
1 (6-ounce) package cooked tofu, cut into small cubes
1/2 small cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/2 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 cup frozen small broccoli florets, thawed

Method

Crumble the ramen noodles into a medium bowl; save ramen seasoning packet for another use. Add peanut sauce and stir to coat well. Add tofu, cucumbers, carrots and broccoli and toss together gently. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving, or transfer to plastic containers and pack in lunches. The noodles will soften somewhat as they soak up the sauce. Keep cold until ready to serve.

I used a chili peanut sauce which made the dish pretty spicy.  The first night we had it, we made it into a salad and ate it over lettuce.  The second night, we ate it over cooked noodles.  Both ways were good.  

Chicken with Couscous, Tomatoes, and Hummus

I made this semi-Greek recipe that I found in Southern Living for supper last night.  Hummus and pita are the only Greek elements.  The recipe was really easy to make and the taste/texture combination of chicken, couscous salad, and hummus was excellent. 

The flavor of the chicken was really tasty.  I was skeptical of the lack of a marinade- boneless, skinless chicken breast pieces are simply brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper before they are cooked in a skillet.  The couscous is tossed with tomatoes, red onions, and a simple vinaigrette to make a really good side. 

The couscous salad includes 2 Tab of chopped red onion.  For this, I bought a container of chopped red onion at the store.  I had never bought pre-chopped onion and I loved the convenience of it.  If you hate to chop onions (you know who you are- Stacey), then I would highly recommend this.  It was a few cents more expensive than just buying a whole onion.  But, the convenience was worth the expense. 

The results:  Art and I loved the meal.  Jacob ate some chicken last night and some couscous for lunch today.  I don't know if he loved it, but he ate it. 

Spaghetti and Blackberry and Blueberry Pie

As I was cooking the spaghetti with meat sauce for supper tonight, Jacob stood beside me and systematically ate dry spaghetti noodle after noodle.  There is no telling how many of those noodles he chomped through.  Weird.

I also made a pie with blackberries and blueberries.  Blackberries were on sale at the store, so I grabbed a few containers.  The sweet blueberries were a great compliment to the tart blackberries.  It was a good pie made even better by a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Ingredients  
1 pie crust (top and bottom)
2 1/2 cups blackberries
2 cups blueberries (I used frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tab butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place bottom crust in pie plate.
Combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Stir in berries to coat.  Pour into crust.  Dot with butter.
Top with top crust. 
Bake for 35-40 minutes, making sure the crust doesn't burn.  Let cool.

Chicken In Curry Sauce- No Chips!

Last night, I made chicken in curry.   Art had never had it and he liked it.  Jacob ate a few bites and begged for chips.  We refused.  Then, he refused to eat anymore after that.  A picky toddler is a joy to cook for.  (I do feel very rewarded when he actually likes something I make.) 

I haven't posted any pictures recently, so here is a picture of Jacob with the Praying Mantis at the Children's Museum of Memphis- his home away from home.

Mahogany Broiled Chicken with Smoky Lime Sweet Potatoes and Cilantro Chimichurri

A couple of years ago, my aunt gave me a copy of this recipe she found in The Birmingham News.  I just got around to making it for supper last night.  Apparently, this was the $100,000 winning recipe in some chicken contest.

The combination of familiar and unexpected flavors was fantastic.  The chicken was tender and flavorful, the sweet potatoes were pleasantly spicy, and the chimichurri sauce was phenomenal.  Most importantly, the meal was easy to make.

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1" cubes
1 cup chopped cilantro leaves
6 Tab olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp pepper, divided
5 Tab dark brown sugar
3 Tab Dijon mustard
2 Tab hoisin sauce (this is with the Asian food in the grocery store)
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tsp lime juice, divided
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 Tab unsalted butter
1 tsp chopped canned chipotle pepper
1 tsp adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
1/2 tsp lime zes
3/4 tsp cumin

Chimichurri Sauce:
In a small bowl, mix together chopped cilantro, olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, and garlic.
(My absent-minded pregnancy brain accidentally added the chipotle and adobo sauce to the chimichurri.  It turned out really good.)

Mahogany Sauce:
In medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, mustard, hoisin sauce, and vinegar.  Reserve 2/3 of this mixture.  To remainder, add 1/2 cup lime juice and stir in chicken.  Refrigerate.

Sweet Potatoes:
In heavy saucepan, place potatoes and cover with boiling water.  Cook, covered, over medium high for about 15 minutes or until tender.  Reserve 1/4 cup cooking liquid, then drain potatoes in colander.  Return potatoes to reserved cooking water, add butter, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, remaining 1 1/2 tsp lime juice, cumin, lime zest, remaining 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp peper.
Mash potatoes.

Chicken:
Thread chicken on bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water.  Broil about 6" from heat, basting with remaining mahogany sauce until done, about 8 minutes.

To serve, divide potatoes among four plates; top each with two skewers of chicken and drizzle with chimichurri sauce.

Broccoli, Please!

Last night I picked up a pizza from Whole Foods for supper.  We all sat at the table to eat and Jacob kept asking for broccoli ("baak-eee!").  Normally, Jacob asks for chips for supper ("bis!"), so we are in the habit of saying "No" to these requests.  When he kept asking for broccoli, I had determined that he would eat what was on the table.  Finally, Jacob got so upset, we gave up on supper and let him down from his chair.

Art and I discussed the situation.  What kind of horrible parent forces their kid to eat pizza when all he really wants is broccoli?  I went and made him some broccoli.  He ate a huge bowl of it.