Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Valentine's Day Spinach and Cheese Calzone


Spinach and Cheese Calzone
 When I think of a Valentine's Day dinner, I think of sharing.  Sharing time, sharing help, sharing friendship, sharing love.

Food is fun to share.  However, chateaubriand steak for two can be pricey.  That's why I thought of calzone.  Although the HBin5 group is making whole grain "Stuffed Sandwich Loaf" for our current assignment, the ABin5 Spinach and Cheese Calzone seemed just right for Valentine's Day.

I made a batch of olive oil dough the other day.  It would be great for pizza, calzone, and foccacia bread.  This dough is "good" for 12 days, and so there's a good chance that I'll make enough recipes with it.  This new square dough bucket really fits nicely in my fridge, too!



I sauteed more spinach than suggested.  One half cup of spinach did not seem like enough--a second batch of spinach was made. The filling was made first , then set aside.  Next time, I'd make the filling while the dough is resting.  The dough needed to rest several times because it kept stretching back while being rolled out.

One change that was made.  The rolled out piece of dough was much larger than my pizza peel.  I thought I'd risk putting the calzone together before transferring it to the peel (after taking a picture, just in case!).  Therefore, I loosened the dough on one half, put the filling on the other half of the dough, and manuevered the folded creation onto the pizza peel. This was a little tricky, but was accomplished with my dough scraper and moving extra flour under the calzone.

Once the calzone was moved to the peel, I adjusted it and cut 3 slits into the top.  It wasn't necessary to seal it, it seemed to seal itself.

I had forgotten to add the broiler pan for the water--it's been awhile since I baked with steam.  Therefore, I spritzed water every few minutes for the first 10 minutes.  That seemed to work just fine.  The calzone baked to a lovely golden brown color, and was firm.  It was easy to slide it onto a baking sheet, covered with a towel to absorb heat.



Cooling on a Towel















Great with salad and Green Beans!















We both enjoyed the calzone.  However, my hubby confided in me that next time, he wants to try marinara sauce with his calzone.  He just didn't want to hurt my feelings.  Actually, he has a great sense of what would make a dish better.  We had a lemon chicken recipe last week that was so-so.  He suggested green olives, and it was fabulous!  Therefore, we will try marinara sauce on the second half of the calzone.

Here's a romantic baking comic that my hubby gave me the other day.  He reads the comics daily.   We have "Love is..." comics pasted up all over the house.  This was pretty special, since I love to bake!  I thought my co-bakers would enjoy it.
For me, the secret ingredient is the excitement of knowing how much my creation will make people happy--especially my hubby.

Happy Valentine's Day!  Did you do anything special for Valentine's Day?  I hope you will leave your comment about that below.

10 comments:

  1. What does it say about me that my lust was directed at your new dough bucket? Great looking calzone.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HA, Guff! I about fell off my chair when I read what you wrote!

    I guess that means that your saintly wife has nothing to be afraid of. You are a true baker!

    :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yummy looking calzone. Makes me hungry. Guff must be a food porn addict. Know I am. Happy Baking, Judy. M :)))

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG, I was coveting the new dough bucket too! My round ones really don't fit in the fridge very well. Your calzone looks very tasty and sharing makes everything better.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your bread looks and sounds great! I may have to try this one. Yum! Love the new dough bucket. Funny that my attention was drawn to it as well. Lol...

    ReplyDelete
  6. 6 comments:
    Guff said...
    What does it say about me that my lust was directed at your new dough bucket? Great looking calzone.

    February 17, 2011 1:10 PM
    Judy's Bakery & Test Kitchen said...
    HA, Guff! I about fell off my chair when I read what you wrote!

    I guess that means that your saintly wife has nothing to be afraid of. You are a true baker!

    :)

    February 17, 2011 6:59 PM
    Mary J said...
    Yummy looking calzone. Makes me hungry. Guff must be a food porn addict. Know I am. Happy Baking, Judy. M :)))

    February 18, 2011 1:06 AM
    Elwood said...
    OMG, I was coveting the new dough bucket too! My round ones really don't fit in the fridge very well. Your calzone looks very tasty and sharing makes everything better.

    February 18, 2011 6:59 AM
    Cathy (breadexperience) said...
    Your bread looks and sounds great! I may have to try this one. Yum! Love the new dough bucket. Funny that my attention was drawn to it as well. Lol...

    February 18, 2011 11:18 AM
    Judy's Bakery & Test Kitchen said...
    You guys are great!

    I guess I must be in good company. I think I am into food porn also! I can't stop salivating over the pictures in Dorie Greenspan's "Around My French Table."

    The square dough bucket is the one I won from Jeff and Zoe. It's in the King Arthur Baking Kit. A little tougher to mix, but stores nicely!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love that olive oil dough, although I have never tried the calzone. It looks delicious and a nice choice for V-day.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love Calzone and I've not made it such a long time but this is a great idea for the stuffed loaf assignment.

    Glad you had a nice V-day! We didn't have chateaubriand either but darn it sure does sound good!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, Clarice and Michelle!

    Even the leftovers were delish. I might make baguettes from the rest of my dough. I still haven't used the baskets I bought for that purpose.

    ReplyDelete