Salisbury Steak

Am I the only one who woke up this morning to realize there are no weekend days left before Christmas? Am I the only one who has not even begun to shop yet (except for the fact that I had to go to the Feed Store and got suckered into the Christmas clearance section for our furry friends)? Do you still have presents to wrap, trees to decorate, and holiday menus to plan? This is an easy, quick weeknight meal.
A few weeks ago David and I were chatting about the kind of food we ate growing up. I shared the fact that on occasion we had TV dinners. After the initial shock, David asked what my favorites had been. I was a big fan of Salisbury Steak, well not so much the steak as the chocolate cake that came with it. With hesitation he then asked, "What is Salisbury Steak"? When I saw this recipe in the most recent Cooking Light magazine I couldn't resist. Turns out that this Salisbury Steak even without the chocolate cake as incentive can be pretty good.

Veggie Wellingtons

It's that time of year again. The next six weeks are a blur of turkey, sugar cookies, pumpkin, candy canes, and egg nog. I have been wanting to make Veggie Wellingtons for year, I always thought if I had a vegetarian friend come over for the holidays that I would make the Mushroom Wellingtons from the Cafe Flora Cookbook. Unfortunately, they take three days to make and without the motivation I don't see them happening any time soon. But, when I saw these in the New York times a few weeks ago I decided to make them for dinner one night, a weeknight even! I'm not a big fan of cutting up uncooked squash, which is recommended in the original recipe, so I subbed sweet potatoes. They turned out beautifully. They would indeed make a great main dish for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. We will be having the usual Turkey with all the trimmings, but that won't stop me from making these Veggie Wellingtons again soon.

Madeira Bay Pork Chops

I am quickly becoming a big fan of Rozanne Gold's new cookbook, "Radically Simple". All of the recipes I have tried so far have indeed been simple, but also had really great flavor. I made these pork chops in less than 30 minutes. They felt like a special meal, something you might order at a fancy restaurant. They were so flavorful that David requested we have them for Christmas dinner this year and I have to say it is tempting. Really, Christmas dinner on the table in less than an hour with potatoes? It almost feels like cheating.

Whole Wheat Carrot Gnocchi

Wow, was it really a week ago today that I sat down for lunch with Ruth Reichl in San Francisco? A week ago that I sampled ice cream flavors such as Secret Breakfast and Elvis. One week ago that I had the best sushi of my life? Seven days ago that I went to a presentation at the Herbst Theater for a conversation with Ruth Riechl and Mark Bittman. Last week was such a whirlwind and for half of it I feel like I had an out of body experience. Was that really my life? Whoever that was, she had a really good time. She gained 50 pounds to prove it (don't worry it was in my checked baggage). I'm working on a post about my trip and some of my favorite spots in San Francisco.

The presentation at the Herbst Theater was a little odd. First of all the Giants were playing (and winning) that night, so the crowd would erupt into random cheers for no apparent reason. They were also having a lot of trouble with their sound equipment. Luckily, I had already purchased Mark Bittman's new cookbook and made these gnocchi before I left. I'm not sure the presentation would have sold me on the book. I can tell you these gnocchi with our local Fairbanks carrots were superb, I highly recommend them. They are very light, so they are best served as an appetizer or a side dish.

Hachis Parmentier

Wow, joining a cooking club makes the weeks fly by.
I had a feeling I would like the recipe from French Fridays with Dorie this week as I am also a big fan of Shepherd's Pie. I took a few shortcuts with it to make it easier for a weeknight meal. I sauteed all the vegetables with the sausage and steak. I simmered it with beef broth instead of bullion for only 20 minutes. I did not separate the beef from the vegetables and just added the whole lot to the casserole dish. The recipe had a really nice flavor and was good for a change of pace. I wasn't a huge fan of the cube steak. Next time I would either use regular steak chopped into small pieces or ground beef. One final change was the use of Yukon Gold potatoes rather than the recommended white potatoes and didn't use nearly the amount of butter and none of the cream recommended. I used a fine shred on the microplane zester to get a full coverage of cheese on the top without making the layer too thick. I ended up using about half of the recommended cheese. Even though this is still nowhere near a light dish, it was possible to "lighten" it up a bit without sacrificing flavor.

Sesame Noodles

Sometimes I feel silly posting outrageously simple recipes here. Sesame noodle is something I eat in one form or another at least once a week. Sometimes it has lots of veggies almost like a stir fry and sometimes it is in its most minimal form when I don't feel like cooking. I have never really thought much about them. Certainly never measured out the ingredients that I use. Usually it is just grab a bottle of this and a bottle of that and a dash of this...until it tastes right. Then I saw them posted on a very popular blog and thought, why not? I used the recipe as a starting point, but made them with my own twist. Also, I rarely make them without adding 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes. Feel free to add what you like to make them your own.

Gerard and Raye's Mustard Tart

When it comes to "real" food, I am not a picky eater. Some would say I am picky because I prefer fresh, local, minimally processed food, but that's another story. When it comes to social graces, I can eat pretty much anything my host puts in front of me. All but one thing...quiche. Once when I was doing a lot of non-profit fund-raising I was invited over for dinner by a potential donor. They even asked if there was anything I didn't like. Of course I said I would eat anything. To my horror I arrived to find quiche as the entree. I seriously have a hard time with even the smell, but somehow I managed to eat a few bites. Even in that situation I could take any more than that.
So, when I saw that this was the second recipe for French Friday's with Dorie, I seriously thought about skipping it. It looked just a little too much like quiche. Not to mention Mustard Tart does not sound all that appetizing in the first place. The only thing that made me want to make it was the fact that David had brought back two jars of Mustard from Raye's in Maine this fall. One jar of Hot and Spicy and another jar of Fall Harvest Cranberry. What I am finding with all the recipes I have made from this book so far is that the quality of ingredients is really important. Quite frankly I'm not sure you are going to find a better mustard than Ray's in the United States. The whole point of joining this group is to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things. I told myself I can back out for lack of ingredients, but here I had no excuse. In the end I was so glad I did. First of all, I made my very first crust and although it wasn't a pie crust, it is a start. Second, the smell of Rosemary filling my house was wonderful. This didn't smell like quiche at all. Finally, the end product was great. I could see making this many more times. Can't wait for those young asparagus in the spring.
Where's the recipe? Well, sorry friend, you will have to buy the book.

Risotto Style Pasta with Sausage and Mushrooms

This past winter I made Mark Bittman's Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto Style. I swore after I made it that I would never make plain pasta boiled in water again. The flavor of that dish was intense and incredible, each bite even if only pasta was filled with flavor and the way the sauce stuck to every bit of the dish was wonderful. Of course, I never made pasta this way again. Yes, this technique does take a little more time than just straight up boiling, but the results are worth it.

Then, this spring I found Jamie Oliver's recipe for Pork Sausage Pasta I knew it needed to be made Risotto Style and that is exactly what I did. This recipe is an inspiration from both sources. The sausage makes this dish incredibly rich. If you like it extra spicy use a Hot Italian Sausage.

Yellow Tofu with Green Rice

Recently, I came across a site called NoTakeOut. I think it is a really great idea for folks who don't cook much. It gives you step-by-step detailed instructions including when you should pour yourself a glass of wine and what type would go best with your meal. All of the posts I have seen so far have looked really great and simple for a week night. The thing is that I actually do cook a lot and have my own way of doing things, so I found all the extra directions to be a bit distracting. I also had a hard time working with a shopping list rather than an ingredient list when it came to the actual cooking. The end product  was really great and I recommend you give it a try. I loved the contrast of the green rice with the yellow tofu. . I recommend checking out their site for other menus as well. If you do decide to make something let me know what you think.

Chicken and Broccoli Braid with Mushrooms and Peppers...

This recipe has become an old stand-bye in our house. I only found the recipe two weeks ago, but I have made it two times in two weeks and see it finding its way to our dinner table again very soon. It was even swapped out for pizza night with no complaints. It may not be the healthiest meal out there, but I would think with all those veggies it is at least better for you than pizza. I see a lot of possible combinations, feel free to add or take away whatever suits your tastes. The original recipe calls for canned crescent rolls, but I used Peter Reinhardt's biscuit recipe and Molly over at Batter Splattered used pizza crust. Bread dough would probably work too. Really, you can't go wrong with this one. It makes a great presentation as well.

Tahini Crusted Sirloin Steak with Green Tea Soba Noodles

It is amazing how much social media has influenced my life. Besides the fact that I have reconnected with people I probably never would have spoken to again, I get regular updates about what's on sale at my local market, and in turn friends share recipes about what to do with the stuff on sale at the market. I rarely buy sirloin steak for anything but fajitas. When a friend mentioned marinating it in tamari and fresh ginger and serving it over green tea soba, well that just sounded too good not to try. I adapted the idea a bit and made more of a crust for the steak. The results were one of the best tasting steaks I have ever eaten.

Paneer and Peas

I have this idea in my head of what this blog would be like if I had all the time in the world. There would be a weekly post from the Farmer's Market in the summer. One of the weekly features would be a new curry recipe each week. I absolutely love all kinds of curry. It is also my favorite thing to cook for company as the spread of raitas and chutneys that can be made days ahead of time are always sure to impress. So, why don't I make curry more often? While it is true that there are many recipes that can be made quickly, I still prefer the recipes that direct to add one spice at a time building up the wonderful smell that fills the house. Also, I can not make curry without making Naan which always adds to the overall cooking time.
Paneer is something of a novelty here is Fairbanks as they don't sell it in any of our grocery stores. Lately I have been having David pick it up on his trips to Anchorage. Honestly, pressed extra-firm tofu works just as well in any Indian recipe that calls for paneer. Sometimes I use both in the same dish. This recipe is fairly quick and can be made on a week night.

Red Rice with Black Beans and Sausage

 

 This is not a political blog, I try to stay away from the "issues". It's all muffins and scones here! I try and keep things light, well everything but the cooking!

Lately, there are two "issues" that have really been bugging me. One is an article I recently read that condemned the many celebrity chefs touting 30 minute meals these days, saying they are only one step away from fast food. The issue was people who say they don't have time to cook. The article was trying to prove in this day of Facebooking (and blogging) that is not that we don't have time to cook, but we choose not to. Now, I don't disagree with that at all. I love to cook, but honestly not every night. There are evenings that cooking ranks right up there with laundry and vacuuming. I know that there are people who feel this way pretty much every night. I know plenty of people who love to eat, but still hate to cook.

The second issue is with a local non-profit educational farm that I love in every way with the exception of their latest campaign to get people to stop ordering fruit/vegetable boxes from Full Circle Farm in Carnation, Washington. Full Circle Farm provides weekly shipments of fresh organic produce year round to Alaska communities. They ship to some of the remote villages of Alaska. I order from them most of the year, but discontinue my box during the months our local Farmer's Market is open. The main reason I order is to get some unique items that I can't find in our local grocery stores. They also carry Mt. Townsend Creamery cheese which is one of the many things I miss about living in Port Townsend, Washington. The local argument against Full Circle is the fact that many people are ordering from them year round and not supporting their local farms.

Really, I think in both of these situations we need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture (no pun intended here). Obesity is a huge problem here in Fairbanks along with the rest of the country. I am a huge supporter of eating local food and slow cooked food. One of my favorite meals is a big pile of veggies mixed with tofu and slow roasted in the oven while David and I chat about our day over a beer. The one thing I realize is this is not realistic for everyone, nor is coming up with the lump sum funds for a subscription to a local CSA. Honestly, is anything that is getting boxes of fresh organic produce into Alaskan homes or introducing people to cooking for themselves (and not eating fast food) really that bad? Personally, I think there is a bit of food snobbery going on here. In a perfect world we would all have our own gardens and feed ourselves year round from our own backyard, should we then condemn people for shopping at the Farmer's Market? Shame on you for not growing your own lettuce!

So, here's a tasty recipe for a 30 minute meal. Use local veggies if they are available, but if they are not...I won't tell!

Tomato Lime Chicken

This recipe is actually called Butter Chicken, but it is unlike any Butter Chicken I have had before. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way.It is kind of like ordering a cola and getting root beer instead (yes, I consciously am not promoting any brand names here). Root Beer is good when that is what you want, but if you were really craving a cola, well Root Beer just won't do! I was really craving Butter Chicken, the good stuff like we used to get in Victoria at The Mint. This recipe is nothing like the Butter Chicken at The Mint or any other Indian restaurant I have had butter chicken. Once I got over the fact that this was not Butter Chicken I actually enjoyed the flavor. I would definitely make it again only I would call it Tomato Lime Chicken, because someday I hope to post a recipe for Butter Chicken like the one from The Mint and I don't want there to be any confusion!! To me this really was bordering on a Mexican dish, not an Indian one at all. Omit, the cardamom and use regular white rice and voila, it is Mexican. Also, I found as with most Pioneer Woman recipes, you can decrease the butter and the cream (you could also use half and half) without any noticeable difference.

And yes, I purposely linked to The Mint three (now four) times hoping they will read this and share their recipe for Butter Chicken, please.

Tomato Lime Chicken
adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients
4 pieces Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
5 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black Pepper
½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
¼ teaspoons Ground Coriander
¼ teaspoons Cumin
¼ teaspoons Cardamom
1 whole Lime, Juiced
1 whole Onion, Diced
¼ cups Butter
1 can (14.5 Oz. Can) Tomato Sauce
1 pint Whipping Cream
1 bunch Chopped Cilantro, to taste
2 cups Basmati Rice

Preparation
In a medium bowl combine chicken and next eight ingredients through lime juice, set aside.
Saute the onion in the butter until soft. Add chicken mixture and cook about 10 minutes. Add the tomato sauce. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on. Add the cream and top with cilantro just before serving over rice.

If you like it spicy, add a little more cayenne to taste.

Sweet and Sour Pork with Coconut Rice

Growing up in the Midwest gave me an aversion to anything Sweet and Sour. The only Sweet and Sour I was familiar with was our local Chinese restaurant which served deep fried chicken bits with the thickest and brightest red sauce you could imagine. On occasion I would get Sweet and Sour Chicken with the sauce on the side. It was like chicken nuggets with dipping sauce! Over the years I have learned that Sweet and Sour does not have to be red, completely soaked in sauce, or deep fried. Heck, it doesn't even have to contain chicken! Now, I love the contrast of flavor in this "almost" healthy dish. Don't forget the coconut rice, it is super easy and really makes the dish. 

continue reading...

Chicken Cobbler

I am a huge fan of Chicken Pot Pie and Chicken and Dumplings. Pretty much any hearty stew with a good starch thrown in makes my stomach start to growl. I love the way it smells on the stove, it brings me back to my childhood. I am always on the look out for new ways to make the old classics. A few weeks ago Mark Bittman posted an article about Chicken Cobbler. Isn't a cobbler meant for berries? I have to admit that I almost didn't make this one, it seemed so simple, too simple actually. I was afraid it would be bland or boring. For some reason it kept calling to me.  I'm so glad it did. It was hearty, filling, tasty, and so very easy to make.

Chicken and Vegetable Cobbler
adapted every so slightly from Mark Bittman
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 cups mushrooms, quartered
1 1/2cups chicken stock
1 tsp. bouquet garni*
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 boneless chicken breasts, diced
1 cup peas, frozen or fresh
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Put oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the leek, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until liquid has released and evaporated, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add stock and bouquet garni*; bring to a boil, and let bubble for a minute or two, add carrots and chicken and reduce heat so the liquid simmers. Cook until carrots are almost tender and chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Add peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are brightly colored and just tender, another minute or so.

Whisk cornstarch with a few tablespoons of broth, add to pot and stir until liquid thickens slightly. Transfer everything to an ovenproof dish and set aside.

Put flour in a food processor with baking powder, soda and salt. Add butter and process until mixture resembles small peas, no more than 30 seconds. Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in buttermilk and egg until it just comes together; it should be sticky.

Drop spoonfuls of batter on top of vegetables and chicken and smooth with a knife, covering as much surface area as possible but leaving a few gaps for steam to escape. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until golden on top and bubbly underneath. Scoop into bowls and serve immediately.

*If you do not have Bouquet Garni feel free to use a blend of your favorite spices. (savory, rosemary, thyme,  oregano, basil, dill weed, marjoram, sage and tarragon)

Potato Pizza

I had never even heard of potato pizza until this past spring when a visiting friend was looking through my cookbooks. She insisted that I give it a try, so I put it on the list of things to make when the potatoes were ready in the fall. Of course, I promptly forgot. Then a few weeks ago I was browsing Ree Drummond's cookbook at the bookstore and saw her recipe for potato pizza. It was funny because she calls it cowgirl food, as in cowboys don't really like it. I know better than to mess with pizza night at our house. This past Wednesday with the disclaimer that this will not replace our traditional pizza for the week I made potato pizza. I absolutely loved it. It was not such a hit with the male member of my house either, so maybe Ree was right or maybe there is just a fear that this could replace regular pizza night. This one will have to go in the Single Girl rotation. I call the nights that David is away or working late my "single girl nights". I highly recommend it.

Potato Pizza Print
Inspired by Cafe Flora and Pioneer Woman

8 slices bacon
1 Leek
3 Tbsp (or less)extra virgin olive oil

1 clove finely chopped garlic
3 medium red potatoes
3/4 mozzarella cheese shredded and loosely packed
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
Coarse salt or Fleur de sel
Freshly ground black pepper
Unbaked pizza crust (I have a recipe for one here)

Preheat pizza stone in oven to 500 degrees
Fry bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until cooked but not crisp. Remove bacon from pan and pour out the grease, but do not clean the pan. Cut bacon into ½ inch pieces and set aside.

Return skillet to stove and turn heat to medium-low.
Slice leeks very thinly. Add leeks to the same pan and sauté over medium-low heat until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Slice potatoes very thin. I’m sure a mandolin would work great here.
Roll out pizza crust, and brush a thin layer of olive oil over crust. Sprinkle with garlic and a light amount of salt. Arrange potatoes in a single layer slightly overlapping edges. Sprinkle potatoes lightly with salt, then lightly sprinkle grated mozzarella over top.
Place sautéed leeks over the top of the cheese.
Next, sprinkle the fried bacon pieces over the top, followed by crumbled goat cheese and grated parmesan.
Finally, sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake pizza for 8 to 11 minutes, or until edges of crust are golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly. Cut and serve immediately.

Vodka Cream Sauce

When we first moved to Fairbanks I found frustration in not having the selection of cooking ingredients that were so easily accessible in Washington. Another issue was the fact that the grocery stores on our side of town seem to be even more limited in their selection. There was a certain incident in the east end Fred Meyer when exasperated I proclaimed, "I suppose we aren't supposed to eat tofu on this side of town either". Poor David could do nothing but shake his head. Over time I have adapted to these issues by ordering specialty food online (mostly spices) and learning to cook a lot of items from scratch, a journey I have shared here. My trips to the grocery store are now mostly limited to the basics of flour, sugar, milk, butter, etc...

Still, all the grocery stores in town are not equal. One has a fairly decent selection of natural foods and some specialty items as well. Now, it is still a chain store and not my usual place to shop as it is significantly more expensive. Once a month I stop by just to see if there is anything I am missing. I usually pick up some organic breakfast sausages and a few Izze sodas. During my last trip I was surprised to find a bag of orecchiette on the shelves. I remember that I had been looking for this pasta a while back, but couldn't remember why. I picked up a bag anyway and still have not figured it out. The problem with limited supplies is that by the time you find them you can't remember what you wanted them for. I decided to serve them with Vodka Cream sauce that I had also made a while back for our ricotta gnocchi. This time I was out of shallots and used 1/3 cup of onion instead and it was still just as good. I like the simple indulgence of this sauce.

*Where's the recipe you ask? I have decided unless I am presenting a truly unique recipe, I will just give you the link or reference the book it came from. I feel it is fair to give the credit where it belongs and quite frankly will save me some time and hopefully enable me to post more often.

Szechuan Noodles with Chicken

As much as I love to cook, sometimes I just don't feel like cooking. Despite the fact that it usually takes longer to eat out than eating at home considering drive time and the terrible service at most area restaurants. Sunday I just didn't want to cook, mainly because we didn't have much in the house to cook with. I had been sick all last week, so groceries were at a minimum. We did have some chicken, but no veggies to speak of, or rice, or potatoes, or pasta. So, I started nudging David towards brewery mode mentioning things like cold beer and pork sandwiches. This usually does the trick on Sunday night. No luck, he wasn't budging. So, I decided to make an honest effort and went through the cupboards one more time. Well, I did have a variety of noodles, chinese egg noodles, soba, and udon. So, off to the computer to find something to do with chicken and soba noodles. I had vaguely remember seeing a recipe for noodles on the Food Network while I was surfing last week. A few keyword searches and I found it Ina Garten's Szechuan Noodles. With a few adaptations and a little jazzing up dinner was on the table in less than 30 minutes...


Szechuan Noodle with Chicken
adapted from Ina Garten's recipe on the Food Network
serves two with sauce to spare for lunch the next day

Ingredients

for chicken:
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2 tbsp. vegetable oil (peanut or canola)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tsp. sesame oil

for sauce:
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp.fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. dry sherry
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. honey
1/4 teaspoon hot chili oil
1 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 pound soba or udon noodles
4 scallions, sliced diagonally (white and green parts)
2 tbsp. cilantro, roughly chopped
lime wedges for garnish

Directions
Place 2 tbsp vegetable oil in large non-stick skillet or wok. Add chicken and fry until cooked thouroughly. Add red pepper flakes and and sesame oil, toss to coat. Remove from heat.
Place the garlic and ginger in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the vegetable oil, tahini, peanut butter, soy sauce, sherry, rice wine vinegar, honey, chili oil, sesame oil, and cayenne and black peppers. Puree the sauce.
Add a splash of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook the noodles according to directions on package. Drain the noodles in a colander, place in a large bowl, and while still warm, toss with 1/2 of the sauce. Add the scallions and cilantro; toss well. Serve warm or at room temperature. The remaining sauce may be added, as needed, to moisten the noodles. Serve with a fresh lime wedge.

Spinach and Ricotta Calzones

Can you imagine what it would be like to go to one of your favorite bakeries in town and load up your car with 100 cinnamon rolls, along with endless brownies, scones, muffins, and two dozen still warm calzones? Can you now imagine that you have to drive this car load of fresh baked goodies across town without eating one of them? That was me this past Saturday. I was picking up all the goodies for the Wild Arts Walk at Creamer's Field. It took everything in me not to "steal" one of those fresh warm calzones from Bun on the Run. Since they were actually closed when I went to pick everything up, I had no choice but to make my own for dinner Saturday night. These are far more involved than our standard Saturday night pizza, but they were worth it because we actually got two meals out of it. I will give you fair warning that there were a lot of complaints (which I did not read until after I made it) online about the dough recipe. The recipe is really similar to my standard pizza dough recipe, which I can attest turns out perfect every time. I didn't have any problem with this one either, but a lot of folks said they had issues with the amount of oil and I must admit it seemed like a lot. The finished product was great and I thought they were even better warmed up for dinner last night. Don't forget to warm up some pizza sauce to serve alongside...
Spinach and Three Cheese Calzones
adapted from Tyler Florence on the Food Network

Dough:
1 package rapid-rising dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine yeast with warm water and sugar. Stir gently to dissolve, then let stand 5 minutes until foam appears. Pour in 1/4 cup olive oil and add salt. Turn mixer on low and slowly add the flour, 1 cup at a time. When the dough starts to come together (add more water or flour if necessary), increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 10 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and fold over itself a few times. Form dough into a round and place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat the entire ball with oil so it doesn't form a skin. Cover with plastic wrap or damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes. (Prepare filling while dough rises) When ready, knead the dough gently and divide in 4 balls. Sprinkle the rounds lightly with flour, cover, and let rest for 15 minutes.

Spinach and Cheese Filling:
15 oz. fresh ricotta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound baby spinach, washed and dried
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 cup shredded fontina
1 egg beaten
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Drain the ricotta in a sieve to remove excess moisture. In a saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes until lightly browned. Add the spinach, salt and pepper, and continue to cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a colander and squeeze out the excess liquid. Calzone filling should be fairly dry, because it may leak out or make the dough mushy. Combine spinach, cheeses including ricotta, egg, and pepper in a large bowl.

Calzones:
1 egg beaten
Cornmeal, for dusting

Place a pizza stone on middle rack in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. If you don't have a stone, simply grease a baking pan. Roll or spread the dough rounds into 10-inch circles, leave the dough slightly thick so that the filling will not escape. Spoon a generous amount of the filling onto 1/2 of the dough round
and brush the outer edge with egg wash to help form a seal. Fold dough over to enclose the filling and form a large turnover. Roll up the edges with your fingers to close tightly and prevent leaking. Cut a few slashes in the top to allow steam to escape during baking and brush with egg wash. Repeat with remaining rounds. Sprinkle a pizza peel (or prepared baking pan) with cornmeal and carefully transfer the calzones. Bake directly on pizza stone for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Let the calzones rest 10 minutes before cutting to allow the cheese to set.