Snacks as supper part 2

Well I am back from the weekend trip and it was a blast. We ended up driving on into St. Louis, staying at the Merriot at UnionStation, going to the zoo, eating at Hard Rock Cafe.......it was a great time and filled with a bit of romance to boot. So I am in a great mood and today am making Spinach Artichoke Calzones. So let's leap right into it shall we.....


Ingredients

2 cups part skim ricotta

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated or a few pinches ground

A few grinds black pepper

1/2 cup (a couple of handfuls) grated Parmigiano, plus extra, for sprinkling

1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

1 (15-ounce) can quartered artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 (10-ounce) tubes refrigerated pizza dough

2 cups shredded mozzarella

Garlic oil (You can buy a bottle of this or just take 1 or 2 cloves chopped and heated in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil)

2 cups tomato sauce, marinara or pizza sauce for dipping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Roll each pizza dough out on a cookie sheet, and halve each cross-wise. Spread 1/2 cup mozzarella and up to 1/4 of filling on each rectangle. Work on just half of the surface of each rectangle of dough, then fold dough over top of filling and pinch edges firmly to seal. For a half-moon "pizza parlor" look to your calzones, mound filling into a half-moon shape, fold dough over top trim edges of dough to follow the rounded shape, then seal edges.

Tie strips of dough scraps in knots, brush with garlic oil and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake knots with calzones.

If your dough tears, remove a little of the filling and repair. Repeat the process, spacing the calzones evenly on baking sheet. Bake the calzones for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown all over. Serve calzones with warm tomato or pizza sauce for dunking.

The verdict........these were pretty good, not the best of Rachaels dishes I have made so far, but it was rather tasty, plus a nice vegetarian dish to boot. Of course for those who like a bit of meat in their calzones, you can also add some pepperoni, ham, sausage........really any standard pizza topping you can add to the recipe.

This took about 15 mins to make and was super easy. This would be a great dish to have the kids help out with to teach them a bit about cooking.

I have to say that Rachaels cooking style with her recipe's is very relaxing and helps to really strip away any stress you may have, it is very therapeutic.


Until tomorrow......