The (Cal)Zone Diet

Mini Calzones

Exploring a new kitchen supply store always leads to buying something experimental. For me, it was a pastry press from the new Chef’s store in Orange, CT. It’s great for fruit tarts, large ravioli or mini calzones.

I thought I’d continue with my Italian theme and make calzones. Once again this was a fun collaboration with Tom and our friend Noah. We thought we’d try pizza dough from our favorite place for late night pizza, BAR New Haven. Their dough was so much easier to work with than the stuff from the grocery store. I don’t think we can ever go back! (Goodbye whole wheat dough!)

I cooked up a bunch of different fillings and displayed them in bowls so it was like a “make your own calzone” bar. We had lots of wine to taste leftover from a tasting earlier that day at Caseus. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it!

Wine sampling

Here are tips when making mini calzones in a press:

• Instead of grated cheese, use ricotta mixed with grated cheese and an egg to prevent it oozing out
• Try to keep the filling tightly together before pressing since it will shrink in the oven
• Lightly flour the press (exclude the edges) so it doesn’t stick
• Don’t press too hard or you’ll squish the dough instead of sealing it
• Brush the calzones with an egg wash before baking for a nice crust