Sausage Calzone Food

SAUSAGE CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 F.
• Brown sausage in a small skillet in a drizzle of olive oil. Transfer the cooked crumbled sausage to a paper towel lined plate to drain.
• Combine sausage with ricotta, parsley, garlic, Parmigiano, nutmeg, pepper, and pimento. Roll out doughs and halve cross-wise. Place a dough rectangle on a nonstick cookie sheet. Use 1/2 cup mozzarella on half of each dough rectangle and pile a mound of filling on half of the total area. Fold dough over and pinch edges to seal. The result is a rectangular turnover.
• For half-moon shaped calzones, trim excess dough. Roll dough bits into strips, tie in knots and brush with garlic oil and cheese. Garlic knots are fun to dip at the table.
• Bake calzones 15 minutes or until golden all over. Serve calzones with warm tomato, marinara, or pizza sauce for dipping.
• Cook's Note: For an additional time saver, 2 packages precooked sausage crumbles, 8 ounces each, may be substituted for raw Italian sausage used in the above recipe.
• Add olive oil to medium saucepan over moderate heat. Add garlic and crushed pepper to the heated olive oil; when pepper snaps and garlic sizzles, stir in crushed tomatoes. Season sauce with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes and stir in parsley. Serve.
• Yield: 4 servings

SAUSAGE, SPINACH AND RICOTTA CALZONE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead** on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Cover and let rest on floured surface while preparing filling.
• Cook sausage in skillet over medium-high heat until cooked through; remove from skillet and drain excess fat. Add spinach and water to skillet; saute 1 to 2 minutes until spinach is wilted; drain. Return sausage to pan.
• Combine ricotta, mozzarella and egg in a mixing bowl. Stir in Italian herb seasoning, crushed red pepper and garlic salt; set aside.
• To make calzones divide dough into four portions. Roll 1 portion into an 8-inch circle on a floured surface. Spread approximately 1/3 cup ricotta mixture in center bottom half of dough. Top with heaping 1/3 cup sausage spinach mixture leaving outer 1/2-inch free of filling. Fold top half of dough over filling. Pull edge of lower crust over top; folding and pressing layers together to form a seal. Carefully transfer to greased baking sheet. Cut 3 to 4 vents in top. Repeat with remaining dough. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until lightly browned. Transfer to cooling rack to keep bottom crust crisp while cooling slightly. Serve with pizza sauce or other sauce for dipping.

SAUSAGE AND PEPPERONI CHEESE STUFFED CALZONE

Steps:

• Preheat oven and pizza stone (if available) to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a large grill plan, cook sausage until browned. Drain.
• In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella, garlic, seasonings, pepperoni and cooked sausage. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.
• Roll dough out to a 15" circle on a pizza paddle or baking sheet that has been lightly dusted with cornmeal. It doesn't have to be a perfect circle.
• Spread meat and cheese filling over 1 side of the dough. Leave at least 1-inch of the edge without filling to ensure a tight seal.
• Lift 1 side of dough and fold over so that it meets the other side, forming a half moon, and pinch the edges together to seal, using a fork to press edges together. Remove any excess dough which isn't needed for the seal.
• Brush with olive oil and sprinkle some parmesan cheese over top.
• Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to release.
• Transfer calzone from pizza pad to pizza stone in oven.
• Bake 10-15 minutes, until puffed up golden brown.
• Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
• Heat the marinara sauce in the microwave for dipping.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE CALZONE

Steps:

• Unroll pizza dough onto an ungreased baking sheet; pat into a 14x11-in. rectangle. Spread pizza sauce over 1 long side of dough to within 1/2 in. of edges. , Layer the spinach, sausage, mushrooms and cheese over sauce. Fold dough over filling; pinch seams to seal. , Bake at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Freeze option: Freeze cooled unsliced calzone in a freezer container. To use, place calzone on an ungreased baking sheet, cover with foil and reheat in a preheated 375° oven 10 minutes. Uncover; bake until heated through.

SAUSAGE & SPINACH CALZONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large skillet, cook and crumble sausage over medium heat until no longer pink, 4-6 minutes; drain. Add spinach; cook and stir until wilted. Remove from heat., On a lightly floured surface, unroll and pat dough into a 15x11-in. rectangle. Cut into 4 rectangles. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on half of each rectangle to within 1 in. of edges., Stir ricotta cheese and pepper into sausage mixture; spoon over mozzarella cheese. Fold dough over filling; press edges with a fork to seal. Place on a greased baking sheet., Bake until light golden brown, 10-15 minutes. If desired, serve with pizza sauce.Freeze option: Freeze cooled calzones in an airtight freezer container. To use, microwave calzone on high until heated through.

CALZONES WITH CHEESE, SAUSAGE AND ROASTED RED PEPPER

Steps:

• Pour 1 1/2 cups warm water into large bowl. Stir in yeast. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Mix in oil and salt. Add 3 3/4 cups flour, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until blended. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, sprinkling with more flour if sticky, about 10 minutes.
• Place dough in oiled large bowl; turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, char bell pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and let stand 10 minutes. Peel, seed and slice pepper. Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red onions; sauté until brown, about 25 minutes. Set aside. Sauté sausage in heavy medium skillet over medium heat until cooked through, breaking into 1/2-inch pieces with spoon, about 15 minutes. Set aside. Mix both cheeses and oregano in bowl, season with salt and pepper.
• Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Dust 2 baking sheets with flour.
• Punch dough down. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide into 4 equal portions; shape each into ball. Roll out dough balls on lightly floured surface to 9-inch rounds. Spread 1/3 cup cheese mixture over half of each round, leaving 3/4-inch border. Cover cheese on each with 1/4 of onions, 1/3 cup cheese mixture, 1/4 of sausage, 1/3 cup cheese mixture, then 1/4 of bell peppers. Fold plain dough halves over filling, forming half circles. Pinch edges of dough firmly together to seal.
• Using spatula, transfer 2 calzones to each prepared sheet. Pierce tops in several places with small knife. Bake calzones 15 minutes. Reverse baking sheets and bake until tops of calzones are golden brown, about 15 minutes longer.