Annie’s Eats

Success! This is yet another dish that I love to get in restaurants, and now I can make it in my very own home. I love when this happens, and I must say, it has been happening more and more often. Consequently I find that we have been eating out less and less. This was a pretty simple dinner and didn’t require much work on my part.

Once again I was unable to find leeks at any store so I just left them out. I halved the recipe and made a few minor changes of my own. My version is reflected below. Scroll down for a link to the original recipe.

French Onion Soup
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1/8 tsp. sugar
2 leeks, including tender green portions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups beef broth
¼ cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. fresh thyme (or ¼ tsp. dried)
salt and pepper, to taste
6 baguette slices, ¾” thick
½ cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions:
In a large nonaluminum saucepan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Add the onions and sauté, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 15 minutes. Add the sugar and leeks and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until richly colored and caramelized, 30 to 45 minutes. (You may need to increase the heat to medium to add some color at the end.)

Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the stock, wine, bay leaf and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

To serve, preheat the broiler. Ladle the soup into individual flameproof soup bowls. Place 2 or 3 slices of bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle with the cheese. Slide under the broiler about 6 inches from the heat element. Broil until the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 2-3.

Source: Williams Sonoma

Calzones may not seem like such a blog-worthy dish, but this was a very exciting accomplishment for me. Why? Because this is the first dish I have ever made completely on my own with no recipe to guide me! I guess all of my following recipes in the past has paid off and taught me a lot, because I just went with my instincts, throwing things together and the result was amazing!!! This was a quick dinner and was very tasty and filling. This scientist girl is making leaps and bounds in improvisational cooking

My “recipe” for the calzones is below. All measurements are approximate. I used Trader Joe’s refrigerated pizza dough to save myself time. I made my own pizza sauce for the first time for dipping the calzones, but I made my own adaptations to an existing recipe for that. One thing at a time, I suppose.

Calzones
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 ½ links turkey sausage, removed from casing
½ cup onion, chopped
1/3 cup mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup low fat ricotta cheese
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
7 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
½ tsp. Italian seasoning
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 recipe pizza dough, divided into 2 equal halves
1 egg
2 tbsp. water

Directions:
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the turkey sausage and cook until browned. Add onion, mushrooms and garlic and sauté a few minutes more. Remove from heat and transfer the meat mixture to a mixing bowl. Add ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes to the bowl; mix well to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Roll out the pizza dough halves into two circles, 7-8” diameter. Divide the calzone filling mixture between the two pieces of dough. Spread over one half of each circle, leaving a ¾” margin on the edge. Fold over the pizza dough so that it completely covers the filling and the free edges line up. Press edges together using the tines of a fork. Place onto a pizza pan or cookie sheet.

Combine the egg and water in a small bowl. Beat well with a fork to create an egg wash. Brush the top sides of both calzones with egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes or until the top of the dough is golden brown. Cut in half and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Source: me!

Pizza Sauce
Ingredients:
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste
6 fl. oz. warm water
3 tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove minced garlic
1 tbsp. honey
¾ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. dried marjoram
¼ tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Stir until well combined and smooth. Allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before using to blend flavors.

Source: Allrecipes