Honey Ham & Baby Swiss Crescent Calzone

Were you ever so hungry but you just didn't know what to make?  Nothing could be easier than this crescent calzone.  I mean, it felt like it took me literally 5 minutes to make.  Took me longer to take the pictures than the actually assembly of it.  What I ended up having was this AMAZING, WARM, FLAVORFUL, GOOEY, CHEESY and YUMMY dinner.  Now I was satisfied with just this but if you were to turn it into a meal for like 4 people, I'd double the recipe and make a salad or some potatoes like French Fries, Roasted Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes or whatever, even a veggie too.  I went solo on this one.

So basically it was just taking my lunch meat, cheese slices and rolled it up in a non-perforated recipe ready crescent roll sheet.  I've done step by step photos with instructions.  I have to mention, I used Baby Swiss in this recipe, My favorite is Guggisberg Baby Swiss.  I love it because it melts perfectly, it's creamy and the perfect taste.  It's not a harsh hard Swiss that many people are used to.  So if you kinda have a love & hate relationship with Swiss, I would try this Guggisberg Baby Swiss.  You will not be disappointed, at least I wasn't.  If you don't like Swiss AT ALL, you can certainly use another cheese and if you don't like Honey Ham, you certainly can swap it out for any other lunch meat, or cooked steak or chicken sliced thin.

THIS RECIPE MAKES ONE Calzone enough for 2 people

Honey Ham & Baby Swiss Crescent Calzone
1 Refrigerated Pillsbury Recipe Creations Crescent Dough or Crescent Roll Dough with Perforations Sealed
1/2 Pound Honey Ham or Any Lunch Meat or Thinly Sliced Cooked Meat (Steak, Chicken or Pork)
1/2 Pound Sliced Baby Swiss Cheese or Your Favorite Sliced Cheese, you can also used Shredded Cheese.
Any Spread like Ranch Dressing, Mustard, Honey Mustard, Thousand Island Dressing, Italian Dressing
(I wouldn't use mayo inside, while baking it could get icky, I would slop it on while you eat it or in a dipping cup.  You can also skip this step completely)
You can certainly add some veggies too if you'd like, like Sauteed Mushroom, Peppers, Roasted Red Peppers, Pepperoncini or Onions, etc....  (If adding veggies do so on top of the cheese).

Preheat Oven to 350'F.

Line a Baking/Cookie Sheet with Parchment Paper.

First Step is to unroll your crescent dough and stretch it out a little but do not tear it.  Just to get it out of it's tight form from being in the can.

Lay your lunch meat down or your cheese down first, (I think this worked better the second time around, helps not to make the dough soggy).

Add your sliced or shredded cheese on top of the lunch meat.  Leave about a half inch space so that you can pinch close.

Start at the long end and begin rolling to the end.  Pinch all opening together.  Snip with a scissors or poke top with a fork to do some venting.  Cook until a Golden Brown, it varies depending on temperature but I checked it about 15-20 minutes in.  You may see some cheese oozing.  That's completely fine!  Means it's hot and cheesy!  =)

Important step is to let it set up before cutting because if you don't it will just smash and fall apart.  You want some stability while eating this.

I hope you enjoy, we sure did.  I think I just thought up my most versatile recipe yet.  It might of been made before by others but hey for me, I thought of it!  ;)

Stay tuned for my sweet dessert version using this method....Can you guess what I might use?  Here are some photos....

Before laying the lunch meat down or cheese down, this is when you add your spread lightly and gently over your crescent dough.

This is when I put down the cheese first over the stretched crescent dough.

Secondly, place your lunch meat or cheese down, whichever way you do it.

This is when you can add your veggies.

Start at the end and start rolling....

Finished rollings, do small snips, just a couple on the stop or poke with a fork to vent.

Bake in a 350'F oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.  

Enjoy and I hope you make it.  Let me know how it turns out.  Don't forget to add some sides to complete the meal!  YUMMY YUMMY!

Happy November (EEK! Already!),

Annamaria

La La Lemon Almond Tea Loaf

One thing I can say is nothing shows more of your appreciation of friendship and love than baking something for someone when they need a little lift, a little help or just because.  When I knew my friend's father was having heart surgery and knew he loves lemon, I thought this would be a great way to say Get Well.

Be prepared to fall in love with this recipe.  I love love love Almond Paste and it was just a perfect addition to lemon.

La La Lemon Almond Tea Loaf
3/4 cup sifted pastry or cake flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1/8 teaspoon salt 
5 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 ounces (3/4 cup) almond paste, at room temperature 
1 cup granulated sugar 
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 16 pieces
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest 

Lemon Glaze
3/4 cups sugar
6 Tablespoons Lemon juice

Position a rack in the lower third of an oven. Preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan; tap out the excess flour.  (I even line the bottom of the load pan with parchment so that it ensures perfect release from the pan)

Zest a good size Lemon enough to get about 1Tablespoons of Lemon Zest.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt twice. Set aside. 

In a small bowl, combine the eggs and vanilla. Whisk to just combine. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the almond paste on low speed until pea-size crumbs form, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. 

Slowly add the granulated sugar in a steady stream and beat until incorporated. This should take about 2 to 3 minutes. If you add the sugar too quickly, the almond paste won't break up as well. 

On low speed, beat in the butter, tablespoon by tablespoon. This should take about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of bowl. 

Increase speed to medium and cream the mixture until lighter in color and fluffy in appearance, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Still on medium speed, slowly pour in the eggs, cautiously at first, tablespoon by tablespoon. After each bit of the eggs have been absorbed, add more. If at any time the mixture appears water or shiny, stop the flow of eggs and increase the speed until a smooth appearance returns. Then decrease the speed to medium and resume adding the eggs.

Continue to cream, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl at least once, until the mixture appears fluffy, velvety and white, and has increased in volume. Including the time to add the eggs, this should take about 2 to 3 minutes.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the surface gently with an offset spatula.   I sprinkled some leftover zest on top.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs bake when lightly touched, about 45 to 50 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes. 

What a great golden looking bread cake!

Make the glaze while the cake is cooling in the pan...


In a bowl, stir together the sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Set the wire rack over a sheet of parchment paper or foil to catch any drips of glaze. Invert the loaf pan onto the rack and lift off the pan. Using a pastry brush, generously brush the entire warm cake with the glaze. Let the cake cool completely on the rack, at least 3 hours, or until the glaze has set.


The cake is fragile when warm so don’t try to move it. When the cake is cool, gently transfer it to a serving platter.  Serve at room temperature.


It's been so hard to meet up to give it this to my friend, so as with any cake or breads you can freeze it by wrapping it in the package, then plastic wrap it a few times and then cover in foil and freeze up to 3 months.


I froze the package and yet I am keeping it the freezer, I've decided to make it again for my friend when I know it's time to see her again.  Which is this week no matter what!  But I did package up the bread in with wax paper, some ribbon that I made previous and will unfreeze when I have company but I am sharing the recipe with you.  Just add a little note card for Get Well and you have a sweet gift.


This is definitely a great treat.  The comforting taste of almond and lemon go so well together.  I was infatuated with the smell filling up my home!


PS:  I couldn't help but know that this tastes absolutely awesome with a schmear of Seedless Rasberry Jam/Preserves!


Enjoy!
Annamaria


 

Daring Cook’s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. Italian Wedding Soup served with Herb and Garlic Brioche

Italian Wedding Soup served with Herb and Garlic Brioche.
(please note that the pictures will be coming soon...can't find my file card...lol!)

*The Only PreMade Dried Pasta I buy!

Peta, of the blog Peta Eats, was our lovely hostess for the Daring Cook’s September 2011 challenge, “Stock to Soup to Consommé”. We were taught the meaning between the three dishes, how to make a crystal clear Consommé if we so chose to do so, and encouraged to share our own delicious soup recipes!

I grew up on brothy soups. My mom would always make her chicken soup, Italian style of course and she would laddle it on top of cooked rice. We would pile on the freshly grated Parmesan Cheese or Romano Cheese and have some Italian bread around and enjoy our soup. Some people wait to make soups when it's cold outside. My mom made it all year round. It was a magical quick dish for her and it would fill our bellies. I will later share that soup for you but that is not the soup I want to make for this challenge. I decided I am going to make Italian Wedding Soup. Yes this soup is served at weddings but my family also has it for Thanksgiving before the big Turkey Feast. It just seems natural because you can use Turkey to make Italian Wedding Soup if you don't want to make it with Chicken. However since Chickens are readily available and I have no use for a 13 pound Turkey, I am going to make the Chicken Italian Wedding Soup.

Let's make a side note for those precious little pasta that goes in the soup, the best to use is Acini di Pepe.  Basically meaning Peppercorn Balls.  You can use Ditalini, but I like Ditalini more in legume soups with lentils or cannelini beans.  But I love those little pearl pasta, Acini is my favorite and if you noticed the poster above, I choose to buy Barilla Dried Pastas the most.

This recipe will include the Italian Wedding Soup accompanied by Peta's own recipe for Herb and Garlic Brioche. It looked divine when she made it so I am going to challenge myself to make my own Brioche. This is going to make a lot, so looks like I'm inviting people over for dinner. The Herbs and Garlic in the Brioche is going to be perfect to pair up with the Italian Wedding Soup.

This is a side note: You can make your own Chicken Stock and you can certainly buy it already made. However you choose to do it the end result may vary in taste but certainly taste great no matter what. Also you can make your own mini meatballs or you can buy them. We have a great Italian import store that makes them perfect for this dish. You can use ground meat using pork, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb or even a combination. It's up to you.

I chose to make my own stock just like my mom. I am also going to make my own meatballs, they are easy to make. This is a straight up recipe from my mom, how we've eaten it always. This is Authentic Baby!

You can decide to make the Brioche before or after the soup. I choose to make it after since I want my soup's flavors to mingle for awhile but not reducing it too much. So let's start off with the recipe for the Brioche....

Peta's Herb and Garlic Brioche

2 cups all-purpose plain flour
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk, warm
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon chopped chives
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon Italian mixed herbs
1 teaspoon freshly crushed garlic

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
2. Slowly mix the warm milk, butter, herbs, garlic and 2 of the eggs into the flour mixture.


3. Knead until the dough is smooth. The dough is ready to rise when it is completely smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size.
5. Transfer the dough from the bowl onto a floured work surface and punch it down a few times.
6. Finely chop the fresh herbs and mix with the garlic.
7. Press the dough out into a rectangle then spread with the chopped herbs.


8. Roll up like a swiss roll and place on a lined baking tray.


9. Cover the pan and allow the dough to rise until it is doubled in size.
10. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 400°F.


11. Remove the dough covering, gently brush the loaf with the remaining beaten egg, bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate 350°F and bake for an additional 25 minutes, until the brioche is golden brown. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then transfer it to a wire cooling rack.


Italian Wedding Soup

Meatballs:
4 Slices White Bread
2/3 cup of Milk
1 Egg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Pounds of Ground Beef or Turkey
1 Medium Onion, finely diced
3 Tablespoons Freshly Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon dried or chopped fresh parsley

Soup:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 2 cups finely diced carrots
• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced
• 4 to 4 1/2 quarts (16 to 18 cups) chicken broth, homemade or purchased
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs
• 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach or fresh chopped kale or spiniach
• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 2/3 cups of Acini di Pepe Pasta (they look like little round pearls) or you can use Ditalini

Directions:


Meatball Prep:

Combine the bread, egg, milk, and salt, stirring till everything is well moistened. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes to soften.

Add the ground meat, onion, cheese, and herbs. Mix gently till thoroughly combined.

Shape 1 inch tiny meatballs. Using a level teaspoon scoop makes about the right size (you can use a cookie scooper if you want to). Place the meatballs on a parchment-lined or lightly greased cookie sheet, and refrigerate them while you prepare the soup.

Soup Prep:
Using a large pot, at least 6-quart capacity. Pour the olive oil into the bottom of the pot, and add the onions and carrots. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, and cook for another couple of minutes.


Add the broth and herbs, bring to a simmer, and cook gently for 10 minutes.

Add the frozen chopped spinach or chopped fresh kale or spiniach, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, total; the soup will take awhile to come back to a simmer, due to the frozen spinach. Help it along by breaking it up with a fork as it cooks.

Gently drop the meatballs into the soup. Simmer the soup for 30 minutes or so, then stir in the pasta, cooking till it's al dente.

Add salt and pepper to taste,

Serve the soup garnished with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese.


Buon Appetito,
Annamaria