I laughed I cried, I ate a calzone...

Have you ever sat down and said to yourself.."i need a pizza, but i need it ensconced in crust..."?

i do this quite often, quite often indeed. The birth of the calzone can be traced back to Italy, where its close brother, Stromboli, was also conceived.

What is a calzone? Are you serious? Well, when I used to have to describe them to people I would just say, "you ever have a hot pocket? well they are like that but delicious; crust surrounds hot and gooey toppings of your choice - a pocket of love".

Now that we have that covered, where can you get a good calzone?

Well that search is a wild one my friend, there are several people that make a "calzone" but there are many of them that make an interpretation of the calzone. Take the Pie Pizzeria in SLC for instance, they have a calzone like substance, a Zappi, but it is not really a calzone, it is more of a pizza turnover.

My favorite calzone is from.. well its from my own kitchen, the dough I make is devine, and I can always over stuff it if I'm feeling gluttonous, or do it right if I'm feeling patient. But a few other note-worthy joints for a calzone are as follows (because I doubt I will have you all over to my house for calzones anytime soon):

Big Apple Pizza - 801.485.4534
Este's Pizza - 801.485.3699
Little Italy - 801.255.0363
Now, it should be noted that my mother-in-law likes to remind me that a calzone is actually traditionally very large and long, the size of a pant leg - which if I remember correctly is what she says "calzone" means in Italian.

A little how to make a calzone** which I found at, ALL RECIPES - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Calzone/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon dry milk powder
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup pizza sauce
4 ounces pepperoni sausage, chopped
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons butter, melted

DIRECTIONS
Place water, salt, bread flour, dry milk, sugar, and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select Dough cycle.
After cycle ends, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface; shape into a 16 x 10 inch rectangle. Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet. In a small bowl, mix together chopped pepperoni and mozzarella. Spoon pizza sauce in a stripe down the center of dough lengthwise; add sausage and cheese filling. Make diagonal cuts 1 1/2 inches apart down each side, cutting within a 1/2 inch of the filling. Criss cross strips over filling, sealing with water. Brush top with melted butter.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 to 45 minutes.




** I like my style a little better, I will just have to post it at a later time I suppose...