Mushroom Calzones- Another Lesson

That's really what these were! Big on flavor and gone in about 10.23 minutes.

But too much moisture from the mushrooms despite a good long saute.

From this recipe, we can learn three things:

1. The smallest imbalance can cause a great dish to be less than spectacular
2. The smallest imbalance will not ruin the flavors in a delicious combination of ingredients
3. One should not give up if a first try isn't as grand as one expects!

My broccoli calzone recipe is seriously addicting. Building on its success, I decided to create a similar stuffed pocket of goodness with mushrooms, another fab veg. I knew the mushrooms would need a good saute to develop flavor and render their large quantity of moisture.

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1 pint crimini mushrooms, chopped coarsely

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1-2 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped

Sauteed in a large pan sprayed with olive oil spray for 12 minutes.

Yes, we drink while we make our pizza.

I've gotten smart and line my baking sheets with foil whenever possible, seriously cutting down on clean-up. Or maybe I'm not so smart since I've been scrubbing my pans after each use for years. . .


Meanwhile I made a batch of whole wheat pizza dough- it was a nice change from the semolina one we're currently favoring.



Rolly rolly- I find a French rolling pin so ideal for pizza dough rolling, I'm not so great at doing it by hand and getting even, thin results.


I paid lots of money for a photographer to come in and document this. . .

. . . Ok, I asked Ray to grab my camera and take a few shots

Always with my kitchen helper looking on.

She doesn't miss anything food related.

After rolling, we stuff with as much mushroom mixture and cheese as we dare

Close carefully so the whole thing doesn't split, and seal the edges.

Don't forget two or three slits in the top- you don't want it to explode!

No dinner is no good.

Bake at 500 degrees Fahrenheit for about 15 minutes and they look like this on the outside. . .

And this on the inside-

My end result was still a bit soggy. Soo delicious with the woodsy flavor of the mushrooms and thyme and that fantabulous TJ's Quattro Formaggio cheese (aka 'the pizza cheese' in my house), but the middle was a bit on the wet side so the dough wasn't as crisp as I like it.

The edges were still crisp though, which leads me to conclude that sauteing the mushrooms for much longer is needed to rid them of the moisture they were still carrying. Am I missing another solution? If you have any feedback that might help let me know! If you tell me something brilliant I may have to try them again sooner rather than later.

We do make a lot of pizza around here. . . maybe I need to rename this blog 'The Pizza Girl'. . .

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