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Calzzaboli

This is a calzone-type of stromboli, hence the name. Feel free to create regular stromboli if you don’t like ricotta.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Calzzaboli filling

Regular ricotta cheese

Tomato sauce

Basil

Parsley

Garlic powder

Filling instructions

Combine ingredients and mix until semi-liquid consistency. There aren’t measurements listed because it’s all preference on how much you want of each ingredient -- just make sure that it’s enough to cover your dough regardless of the values used. Make extra if you’re not sure.

Dough

1 pkg. rapid rise yeast

3 1/2 cups of flour

1 1/3 cups of warm water

1 TBSP salt

1 TBSP sugar

2 TBSP olive oil

Dough instructions

Combine most of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the flour last once the yeast has dissolved. Use a bread hook if applicable to initially mix the dough; otherwise, simply do it by hand with flour. Once the dough maintains a structure, begin to kneed it until it’s mixed thoroughly.

Place dough in a plastic bag or plastic wrap and let it rise for 1 1/2 hours.

Toppings

Fresh mozzarella, sliced

Shredded parmesan

Shredded cheddar

Pepperoni

Fresh herbs of your choosing (parsley, cilantro, etc.)

Egg wash. You can buy premade egg whites or egg mixtures in a carton if you don’t want to do them yourself.

How-to: Egg Whites

Simply crack an egg in half and take turns dropping the yolk from one half of the eggshell to the other. The goal is to separate the yolk from the rest of the egg, which is the egg white. You will throw away the egg yolk (the yellow part) and keep the remaining clear gel to brush onto your pastry later.

Preparation

Take your dough and roll it into a rectangle shape. This dough is very stretchy and is easy to mend if you rip it, so don’t be afraid to roll it until you get the desired shape.

Once the dough is ready, you’re going to slice 1″ diagonal downward cuts on each side, leaving the inner rectangle of the dough uncut. You want the top and bottom flap to be a wide triangle shape rather than a small slit.

Using a spoon, deposit the cheese filling into the rectangle. Try to avoid the slits as much as possible, since these need to be empty in order to braid the pastry later.

Add whichever toppings you’d like, the placement is irrelevant so long as the slits are untouched.

Once your calzzaboli is ready to be braided, start by taking the top and bottom flaps and folding them. You may then take each side’s slit and fold in a downward motion, from one side to the other.

With every slit you fold, you’re going to brush your egg wash all over it in order to both coat the pastry as well as seal the slits to each other. When baking, this will cause the dough to become flaky and stay together.

This process may take up to 5 minutes, but once you’re done make sure that there’s egg brushed on that entire side of the pastry. If you don’t want your dough to become crispy and airy, don’t use this much egg.

Sprinkle oregano or any other herb seasonings you desire, and bake your calzzaboli for 35 to 45 minutes depending on your oven. It will look golden brown and heavenly when finished!

How-to: Eat

Slice the calzzaboli in about 1 to 1 1/2 inch-wide strips horizontally. You’ll yield a generous amount, enough for a small dinner or upcoming lunches the following days.

Remember that this will have not only cheese, but ricotta cheese as well. It’ll be very rich and very filling -- you won’t need to eat more than one or two slices at a time!

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Rugelach (holiday cookie)

Dough

2 sticks of butter

6 oz of cream cheese

2 1/4 cups of flour

Filling

Raspberry or Apricot pastry filling (found in the baking section)

Toppings

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

Mini chocolate chips (normal sized chips are too big for this!)

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon together until they’re blended well.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, blend the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the flour all at once -- remember to stop the mixer for this part if you’re using one!

Once your dough’s mixed well, divide it into 3 pieces. Work with one section at a time.

Roll your dough out gently into a circle. If you can’t achieve a perfect circle, simply cut out the excess dough.

Slice your dough as if it were a big pizza pie. Start with an X and go from there. Each slice should be no more than an inch 1/2 wide.

Take your fruit filling and spread carefully on the entire pie. Leave the outer edges (the “crust”) empty. Sprinkle your sugar mixture and mini chocolate chips all around the dough.

At this point, take each individual slice and roll it up from the fat end to the thinnest. Tap it to make sure that it’s secured firmly -- you don’t want your cookie coming undone while it bakes!

When you’re done with all your cookies, place them on a sprayed pan and bake them for about 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them to ensure they don’t leak chocolate and accidentally burn. Take them out once they’re golden brown.

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Pastitsa

Ingredients

2 lb ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves minced garlic

2 cans (8oz, 16 oz total) tomato sauce

4 TBSP parsley

1 TBSP oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 lb penne pasta

1 qt Half&half (or light cream)

6 eggs, beaten

6 TBSP butter

6 TBSP flour

1 cup shredded parmesean cheese

1 TSP Salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown the ground beef in a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic. Brown until fully cooked and no longer pink. Stir in the tomato sauce, parsley, oregano, salt and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down and simmer for 10 minutes.

In the meantime, cook the penne pasta in boiling water for 15 minutes.

For the cream sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir continuously to create a roux. Pour in the Half & Half cream and heat.

Next take a 1/2 cup of the heated Half & Half mixture from your saucepan. Combine this with the beaten eggs, then slowly pour them back into your saucepan to conjoin with the remaining cream. Be careful when doing this; if you’re quick and not cautious, the eggs will cook instead of remaining liquid.

Add the shredded cheese to the saucepan, and add salt & pepper to taste while stirring constantly to keep everything smooth.

Once the mixture thickens, remove from heat.

Preparation

Spray a 9x13 pan with oil. Take 1/2 cup of cream sauce and mix it with the cooked pasta. Create a layer of pasta and then add meat sauce. Create another layer of pasta and pour the remaining cream sauce on top for final layer. Bake for 25 minutes. When done, let cool and set for 30-60 minutes.

Note: if the pan isn’t tall enough to prevent the mixture from overflowing, line with extra-wide foil.

How-to Collar Foil:

Take a couple sheets of foil long enough to fit around the pan. Fold the sheets in thirds lengthwise and spray with oil. Do this after you place down your first layer of pasta. The collar will give you a few more inches of height to the pan.

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Pierogies

This recipe is split into two parts: the dough and the filling. Pierogies are an interesting meal, as they can be suitable for breakfast, dinner or even dessert, depending on how you prepare them!

Before you begin, be sure to have extra dough, a rolling pin, a large circle cookie cutter or a can/glass, and some type of pastry brush to ease the process.

Dough

2 cups flour

2 large eggs, beaten

1/2 TSP salt

1/3 cups warm water

Dough instructions:

In a large mixing bowl combine eggs, salt and water. When mixed, add flour. Knead the dough until blended and elastic. Cover the dough and let it set for 30 minutes.

Filling

2 large or 3 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cooked thoroughly

1 onion, chopped

1/2 stick of warm butter

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Note: you may add whatever cheese -- or filling in general -- that you prefer. Filling ideas will be at the end of post.

Filling instructions:

Firstly, saute the onion until they’re caramelized. Once the onions are cooked, place the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mash the potatoes and ingredients until they’re mixed evenly; the temperature of the mixture should cause the cheese to melt and blend well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Putting it all Together

When ready to begin, divide the dough in half and work with each section at a time on a floured surface.

Take a floured rolling pin and gradually work on the dough, flipping it on a new side each time you’ve reached the end of it. You want the dough to be as thin as possible without tearing it, however if you cannot do so then proceed to the next step.

Take a small circle-shaped cookie cutter (or the edge of a can or glass) and begin to cut out the dough. Keep the rolling pin nearby.

When you’ve cut all the circles out of your dough, put the remaining dough aside.

Re-flour your work surface and work with about 3 to 5 circles at a time. Grab your rolling pin and gently spread apart the circles; they should double in size.

Take your pastry brush and egg whites, and brush them around the edges of each circle. This will dry quickly, so remember to only work with several circles.

Take a TSP of filling and place it in the middle of the circle. It should look something like the picture below, but don’t be discouraged of placing it wherever it is most efficient for you. It’ll all taste the same in the end!

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Gently fold your circle in half and carefully seal the sides of the dumpling with your fingers. If filling seeps out, try to mend it shut as best as possible -- we do not want our pierogies to leak while cooking. Repeat this process with each dumpling.

Place each dumpling on an oiled cookie sheet or floured surface so that they don’t stick while you’re kitchen is getting hot.

When you’ve finished them up, your water will be well-past boiling. Begin to put your dumplings into the water; they should all cook within one or two batches.

Your dumplings will take roughly 2 minutes to cook. When they’re done, they’ll float to the top. It’s alright to keep them in a little longer if you’re unsure. They’re hard to ruin at this stage.

Once your pierogies are done cooking, dump them all into a strainer and then heat up a frying pan with oil and butter on a medium-high setting.

Note: if you DON’T want to eat your pierogies right now, you may either bag them and freeze them at this stage, or simply do this after they’re fried. Whichever you prefer - they’ll taste the same regardless.

Once your pan is hot, put some pierogies on it. Feel free to squish them around to fit as many as possible at one time. If you’re in a rush, cover the pan with a lid to speed up the cooking process.

Within a few minutes your pierogies will become golden brown. Add more butter when they’re done. Serve with sour cream.

Alternative filling ideas:

Cabbage and sauerkraut

Bacon, pepperoni and mozzarella

Strawberry puree (with whipped cream and powdered sugar topping)