Grilled Pepper, Onion, and Sausage Calzones

I am beginning to think that calzones are quickly become my new favorite food. They are warm, compact, pockets of meat, cheese, and vegetables. Making calzones frequently gives me the opportunity to practice my least favorite thing to do, rolling out dough. This time it wasn't too bad,the pizza dough didn't break apart and I rolled the dough to the correct size.

This dinner was a two person effort. I started to make the dough as soon as I got back from another unsuccessful day of house hunting. The husband was put in charge of the grilling. I refuse to say that there are men's jobs and women's jobs, but I always have him do the grill. I don't like to be near the open flame and he seems to like it. Though, I think in this case, he would have relished the chance to relax on the couch.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I made the dough for the calzones. Normally, I would just buy the pre-made store dough. However, in the interest of being slightly more economical and having more control over what goes in the dough, I wanted to try it myself. I was quite pleased with the result and think that it tasted better than the store bought kind. I also finally used the dough attachment for my stand mixer. It only took six years for me to use it.

All recipes listed are from Cooking Light Magazine

Pizza Dough
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (100-110F)
1 1/4 cup cold water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
cooking spray

1. Dissolve yeast in 1 cup warm water in a small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Combine with 1 1/4 cups cold water, oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
2. Combine flour (5 1/4 cup), yeast mixture, and cold water mixture in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low 8 minutes or until dough begins to form. Let rest 2 minutes; mix on low 6 minutes or until dough is smooth. Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 2 minutes); add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time to prevent dough from sticking to hands.
   
3. Divide the dough in half and place each portion in a large zip-top bag coated with cooking spray. Seal and chill overnight or up to 2 days. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour before using.
   

Yield: 2 pizza crusts, 14 servings. Can also use half the dough to make four calzones.
The dough can be freezed in heavy-duty, freezer safe zip -top bags for up to 2 months. Thaw dough overnight in the refrigerator.

Pizza Sauce
This was so easy to make and is quite tasty.
7 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (14.5 oz) can petite-cut diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6 oz.) can tomato paste

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.

Yield: 2 1/2 cups.

Calzones
1 portion of pizza dough
1 Vidalia onion, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
1 red pepper, quartered
1 yellow pepper, quartered
1 pound hot Italian turkey sausage links
1 1/4 cups pizza sauce
1 1/3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Let pizza dough stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
   
3. Coat onion slices and pepper slices with cooking spray. Place vegetables and sausages on grill rack. Grill veggies 4 minutes on each side or until browned; grill sausages 8 minutes or until done, turning occasionally to brown on all sides. Remove veggies and sausage from grill; cool slightly. Cut onion slices in half; cut peppers into 1/2 inch strips. Cut sausages diagonally into thin slices.
   
4. Pre-heat oven to 5o0F.
   
5. Place dough on a lightly floured surface; divide dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 9x5 inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup evenly over each rectangle, leaving 1/4 inch border. Arrange sausage evenly over half of each rectangle; top evenly with onion and peppers. Sprinkle each calzone with 1/3 cup cheese. Fold other half of dough over filling; press edges together with a fork to seal.
   
6. Place calzones on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Coat calzone with cooking spray. Bake at 500F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut each calzone in half.

Yield: 8 servings