Food52
As a kid, growing up outside of Boston in a household of Sicilians, seemed, at the time, normal. Especially as the first born son, normal was being doted on by my mother and grandmother (no doting from my dad, I knew who not to cross!). Meals at the table were the rule, seven days a week. 5pm sharp on a weeknight, high noon on Sunday. Saturday rules were loose. Family was preached and food was the binder. Slow cooked Sunday "gravy", the ubiquitous tomato sauce loaded with beef and pork and sausage and anything else my grandmother could squeeze into her giant pot, was Sunday standard. What would a Friday night be without fish (Catholic in the 60's and 70's). Christmas Eve seafood feasts, Christmas day ravioli AND manicotti followed by a roast beast. But the lesser made meals that I keep going to are the one's that make me truly feel blessed to have grown up in a family that was loving (in a loud and tempestuous Sicilian way) all tied together by some of the best food ever. This calzone recipe is one of those meals. It's not a calzone in the traditional sense. It's just what my grandmother called it. It probably should be called something else, but the name has stuck through the years. It was typically served during a party or holiday. I would grab 2 or 3 slices and hide it, letting it get to room temperature. It just seemed extra good having sat a bit. Some warm marinara sauce was the perfect accompaniment. It's the recipes such as this one that I make for my grandkids now, using food to teach them the meaning of "La Famiglia". It's also the one that neighbors fawn over at a party, loving that "Eye"-talian food. I've tweaked this recipe from my grandmother's over the years. She always used frozen spinach. Nah, it's just not right (and I bet she didn't have those blocks of frozen spinach when she grew up in Sicily). The amount and type of cheese changes almost every time. But these are my favorites (and not necessarily Italian). I've found adding the Boursin (some mascarpone would work great too) into the spinach helps to bind everything better while also adding a background flavor you'd only know it's there when it's not. You can use sweet or hot Italian sausage. You can use some other sausage. Nothing sacred here. Toss in some artichoke hearts. Make it your own and pass it down.
