Stromboli aren’t something that I make very often, but I should make them more. Like calzone, they are pretty versatile and you can make them with a slew of fillings. They can be eaten warm or at room temperature and I personally think that they are a great alternative to a sandwich on a picnic. I made these with a sourdough (had to feed Alice!) but you can make it with a yeast pizza dough or even a store bought dough.
Switching gears for a minute, it’s almost St. Patrick’s Day and I actually meant to make these last year, but something — I don’t even know what to be honest — got in the way, so I remembered to make them this year. They are really yummy. Irish cheddar was on sale at Whole Foods this week and it’s nicely aged and sharp. The crackers have a high butter and cheese ratio, so definitely flavorful crackers. Would go nicely with a pint for sure! The sesame and poppy seeds are optional, but they give the crackers a bit more character.
I love spinach. Like on the level of Popeye. There is a good chance that I eat something with spinach in it at least 3x per week. And creamy spinach combined with pasta and cheese is likely one of my absolute favorites: so here we have Baked Spinach Cheesy Shells. Sort of like a vegetarian lasagna, filled with 3 types of cheese and spinach galore, it is delicious. Total comfort food on a cold January day. You could add some sauteed mushrooms to up the protein level too.
First Sourdough of the year: Asiago + Rosemary Artisan Italian Loaf. Really nice crust on this one, great flavor, though I could see that one has to be careful with salt — the cheese is pretty salty. Great dipping bread with olive oil and garlic and would go great with some antipasti. Definitely one to repeat.
Completely out of character for my baking and cooking style, but staying on the Halloween and ghoulish eyeball theme, here we have some absolutely delicious Spicy Hot Honey Almond Buckeyes, all decked out for the holiday. Despite being technicolor and ghoulish, they taste really cool — kicked up almond butter with cayenne and honey. And besides, freaking the kids out by biting into an eyeball has to be fun, no?