Category: Cooking

A few weeks ago, my sister and I started formulating an idea. My Mom had wanted to take her Granddaughters out for tea before they went back to school (my kids would just be tag-alongs as they’re obviously not school-aged yet). But since our girls are so young, we figured it would be more fun to have it at home, so I offered to host it at our house! I called my Aunt, cousin and Grandmother and invited them to come along, too. Our cousin is taking classes to get her Master’s so she was unable to come, but the rest of us had a blast!

I started planning 2 days before. I ended up grocery shopping at midnight Wednesday night, but boy am I glad I did! Taking the girls is hard and I was able to meander and actually concentrate on what I was getting. All day Thursday I baked and cleaned and Friday morning we were ready for our guests!

While we waited for everyone to show up, I tried to get pictures of my girls because they were wearing dresses I made. Sofie’s I actually made for her first Easter, and even though she was swimming in it, she pulled it off! 15 months later, it’s STILL big on her! Poor skinny thing. It’s a Laura Ashley McCall’s pattern and I changed almost nothing. Added the contrast, omitted the bows, and made the straps adjustable. Chloe’s dress is Made by Rae’s Itty Bitty Baby dress. I cut it out the size she provides, but used a 1/4″ seam allowance, and it fits my nearly 4 month old baby just fine! I also made her shoes!

I like occasions when I get to use my dining room! I used my vintage 1930s china for the big day. It belonged to my Great Grandparents. In fact, so did the furniture!!

I know traditionally the host would serve warm tea. But it was 98 degrees outside with about 1000% humidity, so I opted for iced tea! We had Strawberry Punch, Orange Lemonade, and Almond Tea.

To eat we had Brownie Biscotti, Pecan Tarts (that are to DIE for—and I don’t much care for pecans!),

peanut butter and strawberry jelly, chicken salad, and cucumber salad sandwiches,

this sensational Spinach and Strawberry Salad that The Hubs and I LOVE,

and finally Key Lime Cookies (I omitted the powdered sugar, and added 6 ozs of white chocolate chips), along with key lime cupcakes my Aunt found at Target.

We sat down to a delicious lunch at noon. My nieces were thrilled they got to drink water out of “fancy glasses” and eat dessert with their lunch!

The rest of the day the little girls played and the grown girls chatted. Before Meredith left she wanted to get a few shots of her girls together. But Sofie wanted to be included so we decided on cousin pictures instead. Have you ever tried to take a picture of 5 kids under the age of 7? In miserable heat? At the end of the day? With 2 separate cameras?

I just hope my sister has something cute!

Thanks for coming, everyone! We’re looking forward to doing it again next year!

…or maybe not because I just realized Sofie will start preschool next Fall! GULP!

I had several requests for my calzone recipe so I added it to my last post. But then I wondered if anyone actually went back and read it, so I’m posting it again—with pictures!

This is what I use for the dough. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazing-Whole-Wheat-Pizza-Crust/Detail.aspx

I make a few changes to it, though. I only use wheat flour. I don’t even know how much because I don’t measure. I just dump flour in a little at a time until it reaches the right consistency. I also add garlic powder and Italian seasonings to my dough. No measurements, I just eyeball it.

Once it’s raised and ready to go, I roll it out on the counter as big as I can get it. I don’t use cutting boards or cookie sheets, I roll it directly on a clean counter. You then want to cut your dough into pieces. How many you cut and how you do it is completely dependent on your personal preference. I generally make about 6 calzones from this recipe. When you cut them you want a rectangular shape. I usually do about twice as long as they are wide.

As for what you put in it–that’s totally a personal preference. My Mom used to make them specific for each of us. I generally make all of ours the same. I use pepperoni, ham, and mozzarella cheese. At times I use up whatever veggies we have in the fridge and usually always add onion and bell pepper. But you can put olives, mushrooms, basically whatever you like to eat on your pizza. Pile all your toppings on each other at one end of the dough piece.

These have bell pepper, ham, onion, and pepperoni.

I pile on the cheese last, but the amount you use is a personal preference. This is a handful per calzone.

Take the far end and stretch it over your toppings.

Then take the front end and fold it up, folding up the sides to seal it all in the dough.

Transfer the calzones to a greased cookie sheet, or one lined with parchment paper if you’re lazy like me, and bake according to the dough instructions (generally 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes) or until they’re golden brown.

While they’re baking, make the sauce. You can use regular jarred marinara if you want, but I never buy pre-made sauce. It’s much cheaper to make it yourself and takes just a second to make. In a sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, garlic, Italian seasonings (either the pre-mixed Italian seasonings or your own mix. I use oregano, basil, thyme, and sage.), a dash of sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. I’m not a huge fan of the red pepper and it’s too hot for Sofie, so I add it separately to The Hubs calzones.  Then just pour it over the top of calzone when it comes out of the oven and enjoy!

It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to construct your calzones, so it’s a fairly quick and easy meal. I also think it’s a good one for kids to participate in making. As my girls get older I’ll let them build their own before we bake them. To keep them identifiable as they go in the oven, add something special to the top of each person’s. My Dad always had a jalapeno pepper sitting on the top of his. You could also mark the dough with their initial or other shape. Have fun experimenting with your own creations!

Growing up, my Mom cooked dinner every night. My role in dinner preparation was chopping, table setting, and dish duty. But somewhere along the way I must have paid attention to the actual cooking part. I found in college that cooking came easily to me, and I frequently fed a table full of friends. My sister caught the bug, too, and recipes shared among the three of us often consist entirely of a list of ingredients and vague instructions.

One of my favorite things I learned to make from my Mom is calzone. I used to cherish calzone night. I had my own tiny pizza filled with my favorite toppings. This whole heap of cheesy goodness to myself with no chance of hungry teenage brothers stealing the last piece before I could get to it. I coveted my calzones and as an adult, make them far too frequently! I learned the easy way to make them from my Mom and stocked up on ready-made pizza crust from the refrigerated section at the grocery store.

But Sofie’s strong desire to help me in the kitchen has led to more creative meals. Every night as I start getting out ingredients to prepare our meal, she runs to pull out her step stool from beside the fridge. I LOVE when she helps me. 2 year olds are surprisingly helpful in the kitchen. She moves chopped items to the proper cooking vessel, measures out dry ingredients, and is an excellent stirrer. I think it’s wonderful that she’s interested and do everything I can to keep her involved. I don’t know if it’s her sheer curiosity, or if she shares a love of cooking with her namesake–her Great-Grandmother Sofia–but she keeps coming back for more!

Tonight she helped me make calzone’s from scratch. We’ve perfected a homemade whole wheat crust that’s to die for!

And since it makes enough crust for 2 large pizza’s, I can make enough calzones to fill the pizza-void in my belly for another week. Looking at these makes my mouth water–and I’ve got more in the fridge for tomorrow!

Hungry yet? You should be!

**Okay ladies, here’s the recipe!

This is what I use for the dough. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amazing-Whole-Wheat-Pizza-Crust/Detail.aspx

I make a few changes to it, though. I only use wheat flour. I don’t even know how much because I don’t measure. I just dump flour in a little at a time until it reaches the right consistency. I also add garlic powder and Italian seasonings to my dough. No measurements, I just eyeball it.

Once it’s raised and ready to go, I roll it out on the counter as big as I can get it. I don’t use cutting boards or cookie sheets, I roll it directly on a clean counter. You then want to cut your dough into pieces. How many you cut and how you do it is completely dependent on your personal preference. I generally make about 6 calzones from this recipe. When you cut them you want a rectangular shape. I usually do about twice as long as they are wide.

As for what you put in it–that’s totally a personal preference. My Mom used to make them specific for each of us. I generally make all of ours the same. I use pepperoni, ham, and mozzarella cheese. At times I use up whatever veggies we have in the fridge and usually always add onion and bell pepper. But you can put olives, mushrooms, basically whatever you like to eat on your pizza. Pile all your toppings on each other at one end of the dough piece. Then take the other end and fold it over your toppings, folding up the edges to seal it all in the dough. Transfer the calzones to a greased cookie sheet and bake according to the dough instructions (generally 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes) or until they’re golden brown.

While they’re baking, make the sauce. You can use regular jarred marinara if you want, but I never buy pre-made sauce. It’s much cheaper to make it yourself and takes just a second to make. In a sauce pan, combine tomato sauce, garlic, Italian seasonings (either the pre-mixed Italian seasonings or your own mix. I use oregano, basil, thyme, and sage.), a dash of sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. I’m not a huge fan of the red pepper and it’s too hot for Sofie, so I add it separately to The Hubs calzones.  Then just pour it over the top of calzone when it comes out of the oven and enjoy!

It takes maybe 15-20 minutes to construct your calzones, so it’s a fairly quick and easy meal. I also think it’s a good one for kids to participate in making. As my girls get older I’ll let them build their own before we bake them. To keep them identifiable as they go in the oven, add something special to the top of each person’s. My Dad always had a jalapeno pepper sitting on the top of his. You could also mark the dough with their initial or other shape. Have fun experimenting with your own creations!