Cooking Weblog

Tender slices of rotisserie beef with red and green peppers , onions, garlic, mushrooms and melting cheese all wrapped in a light and flaky puff pastry dough. Normally a calzone is made with pizza dough but I though I’d try it with puff pastry. And dipped in a delicious marinara sauce, you’ve got one outstanding Italian style sandwich.

Italian Style Cheese Steak Calzone

Ingredients: Cheese Steak Calzone

3 1/2 lbs. beef tri tip or top round

3/4 green pepper ( sliced )

1/2 red pepper ( sliced )

1 onion ( sliced )

4 cloves garlic ( minced )

3 oz. crimini or button mushrooms

1 lb. monterey jack cheese or provolone or mozzarella

1 1lb. box puff pastry ( 2 sheets of pastry )

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 teas. salt

1 teas. pepper

3/4 teas. garlic powder

1 1/4 teas. onion powder

1 teas. dry oregano

2 tbsp. olive oil

Method: Cheese Steak Calzone

Add the salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder and onion powder to a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle mixture on all sides of the beef. Insert beef on rotisserie spit and place in rotisserie and cook at 375 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees. You can also place the beef in a roasting pan on a rack and roast for the same amount of time. Remove your beef to a plate and cover. Let it rest for about 30 minutes, this will increase the temperature of the beef to about 150 to 155 degrees internal temperature. This is called carryover cooking and will ensure that the meat is tender and juicy. While the meat is cooking you can use some of this time to slice your vegetables and slice the cheese. You can also pull out the frozen puff pastry dough right after the beef comes out of the oven, it takes about 40 minutes to thaw. After your beef has rested for 30 minutes, remove to your cutting board and slice into thin strips going against the grain of the meat. You will want your strips to be about 1 inch wide and 1 1/2 to 2 inches long and no thicker than about 1/8th of an inch, the thinner the better. For best results, cook and refrigerate the beef a day in advance before slicing. Your beef will be even more tender because the meat will have more time to redistribute the juices back into the meat.

After the meat has been sliced, add the olive oil to a large skillet that has been preheated to medium high heat. Add your sliced green and red peppers, onion, garlic and mushrooms and saute for about 5 to 8 minutes or until slightly seared. Then add the sliced beef and saute for another 5 to 8 minutes or until the beef has warmed through. Turn heat off and cover to cool.

While the mixture is cooling, roll out one piece of the puff pastry on a floured surface, basically to the same size it comes in which is about 9×9. Place 4 ounces of sliced cheese on the bottom half of the pastry leaving about 3/4 of an inch around the sides to pinch shut later. Add half of the cooled beef mixture on top of the cheese and then cover the mixture with another 4 ounces of cheese. Fold the top over to cover the filling and press down on the edges to seal it shut. Repeat this procedure for the second calzone. Place your calzones on a non-stick ungreased cookie sheet. Beat egg and milk in a small bowl to make an egg wash and brush over the top of your calzones and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes then slice into pieces. For a more awesome flavor, dip into marinara sauce and enjoy your creation, they’re fabulous!

I know this probably sounds like a lot of work but the results will be well worth your trouble. I could eat these all day!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will give this a try and until next time, as always… HAPPY COOKING!

David

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