All the recipes I post to this blog have been changed from the original. Some recipes get minor changes and others get more substantial changes. This particular recipe falls somewhere in the middle of that scale.

It started off as a tart. I made it for Andrew one weekend, and we enjoyed it. However, the consistency of the filling was not conducive to eating as a tart. Something needed to change.

At that point, there were two suggestions: add a binder to the filling or enclose the filling in the dough. For the second attempt at the recipe, we chose to completely enclose the filling in the dough, essentially turning it into a calzone. That seemed a better option than possibly changing the flavor profile by adding binding ingredients to the filling. The results?! Same delicious taste but way easier to eat it this way than in the original recipe!

Beef, Mushroom, & Blue Cheese Calzone

Beef, Mushroom, & Blue Cheese Calzone (adapted from bhg.com) Total Time Required: 30 minutes, Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces lean ground beef
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• medium red onion, cut into rainbows
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pound pizza or bread dough
• 3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• flour and cornmeal for dusting the pastry board and pizza peel
• olive oil to brush the crust

Directions:

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. In a 12-inch skillet cook the beef, mushrooms, and onion over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the beef is browned and the onion is tender, stirring occasionally.

Cook the beef with the mushrooms and onion.

Drain off the fat. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Set the filling aside.

Drain off the fat and add the seasonings.

On a floured pastry board, roll out the pizza dough to a 14″ circle.

Roll out the pizza dough.

Transfer the rolled out dough to a cornmeal covered pizza peel. Leaving a 1-inch border, spread the filling onto half of the dough. Top the filling with the crumbled blue cheese.

Add the filling to the dough and top it with the blue cheese.

Fold the dough over the filling, pinching the edges together to seal the calzone.

Fold the dough over the filling and seal the edges.

Brush some olive oil over the top of the calzone.

Coat the top and edges of the calzone with some olive oil.

Bake the calzone for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden. Remove the calzone from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes.

Allow the calzone to rest for a few minutes.

Slice and serve.

Slice & serve!

The form change was the perfect solution!  ~Linda

Beef, Mushroom, & Blue Cheese Calzone (adapted from bhg.com) Total Time Required: 30 minutes, Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces lean ground beef
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• medium red onion, cut into rainbows
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 pound pizza or bread dough
• 3 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
• flour and cornmeal for dusting the pastry board and pizza peel
• olive oil to brush the crust

Directions:

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F. In a 12-inch skillet cook the beef, mushrooms, and onion over medium heat for about 8 minutes or until the beef is browned and the onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Drain off the fat. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, and basil. Set the filling aside.

On a floured pastry board, roll out the pizza dough to a 14″ circle. Transfer the rolled out dough to a cornmeal covered pizza peel. Leaving a 1-inch border, spread the filling onto half of the dough. Top the filling with the crumbled blue cheese. Fold the dough over the filling, pinching the edges together to seal the calzone. Brush some olive oil over the top of the calzone. Bake the calzone for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden. Remove the calzone from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.