# My first calzone **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 19, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190 "2012-03-19T02:43:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/1 "2012-03-19T02:43:56Z")
No, not the first I’ve _eaten!_ The first I’ve made. Now I don’t want to get into an argument over sauce vs. no-sauce. I like sauce. So I got a $1.29 bag of Trader Joe’s pizza dough out of the fridge. After resting it for a while I divided it in two. Ready for two calzones. I had some Ragu spaghetti sauce (which is weird, as I prefer Prego) after having used the pizza sauce on Friday. I put some of that onto each of the dough discs, followed by pepperoni, salami, ricotta cheese, and shredded mozzarella. Fold, seal, bake. SO pronounced it very good. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/2 "2012-03-19T03:19:48Z")
Lots of variance in what a calzone is. In the NYC - Philly corridor it was usually a lot of dough, a little cheese and maybe some meat. In the Philly area several places called a version with sauce and more fillings a Stromboli. Around here I run into these awful things where sauce, cheese, and meat are laid on a thin layer of dough, and then the thing is rolled or folded up and baked way too long. Yours sound good, pretty much the way I make them, although I usually use my own dough, and if I use sauce, and I don’t make my own, I use some small brands that I’ve found better than the big name ones. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/3 "2012-03-19T03:28:54Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > although I usually use my own dough My dough is better, but it’s not worth the time when TJ’s is $1.29. ---
**Author:** ![jacobwilson8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jacobwilson8/32/7299_2.png) [@jacobwilson8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacobwilson8)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/4 "2012-03-19T13:38:05Z")
I love calzone. I can’t miss one, especially if I am in Italy. The one they sell at lunch counters roadside are irresistible. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/5 "2012-03-25T16:32:17Z")
Breakfast today was the leftover half of my second attempt. This time I mixed parmesan, egg, and nutmeg with the ricotta. Other fillings were pepperoni, salami, provolone, meatballs, and the leftover sauce from last time. So I was at Trader Joe’s the other day. They had chicken-and parmesan meatballs in the not-frozen section. ‘That sounds good!’ says I. I grabbed a package. Only when I went to make the calzone last night, I found that I’d grabbed ‘buffalo’ meatballs with blue cheese. That ain’t gonna work. So I opened a bag of Ikea Swedish meatballs that was in the freezer, and cooked them in the sauce. The meatballs overpowered the pepperoni and salami. I’ve _got_ to just make my own meatballs – but I haven’t had the time. I should probably make three pounds (2/3 beef-to-pork) of meatballs and freeze them so I can grab them when I need them. Also, use more pepperoni and fewer meatballs. Despite the meatball fiasco, the results were good. I’m really liking the inexpensive pre-made dough. It’s so much more convenient than making my own! I think next time I may quarter it instead of halving it, and make four smaller calzones perhaps with different fillings. That way one of mine can have anchovies in it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/6 "2012-03-25T19:02:19Z")
> [@](#): > > In the Philly area several places called a version with sauce and more fillings a Stromboli. Not quite the same thing. A calzone is sealed all the way around, while a stromboli is rolled into a tube and open at the ends. Stromboli are also usually larger than calzones, though I’m not sure if that’s definitive: A stromboli is usually the size of a full pizza, while calzones are usually sized for individual servings. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/7 "2012-03-25T20:45:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Not quite the same thing. A calzone is sealed all the way around, while a stromboli is rolled into a tube and open at the ends. Stromboli are also usually larger than calzones, though I’m not sure if that’s definitive: A stromboli is usually the size of a full pizza, while calzones are usually sized for individual servings. Well as **TriPolar** was saying, in the Philly area if you add sauce and more fillings and seal it up just like a calzone they call it a Stromboli. I’ve seen rolled up stromboli too but in Eastern PA you’re likely to get something that’s externally indistinguishable from a calzone. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/8 "2012-03-25T21:40:01Z")
All of the stromboli I saw in the Philly area were as I described, and I think that’s the only place I’ve seen them. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2012, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-calzone/616190/9 "2012-03-25T22:51:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > All of the stromboli I saw in the Philly area were as I described, and I think that’s the only place I’ve seen them. I’ve seen the version you describe also.