2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup red wine
1 tablespoon sugar
28 ounces crushed or diced tomatoes
salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan over low heat and sauté onions and garlic until tender.
2. Stir in basil and wine and allow to simmer until reduced by half.
3. Add tomatoes and continue to simmer until sauce reduces to desired consistency.
4. Stir in sugar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 8 cups

2 medium roma tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper (optional)

1. Arrange alternating slices of tomatoes, mozzarella and basil leaves on a tray.
2. Drizzle liberally with extra virgin olive oil.
3. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Makes 2 servings

1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

2 cups mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup tomato sauce
5 ounces prosciutto or smoked ham, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Add yeast, sugar and ¼ cup water to a small bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Combine flour, salt, oil and the rest of the water and mix with the yeast mixture.
4. Pick up the ball of dough with your hands and knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
5. Divide dough in to 6 equal balls.
6. Roll out the ball into a circle about ¼" thick and add 1/6 of the cheese, 1/6 of the meat and 1/6 of the tomato sauce.
7. Fold the dough over to make a half circle and press the edges together making a firm seal.
8. Repeat until you have 6 calzones.
9. Brush the tops with olive oil and bake on a non-stick baking sheet until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Makes 6 calzones

Tonight's dinner is in part thanks to Slice: America’s Favorite Pizza Weblog and in part because I did not want to fathom eating another cilantro inspired meal for the third day in a row. We started with a simple Caprese Salad. With only 4 ingredients you better make sure you're using fresh, high quality ones. It's still a little early for the tomatoes to be anywhere near their peak, but this was still good. Eating large slabs of mozzarella in extra virgin olive oil is a simple pleasure that doesn't come with the same drawbacks as, say, a blooming onion.

I had decided on calzones for dinner tonight, so obviously I had to make up some dish Italian Tomato Sauce. Normally I like to put roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes or both into my tomato sauce, but this time I used red onions and red wine. The flavor was very rich and pronounced and I don't regret the decision one bit. It was another great use for the bunch of fresh basil I purchased, too.

So, Calzones. I can honestly say that the calzones rendered in my kitchen tonight were by the far the best calzones I've ever eaten. The dough was perfectly crisp and flaky, the meat was perfectly spicy and the cheese was perfectly melted. This was my first time ever making calzones and I was amazed at how easy it was. Not only easy, but fast. Just like the biscuits the dough was ready to go almost immediately after mixing and 15 minutes later I had dinner; and what a dinner it was! This was a simple 2 dish dinner, but it's definitely getting a vote into the all-time favorites list from both Shannon and I.

Buon Appetito!