Calzones

There's something to be said about calzones. I just wish I knew what it was. The only thing I know for sure is that if you like pizza, you are gonna like calzones. They are pretty much one and the same. In many cases, you will find all the usual suspects of ingredients on top of a pizza wrapped up in the cozy confines of a calzone.

Now, there are a few differences between the pizza and calzone. Besides the most obvious fact that the calzone looks like a great big empanada, the differences are very slight and seem to vary depending on who you ask.

One of the first things I noticed was that there seems to be a small debate about the dough. Some sites simply said to use pizza dough. Others gave a different, denser dough recipe for calzones. Personally, I was a tad skeptical using a light pizza dough recipe. I wanted to be able to pick it up and not worry about the filling tearing through it. I searched a few recipes and this is the one I went with. Yes, it's Jamie Oliver. Yes, I'm using a calzone dough recipe from someone that is NOT Italian. Know why? Because I got a serious bone to pick with Italians and their cooking.

I'm not gonna get into this completely, mainly because I'll be talking shit about one specific asshole Italian chef next post. I'll say this though. too many Italians think they got the lock on pasta. Sorry, the Chinese got ya beat. I'll take some hand-pulled noodles anytime, any day.

To keep myself from going on a rant about Italian arrogance in the kitchen, I'm gonna get back to the food at hand. That big ass calzone up top was fucking awesome! But it took a team effort! My mom and I decided that we would both have to get our hands dirty for this one.

If you have ever made pizzas at home, you know the ingredient list can quickly start to build up. This was not going to be an exception.

I made the dough ahead of time and portioned it out. While the dough was resting in the fridge, I made a batch of ricotta and let that strain. By the time the cheese was ready, it was go time.

Here we have basil, ground beef, Italian sausage and jar pasta sauce. I know, probably should have made the sauce too. But....fuck it, it was on sale.

Next, we have the cheeses. Parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta.

The only things not shown were the roasted garlic paste I made the day before and pepperoni. I didn't make the roasted garlic paste for this dish. I just made it for the house to be used for everyday cooking.

It broke down to me rolling out the dough and my mom putting them together. I don't have pictures of that because I was busy!!!

So here is a pic before they hit the oven.

And here is what they looked like coming out the oven.

The recipe for the dough said to brush it with olive oil before baking. I thought it looked a bit dull doing it like that. The next day we baked the remaining dough and used an egg wash. I think it had a much better shine to it.

With everything that went into making this, do I even need to explain how good this was? For bragging purposes, I will! It was fantastic. The dough had a nice little chew to it. The roasted garlic gave a great underlying flavor to all the the other little spices going on from the sausage and ground beef. The cheeses worked well together and melted perfectly. The last kicker was the accent of fresh basil. It was like the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae.

I can't ever remember having a calzone this good. And I know I probably won't have another that good for a long time. I was really lucky to have someone there to cook the meats and wrap them up. I was even luckier that it was someone so close and who I love dearly.

Thanks Mom. For.....everything.

J. Miller

Turkish Kahve

Turkish Kahve. Mmmm. I love this stuff. I mean....mmmmmmm. This is some seriously good shit. I can go on and on about how good this stuff is! I just might. But, I want you to stick around for a little while, so I'm just gonna say it one more time: This is some fucking incredibly good KHAVE!!!!!

What is Khave? It's the Turkish word for "coffee". I think it looks better than "coffee". So, for the rest of this post, I will be using "khave" in place of "coffee". Is that cool with you? If not, well.....tough shit. This is MY BLOG!! I run things around these parts!

Now that I've gotten my power trip out of the way, we can get down to business.

This isn't my first time talking about Turkish Kahve. In one of my first few post, I went to a place called Super Hassan's Grill. It was at this little hole in the wall restaurant where I experienced this type of Kahve for the first time. From the first cup, I knew I had found something very special. It had such a wonderful flavor with a ever-so slight sweetness that made it impossible to put down. For me, it was love at first sip.

Here's a pic from that older post.

Since then, I've gone back there a good number of times for the Kahve and the shawarma. Like most things, it got to a point that I wanted to try my hand at making this myself. Sure, it's nice to stop by there after work for a pick-me-up and light meal. But, there's nothing like lounging around the house in your pajamas and enjoying a nice cup of Kahve.

Now, here is where the fun really began. I knew where to buy the Khave, so no problems there. What I wasn't sure on was how to prepare it. After reading the back of a few bags of Kahve, I knew the brewing technique was important. I didn't want to completely fuck it up, so, I did what I usually do in these situations: Get my ass to Google and YouTube.

What I found was....sordid to say the least. Every video I watched on YouTube seemed to be just a little different than the previous. The best part was that on every video, people would comment saying "YOU'RE DOING IT ALL WRONG!!!".

Sites I found on Google were no better. Each one saying "This is the proper way to make Kahve!", and each one being slightly different.

Since getting a straight answer was going to be nearly impossible, I decided to just go with the few similarities that most had. Those are:

1. Start with cold water.
2. Mix in Kahve and sugar at the beginning.
3. Bring to a boil slowly.


Before we go any further, read this. That is a link to a good sum of Turkish Kahve.

Now I think it's time to show how I did this.

First, they say to buy a little narrow-topped pot called a cezve. I know there are different names for this, but this is the one I'm going with.

The standard recipe goes 2 heaping teaspoons of Kahve to 1 mug of water. That is what I went with. I also added 1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar.

The Kahve grounds are very fine. Plus, there is a little something extra in it. I'll tell you towards the end. :)

I stirred everything in and turned the heat to about medium-low. Most of the sites said it should take roughly 10 minutes to properly heat it. Mine didn't take that long. We'll call that Fuck Up #1.

When it does start to boil, it will froth around the edges before it start to try and boil over.

They say that when it comes to a boil, take it off the heat for a minute to rest. Then, place it back on the heat and bring to a boil once more. Some sites said just one re-boil. Some said 3 or 4 times. I did it 3 times.

Here is another bit of controversy with Turkish Kahve: Foam. Some sites say a true cup has a bit of foam on top. Me, being the genius that I am, gave the Kahve a soft stir after the second boil and managed to kill the foam. We will call that Fuck Up #2.

BUT, and I mean a big, apple bottom BUT, I did see a few sites that said the foam wasn't very good. The cup I got from the restaurant didn't have any foam, and I thought it tasted just fine!

After the last boil, it's time to pour. Pour it in your cup and let it sit for a minute. There isn't any straining here, so you are gonna have some grinds in each cup. Don't swirl it, just let it rest so the grinds  settle at the bottom.

I took a sip and was relieved that it came out fairly good. I tasted a little different than what I had at the restaurant, but it was very good in its own right. This Kahve has a bit more spice than what I previously had. That spice? Cardamom. Yeah, cardamom.

When I was shopping for the Kahve, I basically had 3 options: No cardamom, medium cardamom, and extra cardamom. I chose the medium, to be safe.

If you like Kahve, or think all Kahve is bitter and needs all sorts of shit to make it taste good, I strongly suggest you give Turkish Kahve a try. If you don't want to make it, fine. Search Yelp and find a local spot that serves it. Just try it.

One tiny little warning: It's very strong. If caffeine hits you hard, I would tread lightly at first, just so you won't be up for 2 days after drinking it. If you are like me (which I DOUBT cuz I rock!) It won't hit you too hard, but it will be clear that it's stronger than your average cup of java.

That's about it. They say that it's usually served with a glass of water and something sweet, like Turkish Delight. I've made Turkish Delight before, and to honest, I didn't care for it too much. Hey, to each his own, right?

I almost forgot, don't drink the last sip. It's all Kahve grounds. Not the best feeling to have a mouthful of  grounds. Trust me on this one.

I hope you enjoyed the post. I REALLY hope you get to try Turkish Kahve at some point. It's one of those things I wish I had discovered earlier.

Take Care,

J. Miller

Loaded Chicken Wrap

I don't really like reviewing fast food because...well....it's fast food. I'm not some snob that looks down my nose at fast food or anything like that. I have been trying to cut back on it for numerous reasons, but occasionally I'll stop by a spot and pick up something I can eat on the go.

As usual, I was doing my last minute mothers day shopping and came across a Popeye's. Contrary to popular belief, black people don't daydream about fried chicken and watermelon. I couldn't remember the last time I had Popeye's, so it didn't seem like a terrible option.

When I walked in, I stood back for a minute to find something cheap I could slam down in-between shopping destinations. I saw a few Po' Boy sandwiches they had, but those seemed like they were a bit more than what I was looking for. Than I saw the one that I was gonna go with. The Loaded Chicken Wrap.

The menu said it was a chicken strip with rice and beans wrapped in a tortilla. Sounds good, right? And with a price under $2, I was sold. I ordered 2 and a small drink for the road. When my order came up, I grabbed the bag and was quickly surprised. This small to-go bag had some weight to it.

I got to my car and quickly took one out to see just what I had gotten myself into. For a $2 wrap, this thing had to some serious size to it. I was originally going to eat it while driving to my next stop. After seeing it, I just put it back in the bag and waited to eat until I got to the next parking lot.

When I finally dug into the wrap, it was as good as I thought it was gonna be. Popeye's knows how to deep fry a bird. You don't have to worry about the chicken. Their red beans and rice are on point. The only thing it needed was hot sauce.

As good as this thing tasted, it was the sheer size of it that made the biggest impact. I ate both of them and was full. No bullshit! If you want to get the most bang for your buck, try one of these "Wraps" out. For real, I think these are more along the lines of burritos than wraps. In any case, it's cheap eats. For less than $2, names are not that important.

That's it. A little story about a snack that became a full meal in-between shopping. Hope you enjoyed it. And to all the mothers reading this, hope you had a great Mothers Day and know that everything you do is greatly appreciated.

Take Care,

J. Miller