Sunday, September 27, 2009

Buffalo Chicken Calzones


Please believe me when I say that these taste a lot better than they look. I was having a rough night. My wonderful husband Joe is so good about not complaining when I make food that some guys wouldn't touch. He never grumbles about how he would rather have a cheeseburger and never rolls his eyes when our meals are meatless. I recently found out that he is a big fan of buffalo chicken but doesn't like wings because they're so messy, so I wanted to make him a special meal that was geared towards his tastes rather than just mine.

I was hoping that the calzones would be a little spicier, but they have good flavor from the hot pepper sauce. I combined two recipes, taking what I liked from each of them, and ended up with slightly too much filling, which Joe gladly ate from a bowl. Next time I will make my own pizza dough since I seem to have terrible luck with store-bought dough.

Buffalo Chicken Calzones with Bleu Cheese Dipping Sauce
inspired by Taste of Home and Food Network

Ingredients
1 lb pizza dough
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
2 tsp plus 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce, divided
3 tbsp butter
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup pizza sauce

For dip:
1/3 cup bleu cheese, crumbled
1 cup sour cream

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450-degrees.
Melt butter in a hot skillet and cook chicken thoroughly until opaque throughout and no pink remains.
In a bowl, mix together pizza sauce and 2 tsp hot pepper sauce; set aside.
When chicken is cooked through, reduce heat and add 1/2 cup hot pepper sauce, tossing to coat. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Drain chicken if necessary.
In another bowl, mix together bleu cheese and sour cream.
Divide dough in half and roll out into circles.
Place half of pizza sauce mixture, chicken, and mozzarella cheese into each calzone, close, and seal the edges by pinching the dough.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is browned. Serve with bleu cheese dip.