Why I love food (and cooking)

Many people have many hobbies, but I'd like to make the case for my hobbies as king(s) of the mountain. My major hobbies are obviously food (with a focus on cooking) and wine (with a focus on drinking?). First, let's tackle food.

As I sit here waiting for my calzones to finish cooking (Matt's original recipe to follow below) I started getting excited about them. There is something so satisfying in making something from scratch in this ready-made world we live in. We get to experience food and cooking with all of our senses. While a lovely painting may please our eyes I would argue a well plated dish can do just the same thing, just more. When you're cooking you smell the aromas, taste the flavors and feel the texture in your mouth. No other form of art or expressing yourself can give you such corporeal pleasure, while giving the same pleasure to the people you are performing for (in this case cooking for). That short blurb out of the system and my calzones out of the oven, let's move onto the recipe.

Matt's Calzone Recipe

You will need:
- pizza dough (12")
- a couple cups of spinach
- a few slices of onion
- 1/2 pound or so of italian sausage
- 3/4 pound crimini mushrooms
- sprig of rosemary, minced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 4 oz. ricotta cheese
- shredded parmesan or other italian hard cheese
- basil, sliced
- marinade, for dipping (optional)
- olive oil
- butter
- salt and pepper

Cook the italian sausage until broken apart and caramelized. Remove to plate lined with paper towel. Then throw in onion slice into pan, cook until sweet and have some color. When finished cooking the onions, remove to same plate as sausage. Now toss the halved mushrooms into the pan with a bit of olive oil. Cook for a few minutes, tossing occasionally. After a few minutes, throw in a tablespoon of butter and the minced garlic and rosemary. Cook until the garlic and herbs become very aromatic, just a minute or two. Salt as needed here (eat a few mushrooms! they're delicious!). Once the 'shrooms are done you can toss them onto the plate with the other fillings.

Cut the pizza dough in two and work out until 1/8" thick or so, oval shaped. Spoon some ricotta cheese on the close side of the dough. Add prepared toppings as desired, including fresh basil, parmesan cheese and chopped spinach. Once properly filled pull the far end of the dough over the filling and pinch the dough together to avoid leakage. I like to rub a bit of olive oil on the calzone to help get it a nice golden color. Toss in a preheated oven (450-500 degrees) on a pizza stone for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with marinara on the side.