Stromboli

Ok, as I understand it there are some football games coming up that are important. I have to confess one of those guy-card losing moments... I had to ask the guys at work when the Superbowl is (February 7 by the way) so I could plan menus. I have fond memories associated with this annual event and like the food that we associate with it (related post to follow). Though I don't always bring the appropriate food to the party... turns out if you show up to a Superbowl Party with baked cranberry brie and crudites you won't get invited back the next year.

This one however will get you the invite for years to come; even if your friends send you out for snacks during the game the food will be welcomed year after year. Stromboli is a Chicago classic dish simple to make and a great addition to any sports themed party the crust is the French bread dough that I talk about often a yeast dough that is non-threatening and easy to make:

2 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Kosher Salt
1 TBL Sugar
1/3 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 cup of water with a tsp of vinegar in it
2 tsp dry active yeast

Dissolve the yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water and let sit until it starts to activate (gets foamy at the edges) while you are waiting mix the dry ingredients together, then add the activated yeast water, the other cup of water and vinegar; mix with dough hooks for 2-3 minutes until well blended. It should form a nice ball and pull from the sides of the bowl well. Give it a quick spray with vegetable oil and set aside. This takes about 2 hours total so plan your time, after the first hour have a kid pound the dough down, turns out that part is fun... or kneed it for a few seconds to deflate and set aside for another hour.These are pulled into little balls about the size of a handball (I was going to say Miss Lu's fist but most of you haven't met her) then rolled out into 6-7 inch circles and set aside. I left them on the counter while I set up the rest of my ingredients, they were:

Marinara Sauce (store bought)
Cooked Italian Sausage
Sauteed peppers and onions
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni
Giardinera

Let everybody stuff their sandwich willy-nilly with their favorites, mine had a little of everything Miss Lu's just Sauce and Cheese the rest were somewhere in between. Once stuffed fold then like a bad burrito and put onto a baking sheet brush the top with a little garlic butter and put into a 400 degree oven for about 1/2 an hour. The Breadsticks were made with some of the dough that I had left, that post should be up in a day of two.