Quick Calzones -- The Night We Ordered Pizza and Borrowed Normal

Halloween. Aiden was LeBron James — full Lakers jersey, headband, wristbands. He asked to be LeBron because LeBron is "the best basketball player who helps people," which is a four-year-old's assessment that happens to be remarkably accurate. Zaria was a chef. A tiny chef hat, a white apron, a wooden spoon borrowed from Mama. She chose the costume herself, pointing at the hat in the store and saying, "Cook. Like Dada." I bought the costume through tears that I disguised as allergies. Trick-or-treating was a family affair — all four of us, walking the neighborhood, Aiden running from house to house, Zaria holding my hand and pointing at every decoration. Brianna walked beside me and we were, for one evening, the family in the Halloween photos: smiling, together, normal. The normalcy was not fake. It was borrowed. We borrowed it from the holiday and the children and the chocolate and the cold air and the porch lights, and we will return it tomorrow when the costumes come off and we are just two people in an apartment with twelve thousand dollars of debt and a distance measured in credit card statements. I ate candy with Aiden after he went to bed. Reese's. His favorites and mine. The genetic transfer of peanut butter cup preference: the only inheritance that costs nothing and means everything. I did not cook on Halloween. We ordered pizza. Brianna and I ate it on the couch and watched a horror movie and she screamed at the jump scares and I laughed at her screaming and for two hours we were the couple who watches movies together, and I chose to live in those two hours and not in the hours that surround them.

We didn’t cook that Halloween — we ordered pizza, and it was exactly right. But when I think about what I’d want to make on a night like that, a night borrowed from normalcy, it’s something like these Quick Calzones: folded up and sealed, warm all the way through, the kind of thing you pull apart at the table while a horror movie is already queued up. Pizza energy, but made with your own hands. Brianna would’ve appreciated that. So would Zaria, tiny chef hat and all.

Quick Calzones

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup pepperoni slices
• 1/2 cup marinara sauce, plus more for dipping
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush with olive oil.
2. Divide dough. On a lightly floured surface, divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions. Roll each portion into a circle roughly 7–8 inches in diameter.
3. Mix filling. In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, mozzarella, pepperoni, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt and pepper until combined.
4. Fill the calzones. Spread 1 tablespoon of marinara sauce on one half of each dough circle, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Spoon the cheese filling over the sauce, dividing evenly among all four.
5. Fold and seal. Fold the unfilled half of the dough over the filling to form a half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly together, then crimp with a fork to seal completely.
6. Brush and score. Brush the tops of the calzones with beaten egg. Use a sharp knife to cut 2–3 small slits in the top of each for steam to escape.
7. Bake. Place on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 18–22 minutes, until deep golden brown on top and the dough is cooked through.
8. Rest and serve. Let calzones cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve with warm marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 24g | Fat: 21g | Carbs: 58g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 980mg