Recipe report: grilled vegetable stromboli

[Jenise]

http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=29953&p=254536&hilit=Stromboli#p254536

I posted the above recipe here for sake keeping awhile back thinking it would be a perfect sort of thing to take to one of my wine tasting groups wherein one of the guys is a vegan. I made it yesterday, in fact I made two--one vegan, one not. The vegan one was eggplant/artichoke/winter savory, and the other was proscuitto, provolone, parmesan, sun dried tomato and black pepper.

Have to admit, I didn't follow the recipe at all. Because this was a wine tasting I didn't want the roasted garlic in there, nor when it came time to commit could I honestly see any benefit in combining zucchini and eggplant vs. using eggplant alone and adding seasoning via some marinated artichokes. So for texture and flavor, I put a row of marinated artichoke hearts along one edge so that they would end up in the center of the roll and for a bit of umami effect I spread a few dollops of artichoke tapenade on the thin, shingled eggplant slices which had been salted, blotted dry and quickly pan fried. A sprinkle of winter savory leaves and toasted pine nuts went on top, and then I rolled them. For each roll I used 1 bag of Trader Joe's pizza dough (I started too late to make my own dough), and for the veggie one, a single medium sized eggplant was perfect. Complete, each stromboli was about 15" long and yielded about 18 or so 3/4" slices. They baked for 30 minutes at 400 degrees, and I blasted them with steam twice during baking for extra crustiness.

The result was delicious. Really a perfect finger food for wine tasting--I took them to the event on the cookie sheet they'd baked on, then sliced and arranged them there.

Bravo, Jenise!!

-Paul W.

I've made a note to make that for our next wine group gathering. Sounds yummy, Jenise.

[Jenise]

I've made a note to make that for our next wine group gathering. Sounds yummy, Jenise.

It's a neat concept no matter what you put inside it, Carrie. The possibilities are pretty endless, just be careful if using veggies to blot well and avoid putting too much moisture inside.

Jenise, our wine group is tomorrow night and the theme is Italian. I'm going to make this as promised!
I think I will do a combination of eggplant, onions, proscuitto, and a little mozzarella and parmesan. Can't wait to try it.

[Jenise]

Jenise, our wine group is tomorrow night and the theme is Italian. I'm going to make this as promised!
I think I will do a combination of eggplant, onions, proscuitto, and a little mozzarella and parmesan. Can't wait to try it.

Really fun to make (what, involving yeast doughs, isn't?). Sounds like a great combo.

Jenise, OMG, these were amazing. The perfect finger food to bring to our Italian wine tasting. Wish I had gotten a photo of them sliced, but like you, I cut and arranged them at our hostess's home so they would stay warm for the trip.

As a base, I used a product from Trader Joes called Artichoke Antipasto. (Minced artichoke hearts, garlic and EVOO.) On top of that added sliced proscuitto and a teeny bit of hard salami. Then added roasted chopped eggplant, chopped roasted peppers from a jar, and a light sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan. The only mistake was adding corn meal to the outside for a bit of crunch. It made for a bit of a startling first bite, but everyone got over it quickly! They went like hotcakes.

messy misen place.jpg

hoping for a fallen piece of proscuitto.jpg

stromboli just out of the oven.jpg

Wow! Great job, Carrie. Nice shot of your two "kids" as well.

Wow! Great job, Carrie. Nice shot of your two "kids" as well.

Thanks Dave. The one on the right is our new addition. "Princess," a five-year old lab we adopted a few weeks ago. She is an absolute love, and Kirby is really happy to have a sister.

[Jenise]

Congratulations, first, on the adoption. Princess is a very lucky dog, and I'm so glad you and Len were able to make room in your hearts for a new dog so soon.

And great job on the stromboli's. Fun to make, aren't they?

Congratulations, first, on the adoption. Princess is a very lucky dog, and I'm so glad you and Len were able to make room in your hearts for a new dog so soon.

And great job on the stromboli's. Fun to make, aren't they?

Thanks Jenise. I was not at all ready (and probably wouldn't be for a long time) but Len was. (He'd have 15 rescue dogs if I'd let him.) It's been really good for all of us, though there will never be another Coop.

The strombolis were REALLY fun to make. I even made Len get up off the couch to come look at how fun they were to make. He humored me.
Thanks for the idea. They are definitely a do-again.

[Jenise]

Thanks Jenise. I was not at all ready (and probably wouldn't be for a long time) but Len was. (He'd have 15 rescue dogs if I'd let him.) It's been really good for all of us, though there will never be another Coop.

Of course not. And the new love doesn't replace the old loves. They're all still there, but there's room for more. I was cuddling this morning with my cat Bruce, and thinking back to when we got him. My big dumb galoot of a blue siamese, Chuck, had died only four weeks before. I was months away from even starting to think about replacement, but a colleauge of Bob's asked if we would consider adopting her year-old Maine Coon, Flash, because her husband's was seriously allergic to him. Bob drug me over there to meet him. Kathy's eyes were red--she'd been bawling nonstop for three since we agreed to come over. Once introductions were made we all went in search of Flash who was hiding in their laundry room, shaking in total fear. He was a brown tabby, my least favorite cat color in the world. There wasn't a thing about this set-up I liked, except: this cat was so emotionally bonded with his owner that her misery was his, and from that he correctly intuited that the visit of these particular strangers meant no bueno for him. Pretty exceptional for a cat, and that's the single reason I said yes. So we brought him home and segregated him in one of the guest rooms where he sat, stricken and stoic, staring at the wall. Would not meow. Would not anything. For days on end. And so the very first thing I felt for this new cat was sorrier for him than myself, and out of that came concern and eventually the love I am sure I could not have felt for happy-go-lucky new kitten. Adoption's a great way to go.

Jenise, that is a great story about Flash. I had a cat Calvin, who came into my life in a similar way. Also a tabby, but orange. You are a good kitty mama.
We feel lucky to have Princess in our lives, and think she is really happy here with us. I think we will always go the adoption route from here on in.

[Jenise]

We feel lucky to have Princess in our lives, and think she is really happy here with us. I think we will always go the adoption route from here on in.

Glad to hear that. There are too many great animals needing homes.