Buffalo Chicken Stromboli

Everyone has those days. You know, those days. The days you just want to order pizza and veg for a while because life never runs smoothly. Well, I had a car accident the night before I made these. Nothing dangerous, just a little "welcome to Pennsylvania, oh yeah, we have snow" sort of thing. So I was trying to take care of all those things that fall by the wayside since I was too afraid to drive in snow again and took the day off.

Still, the thought of someone bringing food to me sounded way too good. Until I remembered that I didn't want to do that really. Okay, well maybe I was just trying to convince myself that I didn't. Long story short, I had the stuff and the idea for buffalo chicken stromboli got lodged so deeply in my brain that I had to make it right that second. Plus, it'd be faster than delivery.

First step, make the dough. I decided that a quick pizza dough like this recipe was my jumping off point. So let's start here.

Stromboli Dough

1 .25 oz packet of yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour (they suggest bread flour, I've only got AP, whatever)
1 tsp salt
2 T olive oil
1-2 T italian seasoning

Dissolve sugar in warm water and add yeast. Just make sure it's not hot enough to kill it. Let sit for 10 minutes, until frothy and cloudy.

Measure the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and stir. Once the yeast is ready, dump in and knead into a smooth dough. Let sit 5 more minutes.

While you're waiting for the yeast and stuff to marinate, start on your filling.

Buffalo Chicken Filling

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken breast
1 cup grated or chopped cheese (Monterey jack here, but any cheese would be good)
4 T Hooter's sauce or wing sauce of your choice
1-2 T chopped chives, optional
1-2 T chopped banana peppers, optional
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped celery, optional

Mix the above together in a bowl. If you're using Hooter's sauce, melt it before you try to mix it. Adjust seasonings to taste.

Preheat oven to 450 F. Now roll out your pizza dough into a vague rectangle. This will make roughly a two person stromboli. Or calzone. What's the difference? Spoon filling in the center of your dough. Fold over sides to tuck in a seal the filling on all sides. If you have left over dough, I suggest parmesan breadsticks.

Slap in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until dough is baked through and filling is warm.

Slice, eat, veg.