From-scratch calzones

These babies were GOOD. Inspired by my favorite Italian food place in Pasadena, I opened up my America's Test Kitchen cookbook and made not only the sauce, but the DOUGH from scratch. They may have not been the prettiest things in the world, but these calzones really hit the spot. They were filled with mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, and Italian parsley and topped with a fresh tomato and basil sauce. The dough was sweet, chewy, and a little crispy on the outside. While the dough took a few hours (it contains yeast, so it must rise for a few hours in a warm place), most of the ingredients were pretty easy to manage. And the recipe made six hefty calzones, so it look my boyfriend and I a few days to polish them off.

Tonight I'm going to embark upon my second attempt at flourless chocolate cake. Last weekend I tried my hand at it and failed miserably. I blindly followed the recipe, despite my better judgment. It asked me to add strong coffee to melting chocolate and I obliged, even though a faint memory of my mother warning me to never add water to chocolate. It ended up lumpy, almost like curds. Not good. After that, I placed the foil wrapped spring-form pan in a hot water bath in the oven. I guess I didn't do a good enough job wrapping, because water seeped in during baking. To top it off, I bought UNSWEETENED chocolate! Even if I had successfully baked this cake, it tasted awful! I was super embarrassed. So... take two!