Stromboli

I was first introduced to “Stromboli” as a kid. My Dad used to bring it home on special occasions. There was a little place in San Jose, CA called Tony Di Maggio’s Pizza that claimed to be the home of the original “Stromboli” – Wikipedia gives credit to Roman’s in Philadelphia – but whatever – in my eyes,  Tony Di Maggio’s was the shiz and definitely knew what they were doing.

Di Maggio’s Stromboli included ham, salami, Italian sausage, mustard, American and mozzarella cheese, wrapped in dough – topped with butter, oregano, black pepper and homemade tomato sauce. Had I actually looked up the website prior to writing this post, I might have changed the way I created my first attempt… maybe next time.

Foo’s Stromboli Ingredients:

Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough
Trader Joe’s Pizza Sauce – w/added Italian Seasoning
8 Slices Ham
8 Slices Genoa Salami
8 Slices Pepperoni
2 Cups Fresh Spinach
1 Medium Shallot
3 Mushrooms
1 Small Can of Sliced Black Olives
Fresh Basil – I used 3 large leaves – shredded
8 Slices of Provolone Cheese (Thinly sliced from the deli)
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Clove Garlic
Splash of EVOO for the Sautéed Veggies
1 Egg White
1/2 Teaspoon Poppy Seeds
Flour – Used for Dough Prep

The first step was to preheat the oven to 450 degrees. I then removed the dough from the fridge and let it sit out for 20 minutes.

I sautéed the garlic, chopped shallots, mushrooms, spinach, and Italian seasonings in a little EVOO while I waited.

I then attempted to make my dough ball into a rectangle – hmm… guessing that is why all of the recipes online call for Pillsbury Refrigerated Pizza Crust – pop the can, unroll and you are golden. It took me 2 failed attempts with major dough rips and then my third attempt was semi solid – I did have several thin spots and flour all over my shirt, hands and face… but in the end, felt it was as good as I was going to get.

I started creating my masterpiece on the cookie sheet. I went meat heavy on Dan’s side and veggie heavy on mine.

I started off with sauce down the center of the dough. I used 3/4 of the small Trader Joe’s Pizza Sauce container. I then layered the meat and put the provolone slices between the meat layers. I really don’t think the order matters. I got to where I was just throwing things on randomly. A little more olive here, some mushrooms here, basil everywhere…

The next step was to fold the sides in, creating a seam on top and then fold the ends under.

I used a brush and coated the outside with egg white and then sprinkled on the poppy seeds. I placed the Stromboli in the oven and checked it at 20 minutes. I ended up putting it in for another 10 – until golden brown.

You can definitely see the thin spots – the cheese grease shines right through them – yum! I let the Stromboli cool for about 10 minutes before slicing.

This my friends was Stromboli heaven on a plate… We both LOVED it! The two of us finished all but 2 slices and I will definitely be making this again.

Thank you Tony Di Maggio’s and Dad for bringing this tradition into my life… so happy to be able to re-create it to share with Dan – too bad I waited this long to do it.