Say I love you with Heart Shaped Pizza Calzones

Pizza, Puppies, and Compromise

Pizza is my love language. I could eat it everyday and honestly be completely content. I love the stuff in almost every form, thin crust, deep dish, flatbread, hand tossed, pan pressed, and even these darling little heart shaped calzones. I will level with you that the shape of the calzone does not actually alter the flavor, but it does add a festive flair that I think is fun for valentines.

This pizza love is actually something that my husband and I share. Believe it or not, on our honeymoon  we specifically flew out of the Chicago airport rather than Detroit (which is about two hours closer to our home) so we could get some authentic deep dish. Then, once on the honeymoon we actually ordered pizza in Strasbourg, France, because it just sounded good (and it was).

While our love for pizza and calzones is mutual, our affection for toppings is not.

Which brings me to the compromise part of this story. In college we had this tradition of ordering pizza on Friday evenings. My husband was a Resident Advisor, which meant almost every other weekend he would be “on duty” and unable to leave the building. On these nights we would order pizza. Which I would bring over and we would eat while we watched T.V and he did occasional rounds to make sure no one had burned down the building.

We always ordered the same thing: a large pepperoni and onion pizza. This random combo was the result of our individual favorite pizzas: pepperoni and bacon (his) and ham and onion (mine).

The solution seemed perfectly reasonable to me. It wasn’t until a mutual friend pointed out that we could get those toppings on individual pizzas or a large with half of his favorite on one side and half of mine on the other, that we even noticed that this compromise probably wasn’t even requirted. But looking back I like the analogy for our goofy pizza ordering system and the compromises that are required in a successful relationship.

This year we are celebrating our eighth Valentine’s together.

And in that time we have lived in three different homes, seen hundreds of movies, taken like 20 vacations, and ordered approximately 1 million pizzas.

Why this random list? They are all things, big and small, that require some level of compromise. Meeting in the middle. Giving a little to gain a lot.

Our greatest compromise has been the fluffy little pup that sits next to me as I write this piece. Sam (my husband) had never had a pet when we got married. I, on the other hand, was raised on a hobby farm and love animals of all kinds.

When we bought our first house I was desperate for us to get a dog of our own. Really the story of getting Winchester is one for another day. The point is that my husband agreed to get this dog when he didn’t really want one. And I agreed the dog wouldn’t sleep in our room and I wouldn’t dress him up.

To this day every time he takes Winchester for a run, rubs his belly, pours his dog food, or takes care of him in anyway…I know Sam is only doing it out of his love for me. I can’t tell you how it melts my heart when I hear him tell Winn he’s “a good boy” or “handsome boy” or tells a random stranger about how great are dog is.

I know I’m digressing from the pizza calzone, but my point for those who are still reading is that life isn’t about greeting cards, fancy dinners, or sweet gifts. It’s about the compromises and sacrifices we make for the ones we love.

So even though Valentine’s Day was yesterday I’d encourage you to think of someone you love and make a little compromise for them that shows your care. For me that means I’m headed to a high school basketball game tonight to help my husband with his coaching and scouting duties. And maybe then I’ll make a little pizza…

To keep this heart shaped pizza calzones simple, start with store bought pizza dough.

The easiest dough to work with is the kind that already comes flattened out and rolled rather than a ball of dough. You can use the frozen dough in a ball, but it’s a tad harder to work with.

These pizza calzones would be something fun to make with kids or those you are especially challenged in the kitchen, because they are so simple to make. I used a heart shaped cookie cutter to make the little hearts. You will need two for each heart shaped pizza calzone.

Before setting the hearts on a greased baking sheet stretch them slightly so the pizza dough is thin. Next top one of the hearts with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. Of course you can also fill these will any sort of pizza topping you choose: sausage, bacon, peppers, ricotta, feta, spinach…

Recipe Tip: Because these calzones are little small, it works best if you chop up the normal sized pepperoni or use mini pepperoni.

Next use the second heart for each pair and stretch is across the bottom one. Press the edges close with a fork and you are ready to bake!

Happy cooking!

~ Chloe M.