Creativity in the Kitchen, Fun and Tasty Too!

What do you get when you cross a french meat pie with an Italian eggplant calzone?  How about a piezone!  My Godmother was always a tremendously wonderful cook.  When she made a mistake in a recipe, things not only got interesting, they always tasted better.  When the family would ask her, 'How did you do that?'  She would then respond with, 'Oh, I just added a little extra of this and a little more of that.  But I didn't measure so I can't tell you how much.'

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LOS ANGELES, CA - You could say God blessed my Godmother with extraordinary culinary skills.  She was definitely humble about it too.  She would regularly ask us if whatever she had prepared tasted okay.  Whenever she was invited to a family gathering and asked to provide one of her infamous desserts she would worry and say, 'I hope it is okay.'

Over the years, she became my cooking hotline.  I would call her up frantically because I spilled too much water in the cake batter or too much seasoning in the thanksgiving day stuffing.  "Oh, that's okay," she would say.  She would then begin to patiently walk me through what I had to do to repair the damage I had done.  The results were always good. 

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One of the things I learned cooking over the years was that if you like all of the ingredients in whatever you're preparing, chances are you will like the end result.  So with that in mind, I would like to dedicate my experiments in the kitchen to my MaTante, (french for my aunt).  She is who gives me the courage to try these new things.  And, also to my husband, who is brave enough to eat them.

I crossed a French meat pie with an Italian eggplant calzone.  I love both items.  The flakiness of the pie crust and the seasonings in the eggplant along with the fact that you hold it in your hand  makes it so pleasant to eat.  With that in mind, this is how I proceeded.

I haven't included fine details in this recipe because like my aunt, I didn't measure.  Seasonings are very individualized so I recommend season to your taste. 

Here is the recipe:

Make a basic flakey dough for a pie crust and store it in the freezer until you're ready to use it.  This will make it flakier.

Peel and slice the eggplant. Grill it over medium high heat lightly brushing it with olive oil. When it is browned set it aside.
Brown ground meat with onions and garlic, drain away any excess fat. 
Season the meat with Italian seasonings.  You can add crushed red pepper if you like the extra spice.  Stir in tomato paste adding just enough water to make the mixture hold together but not runny. 
Take the pie crust out of the freezer and divide it into 6-8 pieces. 
Roll out a thin round crust. 
Place eggplant on half of crust, top with ground beef mixture, add shredded cheese if you like. 
Fold the crust over the filling so that you now have a half circle. 
Seal the edges using a fork and cut a couple small slits in the top.
Repeat this process until all the ingredients have been used up.
Place the piezones on a baking sheet. 
Beat an egg and brush the top crusts with the egg.

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Bake in a 400 degree oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the crusts are golden brown. 

Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool for 10 to 15 minutes.  The filling  will be  very hot. 

Taste and enjoy your new creation.  

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