Fragrant Offerings: Lotsa Stromboli

I enjoy watching Man V. Food on The Travel Channel. Maybe it's some sort of sickness, but I love watching this man stuff himself into oblivion. I always find myself getting hungry for whatever it is he is eating however, and rarely do I have the necessary ingredients to make any of them.

The other day they aired a rerun of when he was at Rutgers University and had to eat 5 Fat Sandwiches in 45 minutes. One would think if he paced himself by eating 1 every 9 minutes he'd win. But no. He ate the first one in 4 minutes, the first 2 in 13 minutes. And he lost the challenge. Finishing only about four and a half of the sandwiches.

Earlier in the show he feasted on Stromboli. I watched him make his own. It looked simply wonderful. All the cheese and sauce oozing out of the cut end. I have to admit, I coveted. I was ready to go to New Brunswick, New Jersey and get one. But, Darn that Dave Ramsey for teaching me to be responsible.

Last night I made my own version of Stromboli. I started with my normal bread recipe. While it was rising I cooked one pound ground beef with half an onion and a couple tablespoons of Italian seasonings.

After the first rising of the bread dough, I rolled out half (the other half I made into a regular loaf) and layered the seasoned beef and 1/2 pound grated Swiss cheese on half the rolled out dough. Then I folded the top over and pinched the edges closed. I let it rise about another 45 minutes.

Then I baked it at 400* for 10 minutes, reduced the heat to 350* and cooked it an additional 25 minutes. When it was done, I buttered the top and added dried parsley.