My husband's favorite meal

Before we married, I had never even heard of stromboli, but my yankee husband grew up eating it and absolutely loves it. Nothing about it is healthy at all, its many ingredients are expensive, and it takes a while to prepare, so we rarely make it. However, Sunday we did. The way he traditionally makes it is with layered ham, pepperoni, hard salami, american cheese, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese wrapped up in white pizza crust. It's truly a hearty man's meal (yes, even hearty men who used to be in the bell choir)! This time we decided to be adventurous.

First, we used the KitchenAid to make a hearty whole grain dough (with whole wheat pastry flour, which, despite the fact people say it does not work for yeast doughs, always works just fine for me). Instead of spreading a bit of mayo onto the inside of the pocket (which to be honest, I always found a little disturbing!) we spread pesto. Then came the layered meats, which we kept the same, and cheeses (substituting monterey jack for the mozzarella). My hubby was super meticulous with the seams, making sure they were perfect. I sprinkled some sea salt and oregano on the top to make it all purdy.

The verdict is in. Best stromboli, ever.

Dip in marinara sauce, and you're in pizza pocket heaven. My husband was on cloud 9. In fact, I think he sort of still is. Good thing we made extra for the freezer.