The Captain's Stromboli!

Derek Jeter. The guy epitomizes how professional athletes should conduct themselves on and off the field. Great player, great teammate and great guy with rockin' good looks. This week marks the end of an illustrious 20-year career that has seen him stay loyal to one team, break records and pick up, oh, about 5 World Series rings along the way. Whether you're a Yankee fan or not, ya gotta show a little love to The Captain.

While MLB showered Jeter with some pretty cool parting gifts throughout the season, no one came close to the culinary tribute that Homegating101 is about to bestow on #2:  The Captain's Stromboli.
Comeon.

The Captain's Stromboli is a mixture of all that Derek Jeter is about: smooth, yet complex. This stromboli is filled with mozzarella, pepperoni, roasted peppers, sauteed mushrooms and provolone cheese. It's all wrapped up in pizza dough, baked and sliced. Perfect finger good. Sounds like a home run to me.

For this recipe I used pre-made pizza dough and a jar of roasted peppers, but you can certainly make your own for both if you have the time. I sauteed fresh mushrooms, but again, you can use canned mushrooms if you'd like. A jar of pickled mushrooms would work really well, too.

The Captain's Stromboli
(serves 4-6 people)                    

6 oz shredded mozzarella
1/2 lb sliced deli pepperoni  (not the little pre-sliced disks that come in the package)
1/2 lb sliced provolone
2-3 roasted red bell peppers, or 1 jar of roasted red bell peppers drained and patted dry
8 oz mushrooms (any kind) sauteed with minced fresh garlic, or 1 8oz jar of pickled mushrooms, drained
1 lb pizza dough
1/4 cup flour for counter
olive oil
sheet pan
parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil

Method:

1.  Pre-heat oven to 425-degrees. Place the parchment or aluminum foil on a sheet pan.

2.  Bring the pizza dough to room temperature. Sprinkle the flour on a flat surface and roll the dough out to about a 1/16" thickness. You want to try to keep the dough as close to a rectangle shape as possible. Place the parchment paper in the sheet pan and lay the dough on the parchment.

3.  Sprinkle the mozzarella down the middle of the dough, then lay the pepperoni over that, then the roasted peppers, sauteed mushrooms and finally the provolone.

4.  Bring one side of the dough over the top of the filling and then bring the other side of the dough over that. Pinch the seams closed and roll over to place the seam on the bottom the pan. Make a couple of slits along the top of the dough. Brush the entire roll with olive oil.

5.  Place the stromboli in the oven. Depending on how hot your oven gets, start checking the stromboli after about 15 minutes. You want the crust to be golden. The cheese and/or the pepperoni might start leaking through, but that's why it's called a stromboli. Stromboli in Italian means volcano, so don't freak if you see some cheesy-lava leakage.

6.  Once the stromboli is ready, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool down a little before slicing. I've found that when I cut into it immediately after taking it out of the oven, the melted cheese runs all over the place. Give the stromboli about 10 minutes before cutting into it.

7.  Cut into 2" wide slices, serve to the gang and show a little RE2PECT to The Captain.

Thanks Derek!