Ham and Cheese Stromboli

When the holidays come to our house we are always left with an abundance of leftovers. In retrospect, we probably did not need a prime rib roast, honey baked ham and turkey to feed twelve people. But, I don't mind. Especially since it means leftover meals and minimal grocery shopping for the next week.

Enter this delicious Stromboli recipe from my new Cook's Illustrated Best Make-Ahead Recipes cookbook I received for Christmas (which I am all kinds of excited about, expect to see many freezer ready meals to come). It's quick and easy to make, and it serves the purpose of using up my leftover ham.

You can make this recipe with any number of meat and cheese filling combinations. Mozzarella and Pepperoni or Turkey and Swiss are a couple other good ones. Use your imagination. Get a little crazy. It's just a delicious rolled up sandwich so the sky is the limit.

Ham and Cheese Stromboli
adapted from Cook's Illustrated Best Make-Ahead Recipes

serves 4

For the Pizza Dough*:
2 cups bread flour
1 tsp. instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tsp. coarse salt
3/4 cup warm water
1 Tbs. olive oil

For the Stromboli:
8 oz. thinly sliced deli ham
3 oz. thinly sliced (or grated) cheddar
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tsp. sesame seeds
Kosher salt (opt.)

For the dough, mix together the flour, yeast and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. With the machine running on medium add the olive oil, then water and mix until dough form a ball (about one minute). Let the dough rest for two minutes, then process for an additional 30 seconds.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed to prevent sticking. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Gently punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently reshape into a ball and cover with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.

Roll dough into a 12 inch by 10 inch rectangle. Arrange ham, then cheese over the dough within 1 inch of the edges. Brush the edges with water and roll into a tight cylinder, pressing the edges to seal. Wrap loosely in plastic wrap and refridgerate for up to 24 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400. Place stromboli on lightly greased baking sheet, brush with eggwash and sprinkle with sesame seeds and kosher salt (if using). Cover loosely with greased foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake until crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Transfer stromboli to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a carving board and cut into 2 inch slices.

*You can use pre-made pizza dough for this recipe.