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I don't have any pictures, but my wife's italian-ish family makes what they call a calzone during Easter. It's a pie with sausage and hard boiled eggs layered inside; nothing else served cold in a pie crust. I argue with her that this isn't a calzone at all based on any description that i've ever looked up.

Does anyone have any idea what this concotion really is?

Thanks

Sounds like Pizza Gaina:

http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2008/03/ ... pizza.html

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Apple Pie, Patis, & Pâté
@judecee on Twitter

The better question is does anyone know if there's anywhere in Chicago that makes Pizza Gaina (aka Pizza Chena). It's typically made, as the OP said, around Easter. As that holiday is approaching, I was hoping I could find a place that makes one.

Anyone seen it anywhere in the Chicago area?

This sounds kinda like a timpano--that yummy-looking, layered thing they make in Big Night. No?

Cheers!
LB

No, timpano does not have a crust and is predominantly a pasta dish. This is definitely a savory pie that is known as Pizza Gaina/Pizza Chena/Easter Pie.

You tweaked my interest. I'm doing a vegetarian version for the Vegetarian household exchange on Sunday.

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Ava-"If you get down and out, just get in the kitchen and bake a cake."- Jean Strickland

Horto In Urbs- Falling in love with Urban Vegetable Gardening

wow. that thing looks pretty similar to a chicago style stuffed pizza.

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i used to milk cows

It's what the founders of Nancy's and Giordano's both claim their pizza is based on.

so critics of the chicago stuffed can go to hell?

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i used to milk cows

Hi,

My grandma still makes this every Easter. She calls it "ganashone" (not sure on the actual spelling, but that's how it sounds). This is one of many recipes that I've been meaning to extract from her (she has very little written down).

Well, there's a bit of a jump since the addition of a lot of tomato sauce changes the dish quite a bit, but the short answer to your question is most definitely yes.

Indeed. Rocco Palese of Nancy's, who is generally credited as the creator of stuffed pizza, reportedly based his recipe on an Italian Easter pie from his hometown of Potenza, where it's called scarciedda.

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LAZ
Dining Chicago
Index to LTHForum Recipes, 2004-2008

To answer my own question: Scudiero's sells Easter calzones every year.

I took the recipe from this page and made a vegetarian one a few weeks ago. It was filling & good.

_________________
Ava-"If you get down and out, just get in the kitchen and bake a cake."- Jean Strickland

Horto In Urbs- Falling in love with Urban Vegetable Gardening

My Chicago grandparents were from Potenza and my mother and aunts always made what they called Easter Pizza. I have tried for years to find it in Italian cookbooks. My mother's recipe has a filling of ricotta cheese, Itlaina sausage, eggs, Parmesan cheese, and Italian parsley.

On my DifferentDrummer.cc website, movie reviews for film-loving foodies, I feature my mother's recipe paired with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.. Here is the link to the recipe. (You can also link to the review at near the end of the recipe. Just made it this Easter, using whole mild rocotta and it was really good, if I do say so myself.

[url]http://differentdrummer.cc/recipes/recipe.php?recipeID=17
[/url]

Kathy Borich aka Different Drummer

That doesn't look anything like the Easter bread my Sicilian Aunts make. Theirs actually have hard boiled eggs in the crust. And we just call it Easter Bread, because that's the only time we really have a lot of hard boiled eggs to use.

http://www.sicilianculture.com/food/easteregg.htm

Looks more like this, but I think everyon's receipe is different from grandma.