FoodB

2 Recipes for the price of one!

I was watching Everyday Food on PBS and they actually had recipes that made me curious. The show is okay but the recipes they make seem to be a little on the boring side. It is targeted for people that have only a little time to cook and generally they go pretty simple on the ingredients, so I tend to not try there recipes very often (what I really mean is to have Jenn make up the stuff I saw). This weeks episode actually had 2 recipes that interested me.

The first was for empanadas. I have never had South American food and I know that empanadas are pretty popular in Argentinean food. I have really been curious about Argentinean food lately ever since I saw that we have a restaurant fairly close to us that specializes in it. So instead of spending money on a restaurant that is new I decided to go ahead and try and make them myself. Here is the recipe they gave:

Empanadas

Filling:
2 pounds ground pork or beef
2 medium onions, finely diced
2 jalapeño chiles, minced (ribs and seeds removed for less heat, if desired)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Dough:
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup cold water
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water (do not beat until ready to bake)

1. Make the filling: In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, cook meat until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces, 5 to 7 minutes.


2. Add onion and jalapeños; cook until soft, 5 minutes. Stir in chili powder and tomatoes. Cook over medium until mixture has thickened, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cilantro. Let cool.


3. Make the dough: In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using your fingers, cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add just enough cold water so dough comes together.


4. Form empanadas. If desired, freeze on a baking sheet until firm, 2 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic; freeze in plastic bags.


5. To bake fresh or frozen empanadas, preheat oven to 400°. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush tops with egg wash, avoiding crimped edges. Bake until golden brown, rotating sheets halfway through, 30 to 40 minutes.

The results were OK as far as I am concerned. The dough was great and Jenn and I got to discussing what else we could put in the dough. the filling on the other hand was kind of bland. The only time I usually get ground pork is in our meatloaf mix, and even then it is mixed with 2 other meats, so I don't know if that was the problem. Next time we are going to try putting some Italian items such as pancetta and mozzarella and make our own version of a hot pocket.

<rant>Speaking of which, shouldn't hot pockets be good. I enjoy all of the things that they put in them but every time I ever tried one, they were pretty nasty.</rant>

The other thing that they made were little puff pastry cookies. We had some pastry left over from a tart I tried to make that didn't work out so well and we always have plenty of jam lying around so this was pretty easy.

Puff Pastry Cookies (I think they are a version of a Napoleon)

1 Sheet of puff pastry, thawed
Fruit Jam of your choosing
4 Tbsp Sugar

1. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry dough. Cut 5 equal strips along the longer end (about 2 inches per strip).
2. Spread a light amount of the jam on 4 of the strips. If you add too much jam the pieces will not stick together well.
3. Sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of sugar on the jam.
4. Stack the 4 strips on top of each other. Add the uncovered strip to the top and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to set. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
5. Remove from the freezer and slice the pastry about 1/4 per slice. Place on a cookie sheet with about 1/2-inch space between pastries.
6. Sprinkle the remaining 2 Tablespoons of sugar on each piece.
7. Place in oven and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. The tops should be golden brown. Let cool and serve.

Note: I couldn't find the recipe online so I had to write it myself. Sorry if it doesn't make much sense because writing recipes appears not to be my forte.

This one was a big hit for both of us. Jenn almost attacked me last night because she was out of these. I used apricot jam which was very tasty as a filling. We have a lot of jam left from our Oregon days so I think I can make this one for the rest of the month. This one might even make it to our holiday celebrations. Good stuff!