Mini-Empanadas

I finally got my digital camera back, which means I can post again. Of course that might create the illusion that I’ve been cooking all week, which isn’t the case. This semester has been busier than the last, and I haven’t had that much time to cook. My roommate did have a Superbowl party though, so of course I had to make something. I decided to make a few kinds of appetizer sized empanadas. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera while making them, so I couldn’t get any process pictures, but Laylita’s Recipes, from whom I got the recipe for the dough, has some great instructions. I decided to go with 4 kinds of filling, 3 savory and 1 sweet. With the assistance of my friend Jessica, who was instrumental in rolling out the dough and stuffing the empanadas, we made spinach and goat cheese, tomato, basil and mozzarella, chicken and vegetables, and rocky road. To top the first three I also made salsa verde. I thought the savory ones were good, but the rocky road was a little weak, they probably would have been better warm.

Basic Empanada Dough

Makes 25-30 small empanadas

3 cups all purpose flour 

¼ teaspoon salt 

6 oz unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), cold and cut into 

12 pieces 

1 egg 

4-5 tbs water

1. Place flour and salt in a food processer. Mix to blend. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until a clumpy dough forms

2. Push the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

3. When you’re ready to use them, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness and cut out circles that are 4 -5 inches in diameter

 

Spinach and Goat Cheese filling

Makes ~20 empanadas

5 oz. goat cheese 

10 oz. spinach (fresh and wilted or frozen and thawed) 

2 tsp garlic powder 

½ tsp fresh ground nutmeg                                                       

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl

 

Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella filling

Makes ~35 small empanadas

2 cups freshly shredded, part skim mozzarella 

2 10.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with basil and oregano, drained 

1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped 

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl

 

Chicken and Vegetable filling

Makes ~ 25 small empanadas

1 grilled chicken breast, cut into small pieces 

½ green pepper, diced 

½ medium onion, very finely diced 

½ cup frozen corn 

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded, deveined, and very finely diced 

2 cloves garlic, very finely diced 

1 tsp chili pepper 

½ tsp chipotle pepper powder 

½ tsp cumin

1. Mix all ingredients but the chicken in a frying pan set over medium-high heat. Spray with a little cooking oil and stir fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the chicken and cook just until heated through. Remove from heat.

 

Rocky Road Filling

2 cups mini-marshmellows 

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips 

6 oz. chopped pecans.

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl

 

Assembly

Dough disks 

Filling 

1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water

1. Lay out the disks of dough, and place between 2 tsp and 1 T filling onto each disk.

2. Fold the disks over on themselves and press together the edges. You might want to use the tines of a fork to press into the dough

3. Brush each empanada with the egg wash (for sweet empanadas sprinkle sugar over the top).

4. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the dough is browned.

 

Chicken, Goat cheese and Spinach Quesadillas with Salsa Verde

I made this because I was in the mood for a quick dinner. I also have a very special place in my heart for goat cheese, and so this recipe uses a lot of it. The result was very tasty, and very filling. Be careful when pulling apart the poached chicken, as it might still be hot in the middle (I burnt my fingers). This would also be good with sour cream, but I forgot to buy it while I was at the store.

Quesadillas

Makes 2 quesadillas

2 Tortillas (burrito sized)
5 oz Goat Cheese
3 tablespoons pesto
1 chicken breast
2 cups chicken broth
¼ cup finely chopped Vidalia onions
1 Tbs chopped garlic
Cooking spray

1. Put the chicken breast in a pot with the onions and garlic, cover with the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil, and continue cooking until chicken is cooked through. Pour the mixture out into a colander, and set aside to cool.

2. Quickly wilt the spinach in a pan over medium heat.

3. Spray one side of each tortilla with cooking spray. Place that side down. Divide the pesto in half, put half on each tortilla and spread it around evenly around the tortilla. Crumble half of the goat cheese onto each tortilla.

4. Shred the chicken into a bowl, add the onions and garlic from the colander. Mix in the spinach. Divide the chicken mixture among the two tortillas, putting the mixture on half of each tortilla. Fold the tortillas in half.

5. Place the tortillas on a baking sheet. Put them under the broiler. Bake until the side of the tortilla that is up is golden and crispy. About 90 seconds. Flip the tortillas and crisp the other side. Cut up and serve.

Salsa Verde

Makes ~1 ½ cups

½ pound tomatillos, husked and washed
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 green onions
¼ cup white onion
1 Serrano chili pepper, stem and seeds removed*
2 cloves garlic, skinned
1 Tbs olive oil (I used roasted garlic oil)
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
Lime juice to taste

1. Mix all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until slightly chunky.

*you might want to wear gloves when you cut up the pepper. I didn’t and my hands burned for the next several hours. Ouch!

Spinach Gnocchi with Spicy Garlic Marinara

It's my first post that's an entree. Huzza! Of course it comes promptly after I got a nod from cupcakes take the cake. It wasn't much, but it massively upped my readership, at least for that day.

I threw a dinner party last Saturday, and decided to make a mess of food. I was only feeding six people, but I wanted to make enough to bring back to Richmond (I’m subletting a place there), and feed myself for the week. I decided to make something that would transport and keep easily. I’ve been wanting to try making Gnocchi for awhile now, so I made spinach gnocchi with roasted garlic marinara sauce. The gnocchi was pretty good, but the pasta sauce was excellent. As noted, I made ridiculous quantities of these foods. I’ve tried to reduce the recipes to more reasonable proportions here, but be aware that the pictures I’ve posted are from making a mess of sauce and 5lbs potatoes worth of Gnocci.

To make the pasta sauce I used home made roasted garlic and roasted garlic oil. It’s really easy to make yourself. I used the recipe here, but only made 2 heads of garlic worth.

Spicy Roasted Garlic Marinara Sauce

Should make ~4 servings

2 Tbs roasted garlic oil
1 Tbs olive oil
¼ head roasted garlic
2 cloves raw garlic, lightly crushed
1 28-oz can skinned, whole, plum tomatoes, packed in tomato juice and basil
½ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp Oregano (or to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Here's the garlic roasted in Oil:

1. Put two tablespoons of oil in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Put the roasted and raw garlic in the pan and let simmer until the garlic begins to turn golden, stirring occasionally.

2. Drain the can of tomatoes and reserve the juice (you’ll probably throw it away, but if you want your sauce to be more liquid, you can add it later. Add the tomatoes to the pan, and turn the heat up to medium high. Using a masher or a big spoon, mash up some of the tomatoes until you get the consistency you want. The heat will also break the tomatoes down.

3. Add the red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper, stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and reduce until you get a consistency you like. I probably reduced it for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning.

4. Serve sauce warm over Gnocchi, or whatever other pasta you are serving.

Spinach Gnocchi

Makes 2 main course servings

1 Lbs potatoes (use Idaho or Russet DO NOT USE WAXY POTATOES)
10 oz Spinach (I used frozen)
~1 cup flour
Salt, Pepper, and Nutmeg to taste

1. Put the potatoes into a pot of boiling water. Boil for 35-45, or until tender.

2. Wilt the spinach, either by thawing it in the microwave if you’re using frozen, or by putting the spinach into boiling water for a minute, and then submerging it in ice water, if you are using fresh. Chop the spinach up very finely.

3. Once the potatoes are ready, take them out of the water and skin tem one at a time. It is important that the potatoes still be hot when they are riced, so this needs to be done quickly. Move the potatoes using tongs, and hold them using oven mitts. Chances are you will burn yourself doing this. Once you’ve taken the first potato out, you may wish to turn the heat down under the remaining potatoes.

4. As each potato is peeled, put it through a ricer. If your ricer has multiple size options, use the smallest holes available. Continue until all the potatoes are riced.

5. Mix the riced potatoes with the spinach, a generous amount of salt, the pepper and the nutmeg. Kneed the ingredients together. Add half a cup of flour, and kneed it into the dough. Different people will require different amounts of flour. Keep adding until the mixture takes on a sticky dough like quality. The best way to test when you’ve added enough flour is just to pinch off some dough, roll it into a bowl, and put it into some boiling water. If the gnocchi stays together, there is enough flour.

6. Other recipes suggest rolling the dough into long ropes ½ an inch think, and then cutting the ropes into ¼ inch segments. I just rolled the dough into small balls in my hands. Place the balls in one layer on a cookie sheet or in a casserole dish. Try not to let the balls touch each other, or they will stick

7. To cook, place the gnocchi one at a time into a pot of salted, boiling water. After a minute or so the gnocchi should begin to float. After another minute or so remove the gnocchi with a slotted spoon. Let cool and serve with the sauce.

I don't know why, but sometimes blogger automatically rotates my photos, sorry this one is sideways.