Empanadas!

Empanadas!

Monday, September 21, 2009

End of Summer sweet empanadas

This weekend it really hit me, the summer has come and gone. It has started to cool down in DC, and the leaves are on the brink of changing colors.  School is in full gear, although my mind isn't quite there yet! Seeing as though the summer is wrapping up, I thought I would make an empanada that paid tribute to the wonderful summer fruits.  So, I made my way over to Whole Foods, as usual, and the first thing I noticed were some nectarines on sale.  The nectarines were not as ripe as I would have liked, but I picked up a few anyway.  Then, as I made my way into the store I saw some wonderful, plump blackberries.  They reminded me of some of the delicious blackberries I had eaten while in North Carolina this summer.  They may have been the best blackberries I ever tasted.  Even though I knew these would not be as scrumptious as the blackberries I ate in NC, I picked up a box to mix in with the nectarines.

A s I made my way through the aisles, all I could think about was this delicious blackberry peach crumble I made this summer while staying with my good friends Rachel and Scott in Atlanta.  This led me to the bulk oats and grains aisle, where I picked up some regular rolled outs.  I thought it would be a fun idea to sprinkle them on top of the empanadas.


After getting all my ingredients, I made my way home.  Lucky for me, I had stocked up on empanada dough from Giant last week, so I didnt need to venture up to Columbia Heights to get anymore.  When I got home, I started by prepping the nectarines. 

Because the nectarine was not as ripe as I like, and empanadas dont bake as long as crumbles/crisps, I decided to cook the nectarine a bit.  I melted a couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter in my trusty Calphalon pan.  I tossed the 2 nectarines I diced up with some lemon zest, lemon juice and brown sugar.  Once the butter was melted, I added the nectarine to the pan.

I cooked the nectarine for about five minutes until it was nice and soft.  It smelled amazing, and tasted even better!  Sweet tart and delicious.  As the nectarines were cooling, I took out the big ripe blackberries and gave them a rough chop. When the nectarines were cooled down, I added them to the blackberries.  I sprinkled in just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg, a touch of vanilla extract and just a touch more of brown sugar.

 
I then got to assembling the empanadas.  It is starting to be like second nature.  I can now pump out 20 empanadas like it aint no thang!  I guess Im on my way to a mini empanada catering business.... I made them just like the ones last week, cutting the big circles in half and making little triangle empanadas.  I have discovered that it works much better to seal the empanadas up with an egg wash rather than just dabbling water around the edge of the dough before closing them up.

Once I assembled 20 miniature empanadas, I gave them the usual egg wash on top.  I then sprinkled a mixture of rolled oats, unsalted butter and brown sugar, on the tops of the empanaditas.   Before putting them in the oven, I took a knife and slit a tiny hole in the top of every empanada in order to let the steam come out while they were baking. I put them in the oven at 375.

After my weekly set of empanadas were all assembled and baking, I realized I had a little of the filling left.  I also had a small little baggie of rolled oats left from Whole Foods.  I thought for a second, and then I realized I should use the leftovers to make a miniature little crumble.  I pulled out one of my adorable little Le Crueset creme brulee dishes and assembled my tiny little crisp.  I just poured in the fillings, then sprinkled the top with oats, brown sugar and butter.  When that was ready I just popped it in the oven with the empanadas.

I patiently waited for about 25 minutes while this wonderful pie smell started wafting throughout my apartment.  The empanadas were ready.  They smelled like heaven.  They turned out well, but the dough looked a little weird.  As I mentioned in a previous posting, the dough I have been using is made to be fried up.  I have not had a problem with the last two batches, but maybe this was just God's way of telling me I should make a fried empanada next week!




I may have to skip next weeks empanada escapade, as I am off to New Orleans on Wednesday and then NYC for the weekend.    I am sorry to all of my loyal readers, but you will have to wait another week and a half or so until you get to read another wonderful tale of my empanada adventures!

Monday, September 14, 2009

Liz's Empanadas go to a party!

Sorry it has been over a week since I wrote my last blog.  Let me begin by giving an update on my traveling empanadas.  As you know, I froze the fig and goat cheese empanadas before baking them, and then took them to Colorado with me.  I was a little worried they would defrost on the plane ride and get mushy, but they actually kept quite well.  I got to Colorado Friday afternoon, went straight to my friend Jessica's condo and put the empanadas in the freezer.  Then Saturday we filled a cooler with a bunch of food to make dinner for about 15 people that night up in Beaver Creak.  When we got to Beaver Creek that afternoon I decided the empanadas would be a good appetizer to have while we were having drinks out on the patio.  I baked them up at about 375 degrees, and after 25 minutes in the oven, they were perfection.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed them.  I have to say, adding caramelized onions to the empanadas really filled them out and made them delicious.  I think my friend Casey liked them more than anyone else(she kept coming back again and again for a half of an empanada!).  Here is everyone sitting on the patio waiting for the empanadas.
 
Now onto this week's empanada adventure.  On Saturday my new roommate Anne, and I decided to throw a little party at our apartment.  The party was in celebration of the end of summer, the new school year and Anne moving in.  When we decided to throw the party, I thought, what a great opportunity for people to enjoy my empanadas!  I thought about what kind to make, and couldnt decide, so I called my mom.  She asked me what the theme for the party was, and I quickly responded  "booze".  We are in grad school after all, we need to let loose on the weekends!  My mom then suggested I make an empanada that had some sort of liquor in it.
My first inclination was to make a recipe that I have made before.  A crab and shrimp empanada with a sherry bechamel sauce.  Then I decided it would be fun to also try something new.  I rarely ever make dessert empanadas, so why not debut one at the party!  After some careful thinking, it came to me.  I wanted to do some sort of twist on bananas foster.  I knew I couldnt put ice cream into the empanadas, so I thought why not just add in some chocolate chips and pecans to fill it out.
Now that I have introduced the two types of empanadas I made, lets dive into the recipes.  I started off with making the sherry bechamel sauce.  This is something that has become sort of second nature to me.  I use the basic sauce in a lot of different empanada recipes that I have made in the past, most notably my spinach empanadas.  I started off with melting two tablespoons of unsalted butter in a sauce pan.  After it all melted I added 2 tablespoons of flour.  The trick here is you need to make sure to whisk the two together quickly so as to get rid of any lumps.
After mixing in the flour, I added almost a cup of light cream.  You need to be careful and add the cream slowly, whisking away at the same time, again to avoid lumpiness to the sauce.
 
Once you have added all the cream, and you have a nice thick white cream sauce, go ahead and add a little salt and pepper.  Keeping the heat on medium, you can then add the sherry.  I am not sure how much I added, in the end probably ended up being 4 tablespoons or so.  It is really easy to just add a little and taste, thats what I do.  Depending on what you are trying to make, you can put as much or as little sherry as you want.
Once the sauce was done, I decided to get going on the shrimp.  I bought lump crab meat in a can, so I didnt need to prepare the crab at all. For the shrimp, I bought frozen uncooked shrimp from Trader Joe's.  They are a great deal there.  Even the crab at TJ's was not too expensive.  Once I defrosted the shrimp, I set them aside and began to melt about a tablespoon of unsalted butter.  When the butter was melted I added a few tablespoons of dry white wine, some lemon juice, salt and pepper.  I then added the shrimps to the pan.  Shrimp takes almost no time to cook, so make sure to stay close by.  You dont want to overcook the shrimp, or else it gets gummy, which is no good.  When the shrimp were done, I couldnt help myself but to try one.  They were scrumptious.  Cooked just right, with the perfect amount of acidity.
 
I chopped up the shrimp, and then mixed them in a bowl with the lump crab meat.  Then, I poured in the bechamel sauce that I made a little earlier over the crab and shrimp.  In the past that is all I did for this recipe, but this time I decided to add one more ingredient, Italian flat leaf parsley.  The parsley really adds a mice crisp fresh taste to the dish.
 
 
The crab and shrimp filling was ready, so I set it aside, and put it in the refrigerator while I started on the banana filling. This filling was extra fun, and I have to say one of the most delicious empanadas I have ever made in my life.  I started out by cutting up the banana.  I had 2.5 ripe ones on hand, so thats how many I used.  
 
Once the bananas were chopped and ready to go, I started to melt the butter, about 3 tablespoons.  Then I added a hefty amount of brown sugar.  I figured, you can never make a sweet empanada too sweet!  Once the brown sugar had dissolved I was ready to add  the chopped bananas.  I cooked the chopped bananas in the wonderful sugar butter mixture for a few minutes.
 
Now I was ready for the real action.  I added a shot of brandy and a little bit of rum to the pan.  Then BAM!  I lit it on fire like they do in the restaurants.  I was a little scared becuase I just got my bangs cut and I was worried the fire would burn them off and then get to my eyebrows, but I was lucky.... Actually, the flame was not that big.  Less dramatic than I had expected. I figured out though if you stir it around a little the flame got bigger.  After about a minute and a half the flame died away.  The bananas were done!
 
 
I decided to strain the bananas from the gooey wonderful buttery sauce.  You never want to have too much liquid in the empanada filling or else they ooze out when you bake them.  Dont worry though, I kept the sauce in a Tupperware for later (I bet it tastes delicious on vanilla bean ice cream!).
 
Once the banana was strained I added in the semisweet chocolate chips and some chopped pecans.  The smell was irresistible.  It was like someone had blended bananas foster with chocolate pecan pie, I mean, can you imagine anything better!?
 
Now that both fillings were done, it was time to get going on putting the empanadas together.  I started off with filling the dessert empanadas.  My friend Dawn Marie was over, and she was really itching to try one of the banana empanadas, so I figured I should get to those first. Because I was having a party and was expecting 40-50 people, I decided to make little bite sized empanadas.  I used the dough purchased at Giant supermarket, but cut the circles in half.  The empanadas were in little triangle shapes.  Once they were filled and ready to go in the oven, I brushed them with the usual egg wash, but then decided to add a little flavor and fun, and I sprinkled some brown sugar and cinnamon on top of them. 

After about 20-25 minutes in the oven at 375, the empanadas were ready.  They smelled like the most delicious, chocolaty amazingness that had ever come out of my oven. Dawn couldnt wait to try one, so she dove right in.
 
Before moving onto the crab and shrimp empanadas, we had to stop to do a little party prep.  The highlight of the party (besides my empanadas ofcourse) was our "brew tub".  We decided it would be a great idea to fill Anne's bathtub with ice, and then throw all the beer in it.  Our fridge likely would not hold enough beer for the number of people coming to our party.  Here is a quick look at the creative and wonderful brew tub.
Now onto the crab and shrimp empanadas.  I filled them the same way as the banana ones, in small half circles. Rather than sprinkling brown sugar and cinnamon on top, eww that would have been really gross, I did an egg wash and then sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top. 
  
The empanadas were done, the brew tub was filled, it was now time to party.  By the end of the night there were no empanadas left, and the brew tub was almost empty.  All in all, everything was a success.  I will definitely be making the banana empanadas again, probably over Thanksgiving. They were so tasty, and perfect for the fall holiday! 
Until the nest pocket adventure!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Traveling empanadas

Tomorrow I am taking off to head to Colorado for the weekend.  I am so excited, as I have never been.  I will be staying with my good friend Jessica in Denver, whom I have known since we were about 12, and then a couple of our other friends from middle/high school are flying in to meet up too. I am so thankful to have friends that have been around for so long.  We always have so much fun together.

I knew I would be gone for the weekend, and I am super committed to making this blog happen, so I thought I would make some empanadas and freeze them to bring to Denver so that my friends from out West could try them.  It was a bit of a struggle to come up with my next filling idea.  So I headed to the market for inspiration.  I was at Whole Foods the other day and saw some tasty looking figs, so I thought I would try and incorporate them in some how.  I also had some leftover fresh lemon thyme from the last empanadas.   After some careful thinking, I decided to do a caramelized fig, goat cheese and lemon thyme infused balsamic reduction empanada. 

As I mentioned in my last empanada post, making the dough myself was taking up a lot of time, and the dough really is not the focus of this project.  With the start of classes, I just don't have as much free time.  So, I was up in Columbia Heights yesterday and found some pre-made empanada dough in the Giant supermarket.  The empanada dough they had was for frying, but I thought I would give it a try in the oven.  I find that fried empanadas are a bit too heavy, and the fried flavor tends to over power the filling flavors.

To begin, I made my balsamic reduction.  I took a couple of cups of balsamic vinegar and threw in a bunch of sprigs of lemon thyme.  I brought it all to a boil, and then turned it down to a simmer for about 20 minutes.  It reduced down to about a cup or so.  Its important to get it to a thick consistency, but not quite as thick as honey.
Next I decided to caramelize the figs.  I cut them up into quarters, laid them on one of my fabulous baking sheets, which I lined with parchment paper (a must in my kitchen), and then sprinkled sugar all over the little ripe fig pieces.  I had never done this before, so I started off by broiling the figs for about 10 minutes.  It didn't look like they were getting caramelized so I decided to take them out of the broiler.  In order to get the sugar on the figs caramelized I decided to heat up my trusty Calphalon pan and just caramelize the figs in there.  It actually ended up working out quite well, and all of the figs had a nice little sugar crust on them.  Here are the figs pre-broil:
Once the figs were caramelized I was ready to put the empanadas together.  As you know I had the pre-made and pre-cut empanada dough, so I was all set to make some great empandas in a flash.  I was planning on making the empanadas and freezing them once prepared, so that my friends and I could bake them and have them fresh in Denver.  I wanted to make sure they were going to work out, so I decided to prepare a few and bake them, and then bring them to class this afternoon to get some feedback from my MBA friends.

I got out all of the empanada stuff: figs, goat cheese, balsamic reduction, dough, water and a fork.  In each empanada I placed two pieces of fig, about a tablespoon of goat cheese and then drizzled some of the balsamic reduction on top of the fillings.  To close up the empanadas I just wet the edge of the dough a little, fold it over, and seal the dough by pressing down firmly with a fork.
 
After brushing the empanadas with a little egg wash, I baked them up.  Even though the dough I bought was for frying, they actually turned out quite well baking in the oven. After about 15 minutes at 350 degrees the empanadas were ready (I could just tell by the smell!). I took them out and let them cool off a little.  It was hard to control myself and not just bite right into one of the wonderful piping hot stuffed dough delicacies.   After waiting patiently for them to cool I cut one open and gave it a try.
 
They tasted delightful.  The thyme really came through in the balsamic reduction.  Although they tasted sublime, they seemed a little empty.  I wondered what I could do to fill them up a little more? I thought about putting in more cheese, but I knew that would just melt away.  The balsamic reduction obviously wouldnt help, and I was a little short on figs.  So, I thought and thought, and I realized, when in doubt, just add caramelized onions!  Lucky for me, I always have some sort of onion in my fridge.  I really think they are one of gods greatest little gifts!  
 
I would love to report on how the onion worked out with the other fillings, but the rest of the empanadas I made are currently in the freezer, waiting to be baked this weekend.  I guess I will have to report back later on how the final ones turned out.

On another note, when I got home from class this evening, around 8:30, I was pretty hungry.  I didn't really want to fix anything that would create any leftovers, since I am leaving for the long weekend.  So I peaked into my fridge to see what I could whip up.  I had a little bit of the filling leftover from last weeks onion, mushroom and tomato empanadas, and a box of orzo in the cupboard.  I thought to myself, I can totally turn this leftover filling into a pasta sauce!  I cooked up a little orzo, and then tossed in the leftover filling once it was cooked al dente.  The boursin cheese in the leftover filling really brought it the pasta dish together.  I just wanted to share my experience, and let you know it is always better to make too much than not enough.  You can always find creative ways to use leftovers, and sometimes they even turn out better than the original dish!

Let's just call it an open pocket!

After going to my Spanish literature class and discussing the literature "boom" of the 1960's in Latin America, and then hitting the GW gym for a while, I returned home with a craving for a grilled cheese.  Now I could have just made the traditional grilled cheese my grandmother used to make me, two pieces of wheat bread with margarine on either side, some tillamook sharp cheddar laid evenly between the bread, and then pan grilled to perfection in a standard tephlon non-stick pan.  Even though I haven't been blogging for long, you should know that I tend to pizazz things up a bit.  So, I looked in my fridge and realized I had some beautiful ripe avocado, a plump tomato and a chunk of tasty aged Gruyere. 
I sliced everything up, and then smothered the outside of the bread with some margarine.  Now the trick to perfecting a grilled cheese when adding non-cheese elements is that you need to put a thin layer of cheese then the veggies and then another thin layer of cheese.  Otherwise, everything would end up sliding out.  The cheese on either side acts as the glue of the sandwich, holding everything together.   Once I assembled my sandwich, I cooked it up just the way my grandma taught me, in a non-stick pan.  Thanks to my mom I have a great Calphalon pan I use for these sorts of treats.  I cooked the first side on medium heat, and covered it.  Once the margarine was melted on the side facing up (about 4 minutes), I knew it was time to flip the sandwich.  I quickly flipped my grilled cheese and cooked it on the other side for another few minutes.  Finally it was done and I was ready to eat my lunch.  As you can see it turned out just right!
So, next time you feel like a grilled cheese, mix it up a bit.  It's so fun!