Chorizo Empanadas August 18, 2008

Here’s the recipe for the chorizo empanadas I made for the potluck. I based it off of Kitchen Wench’s recipe!

Crust:
- 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) cold butter, cubed
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 beaten egg to brush on top
Using your fingertips, smush the cold butter into the salt and flour until it resembles bread crumbs. You may use more butter for a flakier crust but I try to cut down on saturated fats. Mix in the egg and milk until a dough forms. If sticky, you may add more flour. Separate into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and fridge until ready to use. I was rushing and put it in the freezer.

Filling:
- 1 lb chorizo (Spanish pork sausage)
- 1 cup chopped bell pepper (I had 2 small ones from my garden)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 jalapenos, finely diced (I had a green and red one from my garden)
- 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 4 tsp crushed tomatoes with sauce

Veggies and eggs.

Raw chorizo.

Directions:
1. Squish the chorizo out from their casings into a large hot pan. Use wooden spoon or spatula to break sausage into small pieces while cooking. Cook until fully cooked.
2. Add bell peppers, jalapenos and onions. Cook until softened and onions are translucent.
3. Add spices, sugar and tomato sauce.
4. Stir in eggs and remove from heat.
5. Let filling cool down to room temperature before filling.

Fuzzy picture of the filling.

Assembly:
1. Roll out dough on floured surface. Use a bowl or cup to cut out rounds.
2. Place some of the filling in the center of the round.
3. Fold round to encase filling in a half circle shape. Crimp together the edges.
4. Brush with beaten egg for browning in the oven.
5. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until tops are browned.

Two different sized empanadas.

The yummy goodness inside.

Some recent food pics July 23, 2008

Freshly picked jalapenos and tomatoes from my vegetable pots! The insides of the tomatoes were slightly green, probably weren’t completely ready yet but they were quite sweet! Made more jalapeno poppers with the peppers but baked them this time to avoid the oil. So yum.

Mom made bread again. One pan is plain, the other has dried pork shreds inside.

This one has cinnamon sugar! Each roll is rolled with cinnamon sugar inside.

Chocolate beef chili. Soo good. The chocolate flavor is barely there but makes it taste so much better. I cheated and used a packaged chili flavoring mix but that’s how I usually make it. I like consistency and it’s easy. Brown a pound of ground beef, add a chopped onion, chopped jalapeno pepper, a can of red beans, a small can of tomato sauce, a packet of chili flavoring and 3 teaspoons of cocoa powder.

Two bentos and Tempura Jalapeno Poppers July 11, 2008

My sister and I made bentos for lunch today. She made one to bring to school and I made one for our younger brother. It took quite a while but it was fun. They came out quite pretty I think considering this was my sister’s first time making a bento box.

My sister’s box:
Contents: bottom has ham and cheese flying pig on bed of rice and cucumber and carrot garden; top has dried cranberries, plum slices, cucumbers, chicken strips and a piece of chocolate.

Here’s the one I made for my brother.
Contents: bottom has two mushroom caps with cheese, dried pork tamagoyaki (i make it with soba sauce and sweet soy sauce), and chunks of cucumber; top has cubes of colored and plain rice, ham, cucumber and carrot sticks.

Close up:

I went to the Sunrise Mart in Soho for the first time today. Sunrise Mart sold tons of Japanese groceries, snacks, drinks, cookware, bento boxes, prepared sushi and bento boxes to eat in store or for take out. It was great, the prices were cheap but they were reasonable. They even had prepackaged onigiri in different flavors for only $2 a piece! I highly recommend a visit. Check them out on yelp.com here.

So after having some spicy tuna sushi and a strawberry Calpico yogurt drink with a good friend of mine, I walked around and bought a tempura batter mix and panko (Japanese bread crumbs). I knew there were several jalapenos in my pot-garden that were ready to be eaten. So I went home and made jalapeno poppers – tempura style.

There are two eggplants in there because I had extra batter left.

I didn’t measure anything but here’s what I did. I cut four large jalapenos in half after removing the stems and removed all the seeds and membranes with my BARE fingers. Unfortunately, I forgot this fact and touched my eye for the briefest of moments. Instantly I felt like my eye was on fire. My stupidity didn’t end there because while tearing up in pain, I removed my contact with my fingers instead of asking someone else to do it. This resulted in 100 times more stinging and pain. I had to stand with my eye pride open under running water for almost 15 minutes before it stopped burning. So this serves a warning to you.

Anyways, after that scenario, I mixed together about 4 tbsp cream cheese, 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar jack cheese, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder and a dash of salt. I filled the jalapeno halves with this cheesy mixture, dipped them in the tempura batter made from the mix, dredged them in panko and then fried them in oil until golden brown. I probably will make this again soon, maybe with different fillings. It was really good.