More Fast Food - Empenadas, Ole! And a Salad, too!

Sunday, I had the "pleasure" of cleaning the fridge inside & out. I had leftover shredded pork, cotija cheese, a bell pepper that had to be cooked (or tossed). I keep a box of prepared pie crusts, from Trader Joe's, on hand as my "emergency quick fix" ingredient. So, I decided to make empenadas.

Empenadas are my Mexican version of quiches or fritatas. It's a great way to recycle leftovers in a tasty way.

I can't really give a specific recipe, with measurements. These empenadas are more of a technique:

With a little olive oil, I sliced onion and the yellow bell pepper (cut into strips) and cooked until tender. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place one prepared pie crust onto parchment paper (they come in pairs)-- or you can make your own. Cut each circle in half.

I piled shredded pork, cotija cheese, onion and bell pepper. I added fresh cilantro.


Then, I folded into half again, and fluted the edges with a fork-- this took minutes.

I cut a few slits for steam to escape. I did this on Sunday, covered the baking sheet with plastic wrap until today....when I came home tired and thankful I did not have to cook.

I preheated the over to 350F. I beat one egg and brushed the egg wash onto each empenada.
I baked the empenadas (I had four of them) .


Aren't they pretty?

These were delicious and the crust was tender and flakey. See?

Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner-- Cherry Filled Ableskiver

I first discovered the food blog "Sticky, Gooey, Cream, Chewy" because the name totally intrigued me. The food photography is beautiful...professional and the recipes definitely tickle my sweet taste buds. This recipe, in particular, is beautifully photographed!

A couple of months ago, I finally bought an Ableskiver pan that had been on my mental wish list -- it's that peculiar looking round cast-iron pan with the 7 holes in them. I've wanted to buy one for so long, but I could not justify the price tag at Williams-Sonoma. I found one at Bed, Bath & Beyond for about $15.00, with a coupon that I had kept in my purse.

When I saw the post on SGCC, just a few days ago, I made up my mind that this weekend I was going to take a maiden voyage with my unopened kitchen gadget. The recipe inside the box did not appeal to me at all-- Bisquick! No way! I GOOGLED to find various recipe, but I settled on SGCC's recipe, and bravely beat my egg whites and folded them into the batter (I'm always nervous that I'll blow this step). My prep time took about 5 minutes and the batter came together very easily. I was ready to start cooking my "Ables" in less then 15 minutes.

My pan has a non-stick finish, so I just brushed a little melted unsalted butter into the pan. I filed each well about half way. They puffed up pretty fast! The first batch was showered with cinnamon sugar. I remembered that I had saved some cherry pie filling for a parfait (which I keep meaning to post) I had made, last week. So, the next batch, I filled each well less than halfway (just under 1/2 Tablespoon. I filled a tsp of filling and added more batter to the top.
Perfect!
These were a hit with my family. I can already see a lemon curd filling, rasberry jam, nutella-- the sky's the limit on how you can enhance these tasty balls of "Danish Ball Pancakes". It's so worth buying the pan!

Danish Abelskiver's
adapted from Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

4 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons sugar
Option from SGCC for filling:
1/2 cup Nutella
1 banana, sliced into quarters lengthwise and then into small chunks
Other options:
You can simply sprinkle cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar, or you can fill these with so many possibilities-- jam, lemon curd, pie filling... have fun with this!

1 tablespoon melted butter for pan

• Beat egg whites until stiff but not dry, and set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, buttermilk, vanilla and butter.
• In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
• Combine the yolk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk until well blended. The batter will be a little lumpy.
• Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites in two additions.
• Heat an aebleskiver pan over medium heat and brush each well with melted butter.
• Pour about 1 tablespoon of the batter into each well.
• OPTIONAL:
• Add 1/2 teaspoon of Nutella and 1-2 chunks of banana to each well. Then top off each well with enough batter to fill.
  

• Cook about 3 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom and bubbly around the edges,
• Quickly turn each aebelskiver over, using a long wooden skewer or toothpick, trying not to puncture the balls.
• Continue cooking until golden on the bottom, about 2 minutes more.
  

• Transfer to a plate and repeat the process with the remaining batter.

Makes about 42

Click here for printable recipe

Rise & Shine - Baked eggs with spinach

I love eggs. I especially love them soft boiled, and served in an egg cup. That's a very German way of doing things, and that's how my mother...and her mother...and... well, it's just a very traditional breakfast. I love the beautiful yellow of egg yolk, cooked perfectly--not too runny, not too hard. I've perfected that, just like my "Mutti" taught me to.

I like to visit the food blog"Culinary Wannabe" for a few reasons. There's something remarkable about a 20-something newlywed who wants to learn how to cook that makes my heart feel so warm and fuzzy! I cannot believe how many young women that I've met, who don't want to cook, or just don't know how. Now, here's a young lady who is making recipes, and taking great photos...well, her posting for Baked Eggs got my attention. Canadian bacon...love it... fresh spinach... oh, yeah...love it... hold on... baked eggs with cheese and heavy cream. Sold!

I made a couple of minor tweaks, in my effort to trim down a few calories. I love heavy cream, and there are some recipes where nothing else will do. I won't use margarine-- ever. For me, it's butter, all or nothin'. But, I do buy a shredded Mexican Lite cheese from Trader Joe's that pretty decent. (I store it right next to my quality gruyere, feta and other varietals of cheese.) I love cheese! Where was I? Oh, calories. So, I grabbed some fresh spinach, the Lite shredded cheese and half and half. I also took one little shortcut-- I bought a jar of chopped garlic from Trader Joe's. The ingredients were harmless, so I thought I'd try it. It's a fast shortcut when I'm in a hurry. When it comes to breakfast, I'm in a hurry!

What I liked about this recipe was how fast it came together. While breakfast was baking, I tidied up the kitchen and enjoyed breakfast with a glass of Trader Joe's fresh squeezed OJ. I'm glad that I decided on two eggs per serving. It was just the right amount of breakfast.



So, here's the recipe, with a few changes that worked out great:

Penne with Prosciutto, Walnuts & Fried Sage Leaves

What's not to love about the name of the recipe? I have a sage bush that has been very good to me. Around Thanksgiving time, I harvest a lot of the beautiful leaves for stuffing, and I also dry them for cooking. My larger leaves are pretty picked clean, but I still managed to pick some fresh leaves-- noticing all the new growth that's getting ready to happen.

I've never had fried sage leaves, but Stacey's photos convinced me to try them. I'm a changed woman! The crunch of the sage leaves, and the wonderful aromatics in the melted butter made a simple but fantastic sauce! This dish is so easy to make-- another 30 minute fast food recipe that I would make again. My only teeny tiny tweak was to add some red pepper flakes, at the end. Perfect!

I might caution anyone that using unsalted butter is a smart move. Prosciutto can be salty, so go way easy on adding anymore salt. The walnuts, garlic and fried sage are absolutely perfect! The next time I make this recipe-- and I will definitely make it-- I think I'll go for pancetta, instead of prosciutto. I have a feeling that this would be delicious, too.

Adapted from the food blog "Stacey Snacks":

Penne with Prosciutto, Walnuts & Fried Sage Leaves
8 oz. of prosciutto, diced (or, try pancetta)
5 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped roughly
salt & pepper
1/2 cup Pecorino Romano cheese

1 lb. penne pasta

1/2 stick of unsalted butter
25 sage leaves

Cook your pasta as per directions on the box.

In a heavy skillet heat your olive oil and cook your garlic, prosciutto and walnuts on medium heat until the prosciutto starts to brown (watch that your garlic doesn't burn). Once this is done, take your pan off the heat/burner.

Add your cooked, drained penne pasta to the skillet and mix with the prosciutto mixture. Add 1/2 cup of parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and toss together.
Sprinkle with a bit of salt and cracked black pepper.

In a separate frying pan, cook 1/2 stick of butter and the 25 sage leaves on medium heat for about 2 minutes till the sage leaves are crisping up.
Pour this delicious sage butter on top of the pasta and serve.

Just let me savor it "Blood Orange Sorbet"

I had a procedure done at my "gynie's" office tonight. I'll spare you the sordid details-- suffice it to say that it involved Novocaine, ghastly instruments and a 20 year flashback to childbirth. As my husband drove me home, I told him that there is no way that I would be able to stand and cook dinner. My husband (who doesn't like to cook, and therefore cannot cook at all) valiantly stopped to pick up pizza. His gallant effort to help his wife, was to bake it and set the table.

I had the perfect excuse for wanting a "palate cleanser". I could hear my blood orange sorbet, that I made last night, calling my name. It had set to a creamy texture with a beautiful ruby red color. I've made Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit sorbet and Myer Lemon Sorbet, ever since I bought my ice cream maker. But Blood Orange Sorbet...ahhhhhh. As my son said, last night, when I offered him one sample spoonful, "Mom, this is chronic!" In young adult language, that's the ultimate compliment.

Yes, it's chronic. It's one of those "let me sit in my corner, alone, to savor every bite" moments. It's what makes the doctor's pain go away. Heaven. I'm afraid that I'm going to be very territorial with my container of sorbet. I'll have to find more fruit to buy, so that I can enjoy the beautiful deep red color and flavor...before the season is over.

I've made sorbets with fine sugar and I've tried corn syrup. Through trial and error, I decided that my favorite recipe is to use a simple syrup. I keep a glass jar of simple syrup in my fridge, for making quick sorbets. The ratio of simple syrup to fresh squeezed fruit depends on the tartness or sweetness. Here's how I made this one-- and I would not change a thing!




Blood Orange Sorbet
Note: I use an ice cream maker where the bowl stays chilled in the freezer.

6-8 blood oranges, squeezed to equal about 2 cups of juice
1-2 tsp of zest (optional)
1 cup of simple syrup (taste the fruit, first, for tartness)
1 Tablespoon of vodka (I used Citroen Vodka). This works as "anti-freeze"

To make simple syrup:
2 parts sugar to 1 part water
In a saucepan, heat sugar and water just until dissolved.
Remove from heat and chill. Overnight is best.

Mix the chilled simple syrup with the fresh fruit juice and vodka
Chill for at least an hour

Turn on the ice cream maker and add the sweetened fruit juice.
Depending on your ice cream maker, the sorbet should be ready in about 25 minutes.
I like to chill my finished sorbet overnight. I've been told that it will store for several days. I have never been able to test that theory, as it disappears within 2 days!

Click here for printable recipe

Fast Food , Italian Style -- Tilapia Piccata

I had plans to make an entirely different dish (from Stacey Snacks), but my stomach was feeling a little "off" so I wanted something really mild. I had to stop and run three errands on the way home from work, so I knew I wanted something really fast and easy. PROUD ITALIAN COOK posted a recipe for Tilapia Piccata that jumped right out at me. One of the quickest side dishes, that always pleases my family are Yukon Gold Garlic Mashed Potatoes (made with cream cheese, instead of butter) and roasted asparagus.

I had dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes (eatcherheartout, Rachael Ray). OMG! The fish was absolutely delicious! I've made chicken piccata before, but using a mild fish was a wonderful twist.

For dessert, I'm making Blood Orange Sorbet. It should be ready in about five minutes. I can't wait!
NOTE: I tasted the Blood Orange Sorbet, and it is exquisite! My secret ingredient is Kettle One Citroen Vodka. It'll set better by tomorrow and I'll have to post the photo. What a beautiful color!

Back to the fish (still thinking of the sorbet, though)--
I didn't measure when I made this dish, so these are approximate:

4 Tilapia filets, dredged in seasoned flour (kosher salt & fresh ground pepper)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil and 2 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter
white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
chicken stock (still using my homemade stock)
2 tsp capers
juice from 1/2 fresh lemon with a little reserved (for the roasted asparagus)

• Heat olive oil & butter until it's just beginning to brown
• Add tilapia and cook for approximately 3 minutes; gently turn over
• Cook other side
• Remove and cover with foil
• Deglaze the pan with some white wine (I used a generous splash, maybe 1/2 cup)
• Add some chicken stock (about 1/4 cupP
• Add the lemon juice and capers and reduce
• Whisk 1-2 Tbsp of unsalted butter until melted
• Spoon sauce over the tilapia and enjoy fast food, the Italian Way!

Click here for printable recipe

Roasted Asparagus:

• Heat oven to 450F
• Prepare asparagus but cutting tough stems; save for making vegetable stock
• Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black papper
• Drizzle with olive oil
• Roast for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the asparagus
• Remove from oven, and drizzle with fresh squeezed lemon

Shredded Pork Taquitos

This post has been completed re-edited. Too see the updated post, click here: