Crab and Goat Cheese Empanadas With Mango Chutney

Crab and Goat Cheese Empanadas With Mango Chutney

I hosted a tapas party this past summer and made quite a few recipes that I had never made before. Among those were these empanadas. They really wowed everybody so I thought I'd share this recipe find with you. This is a great make ahead recipe. You can keep these on a sheet tray, covered with plastic or foil in your fridge for a day or two. And I know they freeze very well because we just ate the last of them, from July, last night! The next time I bake these I will brush with an egg wash on the tops just to make them a bit more golden-brown looking and I will add a bit more sugar to the chutney as it was a bit tart. That probably depends on how ripe your mangoes are.

Recipe: Crab and Goat Cheese Empanadas

Adapted from Michelle Bernstein; The Melting Pot on Food Network

Ingredients

For the dough:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 pound plus 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small cubes

1/3 cup cold water

For the filling:

1 tablespoon, olive oil

1 Spanish onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 habanero, minced

1 pound picked lump crab meat

1 cup soft goats cheese

1 teaspoon chopped thyme

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mango Chutney, recipe follows

Directions:

Dough: Combine flour, salt, and butter in food processor, run until it becomes a coarse meal. Add all the water and pulse until it forms a dough. Allow to rest for 1/2 hour.

Filling: In a saute pan on medium, heat olive oil and saute onion, garlic, and habanero. In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, making a rough circle about 1/8-inch thick. With a 3-inch diameter cookie cutter, cut circles.

Place about 2 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each circle. Moisten the exposed dough with a finger dipped in water. Fold the empanada in half, press the firmly together, sealing with a fork around the edge. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve with Mango Chutney.

Recipe: Mango Chutney

2 mangoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped

1/4 Spanish onion, chopped

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook on low for 30 minutes. Add cornstarch if desired to thicken.

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Sesame Chicken That's Better Than ANY Take-Out!

Sesame Chicken That's Better Than ANY Take-Out!

When my husband and I moved to Chicago from Madison, WI I was so excited about moving to a bigger city and having access to massive quantities of really good Chinese food. Well, we've been here two years and I have yet to find such a thing. Every time I try a new place it seems worse than the last. To be fair I have found good Dim Sum and great sushi but the offerings for Chinese take-out are dismal. So as a result I am on a mission to find and modify recipes to make some of my favorite take-out dishes at home. I have some great Asian recipes now (will post soon) for General Tso's Chicken, Sweet and Hot Pepper Chicken,Hot-and-Sour Soup, Pad Thai, Veggie egg rolls, pork dumplings and now this one which just moved to the absolute top of my humble little list. If you are a fan of Sesame Chicken...this will blow your mind! We devoured this so fast I didn't even have time to take a picture for you. We'll try to control ourselves next time ;). PS: Because this chicken isn't heavily breaded so it tastes just as good the next day...if it lasts that long! Enjoy!

Recipe: Flawless Sesame Chicken
Modified from a post by "Reykjaviky" at All Recipes.com

Ingredients:
2-3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1" cubes

Marinade:
2T. soy sauce
1T. sherry or port
1/4t. sesame oil
2T. flour
2T. cornstarch
2T. water
1/4t. baking powder
1/4t. baking soda
1t. vegetable oil
1T. Asian Essence (See Below) or Chinese 5 Spice Powder

Sauce:
1/2 C. water
1 C. chicken broth
1/8 C. white vinegar or 1/4 C. of Rice Vinegar
1/4 C. Cornstarch
1 C. Sugar
2T. dark soy sauce
2T. Sesame Oil
1T. Asian chile paste
1T. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (optional, we like it really hot)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1T. ginger minced
3-4 C. peanut oil, for frying
2T. Sesame Seeds
green onions, chopped

Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients (the first 10 ingredients listed) and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.

To prepare the sauce:
Mix together all of the sauce ingredients (the LAST 11 ingredients beginning with water). Pour them into a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.

To deep-fry the chicken:
Add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then place chicken in warm oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken. Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.
Put all of the chicken into the sauce and toss to coat. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped green onion. Serve with rice.

Recipe: Emeril's Asian Essence (Salt Omitted)
4T. Chinese 5 Spice Powder
4T. Sugar
2T. Black Pepper
1T. Cayenne Pepper

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Spicy Italian Sausage Soup With Spinach and Gnocchi

Spicy Italian Sausage Soup With Spinach and Gnocchi

Oh yeah! This is one of those time when I could just kiss myself! It's a cold, rainy, crappy day in the city and you, innocently, set out to make a new soup that will warm and nourish yourself and your loved ones and it turns out so good that you and your husband, not so innocently, end up in a struggle to see whose gonna the last of the soup at the bottom of the pot! In my house stuff like that has been known to happen on occasion. Here's my recipe. I didn't really measure anything when I made it so these quantities are approximate but should get you close. Try it and you may just want to kiss me to ;)!

Recipe: Spicy Italian Sausage Soup With Spinach and Gnocchi
If I didn't have gnocchi, I would have made a small hearty pasta shape and or added some canellinni beans.

Ingredients:
2T. Olive Oil
1 lb. Bulk Italian Sausage
1 C. each: Onion, Carrot, Celery, Cremini Mushrooms, Red Bell Pepper and Poblano Pepper
4 Cloves of Garlic
1T. each: Fennel Seed and Crushed Red Pepper
1-1/2t. oregano
3/4t. thyme
2 Bay leaves
1/2 C. Red Wine, Port, Sherry whatever you have around
6-7 Cups of Beef Stock or Chicken or both
28oz. can whole plum tomatoes, crushed (juice and all)
2 or 3 BIG handfuls of fresh baby spinach if you have it or use a box of frozen.
1 pkg. Gnocchi

Basil, chiffonaded
Grated Parmesan

Directions:
In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and brown. Add all the vegetables and spices and cook 10 minutes. Take the pan off of the heat and add wine. Return to medium heat and scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add stock and tomatoes. Simmer until the liquid has evaporated by a quarter to a third. Toss in spinachand gnocchi and simmer until the gnocchi float. This should only take a couple of minutes. Once they float cook for another 2 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with the basil and parmesan. Enjoy!

PS: I made some garlic bread with melted butter, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil and dried tarragon, about equal amounts and toasted it in the oven. It went great with the soup!

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Fried Green Tomatoes With Fresh Corn-Tomato-Chipotle Salsa

Fried Green Tomatoes With Fresh Corn-Tomato-Chipotle Salsa

"What I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes like we used to have at the cafe. Ooh!"
Quote From Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Well, it's that time of year again. While we're still hoping for a few more red ripe tomatoes from our vines the weather is turning cooler and there's no way all those green fruits will mature before the first frost sets in. This is a recipe I concocted while in a hurry to make an appetizer for guests that were arriving soon. This was a major hit. The one thing everyone agreed on is that it needed some sour cream which I was out of. My son suggested making these with a crab cake which would be good but I'd go with a remoulade sauce instead of the salsa. Still have plenty of green ones out there, hmmm...

Recipe:Fried Green Tomatoes With
Fresh Corn-Tomato-Chipotle Salsa

















The Salsa:
2 C. Chopped red tomato
1/2 C. Corn
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 a small red onion
1 clove of garlic, minced
chipotle peppers in adobo (start with 1 or 2 small and add more to taste)
juice of 1 lime
1 T. olive oil
salt & pepper
Chop all the veggies and put in a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Adjust seasoning.

The Tomatoes:
This is a pretty standard coating but I had read somewhere that they sprinkled the tomatoes on both sides with sugar as well as with salt and pepper before breading and since green tomatoes can be quite tart I thought it a good idea...and it was!

12 slices, about 1/4-1/2" thick, green tomato
sugar
salt
pepper

***NOTE:(For Emeril fan's like me use Essence and sugar. I make my own Essence and leave out the salt from his recipe so I can control the sodium content of my food. I have found that anything breaded and deep fried is always so much better when I use it. I'll put the recipe at the end if you'd like to try it and of course it can always be found at foodnetwork (dot) com).

The Breading:
1.5 C. Flour
2 Eggs
2 T. Milk
1.5 C. Yellow or Blue Cornmeal
2" of Oil or Shortening in a frying pan (traditionally, bacon fat is used. If you have some on hand I'd go for it...it just can't be bad!)

Sprinkle tomato slices with sugar, salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge in flour, then eggs mixed with milk and then in cornmeal. Put on a wire rack over a cookie sheet. Heat the oil to 350 degrees and fry a few tomatoes at a time until golden brown on both sides returning them to the wire rack, to drain, when done. If you like the tomatoes crunchy you can stop here. If you like them softer, pop them in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.

To Serve:
Place 2 or 3 fried green tomatoes on a plate, top with some of the salsa and a some sour cream. Enjoy!

The Essence:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt (Omit if you wish)
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Yield: 2/3 cup

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Pulled Pork With Spicy Slaw

Pulled Pork With Spicy Slaw

This is my adaptation of Tyler Florence's recipe. It's been a family favorite for years.  I do usually roast the pork in the oven but there is no reason you could't put in this in a slow cooker and let it go until you get home. Just make the slaw the night before and you'll be good to go.Enjoy!

 Recipe: Pulled Pork With Spicy Slaw
















Dry Rub:
1.5 T. Smoked Paprika
1.5 T. Sweet Paprika
1 T. Garlic Powder
1 T. Brown Sugar
1 T. Dry Mustard
1.5 t. Cayenne Pepper (use less if you don't like really spicy)
1-2 T. Coarse salt
1.5 t. Black Pepper
1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt

Directions:
Mix all of the spices together in a small bowl. Rub the spice blend all over the pork and marinate for as long as you have time for, as little as 1 hour or up to overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Put the pork in a roasting pan and bake for about 6 hours. Basically, roast the pork until it's falling apart and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 170 degrees F.

Tyler makes a homemade Barbecue sauce but I use a bottled sauce to make life easier. I like Open Pit Bold and Spicy-Hickory Flavor for this but you can use whatever kind you like. Stay away from the St. Louis style sauces for this (Baby Ray's, KC Masterpiece, etc). They just don't work well with this spice rub.

Wicked Spicy Cole Slaw
2-1lb. Bags Cole Slaw Mix
OR
1 lg.head green cabbage, shredded
2-3 carrots, grated

1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 green onions, chopped
1-3 red or green chiles, diced (make it to your taste)
1.5 C. mayonnaise
1/4 C. whole grain mustard
1 T. cider vinegar
1 lemon, juiced (about 2T.)
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Several dashes hot sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine the 2 bags of slaw mix or the cabbage and carrot with the red onion, green onions, and chile in a large bowl. In another bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar; stirring to incorporate. Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss gently to mix (if it seems a little dry at first don't worry it'll give off liquid as it sits). Season the cole slaw with celery seed, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Chill for 2 hours in refrigerator before serving (you can get by with an hour at room temperature if you're pressed for time). ENJOY!

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