New Year's Eve Snacks - Empanadas and Guacamole

Hope everyone is ready for a new year, and a new decade.  This one seems to really have been shit.  

Every Thursday there is the wonderful tradition of Dave's Thursday.  Normally Dave cooks, but with it being NYE, Dave is taking the night off and we are supposed to bring snacky noms.  This gave me the opportunity to play with my new Christmas toy - my 3 cup KitchenAid Food Processor.  :D  

May be small but it packs a punch and is totally useful.  I did about everything with it tonight!  Chopping onions, my former WORST nightmare, not anymore.  Easy peasy!

My friend Lara came over, and we made guacamole and crab empanadas.  Both very simple, and tasty to boot!

I found the empanada recipe in Glamour, and it comes from Eva Longoria Parker.  Who knew she could cook?  

The original recipe calls for canned crab meat.  Having lived in Maryland and on the East Coast, this offends me in so many ways!  I instead found a pouch of jumbo lump crap meat, drained it and used it.  Because I was using jumbo lump meat, I did throw the whole mix in to the processor, a couple pulses and it was perfect.  I also threw in a dash of cilantro (left over from the guac!).  I realized when pressing the last one closed, I should have thrown some serrano in as well.  Oh well next time!

Crab Empanadas 

From Eva Longoria Parker 

Ingredients 

6 oz canned crab meat, drained 

2 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ cup diced green onions

Salt and Onion to taste

Flour

1 box puff pastry

Cooking Spray

 Directions 

1)       Preheat oven to 400° F.

2)       Combine crab meat, sour cream, mustard, and onions in a medium size bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

3)       Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and lay one sheet of puff pastry on top.  Store the rest in the fridge until ready to use.

4)       Use a 3” round cookie cutter (or an upside down mug) to cut out pieces of pastry.  One box will make 18-24,

5)       Fill each piece with 1 tsp of crab mixture, then fold each piece in half.  Use the back of a fork to seal the edges.

6)       Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray surface with a layer of cooking spray.  Place empanadas approx. 2 inches apart.

7)       Bake for 12 min. or until golden brown.

Lara pressing the empanadas closed.

Tada!  

I also did some guacamole to dip our empanadas in!  This recipe comes from a restaurant where I used to work.  And believe it or not, I didn't eat guac or avocados before this, now I crave it!

Traditional Guacamole

 Ingredients:

3 avocado halves

1 heaping tbsp of diced tomatoes

1 heaping tbsp chopped cilantro

1 heaping tbsp roasted garlic

1 heaping tbsp diced white onions

2 tbsp salsa

Squeeze of lime juice

3 grinds of pepper

4 grinds of salt

Small amount of Serrano puree is desired for spicy flavor

 Mash avocados with forks til chunky in bowl, then toss in ingredients and mix.

Rigatoni All'Amatriciana and Parmesan Knots

Found this recipe, gave it a slight adaptation. This would be a great vegetarian dish - I had to actually remember to eat the sausage, too.


Rigatoni All'Amatriciana (adapted)



Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
*1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic (MUST have garlic!)
1 slice peperoncino, or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used several slices of peppers)
1/2 pound pancetta, diced (bacon can be substituted)(I used 1 lb smoked sausage sliced, prepared as package directions)
1 cup white wine
Dash of freshly ground black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can diced or peeled tomatoes, undrained
3/4 pound rigatoni
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and peperoncino slice or red pepper flakes until very golden brown, then remove the onion from the pan and reserve.

Add the pancetta to the pan and cook until the edges are brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. Remove the pancetta and drain the fat. Discard the peperoncino slice (if using). Return the pancetta and onion to the pan, then add wine and pepper and simmer until the wine is absorbed.

Add the tomatoes and simmer approximately 15 minutes, until the sauce is cooked down.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente, drain, then add the pasta to the sauce. Stir in half of the cheese. Serve with additional grated cheese and garnish with parsley.


I reserved the peppers in a ramekin for Mike, and he mixed them in with the final sauce for his plate.

Final verdit: A++ This is a great simple dish.

Garlic and Herb Parmesan Knots



Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated soft breadstick dough
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Separate dough into 8 rounds and gently unroll. Loosely tie a knot with each breadstick, then tuck ends under to make a knot. In a small bowl, combine butter, garlic powder, and herbs and mix well. Brush this mixture over top of rolls, using all of the mixture.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and bake at 350 degrees for 12-17 minutes until golden brown. Remove immediately from cookie sheet to wire rack; serve warm. 6 servings


I got more than 6 servings out of this. And lesson learned with other breads, use 3 tbsp of melted butter (I'm talking to you Cheddar Bay biscuits!).
I grated the Parmesan cheese right over the knots before putting them in the oven.


Before the oven....

Final Verdict: A, these were the perfect companion bread. And VERY easy!

Jucy Lucy!

A little late but here goes. The Jucy Lucy! Turned out great, final verdict? MORE CHEESE. Really. I thought I had enough in there. Alas, no.
I was in such a rush thru the grocery store I forgot pickles and fries. Turned out, that was ok. The burgers were thick, which means FILLING. :) Meaty cheesy goodness for sure.

I only had enough beef for 3 burgers total. I went a little non-traditional with my burgers. I made one with a provolone and American mix (Mike said it was great - he took it to lunch, but still more cheese - are you seeing a trend?) and the other two? Oh, smoked Gouda and sautéed mushrooms. GLORIOUS. No really. I used whole wheat buns (we do wheat bread for about everything, hot dog buns, hamburger buns...), Romaine hearts, white onion, tomato, and baby Bella mushrooms.

This web site has a pretty good how-to, which is the method I used for making mine.
Jucy Lucy how-to and recipe

I seasoned my beef with a little Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic and Borsari (can be found at Whole Foods - great meat seasoning, and I used it on the sautéed mushrooms too).

So following the instructions, I just added different cheeses. I made my mushrooms with butter, white wine and Borsari seasoning.


Halving the meat for the burgers



Mmmm, cheese!



Placing the cheese in the burger



Mmmm, mushrooms!



Fixin's



Gouda Jucy Lucy!



Messy = GOOOOD

Jucy Lucy/Juicy Lucy Pre-Dinner

Dinner tonight is the Jucy Lucy. What exactly is Jucy Lucy? Let our friend Wiki come to the rescue! Read all about it.


I saw this on Man V Food and knew I HAD to make them! Seriously, cheese INSIDE a burger? What could be better? And I have a fondness for cheese. This is going to be amazing.
I have my ground beef, 85/15 fat blend. Just need cheese buns and fixings. :) And when it comes to grilling, I'm thankful that I have an indoor grill in my kitchen. Convenience at it's best. So keep your eyes peeled later for my Jucy Lucy cooking story!

Blooging Adventures Here I Come

So I have been cooking a storm lately. Posting my pics up on Facebook. And I have been told I should blog this - I hear some people needed new recipes (Bri, this is for you too!). So here goes. Wish me luck!