Peach and Strawberry Empanadas

Last week I made recipes featuring strawberries and peaches. This week I wanted to combine the two. A few weeks ago I made fruit empanadas and while they weren't the prettiest things to look at, they sure tasted good. Also, empanadas were perfect because I could use the butter I made over the weekend. I was a little worried when working the dough because it came out drier than the last time I made these. It probably could have used a little extra butter, but I am so glad I went with the vanilla cinnamon butter. It added another dimension to the empanadas and I loved the combination of strawberry and peaches. The filling leaked all over the place, but they still tasted great. I got a little tired of rolling out empanada discs so I made a little galette with the last part of the fruit filling and the remaining dough. (Once again inspired by the Tuesdays with Dorie peeps) I think the reason I enjoy empanadas so much is because they are similar to my mother's meat pies (even though she has yet to give me the recipe for those). I can't wait to try them again, but next time with a savory filling.

Empanada Dough
(Adapted from Epicurious)

2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 c cold vanilla cinnamon butter, cut into cubes
1 large egg
1/3 c ice water
1 tbsp distilled white vinegar

Sift the flour, salt, and sugar into a large bowl and blend in butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea size butter lumps.

Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. Mixture will be shaggy.

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with the heel of your hand once or twice to bring the dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap for at least 1 hour.

Dough can be chilled up to 6 hours.


Strawberry and Peach Empanadas
(Adapted from Laylita's Recipes)

1 pint organic strawberries, chopped
1 large peach, chopped
1/2 c sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg, lightly whisked with milk
organic turbinado raw cane sugar for sprinkling

Combine the peaches, strawberries, sugar, orange juice, and cornstarch in a large bowl. Mix well and let rest for one hour.

Drain the liquid from the strawberries and rhubarb.

Using a ramekin, cut dough into a discs. Roll each disc out to about 1/8 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Spoon the drained peach and strawberry mixture into each empanada disc. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.

Chill the empanadas for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush each empanada with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown.

Asparagus and Garlic Pasta

First: Yes, I did survive the LA Earthquake 2008 (obviously). Second, it technically wasn't even in LA which is why we only felt a slight rumble. Now on to the food...Last week I stumbled across yet another amazing food blog. I was so excited to see Donal put up this recipe because it uses one of my favorite summer vegetables and it takes less than 15 minutes for this to all come together.


Asparagus and Garlic Pasta
(from The Good Mood Food Blog)

handful of organic, whole wheat spaghetti
8-10 slim asparagus stalks, cut into one inch pieces
squeeze of lemon juice
about 1 tbsp parsley
1 clove garlic
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Bring to medium saucepans of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti to one pot and cook until al dente - about 12 minutes. Add asparagus to the other pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Add asparagus, lemon juice, parsley, garlic and salt and pepper to taste to a food processor. Pulse until it forms a paste. Drain pasta and return to the saucepan. Add the asparagus mixture and toss to combine. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.

Warm Sausage and Lentil Salad

Last week I bookmarked this article on Serious Eats (another go-to site for inspiration). I liked how the combination of flavors sounded. I had some leftover grilled sausage from the weekend so I decided to use it instead of cooking the sausage with the lentils. I picked up some fresh lentils at the farmer's market so of course that greatly reduced the cooking time.

Warm Sausage and Lentil Salad
(Adapted from Serious Eats and Pork and Sons)

Makes 2 servings

1/4 lb fresh green lentils
1 link hot Italian chicken sausage, grilled and sliced
4 slices center cut bacon, sliced
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
1/4 c olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
1 scallion, chopped
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
parsley, roughly chopped for garnish (optional)

In a medium saucepan bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add lentils and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the lentils are cooked through.

Meanwhile, saute the bacon over medium heat until browned, but not crisp.

In a small bowl, combine the Dijon, olive oil, shallot, scallion, and bacon with a little of it's fat. Whisk and then add the balsamic slowly to form a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss the lentils with the vinaigrette and topped with sliced sausage. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Vanilla Cinnamon Buttermilk Pancakes

Ok - something weird the happened the other night. I was preparing my posts for the weekend and looking through my fridge I realized I had an extra pint of heaving whipping cream from when I made cupcakes. I didn't know what to do with it, but immediately I thought of the fact that I am so not a fan of whipped cream. I don't know why, but I have never liked it. The stuff from the store in the plastic container or can grosses me out and I usually asks for desserts not to be included with it if I am dining out. Then I thought, maybe I should make my own and see if it is just a psychological thing. I found a simple recipe for a sweet whipped cream and got to working. It came together simply enough, but I decided that even with one of my favorite ingredients (cinnamon), I just don't like whipped cream. So then I thought "what would happen if I keep whipping this cream?". So I did. I kept whipping and texting my friend to tell her the results. I thought I was making a whipped icing, but then the mixture started to release all this liquid and the solids started to curdle. I quickly ran to my laptop and started typing in searches for "what happens if you mix cream for too long?". Of course The Kitchn came to my rescue with a recipe for homemade butter that of course was so easy, I decide to stop panicking and think about putting my concoction to good use. My friend (that I was still texting with updates the entire time) said I should make cinnamon rolls, but come on....I am just getting over my baking intimidation. I think I need to take baby steps. I settled on buttermilk pancakes.

Vanilla Cinnamon Butter
(Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis and The Kitchn)
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 or 2 dashes of cinnamon

Pour cream into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer on a low or medium speed until soft peaks are formed. Add sugar and vanilla and beat until mixture becomes thick and clotted and the liquid separates from the solids. Place mixture into a strainer lined with paper towels over a bowl. Refrigerate the liquid as this is buttermilk and will last for a few days in the refrigerator.

Run the solid mixture through an ice bath several times and drain in a paper towel. Turn into a small bowl and refrigerate for up to one week.


Vanilla Cinnamon Buttermilk Pankcakes
(Adapted from Food Network)

Makes 3 pancakes (and 1 test pancake)

1/2 c vanilla cinnamon buttermilk
1/2 c milk
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
cooking spray

Mix all ingredients well in a small mixing bowl. Pour by spoonfuls onto a sprayed, hot, non-stick pan. Cook until batter is bubbly. Turn over. Wipe pan clean between pancakes. Serve immediately with cinnamon vanilla butter and syrup or fruit.

My First Award

I am so happy today, because I just received my first blogging award! The Arte y Pico is for ‘creativity, design, interesting material and contribution to the blogging community’. Thank you thank you to Teresa at Mexican-American Border Cooking. Head on over to her site for yummy recipes handed down by her family. Now, I get to share this with five other people with equally delicious and creative blogs, so here goes...


Erica at Itzy's Kitchen

Her blog is full of easy, healthy and tasty recipes.

Rebecca at Ezra Poundcake

Lots of yummy treats with beautiful pictures, plus she's a fellow 30 Rock fan, you can't go wrong with that.

Susan at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Such beautiful pictures that even if it is a food I would normally not try, I would try it.

LA Stomach

Fun insight on eating and cooking in Los Angeles.

Paula from It's Al Gouda

Besides the great titled of her blog, she's growing some amazing stuff up in Oregon.

Grilled Sausage with Arugula Pesto

I've said it before, but those peeps over at The Kitchn always seem to know what I am in the mood for. Friday was an especially slow day at work (I blame Comic Con) so I spent the entire day reading food blogs and looking for interesting new recipes. I love pesto, but I have never tried making it myself because I didn't have a food processor...until now. I was so glad this was an arugula pesto because I already had all of the ingredients at home and I am trying to be kinder to my wallet and make fewer trips to the grocery store. (Why do I have to live on a street with TWO grocery stores about 50 steps aways?!?!) Anyway, this was really simple and came together quickly. I made the pesto a couple of days early and plan on using the leftovers with chicken or fish sometime this week. I decided to use chicken sausage instead of pork, because that is just what I prefer. I found a really great one at the farmer's market. One note, the recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp of salt, but I thought it was a little too salty. You may want to try using 1 tsp or less if you decide to make this yourself.

Grilled Sausage with Arugula Pesto
(from Martha Stewart Living)

4 oz organic baby arugula
4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (I used 5 cause I loves me some garlic!)
1 c freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tsp kosher flake salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 c organic extra-virgin olive oil
4 Italian sausages (can use both hot and/or sweet)

Make the pesto: Place the arugula and garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, scraping down the sides if necessary. Add cheese, salt, pepper, and olive oil and puree until smooth and well combined.

Heat grill to medium-high heat. Prick sausages with a fork to allow any excess fat to drip. Grill until cooked through. Serve pesto over the grilled sausages.

I served this with a simple spinach salad with a lemon vinaigrette, but if you want to do the full menu, check out the suggested Minestrone Salad.

Peach Cobbler

Back when I was a Girl Scout, we used to make some strange things. Yellow cake in a hollowed out orange, wrapped in foil and cooked over the fire? But one thing I do remember making peach cobbler and really enjoying it. After seeing all the Tuesdays with Dorie pictures this week, I was inspired to use one of my farmer's market peaches to make a cobbler. I have never made up my own baking recipe before, but I tried to measure things and this came out pretty well. Also, I was able to use my sexy new ramekins (yes, I just referred to ramekins as sexy) and my cute new food processor. I am so excited to come up with more baking recipes!

Peach Cobbler

Makes 2 servings

Filling:
1 organic peach, chopped
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp suagr
dash of cinnamon

Topping:
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 tbsp (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
dash of cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp butter, cut into pieces
about 3 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

To make the filling:
Place the peaches in a small bowl and stir in sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Set aside.

To make the topping:
Put the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Drizzle in the milk and pulse until it forms a dough. Turn the dough onto a floured board. Cut into four pieces and shape each piece into a ball.

Divide the peach mixture between two lightly sprayed 4.5 oz ramekins. Place two balls of dough on top of each ramekin. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minute until the top is golden and the peach mixture is bubbling. Cool before serving.

Shrimp Salad with Tomato

The other day I came home to a great surprise. Mail! Not just any mail. Mail that wasn't a bill or a newsletter or some other useless piece of junk that our postman/woman thoughtlessly shoves into our box. Honest to goodness mail that people used to send to each other before fancy computers. It was so exciting and it reminded me of a time when I used to write many letters to stay in touch with various friends I had met at summer camp or when we moved to a different town. Anyway, this particular mail came from a lovely friend who sent me clippings from the current issue of Food & Wine. Of course I had to try one of them this week, but I made some modifications with things I already had at home. Also, I had to omit the avocado because I (unfortunately) can't eat it. It literally makes me sick even though I used to love it. I actually made this a couple of nights ago, but didn't snap any pictures of it. It was so good, I didn't mind making it again :)

Shrimp Salad with Tomato
(Adapted from Chili-Lime Crab Salad with Tomato and Avocado from Food & Wine, July 2008)

*Makes one serving

juice from 1 lemon
1 tbsp organic extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp very finely chopped jalapeño (if you're scared of salmonella just use a dash of dried red chili flakes)
1 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus extra for garnish
1 tsp honey
1 clove garlic, minced
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
4 or 5 shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp minced red onion
1 beefsteak tomato cut into 1/2 inch thick slices (you will only need one slice for the serving, enjoy the rest on your own time)
tortilla chips or crackers for serving (optional)

In a small skillet, cook shrimp until pink and cooked through. Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, jalapeno, chopped cilantro, honey, garlic, and red onion. Season with salt and pepper.

Chop the shrimp into chunks and toss with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve with tortilla chips or crackers.

Place tomato slice on a plate and season with salt. Top with the shrimp mixture and garnish with cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips.

*All measurements are approximate because I hate to measure things unless I am baking.

Barefoot Bloggers: Smoked Salmon Spread

The second July recipe for Barefoot Bloggers was chosen by Ashley of the Spicy Skillet. I was a little worried at first about making this because I didn't know when and where I would serve it, but this past weekend also happened to be my birthday and a couple of friends came over for dinner before we went out, so I served it as the appetizer. I made it the night before and when I tasted it, I thought it was just OK, but I am glad I let it sit in the fridge overnight. The flavors really came together well. This was great with vegetables and crackers, but I am sure it would be delicious on a bagel too as a new take on bagels and lox. Head over to the Barefoot Bloggers site to see how everyone else did on the recipe!

Smoked Salmon Spread
(from Ina Garten)

8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c low-fat sour cream
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh dill, minced
1 tsp prepared horseradish, drained
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
4 oz smoked salmon, minced

Cream the cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sour cream, horseradish, lemon juice, dill, salt, and pepper and mix. Add the smoked salmon and mix well. Chill and serve with crudites or crackers.

Strawberry Crumb Coffeecake

I used to say that I was not a baker. The exact measurements and ingredient reactions intimidate me. However, this week I have been baking up a storm. I think it's because I am trying to do things in the kitchen that used to scare me. I got some beautiful strawberries at the farmer's market this past weekend and wanted to put them to good use. A couple of weeks ago, I attempted empanadas and I wanted to find something just as delicious with ingredients I already had at home. I ran a bunch of recipes by one of my friends and he OK'ed all of them, but I finally settled on this one.

*UPDATE* I am submitting this to Key Ingredient's July Berry Recipe Contest:


Strawberry Crumb Coffeecake
(Adapted from the NY Times Rhubarb 'Big Crumb' Coffeecake)

For the Strawberry Filling:
1 pint strawberries, washed, hulled, and chopped
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp cornstarch

For the Crumbs:
1/3 c dark brown sugar
1/3 c granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c melted butter
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour

For the Cake:
1/3 c reduced-fat sour cream
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp softened butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.

For the filling, mix strawberries, cornstarch and sugar and set aside.

*To make the crumbs, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, cinnamon, salt and butter until smooth. Stir in flour with a spatula. It will look like a solid dough.

To prepare cake, in a small bowl, stir together the sour cream, egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. In a large bowl sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add butter and a couple of spoonfuls of the sour cream mixture and mix until the flour is moistened. Add remaining sour cream mixture in 2 batches and beat with an electric mixer on low speed.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Spoon strawberries over the batter. Dollop the remaining batter over the strawberries, it does not have to be even.

Using your fingers, break topping mixture into big crumbs about 1/2 inch in size. They do not have to be uniform, but make sure most are that size. Sprinkle over cake. Bake cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean of batter (it may be moist from the strawberry), 45 to 55 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

*I am not a good reader of instructions and mixed together all the ingredients before whisking in the butter. It came out as the crumbs instead of the dough, but still tasted great!!

Although there were a lot of steps in this recipe, it was fairly simple to make and I am so glad I did. now I am going to have delicious breakfasts for the rest of the week and I am definitely gaining confidence in my baking!