Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

Crusty food appeals to me. Pizza, quiches, pies and sourdough baguettes are all high on my preferred foods list. This recipe for empanadas came from another old Gourmet magazine that is part of my collection going back so many years that I hate to count. Actually this recipe appeared in the September 1992 issue so it is not that old, but one of these days I am going to post a recipe from the 1970’s to see how well it holds up after all of these years. The empanadas were part of a picnic menu and I can see that they would be a good addition to any picnic because they transport easily and can be eaten without utensils if you wish. They remind me of the pasties that the Finnish people introduced to the upper peninsula of Michigan around the turn of the last century. Many Finnish men worked in the copper mines and the pasties were easy to carry for lunch and could be reheated on a shovel held over a headlamp candle. Some say the origin of the pasty is Cornish and indeed when we were in England we ate pasties there. But what I liked about this south of the border version is that the filling is spicy and cornmeal is used in the crust.

PICADILLO EMPANADAS WITH CORNMEAL CRUST

For the cornmeal dough:
a 1/4 ounce package active dry yeast
1 1/2 Tbls sugar
1/2 cup milk, heated to lukewarm
1 large whole egg, beaten lightly
1 large egg yolk, beaten lightly
1/3 cup sour cream
5 Tbls unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour ( I needed only 2 cups )
1 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
3/4 tsp salt

For the picadillo:
1 1/4 cups finely chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
2 drained bottled pickled large jalapeno chilies, seeded and minced, about 1 1/2 Tbls.
2 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbls chili powder
1 tsp cumbled dried oregano
a pinch of ground cloves
2 Tbls vegetable oil
1 pound ground chuck
1/4 cup tomato paste
28 ounce can plum tomatoes including juice chopped ( I pureed in blender )
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 cup finely chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
dried hot red pepper flakes to taste

Make the cornmeal dough: In the large bowl of an electric mixer proof the yeast with the sugar in 1/4 cup of the milk for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. Beat in the remaining 1/4 cup milk, the whole egg, the egg yolk, the sour cream and the butter, add 2 cups of the flour, the cornmeal, and the salt, and beat the mixture until it forms a dough. With the dough hook knead the dough, adding as much of the remaining 1/2 cup flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking, for 4 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball, transfer it to an oiled bowl, and turn it to coat it with the oil. Let the dough rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours and punch it down. The dough may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Let the dough return to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.

Make the picadillo: In a large heavy skillet cook the onion, the garlic, the jalapenos, the cumin, the chili powder, the oregano, the cinnamon, the cloves, and pepper to taste in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, add the chuck, and cook the mixture over moderately high heat, stirring and breaking up any lumps, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the tomato paste, the tomatoes with the juice, the raisins, the olives, the red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper to taste, simmer the picadillo, stirring occasionally, for 10 to15 minutes, or until it is thickened and most of the liquid is evaporated, and let it cool. The picadillo may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Let the picadillo return to room temperature before proceeding with the recipe.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time and keeping the remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap, on a lightly floured surface roll our the dough 1/8 inch thick and with a 6 inch round cutter cut each piece into a round. Put about 1/3 cup of the picadillo onto the bottom two thirds of each round and fold the rounds in half, enclosing the filling. ( I brushed the edges with egg wash before folding ) Seal the edges of the dough and crimp them decoratively. Transfer the empanadas with a spatula to a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake them in the middle of a preheated 450 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until they are golden. Transfer the empanadas to a rack and let them cool. Makes 12 empanadas.

We have had beautiful Spring weather lately so we made a picnic of these on our screened porch.
I loved the empanadas. My husband was only lukewarm about them. You would think he would love them because his Mother’s family was Finnish and settled in the Upper Peninsula where pasties reign supreme. Oh well, they reheat well and I have enjoyed several more lunches of them on the porch. So glad that Spring is here.

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I would like to offer a special thanks to Kathy of All Food Considered for choosing Croque Monsieur for the second Barefoot Contessa recipe this month. My passion for French food is long standing, but I had never made this decadent sandwich before. Perhaps it is because it is so decadent; bread, ham, cheese, white sauce and more cheese. I hate to admit it but I do not have a natural affinity for cheese. There was a time when I would not touch the stuff, but over the years I have allowed certain cheeses to prove their goodness to me. Gruyere is one of those cheeses. I think I learned to like it during the fondue era of the 70’s. Parmesan is another favorite and I liberally slather pizzas with it. So Croque Monsieur appealed to me on all levels and it did not disappoint.

The only change I made to the recipe was the bread. Ina uses Pepperidge Farm white bread and although I like it, I like my Bread Machine Rosemary Focaccia better. I will include that recipe also. The recipe came from a Better Homes and Gardens Bread Machine cookbook.

BREAD MACHINE ROSEMARY FOCACCIA

3/4 cup water
2 Tbls olive oil
2 cups bread flour
1 Tbls sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast

3 Tbls olive oil
2 to 3 Tbls chopped rosemary
Course salt to taste

Add first six ingredients in the order given to the bread machine. Process on the dough setting. Remove dough from bread machine. Cover and let rest for ten minutes. Grease a 12″ round pizza pan. Roll or pat dough into pan. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Make depressions in dough with fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with rosemary and coarse salt. Bake 15 to 18 minutes.

CROQUE MONSIEUR ( I made half of the recipe )

2 Tbls unsalted butter
3 Tbls all purpose flour
2 cups hot milk
1 tsp kosher salt ( I omitted )
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Pinch nutmeg
12 ounces Gruyere, grated (5 cups)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
16 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
Dijon mustard
8 ounces baked Virginia ham, sliced but not paper thin

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Melt the butter over low heat in a small saucepan and add the flour all at once, stirring with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Slowly pour the hot milk into the butter-flour mixture and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thickened. Off the heat add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, 1/2 cup grated Gruyere, and the Parmesan and set aside.

To toast the bread, place the slices on 2 baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes. Turn each slice and bake for another 2 minutes, until toasted.

Lightly brush half the toasted breads with mustard, add a slice of ham to each, and sprinkle with half the remaining Gruyere. Top with another piece of toasted bread. Slather the tops with cheese sauce, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere, and bake the sandwiches for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned. Serve hot. Makes 8 sandwiches.

Printable recipe – Rosemary Focaccia
Printable recipe – Croque Monsieur

I haven’t done much grocery shopping since we returned to Lake Lure. Our meals have been very simple; grilled meat, baked sweet potatoes and frozen vegies. Breakfast has been cereal and english muffins. Lunch has been sandwiches or leftovers. The reason I have not filled the larder is because the larder looks like this.

David is working hard to get the pantry finished and the shelves will go in this weekend. I can hardly wait. I picture rows of canned goods, baskets with condiments sorted by cuisines, a large bread tin, and glass containers with various flours, rices and pastas, all labeled and neat. The reality is that I am much more organized in my mind than I am in accomplishment. But I will try to keep it in order.

I was in the mood for something sweet for breakfast the other day and had the baking basics on hand and an old Gourmet magazine in hand when I found a recipe for this blueberry pudding cake. I had some blueberries that I brought from Florida in the freezer so it was a fait accompli. This recipe was in the July 2005 issue of Gourmet and was featured in their Gourmet Every Day Quick Kitchen. It is indeed quick and the resulting cake is moist and crumbly and oh so good with freshly brewed coffee.

BLUEBERRY PUDDING CAKE

1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water ( use less for frozen berries)
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice ( I left it out )
1 teaspoon cornstarch
10 oz. blueberries ( 2 cups )
1 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 cup whole milk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan.

Stir together 1/3 cup sugar with water, lemon juice, and cornstarch in a small saucepan, then stir in blueberries. Bring to a simmer, then simmer, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk together egg, milk, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl, then add flour mixture whisking until just combined.

Spoon batter into baking pan, spreading evenly, then pour blueberry mixture evenly over batter (berries will sink). Bake until a knife inserted into center of cake portion comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.

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We had a wonderful holiday with the family. It was the first time we had seen them since Christmas and the changes in little Rachel were quite noticeable. She will be three in May and is now communicating with great enthusiasm. She helped me prepare dinner one night and although we made quite a mess, she was very good at rolling chicken strips in breadcrumbs and placing them on the baking pan.

The only down side to our visit was that I got food poisoning from a fast food sandwich and lost all interest in eating and cooking. Even a trip to Trader Joe’s, which I was looking forward to, was a disaster. My plan was to stock up on hard to find condiments while getting the chicken and panko crumbs for dinner. I ended up spending all of my time in their bathroom – quite nice, by the way – and rushing through the check out line with my meager purchases.

On the way back to Lake Lure we had to stop for groceries for dinner and the only thing that appealed to my sensitive stomach was the thought of chicken and dumplings; a mild, filling and therapeutic dish. I am finally back to normal and will get back my enthusiasm for blogging, but for a while there I was worried that I would never want to look at, or for that matter, think about food again.

CHICKEN AND DUMPLINGS

1 3 to 4 pound whole chicken
2 stalks of celery
2 carrots
1 onion
6 cups of water
1 or 2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
salt and pepper to taste

3 stalks of celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup minced parsley and chives

Place chicken in large dutch oven and add the two stalks of celery, carrots and onion, roughly chopped. Add the six cups of water, thyme sprigs, and bouillon cubes. Bring water to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for one hour. Remove chicken to cool slightly and strain broth.

Return broth to dutch oven and add the 3 stalks of chopped celery and 2 chopped carrots. Simmer for 10 minutes while removing the chicken from the bones. Add the shredded chicken and frozen vegetables to the broth.

For the dumplings, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the chopped fresh parley and chives. Add melted butter and milk. Gently mix with spoon until mixture comes together. Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls into pot. Cover and simmer until dumplings are cooked through, about 15 minutes. Do not lift lid while cooking.

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Printable recipe