Chile

This morning I awoke to an email from a friend asking if I'd heard about the earthquake in Chile. I hadn't, so immediately turned on the news and found out that the country I lived in for 5 years and in many ways consider my home country was hit by a terrible earthquake.

Watched the news for about 3 hours before deciding I couldn't sit in front of CNN all day. So I decided to bake something classically Chilean. At first I thought perhaps Pastel de Choclo or Ensalada Chilena. I decided instead upon Empanadas de Pino. So I set to work after a trip to the grocery store.

First up, the Pino. I was afraid that perhaps my onions were a bit old, since one of them seemed to want to be in the ground:

 

My others seemed to be ok, though, so I could proceed chopping, sauteeing, adding in beef and spice and end up with the final pino:

  

Once the pino was in the fridge, I needed to make the dough. Now, if I'm honest, pastry dough of any sort scares me silly. I just can't do it like my dad can, so why try? But, my dad's not in Baltimore so I must make an attempt.

The first part I've got down, I can cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture. Easy as..pie!

Now comes the hard part. Slowly added the eggs/water mixture with a spoon until I couldn't stir it anymore. I tried the dough hook on my KitchenAid, as the recipe said, but I have trust issues when it comes to dough hooks, so quickly switched to the old fashioned way. Kneaded it, then made it into a ball and let it sit for an hour.

After the required hour, I cut it up (everyone should have a dough cutter in their kitchen!) and made it into a bunch of beautiful balls.

 

Next came the best part! Roll it out, fill it up, seal it. They're filled with the aforementioned Pino, raisins, a piece of a hard boiled egg, and olives (whatever you do, do NOT chop up the olives like the recipe says).

 

 

Made a few and then coated 'em with an egg and milk mixture

Baked for 30 or so minutes and then put them on some wire racks to cool.

  

And let me tell you, these are everything you could desire in life. The pastry dough is a little bit sweet, the delicious savory inside with those occasional bits of sweet raisins. So so good.

In other news, if you're in the Maryland area and would like to try some of these, please please let me know! I leave for Japan in 5 days and I have 25 of these.

The recipe I used is here but I can't say I followed it exactly, just as a guide. I measured nothing other than the empanada dough.

Cheese and Dill Biscuits

When not feeling well, I typically want to bake. So this evening, I went to my refrigerator to see what ingredients I had with which I could bake something. No milk, but half a carton of cream that I need to use before heading to Japan next week. Well, how about biscuits? I explored the internet for a recipe and found one from America's Test Kitchen. Interestingly, it has no fat (oil, butter, shortening) but lots of cream.

Mixing it up should be easy! I'm not sure how much cheese I put in there, but what I had left in the fridge, probably about 1/4 cup. Dill, about a teaspoon. Savory biscuits are always better than sweet.


Mixed it all up. Never underestimate the power of your hands in mixing! Hmm...doesn't look like there is enough dill in there.
Add a bit more!
Next I rolled it onto the counter in some flour and kneaded the extra dill in a bit (but not too much! You want flaky biscuits, not tough ones).

Rolled it out and now comes the hard part: what to cut it with. I don't own a biscuit cutter and usually use a glass. I looked through my cookie/fondant cutters and found a couple that were possibilities.

Went with the flower. What could be better than bite-sized, flower power biscuits? Put 'em on some parchment paper so I wouldn't have to grease the pan (I know, lazy). Look at that baking powder going to work:
I watched the oven closely and pulled 'em out 5 minutes earlier than called for (about 10 mins) since they were much smaller than regular biscuits. Put on a wire rack to cool.

Man these babies look cute and delicious!
Who needs butter when you have cheese and dill and a whole bunch of savory goodness?

Men should be lining up soon! :-)


Recipe:

2 cups flour
2 tsps sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 tsp dill
1 1/3 cups cream

Mix together all dry ingredients and cheese, add cream. Roll out approx 3/8in. Cut out biscuits. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake in 450 degree oven for 10-15 mins.

How to Find a Husband

When I was a young girl, my dad always told me that if I wanted to find a husband, I had to learn to cook. This blog is all about this, my attempts at learning how to cook, well, bake. I may at times delve over into the world of cooking but I'm a baker at heart and why, per my Papa's logic, I'm 27 years old and still single.

I've been cooking and baking for years, but have only recently become interested in really improving my skillsets, particularly in cake decorating. Come along for the ride, if you'd like, and help me learn how to find a husband!