Beef and Cheese Empanadas (Or, How Two Wrongs Made a Right)

I know I may seem to you all like an accomplished three star Michelin chef, but I'm going to let you in on a little secret: sometimes the food I make sucks!

That's right, I'm woman enough to admit it. It's what happens when you try to invent your own recipes based on knowledge cobbled together from old Food Network shows and stuff you have laying around in the pantry.

I try not to include sucky recipes on Cooking for One, but I recently had a suckfest that I thought might at least win me some chuckles. Here's the story:

My friend Rachel invited a bunch of us over for a Superbowl potluck party. This, of course, sent me into a fit of excited giggles like Ina Garten at the thought of hosting a gay supper club.




I planned to give 'em the old razzle dazzle with some mini vanilla cheesecakes with blueberry ganache topping and pumpkin and goat cheese empanadas. How I envisioned the party going:




Here is what actually happened:

Mini Vanilla Cheesecakes with Blueberry Ganache Topping

The inspiration for these came from my lovely former roommate Danielle who is a cheesecake making fiend.

I had made these babies once before for my boyfriend's graduation party and they turned out pretty well, so I figured they were a sure thing. I'm still not really sure where it all went wrong.

Basically, the way you make them is by mixing some graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and pressing them into mini muffin pans to form the crust, and then pour the cheesecake mixture over them.




Then you melt some chocolate with heavy whipping cream for the ganache, and that becomes the glue to stick a blueberry onto each cheesecake. Cute, right?




WRONG.

Not sure where things went awry, but out of the twenty four cheesecakes I intended to bring to the party, only about fifteen made it successfully out of the muffin pans without crumbling into a mess (highly reminiscent of Failcake).

For some reason the cake part never really adhered to the crust, so when I popped them out of the pan, the crust remained behind like little piles of sawdust.

I decided to salvage the fifteen that kind of made it out successfully and topped them with the chocolate and blueberry to bring to the party. Even still, they tasted dried out and not something I would ever include on Cooking for One except to laugh at.

Pumpkin and Goat Cheese Empanadas

Now you may be thinking to yourselves, "Stacy, those don't even SOUND good! Why would you make those?!"

The inspiration came from my recent trip to Argentina, where I feasted upon empanadas. The best ones my friend Megan and I tried were pumpkin, corn, and cheese empanadas that were unbelievably delicious.

In my warped delusions of culinary grandeur, I thought I could replicate the native Argentinian cuisine with nothing but Pillsbury crescent dough and a sense of my own self-worth.




I made the filling with pumpkin puree, sage, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. In a flash of insight, I decided to try the filling before I actually made the empanadas. I was as disgusted as Ina Garten after tasting batter that didn't use GOOD vanilla.




It was salty, bitter, and nasty. I even tried microwaving it to see if the filling would taste better warm, and it didn't, so I just threw it all out. Strike two for this Superbowl party.

Beef and Cheese Empanadas

Now faced with the prospect of having one mediocre dessert to bring to the potluck, I needed to get resourceful. I still had my Pillsbury crescent dough for the empanadas (the grocery store didn't sell empanada shells and I'd be damned if I was gonna make them from scratch!) so I figured maybe I could just change the filling.

Hallelujah, they turned out delicious! They took a really long time to stuff and I'm not sure I would ever make them again because of that, but they tasted great and were a hit at the party. So, without further ado, my Beef and Cheese Empanadas.

Ingredients:

• 4 tubes Pillsbury Crescent Roll Dough. I used the reduced fat kind.

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 1 small onion

• 1 tbsp. minced garlic

• 1 tbsp. chili powder

• 1 tbsp. dried oregano

• 1 tbsp. cumin

• Salt n' pepa to taste

• 1/2 package of Mexican cheese blend shredded cheese

This will make 32 empanadas, so feel free to adjust quantities based on the size of your crowd. If you are Cooking for One, you can also always make a big batch for yourself and freeze them for a quick snack later.


Directions:

Peel and chop up your onion and throw it into a saucepan with a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat.

Once the onion is softened and translucent, add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, and garlic.




After just a minute, add your ground beef and crumble with a large wooden spoon to mix in all the spices. Once the beef is browned after several minutes, go ahead and pour in the diced tomatoes, juice and all (I kinda jumped the gun and did it early.)




Let the mixture simmer for several minutes so the flavors get all incorporated. Taste it and add salt and pepper if necessary. Then take it off the heat to cool down before stuffing the empanadas. You should also skim off some of the fat.

If you are making this ahead of time for a party the next day, you can just refrigerate the filling and stuff them the next day.




Time to get your hands dirty! This part took forever and was kinda annoying cause I was making 32 empanadas. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and cover three baking sheets with aluminum foil.

Pop open your dough and separate it into the eight perforated triangles on a baking sheet.




Add a sprinkle of Mexican cheese to one corner of the triangle and about a tablespoon of the beef filling (don't overstuff!) Then fold the other corner over the filling and pinch the open edges together to seal. It's not the end of the world if they don't close all the way.




Continue until you feel like you want to claw your eyes out and your fingers reek of beef. Remind yourself that these will taste delightful and be worth it.




Once all the trays are filled, pop them in the oven to bake for about 14 mins, or until they are golden brown.




All's well that ends well!

Crisis averted, and I had a party appetizer to offer. And in honor of the winner of my last Cooking for One Contest, I am going to close with:

"Next stop, Munch Town. Population: you." --Matt Ogren

Braised Brisket with Vegetables: Hannukah Part One

As this blog continues through a time warp, taking you back to holidays that ended weeks ago, I now bring you my three part Hannukah series!

Hannukah is the time of year when Jews gather to celebrate an obscure historic event that happens to miraculously coincide with the month of that Christian fun-fest known as Christmas. While Christmas may beat Hannukah when it comes to decorations, songs on the radio, and general fanfare, I would still take Hannukah food over Christmas food any day.

I mean really. Turkey? You just had that for Thanksgiving. Ham? No Jew in their right mind would eat that.




Good ole beef brisket is a traditional choice for a delicious Jewish holiday dinner. As long as it is handled properly, this big hunk of meat becomes fork tender, juicy, and a perfect hearty main course.

Brisket Tips:

• If you are going to sear the brisket first (recommended) let it sit out til it comes to room temperature first. Don't worry, you won't get E.Coli. And it will sear much more effectively.
  

• Pretty much the longer you cook it, the better (within reason, of course!) It is great in a slow cooker, but the one I have wasn't big enough.

• If you can, make the brisket the day before you plan to serve it. It really is one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day. Plus, if you refrigerate it overnight, skimming the excess fat off the top of the sauce is a piece of cake. To make ahead, just slice up the meat, pack it up in the fridge, and reheat in the oven before serving.

• Always slice the brisket against the grain. That means take a look at which way the lines of meat run and cut perpendicular to them. This will make each bite of meat easier to chew.

Though my Braised Brisket with Vegetables requires a long cooking time to achieve that tenderness, you can just leave it in the oven all afternoon and go about your dreidel-spinning activities. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

• 3-4 lb. beef brisket. Preferrably labeled "first cut." I don't know why that's supposed to be better, but that's what Food Network tells me. Brisket is relatively quite inexpensive (spare me a Jewish joke, here).

• 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

• 1 can beef broth

• 1/2 bottle red wine

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tbsp. dried thyme. You can also use fresh if you have it.

• 2 tbsp. dried rosemary. See above.

• 2 tbsp. minced garlic

• 1 onion

• 2 carrots

• 2 stalks of celery

• 5 red potatoes

• Salt 'n pepa

• Olive oil

My brother enjoyed the sauce so much he was practically drinking it. Whether that reflects more on the quality of the sauce or my brother's table manners remains to be seen.


Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your veggies: peel and chop your onion and carrots into large chunks, cut your celery into large chunks, and halve your potatoes. They should all end up approximately the same size.

Throw em in the bottom of a big ole roasting pan.




Now comes an optional step: searing the brisket. It adds beautiful color and extra flavor to the dish, but honestly, you are cooking the thing so long that the flavor difference is going to be minimal.

If you have the time and inclination to sear it, just heat some olive oil in a big ass skillet over medium high, sprinkle the brisket with salt n' pepa and put it in the skillet to develop a nice browned crust on both sides. (As you can tell, I probably should have let mine sear even longer.) When it is done, lay it on your bed of vegetables in the roasting pan.




Pour the beef broth into the searing pan to help scrape up any burned bits of meat stuck to the pan. This will help add nice flavor to your sauce. Then, pour in your crushed tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, and thyme. Let it simmer for a few minutes.




Pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables. Don't think I forgot about the wine! Pour it into the pan until all the liquid comes about 3/4 of the way up the meat. Stir the liquid a bit so the wine gets mixed into the tomato sauce, and throw in your two bay leaves.




Cover the roasting pan with foil and bake for at least 3 hours (ours took about 4 hours). At that point, you can start checking on the meat. Feel free to baste it with the sauce or even flip it over if the top is looking dry. You will know it is done when the meat easily falls apart with a fork. The longer you can cook it, the better.

Put the brisket on a cutting board, cover it in foil, and let it rest for about 15 minutes. In the meanwhile, you can put the vegetables in a serving bowl and pour the sauce from the pan into a gravy boat.

Slice the brisket thinly against the grain and serve with the sauce and vegetables.




Pour out the rest of your bottle of wine and enjoy. L'Chaim!

Shepherd's Pie

I'm baaaack! Did you miss me?

I apologize for this lengthy absence...I had a weekend of a visiting boyfriend, a weekend of drunken homecoming revelry, and then I moved back home to Illinois. I have been a busy girl!

As I mentioned, my boyfriend came to visit me in Durham a couple weeks ago with his two friends. Together, the three of them are out in Boulder, CO creating the most amazing, bad ass restaurant concept of all time: Sabi Sushi. Think Chipotle, but with sushi: fast, convenient food with the freshest ingredients, custom made to order. That's right, for the first time, YOU actually get to decide what goes in your sushi rolls! Check them out! (<----shameless girlfriend plug).
Anyways, I figured the boys have been working hard and would enjoy a nice, comforting home cooked meal. One of my all time favorite comfort foods is Shepherd's Pie. The thing to know about Shepherd's Pie is that it is neither a pie, nor does it involve shepherds.




Rather, it is a delicious, hearty casserole layered with ground beef, vegetables, and a mashed potato crust. If I may borrow a phrase from the Barefoot Contessa, "How bad could that be?"


Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. ground beef. I used half lean and half regular, but it really doesn't matter.

• 1 packet Lipton's Onion Soup Mix. This shit is ridiculous...it makes EVERYTHING taste better.

• 1/2 cup beef broth

• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

• 1 tbsp. tomato paste

• 2 tbsp. flour
  

• 1 package frozen peas and carrots. No need to thaw.

• 6 cups prepared instant mashed potatoes. Just follow the directions on the box. They'll never know....

• 1 large handful shredded cheese. Optional, and I left it out cause my boyfriend doesn't like cheese for some inexplicable reason.

That's it! This is a great dish for company because you can make it ahead of time and bake it before your guests arrive. Super easy to make, and it makes enough to feed an army. It also freezes marvelously. Cooking for one, my ass!


Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and put your beef in it (that's what she said.)




Break up the beef into crumbles as it cooks until it is completely browned. Now comes the gross part: draining the fat (eeeew!) Tip your skillet to one side so all the grease drains over, and spoon it out to discard. Believe me honey, you don't need all that fat.




Whisk your beef broth, tomato paste, Worcesesestershire sauce, and flour with the packet of Lipton's. Add it to the beef mixture and stir to combine.




Spray a 9X13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and lay your ground beef in an even layer on the bottom.




Spread out another layer of the frozen peas and carrots on top of the beef.




Prepare your instant mashed potatoes (usually just requires some additional milk, butter, and salt). Using a spatula, spread the potatoes over the vegetables to create the final layer. To help this mashed potato crust brown, you can rough up the surface with a fork. Or, if you are an awesome girlfriend like I am, you can write the logo of your boyfriend's company in mashed potatoes.

Sprinkle with the optional cheese if desired.




Pop the whole thing into the oven for an hour until it is heated through and the potatoes are nice and browned. Dig in!

Chinese Beef with Broccoli

There are few worse things than having a supreme craving for Chinese food, calling in a take-out order, going to pick it up, and taking a bite, only to find a gloopy, salty mess of unidentifiable meat and soggy vegetables.

When Chinese food is good, it's amazing. When it's bad, IT'S HORRIBLE!! Stop settling, my friends.




Chinese food is quick, easy, and inexpensive to make on your own. Below is my recipe for a classic Chinese Beef with Broccoli, done the Cooking for One way.

What is the Cooking for One way, you may ask? It's coming home from work, ravenous, knowing you don't have a lot of food on hand, but you want Chinese food and you want it now, dammit! I'll show you how.


Ingredients:

• 1 package (about 3/4 lb) boneless, thin beef. Mine specifically said "Perfect for Stir-Fry!" I believe it was beef eye of round, already sliced thin to make my life easier.

• 1 bunch of broccoli. Frozen florets would work great as well.

• 1/2 package button mushrooms

• 1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

• 1 tbsp. minced garlic

• 1 tbsp. minced ginger. I use the kind in the tube from the grocery store. It keeps in your fridge FOREVER. Well, at least for several months.

• 1/4 cup flour

• 1 tbsp. garlic powder

• 2 tbsp. sesame oil
  

Sauce:

• 1/4 cup flour

• 1 can beef broth

• 1.5 tbsp. brown sugar

• 2 tbsp. soy sauce

That's it! It really only takes about fifteen minutes to make. Most of this stuff you probably already have in your fridge/freezer/pantry/under your bed, and you can feel free to add or subtract veggies at will. This recipe also makes enough to have delicious leftovers for lunch the next day**


**Read: drunkenly later that night.


Directions:

Chop up your mushrooms and broccoli (if using fresh instead of frozen florets.) Then slice up your beef into strips against the grain.

What does this mean? Look at your meat and see which direction the fibers are running. Cut perpendicular to that direction (also known as the Lorena Bobbitt cut). This will help ensure your meat is nice and tender!




Put your beef strips in a Ziploc bag with the 1/4 cup of flour and 1 tbsp. garlic powder, and CLOSE THE BAG. Give it a nice shake to coat.




In a small bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients.




Heat your sesame oil to medium high in a skillet. Once it's nice and hot, add your beef.




Let it brown for a couple minutes, and then flip the pieces over.




Once the other side is brown after a minute or so, take out the beef and put it on a separate plate. Don't overcook it or it will get tough! It should be nice and seared on the outside, but still pink and juicy in the middle.




Add your minced garlic, ginger, broccoli, and mushrooms to the skillet. Toss to combine.




After the veggies have heated through (broccoli tender-crisp, mushrooms soft and brown), add your sauce and water chestnuts to the skillet. Let the mixture get nice and thick and bubbly for a few minutes.




When the flour has thickened up your sauce so it coats the back of a spoon, add your beef back to the skillet to warm through and soak up the deliciousness.




Make some quick rice or noodles to go along with it, pour into a bowl, and enjoy your hot tasty Chinese food!

Slow Cooked Pot Roast with Root Vegetables

I decided to be a temperature rebel this week and cook a warm, hearty winter classic in the dead of summer: pot roast. My boyfriend will be leaving soon for the summer, and nothing screams "please your man with some meat and potatoes" like a delicious pot roast with vegetables.




I love using a slow cooker. It is an inexpensive device that will let you cook up all sorts of delicious things, and it is definitely worth the investment. Things I love about slow cookers:

1) You can literally take ten minutes in the morning to cut up some ingredients, throw them in the cooker with some liquid, and leave it for 8 hours. Come home after work and your place smells amazing, plus dinner is hot and ready!

2) It is less expensive in terms of electricity to run a slow cooker all day than to use an oven for a couple hours.

3) Clean up is incredibly easy. All you do is take out the stoneware sleeve and put it in the dishwasher.

4) Slow cookers work BETTER with cheaper cuts of meat! Expensive, fattier meats like filet mignon would just fall apart, but tough, inexpensive, and leaner cuts become soft and tender in the slow cooker.

My Slow Cooker Pot Roast is melt-in-your-mouth tender and chock full of healthy veggies in a rich gravy. Best of all, it is super low maintenance. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1.5-1.75 lbs. pot roast beef. It is usually labeled as pot roast in the grocery store, and it's super inexpensive. This may sound like a lot of meat for two people, but it shrinks down quite a bit when it cooks. Plus, it makes for amazing leftovers.

• 2 stalks celery


• 2 carrots


• 2 small onions

• 4 small red potatoes

• 1 packet slow cooker beef or pot roast seasoning. You can find this in any grocery store. These lil paper packets come with all the delicious seasonings you need, so it saves you tons of money.

• 1/4 cup flour


• 1 cup red wine


• 1 cup water

• Olive oil

This amount of meat and veggies just barely fits into a small slow cooker. If you have a large one and are cooking for more than two, feel free to add more. Also, you can add other root vegetables too, such as turnips or parsnips.

Directions:

Peel your carrots and cut them and the celery into large chunks. They will shrink a bit as they soften in the slow cooker.

Quarter your small onions and potatoes and throw them into the slow cooker with your celery and carrots.

Now I do a lil extra step that you can skip if you'd like: browning the pot roast. I do it because searing the outside of the meat adds nice color and an extra level of flavor, plus the flour from searing helps thicken the gravy. If you don't want to though, just don't worry about it!

Cut the meat into 2-3 large pieces so it will fit inside better (that's definitely NOT what he said! Har har). Trim away any excess fat as well.

Heat a lil bit of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Dredge your meat in the flour so it's covered, shake to remove the excess, and put it in the pan to sear.

Let the meat brown for a couple minutes so it develops a nice crust on the outside. Don't move it around, just let it be! Once it is nice and brown, flip it and do the same to the other side.

Also, you might want to turn on the fan above your stove cause the meat might smoke a bit. You also will probably need to do this in batches if the meat won't all fit at once (don't crowd it!)

Lay the meat on the bed of vegetables in the slow cooker so it all fits inside. It will NOT be cooked through at this point, just browned and pretty on the outside.

Don't waste all those yummy bits of flavor on the bottom of your searing pan! Take the pan off the heat and add the cup of red wine, stirring to pick up all the browned bits stuck to the pan.

Most slow cooker seasoning packets call for two cups of water. I like to use one cup of water and one cup of wine for an added layer of flavor to the gravy (and hey, why not add alcohol when you can?).

Pour the wine from the searing pan into a measuring cup, and add a cup of water. Whisk in the contents of the seasoning packet.

Pour the mixture over the meat and veggies. Don't worry about stirring, the flavors will mix together as it cooks. Just put the lid on, and turn the cooker on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours depending on when you want dinner ready.

NOTE: DO NOT remove the lid to check on the meat while it cooks. Taking the lid off lets a ton of heat and moisture escape, and can result in up to 20 minutes more necessary cooking time. Trust the slow cooker to do its job!

At the end of the cooking time, the pot roast will be moist and fall-apart-tender, the veggies soft and delicious, and the gravy rich and thick. Spoon onto a plate, garnish with fresh parsley if you'd like, and dig in!

Do YOU have any tasty slow cooker recipes?