Baked Wonton Beef Empanadas


I had never really heard of empanadas until I married my husband. My Argentinian mother-in-law loves to cook up a storm whenever we come to visit and these meat-filled pockets are often on the menu. She whips up a batch in no time and makes it look so easy! For my husbands birthday this year, I cooked him a surprise dinner that included all of his favorite family recipes including empanadas, milanesas and mechshie. It was my first try at them, but with my mother-in-laws help, everything turned out super delicious.

I made empanadas again last week on the spare of the moment, having some defrosted ground beef sitting in the fridge. Whereas my mother-in-law throws together a batch of dough in no time, I am one to avoid any recipe that calls for home-made dough. Instead, I decided to make use of the eggroll wrappers in my freezer. I had no idea if this would work, especially since I had no intention of frying them, but I decided to give it a try. And work, it did. The wontons turned out perfectly crispy without being greasy and the filling, although not traditional, was perfectly delicious. If you don’t mind frying, go ahead and make these super golden and crispy in some hot oil!

I call these “wonton empanadas” because they are a cross between traditional empanadas (filled with ground beef, olives, and cumin) and beef eggrolls (filled with meat, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms etc.). You can call them Asian empanadas or Spanish eggrolls, either way, these meat-filled samosas are sure to please!

Wonton Beef Empanadas

1 medium onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 container mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
3/4 c shredded carrots
1/2 c sliced green olives
1 lb ground beef
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper, to taste
good quality dry red wine
wonton wrappers
szechuan sauce, for dipping

Method:

Saute onion and garlic till translucent, add mushrooms and carrots. Continue to saute until softened and golden. Add olives and spices and mix until fragrant. In a separate pan, saute the meat until crumbly and no longer pink. Drain the meat of the fat and add to vegetable mixture. Add a splash of red wine (about 1/8th of a cup) and cook for a few minutes.

Lay a wonton wrapper on a clean cutting board and cut on the diagonal so that you have 2 triangular wraps. Cover the remaining wrappers with a damp towel while you work so that they don’t dry out. Place a teaspoon of filling on each wrapper and fold in half to close. Wet the sides of the wrapper with some water and press down to seal edges (if this doesn’t work for you, you can try eggs, or make a “glue” with 1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1/2 cup water). Place on a greased cookie sheet. Spray wontons generously with cooking spray and and bake at 400 for about 8-10 minutes on each side, until golden.

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Cherry Yogurt Popsicles


Gone are the days when you just fill up a plastic cup with grape juice and freeze it for your kids. Homemade popsicles are all the rage right now, with lots of new popsicle books on the market, as well as a quick pop-making machine! The New York Times even ran a feature in their magazine which included lots of cool recipes for fruit, savory, creamy, and boozy pops. Who would have thought of making avocado-cilantro, fennel, or chocolate-chili ices?

Popsicles are a great way to cool down from the summer heat. Instead of store-bought varieties that are packed with sugar and food coloring, try making some at home. Here, I whipped up some cherry yogurt pops for a delicious cool and milky treat.

Cherry Yogurt Popsicles

1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup pitted cherries, chopped
2 tbsp honey or agave

Method:

Combine yogurt, cherries and honey and spoon into popsicle molds. Freeze until completely solid, about 5 hours.

TIP: to loosen popsicles from their molds (these are from IKEA), just hold under running water for a minute or so.

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Fried Fish Sandwich


Growing up, fried flounder (with a side of mashed potatoes) was always on the menu in our house during the nine days, as well as erev Tisha B’av. The fish was always perfectly golden with a crunchy breaded coating; simple and delicious. When I married my husband, I found that fried fish was a favorite of his as well, except his mother made it with tilapia in a tempura-style batter, and served it with lemon wedges. No matter how it’s coated or served, in sticks or fillets, fried fish is a favorite everywhere. You’ll find many cafe’s serving it “fish ‘n chips” style, but my absolute favorite way to eat it is in a sesame sub with wasabi mayo.

Fried Fish Sandwich Essentials:

Fish: You can use any mild white fish such as sole, cod, flounder or tilapia.
Crispy Coating: bread crumbs, panko crumbs, corn flake crumbs, cornmeal, crushed potato chips, tempura batter, beer batter.
Bun: baguette, soft bun, kaiser roll, sesame roll, rye bread, whole wheat bread, ciabatta.
Sauce: mayo, tartar sauce, wasabi sauce, pesto, remoulade.
Veggies: lettuce, tomato, pickles or onions.
Accompaniments: french fries, sweet potato fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, lemon wedges.

When frying fish, it helps to set up a dredging station and use separate tongs or forks for each coating. Most people like to dip the fish into flour, egg, and then crumbs of choice. Personally, i find that my fish comes out perfectly crispy when dipped into eggs and panko or bread crumbs. You can season the fish, crumbs, flour or eggs with spices of choice, such as, seafood spice, paprika, garlic, or salt & pepper.

For a quick and easy alternative, you can pan-fry frozen breaded fish fillets such as Dagim’s.

Fried Fish Sandwich

Sesame baguette
Wasabi mayo (recipe follows)
Fried flounder or tilapia (see my easy recipe here)
Rommaine lettuce
Plum tomatoes
Pickles

Method:

Pan fry fish. To prepare wasabi mayo, add 1-2 tbsps Gold’s wasabi sauce and 1 tsp lemon juice to 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Spread mayo generously on baguette. Top with fish and veggies. Serve with chips or fries.

TIP: When frying fish, prepare a cookie sheet with a few paper towels to absorb excess oil. If you layer the hot fish on top of each other, the steam will make the breading soft and soggy. Laying the fish out in a single layer will keep them crispy.

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{Guest Post} Vegetable Calzones

For me being asked to be a guest blogger on Chanie’s blog is not only exciting but an honor. She sure knows her stuff. She is definitely my go to person when I have one of those ‘how do I…. ‘ questions. If she thinks Im good enough to be her guest (for the second time), I must be doing something right :) I’m not much of a take out, ready made, store bought type of aperson. If it can be done at home (and is not TOO complicated). I usually give it a try. When I was given the idea of making homemade calzones for dinner I was super excited to try it. And it has since made its way to my list of favorite dinners to make/eat! I hope you enjoy this recipe as well.

NOTE: You can also use this dough recipe to make regular dinner rolls when making soup , or even fancy it up to make garlic rolls.

Vegetable Calzones

Dough:
1 tbsp dry yeast (1 packet)
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 c flour

In a small bowl, combine yeast with warm water and sugar (the sugar activates the yeast). In a separate bowl, mix flour, oil and salt. When yeast mixture begins to bubble, add it to the second bowl and mix. Knead and let rise for approximately 1 hour.

Filling:
onions
mushrooms
eggplant
squash
broccoli
yellow, green and red pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for sauteing
shredded cheese of choice (I use mozzerella)
1 egg yolk, for brushing
marinara sauce, for serving

Saute vegetables to your liking and season with salt and pepper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of dough into a circle (do not make it too thin). Place some of the vegetables on the lower half of the circle and top with cheese. Take top part of circle and fold it over to close, creating a moonlike shape. Brush with beaten egg yolk. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

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“Magic” Salmon

Even though we’re not big dairy eaters around here, I’m so excited to cook for the Nine Days. It gives me a chance to think outside the box, and a rest from typical chicken dinners. I’m grabbing at the chance to make delicious and healthy fish recipes which are a great source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

There are many different ways to prepare fish, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can grill, pan-fry, bake, poach or steam fish in many different preparations, but it is best cooked quickly over high heat. If your fish is cooked right, it won’t taste “fishy”.

When purchasing fresh fish, it should smell like the ocean, not like fish. It should have a vibrant color. Pale fish or fish with discolored patches is not fresh. A great tip is to tell your fishmonger that you are making sushi with the fish. This will ensure that the fish is fresh enough to be eaten raw.

One of my favorite ways of preparing baked salmon and tilapia is using Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic Seasoning Blend. The blend is exactly as it is named; pure magic. When baking fish, the key is to bake it at a high temperature for a short period of time. Your fish will be soft, tasty, and best of all, so incredibly quick and easy to prepare. Recipes follow below.

I have lots of ideas brewing for the upcoming week, so I thought I’d share some ideas for those of you who like to plan ahead:

Dairy Recipe Ideas:

– homemade pizza
– lasagna
– quiches
– risottos
– quesadilles
– stuffed shells
– eggplant parmesan
– fettucine alfredo
– penne alla vodka
– french onion soup
– cream of any vegetable soup
– stuffed mushrooms
– eggplant rollatini
– macaroni and cheese
– pancakes, waffles or french toast
– baked potatoes with broccoli and cheddar or other fillings

Meat-Lovers Recipe Ideas:

– vegetarian chili with cheesy corn bread
– portobello mushroom burger
– tuna steak
– grilled halibut
– fish tacos
– falafel

Light ‘n Healthy Recipe Ideas:

– salad nicoise
– shakshuka
– portobello pizza
– sushi rolls or sushi salad
– chickpea patties
– cheesy stuffed mini peppers
– stir fry with tofu and rice
– steamed fish and veggies au papillote
– baked sweet potatoes with cottage cheese or other fillings

Other Pareve Recipe Ideas:

– tuna or salmon croquettes
– tuna casserole
– salmon pasta salad
– Crispy breaded fish sandwich or “fish and chips”

Please feel free to share your Nine Days Menu ideas in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

Quick & Easy Salmon or Tilapia

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For salmon, rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle very generously with Seafood Magic spice and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until flesh is opaque and flakes with a fork.

For tilapia, rinse fish and pat dry. Squeeze a lemon over the fish, sprinkle very generously with Seafood Magic and brush with canola mayonnaise. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, until flesh is opaque and flakes with a fork.

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