CookingDiva

My dearest friend, Beau, from "BasicJuice" tagged me for a great meme: The Ten Buck Gem, and to tell you the truth I couldn't resist!It was a delicious coincidence that yesterday was the first day of the two day wine event at my favorite wine store in Panama City, Felipe Motta Wine Store. You can take a look at the invitation here. You would be amazed of how many great gems you could get for $10 or less here!

Just to make sure I was going to write about and cook something delicious with a wine that Beau had not reviewed, I went through her list of South American vinos, and was thrilled NOT to find the one I had in mind.

We chefs have the eye to find other chefs, so...the first person I recognized at the event was my friend and colleague Rafael Julio Ciniglio, from the "Vino Club" and Trattoria de America. I didn't purchase the $20 passport that allowed me to taste all the wines, ... because I was driving and had to cook lots once home. So I had to make sure I returned in one piece and with all the wine and specialty meats and dessert ingredients! BUT, we are planning to go back there today, purchase a $20 passport and enjoy!

I talked to many of the vendors from all over the world and specially had a long and educational conversation with Paula Hernandez, the On-trade Manager L.A. for Concha y Toro from beautiful Chile. Did you know they have a new line called TRIO? I tried them sometime ago when I first saw them at the shop, ...I am always after trying a new wine and better if it comes with a beautiful label.

So, yesterday I purchased one of each TRIO variety wines and finally decided to feature the Trio Cabernet Sauvignon 70%, Cabernet Franc 15%, and Shiraz 15%. The price for each variety is $6.95 per bottle. Nice.

South America is one place I love, one of the reasons is because we share the same blood. Once we were part of the same -country-: La Gran Colombia (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama y Granada). Now, we are all over the place, but we still share the same blood and the love for food. That is why you sometimes find the same type of dishes with variations from north to south.

Today, the fantastic wine we are featuring is from Chile, a perfect member of the $10 buck gem society. So, in honor to the country of origin, I am preparing "Empanadas Chilenas" with chimichurri sauce from Argentina. Empanadas are perhaps, one of the dishes persistent in the diets of most of the South American countries, including Argentina, Chile, Brasil, Colombia and Panama. In every country you will find variations in the ingredients list of the filling and the method of cooking. Some of them are baked, others are fried. In general, "empanada" is a Spanish term meaning pie or turnover. It is used in referring to the final filled culinary creation. These flaky meat pies are a much loved snack. Although they can be filled with anything from fish to fruit, a meat filling is most common.

Why does this wine go perfectly with my empanadas?  Well, we needed a wine that could stand up to the body of this dish that consists of almost 90% seasoned meat. For this reason I recommend, the one TRIO with a solid structure to the palate, combining Cabernet Sauvignon and the Shiraz that has fruity touches blended magicaly with earthy aromas. Its smooth and ample tannins marry perfectly with the multiple tastes of the queen empanada.

Now, la receta deliciosa!

Empanadas Chilenas con Salsa Chimichurri

Prep. Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 8-10 large empanadas
Ingredients for the dough (**See TIP below):

Place in a large bowl or food processor:

• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix with a fork or pulse until combined. Then add:

• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cut into small pieces

  Cut the butter add shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or pulse in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If using the food processor, transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Then, drizzle over the top:

• 11-14 tablespoons ice water

  Mix gently with a fork until the flour mixture is dampened enough to gather into a ball. Shape into a flat disk, wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least 45 min.

  (**)TIP: To save time you can purchase "frozen pie crusts" and use it to make the empanadas dough. You can also use canned refrigerated buttermilk biscuits, or my favorite PUFF PASTRY dough. In any case follow directions to shape empanadas - below.

Ingredients for the filling: Heat in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

  Add:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

  Cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Then, stir in:

• 1 pound lean ground beef

  Cook until the beef is lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Then, stir in:

• 1 cup diced peeled potatoes
• 1 large tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins or chopped prunes (optional)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted green olives (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 

  Cook covered, over medium heat until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. ncover the pan, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook briefly stirring constantly to evaporate any pan juices. Remove from the heat and let cool completely.
  Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.

To Shape Empanadas:
Roll out the dough 1/8 inch thick on a lightly fluored surface. Make sure that is thin, it makes for a better empanadas. Cut 6 inch rounds from the dough (you'll have to re-roll the scraps to get the 10-12 rounds). The plastic top from a #3 coffee can makes a good cutter. Right away spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling onto one side of each round. Moisten the edges of the rounds with water, fold each round in half, and press the edges together to completely enclose the filling. Press the tines of a fork around the perimeter of the empanada to decoratively seal the edges. Place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet. Brush the following mixture over the tops of the empanadas:

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• pinch of salt

  Bake until nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly on a rack and serve warm.
  ***If you're using canned refrigerated buttermilk biscuits: separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press or roll each to form 5" rounds. Spoon 3 slightly rounded tablespoons meat mixture in center of each round. Fold dough over filling; press edges with fork to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg. BAKE at 375 F for 11 to 16 minuts or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes. Serve warm.

  For the Chimichurri Sauce, whisk together throughly in a small bowl:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

  Stir in:

• 1 small onion
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro
• 4 cloves garlic, finelly chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper or to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper or to taste

  Cover and let stand fro 2-3 hours before serving to allow the flavors to mature.
  This sauce will keep for up to 2 days (covered and refrigerated).

Que lo disfruten!

Chef Melissa

Tags: wine, cookingdiva, empanadas, panama, chef

This is my non-entry for the Paper Chef February 2005, second recipe…contest. Specially designed for Owen. No point on asking for the -bonus points- because I am 1 day late---but anyways, I prepared this for lunch today, using the 4 extra ingredients: tamarind, chorizo, stale bread and broccoli. Hope you like it!

Yuca , cassava or mandioca (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) is a root originary from Brasil and Paraguay. It is an annual tuber crop grown widely in tropical and sub-tropical areas. It thrives in sandy loam soil low organic matter and can tolerate low rainfall and high temperatures. It is therefore a cash crop cultivated by smallholder farmers within the existin farming systems in many countries.

Ingredients for Croquettes:

1/2 lb (8 oz) yuca, peeled, cut in chunks and boiled for 15 mins

4 oz chorizo (I am using Panamanian chorizo from Las Tablas)

2 oz broccoli, cut, steamed and drained

Stale bread, grinded and seasoned with dry herbs

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Once yuca is cooked, drain and pulse in the food processor until dough is uniform.
2. Chorizo comes heavily seasoned most of the time, so there is no need to add spices to the filling this time. But, if you want to be sure…go ahead, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking
3. Take two tablespoons of yuca dough aprox., make a ball and then flatten it to a disk. Put one layer of chorizo and one layer of broccoli in the middle and top with a second flattened disk of yuca dough. Seal the edges. Wet your fingers and rub the surface of the croquette with your hands to make it even and seal edges. It has to be smoth and beautiful.
4. Roll over some bread crumbs (ground stale bread seasoned with herbs)
5. At this point you have to choices: you can deep fry, or oven fry the croquette.
6. Oven fry directions: after spraying them with some canola oil …I`ll oven fry these beauties for 15 minutes (350º pre-heated oven)
7. While they are baking, prepare the sauce:

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil, then add

1/4 cup red onion, chopped (or shallots),

1 tablespoon sugar

sautee until caramelized.

Then add 3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate

1/4 cup orange juice, and simmer for 3 minutes, or until it`s reduced to 1/2.

Adjust seasonings, and serve with croquettes!

Enjoy!

Chef M

Tags: yuca, cassava, cookingdiva, chef, panama, recipe

Este plato nos encanta porque es delicioso y se prepara en un dos por tres!

Ingredientes:
• 4 chuletas de 1 pulgada de grueso (pork chops)
• 1/3 taza de harina
• Sal y pimienta al gusto
• 2 cucharadas de aceite de oliva
• 1 taza de cebolla cortada tipo juliana (fina)
• 2 dientes de ajo, picados fino o triturados
• 2 tazas de tomate maduro, pelado y picado
• 3/4 taza de vino blanco seco (jerez o sherry)
• 2 huevos duros, hervidos 13 minutos, pelados y picados.
• 1/2 taza de aceitunas verdes sin semilla rellenas de pimientos morrones

Procedimiento:
Mezclar la harina, la sal y pimienta en un recipiente seco. Remover el exceso de grasa de las chuletas y pasar por la mezcla de harina, sacudir el exceso. Calentar el aceite en una sarten y dorar las chuletas por ambos lados (aprox. 2 minutos por cada lado). Remover las chuletas a un plato, secar con papel toalla para quitar exceso de aceite. En la misma sarten sofreir la cebolla con el ajo por 10 minutos, agregar los tomates y cocinar a fuego lento (bajo) por 10 minutos, agregar el vino, combinar bien.
Pre-calentar el horno a 375°. Traspasar las chuletas y la salsa a un molde pyrex o para horno, tapar y cocinar por 30-45 minutos o hasta que las chuletas esten suaves. Remover la tapa en los ultimos 10 minutos. Al momento de servir, distribuir el huevo picado y las aceitunas encima de cada una de las chuletas, a partes iguales. RINDE 4 PORCIONES
Sugerencia: servir con arroz blanco al vapor, o con papas y zanahorias salteadas en mantequilla y ajo, o con una ensalada de vegetales frescos.
BUEN APETITO!