Braised Pork Empanadas

Once again, I fell off the charts for way too long writing about dinner. I am offering this one with some ambivalence, but at least I’m dusting off my space a bit and adding something – anything – once again.

My wife and I are hoping to sell our condo so we can buy a house. That has meant a good bit of legwork de-cluttering our current home, and I wanted to make sure that any remaining items in our chest freezer got used up sooner rather than later to insure we didn't have to deal with any substantial quantities of perishables down the road. I had a couple of smaller pork roasts left, and braised them in the crock pot for much of the day, half-submerged in apple juice with a couple of apples and a couple of pears, some cinnamon, a small touch of chili powder, and a bit of honey over the top. Thankfully, my wife was able to occasionally “baste” the meat during the day, and the pork was perfect when I got home.

As before, when I made empanadas, I used frozen shells. I still haven’t taken the opportunity to make my own from scratch, and hope I will next time, but the premade offering from Goya is really rather nice. I coarsely chopped the pork and added about a cup of the juice to it, leaving the rest of the juice and the fruit for later. Once cooled a bit, I assembled the empanadas and set them aside.

I removed some of the peel from the fruit and added a few bananas to it, along with a bit of applesauce I had (apple-banana, which my daughters tend to not eat from the variety packs). I mashed this up and let it chill. I then strained much of the liquid from the crock pot into a sauce pan, reserving about a quarter cup, which I then mixed with some corn starch. I began reducing the juice, added my corn starch slurry, a hint of honey and vanilla sugar (yes, I keep a storage container with sugar and a couple of vanilla beans on hand at all times), along with a bit of orange juice, apple cider vinegar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I kept this simmering and reducing while I cooked the empanadas.

For the empanadas, I fried them in a 50/50 mix of peanut and olive oil. Since they don’t really need high heat, this works nicely, and adds a great flavor to boot.

The verdict

3 out of 4 of us really enjoyed this meal. Our younger daughter reluctantly, but ultimate ate and seemed to like this. My wife went nuts for the sauce. I was particularly pleased with the mellow apple-cinnamon tones in the pork, and the juiciness and tenderness of the meat. Since I made both roasts, and didn't have enough dough for more empanadas, I’ll make something else with that extra meat in a day or so (probably some nice tacos!). The pork worked well here, but on its own would have done well with just some good barbecue sauce, frankly. I really like the apple/banana sauce as a side. It is nice, every now and then, to have some fruits in place of veggies at dinner time, especially when it complements the meal so well.

Our older daughter decided to be stubborn. While she eventually acquiesced and tried the pork, she basically skipped dinner. Sometimes, we win, sometimes we don’t. It confounds me that she will eat a wide variety of vegetables (heck, broccoli is her favorite), but beyond applesauce, we cannot seem to get this child to appreciate fruit. I suppose I may have to find some sneakier ways to get her to try fruits in the future, but on this night, I failed.

While de-cluttering is not really much fun, it can be rewarding. We have been thrilled to clean out closets and drawers, knowing that so many gently-used items will find another life through donation. We have purged books that each of us have moved multiple times over a decade or more, books that really should have been passed along years ago. We find ourselves thinking more and more about what is important, and when we have a meal like this that removes from our larder something we don’t want to transport, we gain a nice memory, a new dish to use again in the future, and in this case, a hope – a hope that someday both our daughters will reflect back on our time sharing meals and NOT remember the times they threw a fit because something was new, or different, or not a favorite. We are building the last of our memories in the home where each of our girls has thus-far lived exclusively. I probably should make sure that I fill some of the remaining dinner times with more mac and cheese (they will tell you, mine is the best), more ravioli, and more PB&J and grilled cheese for lunch on the weekend. Oh, and broccoli. Definitely more broccoli.

A Sort of Fusion

I have been away far too long again, and it took the right meal to make me sit down and write again. Last night's dinner was that meal. A month or two ago, I experimented with using egg roll wrappers with something of a Tex-Mex filling, and last night, I think I hit it spot on. While the prep and cook time for this was longer than the usual half hour I try to allow, it wasn't by much, surprisingly. I started with ground beef and black beans sauteed with a couple of different chili powders, some garlic salt, pepper, ground cumin, and coriander. I rolled these into the wrappers with a bit of shredded sharp cheddar, and browned them in peanut oil. Simple, crispy, and again, surprisingly quick. A bit of rice in the cooker, and that was it. 

The Verdict

When three of the four in our family go back for seconds, it is a good sign. The crispy, flaky egg roll wrappers are a great substitute for the more traditional corn platform I associate with this kind of protein concoction. With a dollop of sour cream and salsa on the side for dipping, the result was unquestionably successful. I also think I have finally beaten my aging and well-used rice cooker into submission, as it has been plaguing me with poorly-cooked rice of late. Last night, it was almost perfectly cooked. I chose jasmine rice, and it had just the right texture to complement the main course.

The idea of fusing cuisines is really a balancing act. It is a matter of picking ideas that work well together, and not just cobbling together random ingredients, hoping something will click. It's not unlike what I've been feeling about parenting these past few busy months. Taking a step back and seeking balance goes a long way toward preserving the sense of self that parents still desperately cling to, while happily sinking deeper and deeper into their other identity of mom or dad. I don't know any two parents who were raised identically, and as such, we all bring different experiences and ideas about how to guide our children to our parenting experience. Really, parenting is a kind of fusion as well, when there are two folks doing the job. And when we are lucky, or thoughtful, or careful, or all of these things, going back for seconds can be really satisfying.

Chicken goodness; no guilt

The first time I tried a Chick-fil-A sandwich, I was dazzled. So simple, but so good. Nothing mysterious about it. I was much younger then, and while no less passionate about social justice and politics, I was not nearly as connected to others, nor informed about issues as I am now. As a teen, I would glibly toss around derisive comments about all things gay, and I'm sure I was hurtful somewhere along the way. Then, a funny thing happened.  I realized that a whole lot of my friends, people I cared about deeply, were gay. And over the years, I noticed that I cared less and less about their sexuality, and a whole lot more about how others treated them. I had similarly enlightening and evolutionary experiences over the years, having heard my fair share of closed-minded rants about "otherness" throughout my youth; I like to believe that I've managed to outgrow the vast majority of my misperceptions.

When it became clear to me over the past year or so that Dan Cathy, president of Chick-fil-A, supported a number of (at best) distasteful causes, I joined many of my friends in swearing off the food. Yes, I know that the local franchisees are not the same thing as the overarching corporation, but when a businessperson chooses to open a franchise restaurant, they do tend to have some options. They could opt to start up a restaurant in partnership with a corporation that is supportive of positive causes, and not mired in, frankly, hate. In short, I just don't have a problem with opting not to buy food from a company that will, in turn, use some of my money to support causes that squarely target some of my dearest friends simply because of who they are, and who they love.

This doesn't help me with a fundamental problem - I love the taste of that chicken.

So, last night, I took my shot at making a good substitute for our family to enjoy. I did some digging around online to find what others had attempted, and settled on my own pathway. I knew I was looking at a simple egg/flour coating, but it seems that folks tend to add some kind of sugar in this recreation. I did add some powdered sugar to the flour, salt, and pepper, and also added a small dash of Old Bay seasoning. To the eggs (2), I added an equal part of milk. That's it. For those who like measurements, I can only offer you guesstimates. I had 5 chicken breasts, which I halved in thickness. I wanted to insure the chicken didn't overwhelm the bun, and these were some large breasts. I used about a cup and half of flour, probably 3-4 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 4 teaspoons of salt, 2 of pepper, and a scant 1 of the Old Bay. If used excessively, Old Bay can overpower, so I wanted to keep it modest, but still add a little something to the mixture.

I cooked my chicken in a 50/50 blend of canola and peanut oils, largely because I was almost out of peanut oil. I will make darn sure I have more peanut oil next time, but this worked just fine.  If I were cooking this many breasts again in the future, I would break out the deep fryer to save time. I do try to get food on the table in 30-40 minutes most nights, but in choosing to use the pan, it took much longer. To save time, I did most of my chicken prep while my fries were cooking. Sadly, I don't have a waffle cutter on hand, but my mandoline made quick work of the potatoes, and I had some great cuts in a hurry. As with all frying, the goal is golden brown and delicious (thank you, Alton Brown, for having your voice attached to that phrase for the rest of my life). I love Claussen pickles, and pretty much always have a large jar of them on hand (one of those great Costco perks). I had only spears on hand, so I cut them into 1 cm slices, and put 4 on each sandwich, which was spot on for proportions. I served up some green beans, having forgotten to pick up cole slaw (my preferred side dish when I used to patronize the chain) in my last shop.

The verdict

I think my wife and I agreed: this was every bit as good as what we used to get. I need to find a waffle cutter if I want the whole experience, but I can say with absolute certainty that I can now have my "Chick-fil-A" at home without the guilt. No compromise on taste at all, and well-worth the effort. In fact, it was good enough for our 4-year-old to declare it "delicious," and eat a whole piece of chicken herself! 

I know some of my friends have different takes on the issue of gay rights, and I understand why they feel the way they do. But I firmly disagree with them, and feel it is vitally important to take small stands on my own beliefs. I can't knowingly spend money knowing that some of it is going to causes that are completely at odds with what I feel is good and decent. My daughters live across the entryway to our building from a lesbian couple with a son between them in age. They see a loving family, just like ours, nearly everyday, and I'm glad that my 2 girls are not going to hear from us the kind of bitter, hateful attitudes I heard about same-sex couples when I was growing up. Sure, they'll hear it and see it in life, but it is my sincere hope that they will be voices of reason and care when they do. I officiated a wedding ceremony for 2 other friends, both women, a few years ago, and I look forward to doing it again when I can sign their marriage certificate that grants them the same legal rights my wife and I enjoy. 

In love, in life -- and in chicken -- there should be no guilt!

Spicy Pork Empanadas

Growing up in northern New Jersey, I vividly remember seeing ads for Goya Adobo Sauce. They aired with greater frequency than I would have imagined on network TV of the 1970s and early 1980s. Sure, I also would occasionally tune into the Spanish-language UHF stations to watch a bit of "lucha libre" on weekends, but that was a rare indulgence. (No, really it was). I recall seeing cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the "ethnic foods" aisle in the grocery store. These always seemed exotic to me, a mystical thing that, as a boy, I would never have imagined having as part of a meal, never mind an item simply "on hand" in my pantry. As I think about it, few foods in the "ethnic" aisle would have seemed viably edible when I was a boy. Part of the reason, I'm sure, was simply my youth and lack of experience, but another part of it probably stemmed from living in a household that was not all that open to cultural "otherness." About the only food we bought from that aisle was the canned La Choy products, and the thought of canned Chow Mein still triggers a gag reflex deep inside for me.

I have come to appreciate a reasonably wide array of foods from other cultures over the years, and I have a fondness for empanadas, not only because they are delicious (really, I don't think I've ever had a bad one), but also because the basic concept is so appealing. Think about it; a delicious filling in a bread/pastry that is fried. Simple, easy to handle, comforting. And yes, I know that baking is an option, but if you can fry, why not? I had not made them before this evening, so the challenge for me was to keep the record perfect; I simply refused to taint the track record by making bad empanadas.

I started with some onion and oil, a bit of tomato paste, the chipotle/adobo goodness, cumin, and garlic salt, and added in small cubes of pork tenderloin and some water. I kept letting the sauce reduce, then adding a bit of water to keep the dish cooking, until finally getting the pork nice and tender (and still juicy). Once reduced down, I felt the filling needed a bit more sweetness to balance the flavors, so I added a bit of turbinado sugar. I confess that I decided on frozen "discos" for my first outing, in part because I wanted to eliminate a point of possible failure, but in larger part because I knew that, like most weeknights, my time would be limited. As a personal goal, I plan to make those from scratch next time.  Once constructed, I fried the empanadas in a mixture of canola and peanut oil until golden brown. 

The verdict

To put it simply; hot and spicy, but delicious. In addition to opening up that can of chipotle/adobo from the pantry, and my time-saving (yes, also a bit lazy) move of using the perfectly acceptable frozen discos, I served some canned pineapple on the side. The sweetness, and more importantly, the acidity really complimented the heat from the filling. 

I thought for a minute about my pantry as I was writing this and realized that, in the event of a long power outage or natural disaster, I would still be able to cobble together some rather interesting meals from the shelf-stable things I tend to keep around as a matter of course. It might be a fun challenge to cook for a few days with only things that are shelf-stable and already in the house just to see what I would end up with. I know this, for certain: it wouldn't be anything like I would have imagined walking those grocery aisles with my aunt when I was a young boy or teenager.

Fried rice and five spice chicken

Tonight, at dinner, we hosted Ben, Amanda, Lizzie, and AJ for dinner (and, of course, Ben & Amanda's daughter!). The occasion was to work on the wedding ceremony for Lizzie and AJ for which I will serve as officiant in a couple of weeks. I decided to do a simple marinade for some chicken, and popped the chicken breasts into a large Ziploc with rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, some organic sugar, and some Chinese five spice earlier this morning. I've fallen in love with the flavor of five spice, and have not had nearly enough opportunities to cook with it lately, so the thought that the rain would stay away and allow me to grill gave me the incentive I needed today. When I grilled the chicken, I added a dash of garlic salt, some more five spice, and a hint of cayenne to ratchet up the flavor a bit. 
I was also looking forward to making some fried rice tonight, as well. I like using sherry wine to make my fried rice, and was glad I found the last of the snow pea pods in the produce section this morning, since I enjoy those in my fried rice, too. I added in some carrot and baby corn, skipping the egg and onion I usually add tonight in favor of a quicker version with powdered ginger, garlic salt, soy sauce, peanut oil, and a hint of fish sauce. I used both brown and wild rice, and the texture of the rice itself really stood out as a result, keeping some "tooth" in the face of large pieces of vegetable.

The verdict

The chicken was great, plain and simple. Nicely cooked, and just enough of the five spice to tantalize without overpowering. I would have liked a tinge more heat, and may play with that the next time around.  The rice was also quite tasty, but I need to add the onion and some fresh ginger next time to really keep it as I usually like it. The egg would have been nice, too, but I do sometimes feel a bit odd having both chicken and egg in the same meal (yes, I'm thinking of Paul Simon's "Mother and Child Reunion" right about now). I think our guests enjoyed as well. We did have a bit of wine, but for the life of me I can't recall what it was (maybe a Cabernet/Merlot blend). It was a bit much for the meal, but whatever. A white would have been lost to the five spice and smoky grill flavor in the chicken, even if it would have been better with the rice.

The best part of the evening, however, was having a relaxed conversation about the wedding ceremony, helping Lizzie and AJ think about what they do and do not want, and (hopefully) putting them at ease about the event. I recall planning my own ceremony with my wife several years ago, and can't help but think that some five spice chicken probably would have made that planning all the better. As I recall, we met our officiant at a chain restaurant of some sort near the interstate in Indianapolis, and it wasn't nearly as fun as tonight.

Kefta

I was thrilled that the supermarket had some decent-looking ground lamb when I shopped last. It inspired me to make some kefta, one of my favorite treats when I eat at the Old Jerusalem Restaurant near my work. I confess that I have not made many Middle-Eastern dishes over the years, and I needed some guidance on the seasonings. I combed several recipes online, and forged ahead with my own take on the dish. I knew I wouldn't be able to grill these, too, so I had to find a way to get at least a little bit of "crisp" on these puppies.

I used some basics in this one; paprika, cumin, coriander, dried cilantro, salt, pepper, and the smallest bit of cinnamon. But I also added in some za'atar that I was fortunate enough to have found at a nearby middle eastern grocery in the recent past. A fair bit of onion went in as well. To get a bit of a char-like feel, I opted to pan-fry in some peanut oil, then finish cooking in the oven to keep in some of the moisture (thank you, onions!). In hindsight, the only thing I would change is the mince on my onions. They were just a bit too big. I should note that I did mix the lamb with beef, about a 2-1 ratio of lamb to beef. I like the mix when I use the two together, as the beef takes a bit of the edge off the lamb-y-ness for those not as keen on eating lamb. (My half-siblings in Indiana like to say that lamb tastes "hairy" to them...)

I paired this with a brown and wild rice mix (seasoned with dill and garlic) mixed with some peas, and served it with a dollop of creamy goat cheese.

THE VERDICT

Simply delicious. The bonus: the house this morning still had the lingering exotic smell of a "foreign" meal and that delicious aroma that only residual peanut oil can leave behind. I'd say we all enjoyed it, although I have still yet to get our daughter to try any of these more adventurous meals. She's still sticking to chicken, peas, and toast as mainstays for dinner. I think breaking her out of that routine will take some doing, and I hope someday she'll relish these sorts of meals as much as her mom and I do. It was a special treat to share the meal with my mother-in-law who has been a blessing these past 2 weeks, watching our daughter each day as our day care provider is away.  I suppose my biggest regret is that I didn't open some wine for this one....