Picadillo Empanadas

Empanadas are savory "turnovers" that are common as streetfood in Latin America and Mediterranean Europe. Common fillings include flaked fish, potato, fried and mashed banana, pork, shredded chicken, and, most commonly found in Cuba and Miami - picadillo. Picadillo is a ground beef hash that contains browned onions, garlic, red pepper, green olives, tomato sauce or paste, citrus juice (sour orange and lime, particularly), oregano, and, depending on the cook, some sweet elements. The first memorable picadillo I ate as a child contained cinnamon, so I add that, as well as chopped dates or raisins. Don't let the cinnamon and dates/raisins throw you off; picadillo is a decidedly savory dish. A little bit of sweetness will keep your guests asking what the secret ingredient to the dish is.

PICADILLO

Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 red peppers, chopped
20 green olives, halved (the bottled Manzanilla variety is perfect)
1 sour orange
2 limes
10 dates, chopped
6 ounces tomato paste (or, alternatively, 10 ounces tomato sauce)
Oregano, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste

Procedure:
(1) Brown onions in a large, deep pan with a bit of olive oil.
(2) Add minced garlic and peppers, and sautee for a few more minutes.
(3) Add ground beef, combine well with other ingredients, and cook until brown.
(4) Season with ground black pepper, cinnamon, and oregano.
(5) Add tomato paste or sauce and stir well to combine.
(6) Add olives to the pan, along with a splash or two of the brine in which the olives are bottled. If doing this, there is no need to add salt; the olives and brine are salty enough.
(7) Juice limes and sour orange over the pan; stir well to combine.
(8) Add chopped dates or raisins. At this point, you will notice that there is a bit of extra liquid and fat in the pan. Do not drain this; allow the meat the simmer on low for about 15 more minutes so that all of the excess liquid is absorbed into the hash.

EMPANADAS

Ingredients:
Empanada discs (usually sold in the frozen foods aisle by Goya or another Latin American brand) Oil for frying

Procedure:
(1) Make sure that empanada discs are thawed before you begin to assemble the actual empanadas. They thaw quickly; just remove them from the freezer as you start the filling for the empanadas and they should be ready once the filling is done.
(2) Heat approximately one inch of oil in a large pan. It is unnecessary to deep fry empanadas; shallow-frying and turning them over once is just as effective. Fry on one side until golden brown and then turn with tongs to achieve the same result on the other side. I usually fry 5-6 empanadas per batch. Keep in mind that once the oil is well-heated, empanadas will take only about a minute or less to fry on each side.
(3) Once done, remove from oil and place onto a plate covered with double-folded paper towls. Blot excess oil to ensure crispiness when serving.

Pan-Sauteed Apples

I often see two-pound bags of apples on sale for $2.00-$2.50. When this is the case, I will almost always buy a bag to make this dish. It is such a natural, wholesome thing to eat and can be served as a side, as dessert, or even as a snack. If you like apples at all, you will love this, and if you don't like raw apples, you should definitely give this dish a try; your opinion will likely change. My favorite part of this dish is the natural caramel sauce that forms at the bottom of the pan- no added sugar is needed; the natural sugars of the apples plus some honey or maple syrup are enough to put this dish over the edge!

Ingredients:
2 pounds apples* - peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
3 tablespoons butter (3/8 of one stick)
Juice of half of a lemon
Honey or maple syrup, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste
Nutmeg, to taste
Pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

*Certain apples tend to fall apart more easily and thus are more appropriate for making applesauce than for making this dish. I tend to have the best luck with the Granny Smith or McIntosh varieties; pink lady and golden delicious are better suited for applesauce.

Procedure:
(1) Squeeze lemon juice into a bowl.
(2) Peel, core, and cut apples into chunks. Toss the chunks in the lemon juice; this will keep them from oxidizing (this is what causes them to turn brown after sitting exposed).
(3) Melt butter into a deep sautee pan. Introduce apples and any excess lemon juice.
(4) Stir to ensure that all apples become coated with melted butter.
(5) Add honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, and salt to taste.
(6) Stir every minute or so until apples have softened and a thick sauce has formed.
(7) Serve warm alone or with vanilla ice cream and/or pound cake.