Beef Empanadas made by Edible After School

We have tried out many recipes over the year some gluten -ree and some a combination of flour and masa. The masa recipes are harder to work with for turnovers (we do like to make tacos with it though) and not as flaky even when we use lard instead of butter. But they are much more flavorful and more traditional. A mixture of flour and masa can be used as well. The best mixed masa-flour empanada dough recipe we tested is Martha Stewart’s:  flour-masa dough. However, my students prefer the flour recipe (printed below) for its ease and super flakiness.

Game Day Beef Empanadas with Avocado Crema

We have yet to experiment with some of the new non-gluten all-purpose flour mixtures that are now on the market but I’ve heard lots of praise from King Arthur’s new mixture as well as Cup4Cup developed by Lena Kwok for Thomas Keller at the French Laundry.

Empanada dough is made using the same as technique as a shortcrust except there is vinegar and egg added to the wet ingredients.

First, cut in the fat with the flour, then add the wet ingredients (vinegar, water, egg) until the dough comes together, and lastly knead dough a few times until it is pliable. It’s important to beat the egg with the wet ingredients and mix them thoroughly together (don’t add the egg separately) before adding to dry ingredients or the dough doesn’t combine well and it changes the elasticity. You will find your dough streaked with tough dried out yolk if you don’t head my words!

If making to consume for a later date: freeze empanadas on parchment on a baking sheet making sure they’re not touching. Once completely frozen they can be stacked and stored in ziplock bags without the risk of the the meat pies crushing, touching, or smooshing each other.

Don’t worry about defrosting them, just place the frozen disks on a baking sheet and bake away!

Puente’s Edible After School has been written up in Edible Magazine and other local publications including theHalfmoon Bay Review. Our program has existed for two years through sponsors like the Packard Foundation and private donors but we are ever growing and expanding and looking for help to buy ingredients, pay for kitchen rental, and buy computers so that we can add technology to our class and create an online teen-run cooking program and manage an online store selling our jams, pickles, and grab n’ go market items. Would you consider a donation to our program to help us continue teaching practical Math & English, Nutrition, basic & intermediate cooking, food safety & handling, teamwork and leadership?

The post Beef Empanadas with Avocado Crema first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Perhaps I dislike wings so much because for family meal at Guy Savoy in France, twice a month I had to prepare them for a staff of 45. Which sounds like a no-brainer until you have to cleave hundreds and hundreds of wings into drumettes before roasting and saucing.

I mean think about it – if you’re a 21 year old male and you’re cooking two shifts a day (lunch and dinner) and you’re job is super physical, how many wings do you think you’re going to eat to get full? 10 maybe? More? Yeah, that’s a lot of wings… and they don’t even use Frank’s Red Sauce over there. They like ’em deglazed with balsamic vinegar! (Yes, I know France is backwards – I’ve been saying that for years!)

Edible After School culinary students grill Jalapeño poppers for a private party

However, jalapeños are an ingredient that are rarely if ever used in France and I have yet to tire of them stuffed, sliced, pickled, BBQ’d, blanched, raw – you name it – I think they’re a great little pepper that is tasty on its own or added to other dishes.

Here’s an easy appetizer for the Super Bowl. Simply mix bay shrimp with a little Mexican crema to coat, add shredded Monterey and Cheddar cheese , season with a little salt and a squeeze of lime, plus a few dashes of hot sauce. Over stuff halved and seeded jalapeños et voilà!

Heat up the BBQ on medium-high. Season the grates with a little oil. When the grates are hot, Barbecue poppers until the cheese melts and the skins are lightly charred, about 2 minutes. Easy!

The post Game Day Jalapeño & Shrimp Poppers first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.

Puente’s Edible After School cooks Pork Spare Ribs for the Farmer Appreciation Dinner

And regardless of which football team you are rooting for (I’m assuming that you are going for Denver because we all know how Seattle robbed SF in that last game and those flippant remarks to Crabtree were totally un-sportsman like. And the fact they blocked Californians from buying tickets from their should-be-illegal-stadium was and is ABSURD!)

A cook expertly seasons the ribs – how to season like a pro!

These ribs were prepared by my culinary students for a Pescadero Farmer Appreciation dinner but we unanimously agree they would be great for the Super Bowl. We cooked and served a 4 -course meal consisting of all local ingredients: celeriac soup with seared scallops & bacon, bitter greens with winter citrus & fennel, spareribs with guajillo BBQ sauce, smashed rutabega, buttermilk biscuits and sautéed swiss chard.

The swiss chard being my addition of course, none of my students would voluntarily vote for this vegetable although several admitted it didn’t taste that bad. We finished the meal with homemade apple empanadas with vanilla ice cream and cajeta sauce.

A cook prepares the BBQ sauce with local fire roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, and dried ancho and guajillo chilis

I am exceptionally proud of their hard work and continual joy &  laughter they bring to each and every class which makes me feel young and reminds me of why I first came to this profession. And I am always super impressed with their professionalism and ability to focus under pressure whether we are serving our community at the farmer’s market or catering small and large parties in the county.

We plated everything pretty for our guests but for ourselves we served up spareribs in craft paper trays which would be easy to do for a Super Bowl party (even if you are a Seattle Seahawk fan) and would require little clean-up.

There were plenty of smiles to go around, and a lot of nodding while eating – a silent but expressive admission of pure delicious success.  The students think the BBQ sauce is killer and yes, we do sell it at the market so look for it this Spring at the Pescadero Farmer’s Market and maybe online if we ever get computers (hint, hint) donated to our class.

Pork Spare Ribs with Guajillo BBQ sauce

We hope to see you at our stall at the Pescadero Farmer’s Market coming up this Farm season! Or perhaps for one of our Farm to Table dinners showcasing our local organic farms. Dates to be announced and, as always, dependent on when the growing season starts this year. Looks like it’s going to be an early one….

Puente’s Edible After School has been written up in Edible Magazine and other local publications including the Halfmoon Bay Review. Our program has existed for two years through sponsors like the Packard Foundation and private donors but we are ever growing and expanding and looking for help to buy ingredients, pay for kitchen rental, and buy computers so that we can add technology to our class and create an online teen-run cooking program where we post recipes and also manage an online store selling our jams, pickles, and grab n’ go market items. Would you consider a donation to our program to help us continue teaching practical Math & English, Nutrition, basic & intermediate cooking, food safety & handling, teamwork and leadership?

The post Super Bowl Spareribs with Guajillo BBQ Sauce first appeared on Amy Glaze's Pommes d'Amour.