Beef Curry Pies - Hand Pies

 
Cold weather finally!  Easy comfort food is on the menu.  I don't know about you but the easiest organic meat to find is ground beef yet, recipes for ground meat seem to be chili, hamburger, meatballs - not again my kids scream! Although, their favorite dish is my sweet and sour meatballs . 
Epicurious to the rescue with this hand pies.  These would be great for a Super Bowl Party too.
FYI Costco has the best price on organic ground beef.

I cut potatoes too big.

Cupcake pans make it easy.

Choice - make more pies or make a covered top?  I choose more pies so I cut excesses into strips. 

Hand full of fun and tasty



Beef and Curry Pie 

from Epicurious

Adapted

3/4 pound organic ground beef

2 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 tablespoon curry powder (preferably Madras)
1 large organic russet (baking) potato, ¼ inch pieces (1 cup)
10 tablespoons water
¼ cup frozen peas, thawed
2 (17 ¼ ounce) packages frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
 

1. Mix together beef, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and garlic with your hands until combined well
2. Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, then add beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up beef into small pieces, until just browned, about 4 minutes
3. Drain beef in a colander set over a bowl (reserve skillet) and return beef drippings to uncleaned skillet
4. Heat drippings over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Add curry powder and potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are translucent, 3 to 5 minutes more
6. Add water and cook, stirring and scraping up any brown bits from bottom of skillet, until liquid is absorbed and potatoes are tender, about 1 minute
7. Return beef to skillet and stir in peas, then cool filling, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes
8. Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 400°F
9. Roll out one sheet of dough into a 12-inch square on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin and cut out 4 (5-inch) rounds with cutter.
10.  Spray cupcake pan with light oil
11.  Place round of pastry in each cupcake cup
12.  Mound filling onto each
13.  Cut excessive pasty and cover tops
14.  Bake until pies are deep golden brown and puffed, 25 to 30 minutes
15.  Cool pies to warm, about 10 minutes, or room temperature

Notes:
Reheat on a baking sheet in middle of a 350°F oven until filling is hot, about 15 minutes.

Original Recipe Beef and Curry Pie

 

Pesto Wheels

I feel like I am always folding laundry, usually I just listen to music and thank you Pandora for limitless music; however, the other day I flipped on the TV and watched a little Ina.  She made Savory Palmiers.  Quick and simple…ah… dinner with a salad. 

Everyone loved these delicious bites, perfect for Super Bowl parties to elegant gatherings.

I did have frozen puff pastry from Trader Joe’s, but pesto?  Garden basil wiped out from the winter frost, so next best little basil frozen cubes mixed with a bit of olive oil.  Have you kept up with all of the extra virgin olive oil controversy?  Fake, fake, fake -  is nothing sacred?

Pesto Wheels

inspired by Ina Garten

4 cubes frozen basil

1/4 cup olive oil

4 or more ounces goat cheese

1/4 cup or more toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes 

package of puff pastry 

~ flour counter top

~ roll out puff pastry to 9" by 11"

~ in a small bowl mix basil and olive oil 

~ brush basil oil mixture onto puff pastry

~  then sprinkle half the goat cheese, pine nuts and sun dried tomatoes 

~ roll puff pastry into log

~ repeat with second puff pastry 

~ refrigerate for 45 minutes 

~pre-heat oven 400 degrees F

~ cut into 1/3" pieces

~ place 2" apart on parchment paper lined baking sheet

~ bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown

~ serve warm

Barefoot Contessa's Savory Palmiers

Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Potato Galette with Arugula

Yesterday, I sat with a stack of magazines as my car's oil was changed.  Sweating as I ripping out pages of interesting recipes and planning a small plates feast. We need refreshing food in the blazing hot humid desert.  Vegetables cool and crisp, small plates the perfect solution to the aggravating weather.  

Fabulous flavor and so quick to throw together and I might add, most impressive looking.  Well mine not so impressive, but after 2 hours at the auto shop, I had my car aligned as well, every wanted food so I just smacked it together.  I micro'd the potatoes and roasted the pepper over my gas flame.

Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Potato Galette with Arugula

from Sunset Magazine

adapted

1 sheet puff pastry

3oz+ Basque-style sheep's-milk cheese or manchego, thinly sliced

3oz+ Spanish-style vegetarian chorizo broken up into bite size pieces

1/2 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, cooked and thinly sliced

1 large roasted organic red bell peppers, thinly sliced and patted dry

2 cups loosely packed organic baby arugula

1t sherry vinegar

1/2t extra-virgin olive oil

~ preheat oven to 425°

~ lay out a sheet of parchment paper

~ roll puff pastry to 1/4" thickness

~ set on a rimless baking sheet.

~ leaving a 2-in. border, scatter cheese, chorizo, potatoes, and peppers over dough

~ fold dough edges over filling

~ bake until crust is golden and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes

~ toss arugula with vinegar and oil in a small bowl until coated

~ scatter over galette

~ cut into wedges and serve immediately.

Eggplant Caviar

This is a great appetizer for an adult gathering.  My kids would have nothing to do with it.  Serve it two ways chopped and processed.

eggplant roasted in the toaster oven

chopped

processed in food processor

Eggplant Caviar

from Jacques Pepin The Short-Cut Cook

adapted

1 1pound eggplant

1T safflower oil

2 onions chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

15 organic cherry tomatoes diced

2T olive oil

1/2t freshly ground pepper

1t salt

1/2t Tabasco sauce

1/2t sugar

1T cider vinegar

1 1/2T chopped cilantro

~ heat oven 400

~ spray cookie sheet with oil

~ half eggplant and bake on cookie sheet 30-45 minutes, until soft

~ as eggplant cooks heat safflower oil in skillet

~ saute onions over medium heat for 3-4 minutes

~ stir in garlic and transfer mixture to bowl

~ add diced tomato, olive oil, pepper, salt, Tabasco, sugar, vinegar and cilantro

~ stir to combine

~cool eggplant and peel and discard skin

~ mince flesh

~ add minced flesh to other ingredients and serve

~ or process and serve