Pumpkin Empanadas

In my mind it is ALWAYS seasonal to cook with pumpkin, though the gardener may disagree with me.

For our last cooking club we had a Mexican inspired dinner with homemade guacamole, homemade salsa, homemade margaritas, and chicken enchiladas. My contribution was the pumpkin empanadas.

Unlike most (meat filled) empanadas, these are sweet, rather than savory, and can be served as desert or as a side.

Growing up we made them to go with tacos after we moved to Wyoming and could no longer buy them at the Mexican bakery. Here is how to make them as written by my sister. (With a few additions of my own).

Things to put in pie crusts: Pot Pie

11pm on a cool November night. Steve has just taken our new puppy, Lola, for a run and I am contemplating dinner. Cold weather and staying up all night call for comfort food, and Chicken Dinner Pie is just that. 

This is a dish adapted from the recipe my mother made us growing up. I used to ask for it ever year on my birthday, and now I don't have to wait for my birthday.

Crusts

One of my baking pet peeves is when a recipe calls for a pre-made pie crust. Homemade pie crust is simple, takes less time to make than most pie fillings, and is infinitely tastier than whatever you might buy in the store.    

There are 4 ingredients in my favorite pie crust recipe and one of those ingredients is water.

8- to 9-inch Two-Crust Pie (top and bottom crust)

2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt 
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon room temperature butter 
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water

Tender meat, comfort kitchens...

It's about that time of year, the leaves are falling, it's getting colder, and the squash are out in full force. So yes, I'm making pork tenderloin escalopes with Marsala sauce and potato Au gratin. Oh and carving pumpkins with about 15 of my close friends.
Having so many people coming over, I had hoped to make something that I could prep ahead and have ready and waiting. Allowing me to socialize and carve my pumpkin with earnest... It turns out; I'm real bad at timing things to be ready and estimating how long it takes to prep. Or maybe its more that I haven't cooked 2 pounds of pork escalopes before, I enjoy my Sunday morning lie in and last minute department/grocery store trips ALWAYS take longer than you expect. But armed with a newly purchased mandolin and meat tenderizer, I prepped as hard and as fast and as carefully as I could.

...continues after the break