pineapple empanadas

i made these fruity empanadas for a hawaiian themed fourth of july/birthday celebration picnic in dolores park. my first thought was to make pineapple cupcakes but eventually decided on empanadas for easier portability. good thing cause there were cupcakes a-plenty!

i took parts of several recipes in order to get to this one. the empanada dough is fantastic! it's really flaky and i think it would work great for any pie-ish dough needs. i think next we will try it with a savory filling sprinkled with salt and herbs.....

pineapple empanadas
(makes about 15 empanadas)
dough ingredients:
2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 (or more) cold soy milk (i needed more)
water for brushing
coarse sugar to sprinkle

filling ingredients:
1 cup crushed pineapple, in its own juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

to make the dough, mix flour, baking powder, salt and ginger. cut in shortening until the mixture becomes like coarse meal. add soy milk, a few drops at a time, mixing dough until it comes together and forms a ball. flatten dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.

to make the filling, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. bring to a boil and stir constantly for about 30 seconds. lower the heat to low and stir for another minute.

line a baking sheet with parchment and heat the oven to 450.

roll dough into a thin sheet on a floured surface. use a cookie cutter/beer mug/what-have-you to cut out 4 inch circles. place a teaspoonful of filling on the center of each circle. brush edges of circle with water and fold in half. carefully press the edges together and seal them together with fork tines. place on prepared baking sheet. brush the tops with water and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. cool on wire racks.

-d

basil pineapple fried rice

what i really want to call this is basil pineapple cashew sesame fried rice but that seems just a tad long for a title. anyway, this is an easy fried rice recipe that we whipped up tonight (i know! i can still taste it! such fast blogging i'm amazing myself). this is one of those recipes where you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and i'm sure it will be delicious with whatever you choose. also fried rice works best with rice that sits in the fridge overnight. i know this, but i didn't do it.




ingredients
1 1/2 cups rice
4 bunches baby bok choy
1 zuccini
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
ginger (1-2 inch piece) peeled and finely chopped
1 hot little pepper, finely chopped
1 can pineapple (make sure it's in it's own juice not gross syrupy stuff)
1/2 cup toasted cashews
1 bunch basil (bonus if it's thai basil)
soy sauce or tamari
chili sesame oil
regular sesame oil
sesame seeds
peanut oil for frying

cook the rice according to package instructions. let cool for a few minutes when it's done.

finely chop the garlic, ginger and pepper. chop the bok choy and onion into 1/2 inch-ish pieces. slice the zuccini

heat a little peanut oil in a wok. throw in the rice for 5-10 minutes to let it get a little crispy (don't stir too much). put the rice in a bowl.

heat a little more peanut oil if needed. cook the garlic, ginger, pepper and onion until the onion softens. add the zuccini and bok choy and cook a few more minutes until they are cooked through.

add the rice back to the wok and season with a couple of splashes each of soy sauce, chili sesame oil and sesame oil. taste and add more as you like. add the basil and stir until wilted. add the pineapple and cashews and cook a few minutes longer. sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

-d