Tag Archives: Butter

Empanadas

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Ok so I am in a Latin state of mind. Not to brag, but I am going to Panama in February. So I am totes all about exotic food right now in anticipation of my travels. I mean don’t be jealous, you can get a taste of those countries at home with this muy rica comida! (translates to “very tasty food”, you silly goose). Anyway, I digress. Host a tapas night, or serve as a game time snack, or even pack some for lunch one day with a side salad. This is one delish dish that is worth the extra time. Oh and for those of you that don’t know what an empanada is: its a meat-filled pie. Portable, popular street food and just plain old yummy!

 

1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts (any puff pastry or pie dough would work this isn’t a shameless Pillsbury plug, Pepperidge Farm can get a holla too. Anyway, I made these two ways once with pie crusts and once with crescent roll dough to see which I liked better. Listen don’t judge Philly had a snowstorm and I had cabin fever & decided to keep busy by finding you guys the yummiest way to make these. No clear winner though: the crescent dough is harder to work with, but more fluffy. The pie crust was easier and flakier. So you decide whatever you like best. Ya, I have double the empanadas. So in reality I AM THE WINNER) & 1 egg, beaten

Chicken and Cheese Filling-

  • 2 tbsp butter & 2-3 tbsp. flour (a roux)
  • 1 medium Spanish onion chopped small
  • ½ cup white wine (feel free to leave out if you don’t have any on hand).
  • 2 chicken** pieces, skin removed & shredded/chopped. (I used a store bought rotisserie & kept the remaining for a chicken salad, obvi)
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup Mexican blend, shredded cheese (maybe even less)
  • Salt and pepper to taste (garlic powder also because I am a freak)

**(Another option is to brown some ground turkey or ground beef with some taco seasoning and use that in place of the chicken. Get creative folks! Use what you have lying around…don’t be running to the store more than once a week if you don’t have to).

Anyway, back to the cooking part: heat the butter/flour (roux) & add the onions saute over medium heat until translucent, around 4 minutes. Add the white wine and allow to evaporate until ½ of the liquid is left and to deglaze the pan. Add the chicken & the milk, a little at a time until well incorporated and the sauce is thick.  Mix constantly, lastly you can add in the salt and pepper to taste (I also added garlic powder).

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pie crusts from pouches; place flat on work surface. With 3 1/4-inch round cutter, cut 8 rounds from each pie crust. I don’t have a cutter so I used a martini glass, because I am hood like that. Spoon filling evenly onto half of each dough round. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the filling. A pinch of cheese people, don’t over stuff the empanada. Brush edge of crust rounds with beaten egg. Fold crust rounds in half; press edges with fork to seal. Place on foiled cookie sheet. Brush tops with egg. Bake 14-17 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool & serve immediately.
While the empanadas bake, you can whip up this easy, beyond delish dipping sauce. Any person can serve it with store bought salsa, a real foodie, makes even the accompaniments fresh! Check out the avocado cream recipe under Sauce Boss.
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Happy Eating, XO.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Cookies

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Sorry guys, but I have to throw you a curve ball on this one. I know we’re trying  to do the whole “clean eating in the new year!” thing, but I love baking (and eating) sweets too much to give them up. And I just couldn’t keep this recipe a secret: The chocolate chip cream cheese cookies – try saying that five times fast!

I don’t know about you, but I never seem to be able to use the whole bar of cream cheese when I buy it. I use half, and then find it in the back of my fridge way later than its expiration date. (Yikes!) So, this time I decided to attempt to use what I had left over in a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe. It really brought out the best in the cookie – chewy middle and crunchy edges. Mind you, I made them small so I didn’t feel completely guilty for popping one after eating a wholesome salad or smoothie!

  • 2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup unsalted, melted butter
  • 4 oz cream cheese (you can use less if you don’t have the 4 oz)
  • Dash of vanilla extract
  • 2 dashes of salt and baking powder
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 1 cup chocolate chip cookies

Heat your oven to 325. Begin mixing the sugars, butter, cream cheese and vanilla until combined. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking soda, then slowly add to the sugary mix. When it starts to look like dough, mix in the chocolate chip cookies. Lightly grease your cookie sheets and move on to the fun part – playing with the dough!

Scoop about a tablespoon full of dough, roll it, and lightly flatten on the cookie sheet. Bake for about 18-20 minutes. Mine were pretty thick so I left them in a little longer. And don’t forget, you should definitely “taste test” them while they’re hot!

chocolate chip cream cheese cookie

Happy Eating, XO

#teamtruffle

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So the best thing I have been hearing from people is that Jess and Sonia have the same voice. No one can differentiate who writes what post, because we have the same sense of humor, writing style, cooking/recipe style. Let me fill you in on a little secret, that was kind of the point & reasoning behind our fab collabo. Anyway, instead of keeping up the cryptic façade of who is writing this post, I will have to go ahead and spill the beans. Only because Jess is obsessed with all things TRUFFLE (you name it: fries, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, popcorn-check out her recipe, it is DIVINE). Having said that, she has now gotten me on the truffle bandwagon. I, too, am now OBSESSED. So in honor of Jess and missing our last face time date, I wanted to share this recipe with y’all.

•Kosher or Sea salt (something course).
•1/2 cup heavy cream (I tried to lighten this up and did half & half, I mean can you blame a girl: butter, cheese, cream. It was getting a lil cray even for my fattie/foodie side).
•3 ounces white truffle butter (should be about $7, I bought a 4 oz package for $7.99. Yes its expensive, yes its different, you tell us worth it or not. Also if you aren’t a fan of truffle butter or have skeptics coming to dinner perhaps use 2 oz. It’s a strong flavor so no one will hate you for cutting back, I stuck with 3 though because its “damn delish”).
•Freshly ground black pepper
•1 (8.82-ounce) package tagliatelle dried pasta (or any other egg fettuccine, Trader joes has a cheap egg papardelle)
•3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
•3 ounces Parmesan (shaved thin with a vegetable peeler or be lazy like me and have them shave it at the cheese counter for you).

Add 1 tablespoon salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil & cook pasta.
Meanwhile, in a large (12-inch) saute pan, heat the cream over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Add the truffle butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Lower the heat to very low, and swirl the butter until it melts. Keep warm over very low heat. When the pasta is cooked, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, then drain & add the pasta immediately (you don’t want the starchy noodles to clump together sitting in a side bowl, not that it happened to me, ok gawsh). Add the drained pasta to the saute pan and toss it with the truffle-cream mixture. As the pasta absorbs the sauce, add as much of the reserved cooking water, as necessary, to keep the pasta very creamy. (I added like 3 tbsp. not even). Serve the pasta & garnish each serving with a generous sprinkling of chives and shaved Parmesan. Serve immediately so the sauce doesn’t over-thicken. Also the original recipe says that this makes 2 portions, but let’s be honest here…this dish is DECADENT! So I’d say it is realistically a starter course or side dish for 4 servings. Yup that’s it, can’t believe how quick such a fancy dish can be? Well, make it and find out for yourself. Make sure to comment below on your thoughts! Or tweet at us with your opinion: #teamtruffle worth the $ or not.

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p.s. less than one month till the dynamic duo’s birthday. #justsaying.

Happy Eating, XO.

“I’ve got one hand in my pocket, and the other is in a popcorn bowl.”

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I don’t know about you but with holiday break so close, I’m getting ready to curl up on the couch under a big blanket, with one hand on the TV remote and one hand in a popcorn bowl. And I don’t mean any plain ol’ popcorn either. We’re talking my absolute favorite – truffle popcorn! (If you need to know anything about me, it’s that I’m obsessed with anything truffle.)

Warning: If you have a roommate or significant other around, you may want to make two batches so you don’t have to share!

That being said, I give you the deliciousness that is truffle popcorn for your eating pleasure.

  • 1 cup popcorn kernels (or 1 bag of plain microwavable popcorn)
  • 3 tablespoons oil (vegetable oil works just fine)
  • 3 tablespoons sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons truffle oil
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter

You can make the popcorn the old fashioned way in a large covered pot/popcorn maker, or just do what I did and buy it in the microwavable bag. If you’re doing it the old fashioned way, pour in kernels and vegetable oil and wait for the popping. It should be done in about 6-ish minutes. Otherwise, microwave the bag according to its instructions. When finished, transfer it all to your popcorn bowl and thoroughly mix in the salt, truffle oil and butter.

*If you also happen to be a bacon fanatic, you can cook and finely chop some bacon and sprinkle it in for added flavor. Don’t worry, you still have two weeks before that diet begins…

truffle popcorn

You can also check out our latest delicious recipe – truffle pasta!

Happy Eating, XO.

Casual Broccoli Chicken Divan

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With this recipe, it’s all about the laziness of layering and keeping it casual. It’s a quick and easy recipe to throw together on a Tuesday night, when you’re really not in the mood to cook. Not that I’m speaking from experience…

  • 1 pound chopped and cooked broccoli
  • 2 cubed and cooked chicken breasts
  • 1 (10.75 oz) can cream of broccoli soup
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs

To start, preheat the oven to 450 degrees, and cook the broccoli and chicken. In a bowl combine the soup and milk. Layer the broccoli and chicken and pour the soup mix over the two. Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese. Mix the bread crumbs and butter (I tend to eyeball how much to use) and sprinkle them on top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. I like to serve over white rice, but feel free to get creative – it can be a really diverse dish! Broccoli Chicken Divan Happy Eating, XO