Pastry
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Filling
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 tbs bacon drippings
1 10-ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup cottage cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 egg, beaten

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter till smooth. (Use a stand mixer, since the mixture is heavy.) Gradually add in the flour and salt. Lightly knead the dough by hand. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

In a medium skillet, cook the onion and garlic in the bacon drippings until the onion is tender but not brown. Mix in the bacon, spinach, cottage cheese, pepper, and nutmeg; let the mixture cool.

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut 3-inch circles in the pastry, place 1 teaspoon of the filling in each circle, just to one side of the center. Moisten the edge of the circle with the egg, fold the dough in half over the filling to make a semicircular empanada. Seal the edges with fork tines, and poke the top of each pastry with a fork to make a vent. Put the empanadas on an ungreased cookie sheet, brush their tops with egg, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden.

Makes 60 empanadas.

Ingredients:

2lb lean rump steak

Mexican Sauce – 1 tablespoon oil
1/2 a Spanish onion finely chooped
1 clove garlic crushed
14oz can tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree (paste)
1/2 teaspoon chill powder
1 fresh green chilli seeded and finely chopped
salt and pepper

Method:

Cut meat int 1″ cubes and put onto a serving plate. To make the Mexican sauce heat the oil in a saucepan; add onion and garlic and cook gently until softened. Stur in tomatoes and their juice tomato puree and chilli powder. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Remove the sauce from the heat and puree in a blender or food processor unti smooth or press through a sieve to give a smooth sauce. Return to the heat add the chopped chilli and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve ith the meat cooked in the hot oil.

(Serves 4-6)

(Chuletas de Puerco con Chile Verde)

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 pork chops, 3/4″ to 1″ thick
pinch salt and pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp cooking oil
3/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup diced green chiles (a 7 oz can)
2 cups Mexican style sliced stewed tomatoes, (a 14.5 oz can)
2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 oven bag, 14″ X 20″

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275F.

Sprinkle pork chops with salt and pepper; dredge in flour to coat. Heat oil in skillet and lightly brown pork chops on both sides.

Place baking bag on 11″x15″ baking tray or in shallow baking dish of the same size. Lay pork chops at the closed end of the baking
bag and roll the top of the baking bag back to expose the chops; spoon chopped onion and diced green chiles onto the top of each
of the pork chops, covering evenly. Sprinkle covered chops with oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder. Spoon stewed tomatoes
into spaces between covered pork chops. Elevate open end of baking bag, gradually pour liquid from stewed tomatoes into bag,
then secure open end of bag with nylon tie. Puncture top of baking bag with four small holes.

Place tray or dish with baking bag and contents in oven and bake at 275F for three hours.

Spoon sliced tomatoes and liquid from baking bag onto tops of pork chops when serving.

Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

3 cups cornmeal
1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup oil
1 lrg onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup jalapeno pepper
1 oz chopped pimiento
1/4 lb crisp bacon
15 oz cream corn
1 1/2 cup grated cheese

Directions:

Have all ingredients at room temperature. Chop the onion and the jalapenos finely. Crumble the bacon. Mix together the cornmeal,
flour, soda, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, beaten eggs, and oil. Add to the dry
ingredients with a few swift strokes of the mixing spoon. Don’t beat the dough — just stir enough to moisten all particles. Fold in the
onion, garlic powder, jalapenos, pimiento, bacon, corn, and cheese quickly. Bake in a cast iron skillet in a 400 degree oven for 25 to
30 minutes, until the top is browned and a toothpick tests clean.

Ingredients:

two yellow onions
four thin-skinned potatoes
(red ones work well, or use the Finnish Gold variety)
olive oil
six eggs

Directions:

Chop the onions and potatoes into 1/4″ cubes. Pour enough olive oil into a 8″ or 10″ cast iron skillet to just coat the bottom. Heat over a low flame. Test the oil by dropping in a bit of onion. If it sizzles, add the rest of the onions and potatoes.
Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk together until the white and yolk are thoroughly mixed. When the potatoes and onions are golden, pour the egg mixture over them. Avoid the temptation to scramble!

Let the tortilla cook until the edges and the top are no longer liquid. There are two ways to finish your tortilla. Traditionally, you would loosen the tortilla from the skillet by running a knife blade along its edge.

Place a plate face down on top of the skillet. Carefully flip the tortilla out of the skillet. Then slide the tortilla, uncooked side down, into the skillet and cook for three-to-five more minutes. If you don’t feel dexterous enough for the traditional method, you can run the tortilla under a broiler for three-to-five minutes.

Tortilla is a versatile dish. It can be served straight off the stove, room temperature, or cold. Though it is traditionally served as a tapa, or snack, when served with a salad and crusty bread it makes a fine light supper.

You can also vary the taste by adding ingredients to the basic potato and onion mixture. Chopped greens, such as chard or kale, work well. Whatever you choose to use, stir it into the potatoes and onions before you add the eggs. Otherwise, the tortilla won’t set properly.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 medium potato, diced
1 small bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small, tart apple, such as Granny Smith, cored and diced
16 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes,
or three fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 or 2 minced fresh jalapeno or serrano peppers
1/2 c. raisins–I prefer golden raisins
1/4 c. pimiento stuffed olives, cut in half
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. crumbled oregano
1/4 c. slivered almonds
olive oil

Directions:

Brown the beef with the onions, potato, and garlic in a skillet. When thoroughly brown, add all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the almonds. Stir, and cook for twenty minutes. As the meat mixture cooks, heat a small, heavy skillet over a low flame. Pour in just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the heated skillet.
When the oil releases its fragrance, add the almonds. Stir fry until golden. Remove the pan from heat, and drain the almonds briefly on paper towels. Sprinkle the almonds into the meat mixture, and serve.

If you want to make empanadas, mix up a batch of your favorite pie crust dough, and roll it out. Cut circles 3″-5″ in diameter. Fill each circle with 3-4 tsps. of picadillo. Pinch the edges of the circles together to seal, prick lightly once or twice with the tines of a fork, and brush with a light coating of egg white. Bake at 375 until pale gold, about 25-30 minutes.

Ingredients:
a blender that can crush ice
six small to medium sized mangos
sugar
milk
ice

Cooking Instructions:
Peel and slice the mangos into chunks. I do this directly over the blender container, allowing the juice to collect along with the fruit . Cutting up mangos is a messy, sticky business. The flesh often clings rather tenaciously to the pit, and some varieties have a stringier flesh than others.

I have successfully used a grapefruit knife to scrape every last bit of fruit from the pit. (I have also been known to stand over the kitchen sink and selfishly slurp the remaining fruit off of the pit, not an activity for the fastidious).

You should have approximately 3 cups of combined fruit and juice in your blender jar. Add enough milk to raise the liquid level to 4 cups, and puree for one minute. Ideally, your mangos are so perfectly ripe that they require no sugar.

If the puree does not taste sweet enough to you, add sugar until it suits you. Add ice to bring the measurement to 5 cups; blend until the ice is crushed. Serve immediately.

You can substitute just about any fruit you wish if mango is unavailable. Strawberries are wonderful, peaches or nectarines sublime… combine as you wish. You can use frozen fruit–I do, if I’m making guava or passion fruit licuados, because I find it tedious to strain the tiny seeds both fruits contain– but fresh really does taste better. You can also omit the milk.

This type of refreshment is also called a batido or a refresco, depending on where you are in the Spanish-speaking Americas. If you whir the fruit in the blender with water, then strain the juice, you have an agua fresca. Agua frescas are particularly refreshing when made with melon or pineapple.

Ingredients:
4 cups milk
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 coconut, peeled and grated (do not use packaged grated coconut)
6 egg yolks, beaten

Cooking Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Boil the milk and sugar until it thickens. Stir in the grated coconut. Turn down the heat and simmer the mixture for thirty minutes. Remove from heat, and slowly whisk in the beaten egg yolks.
The mixture should be the consistency of pudding. Pour into an ovenproof glass or ceramic dish, and bake until the top is pale gold. Choosing and cracking a fresh coconut: Fresh coconuts should give a satisfying slosh when shaken–this means they are full of coconut water (not the same thing as coconut milk!).

At home, use an ice pick or screwdriver to poke out two of the coconut’s eyes. Strain the coconut water through a sieve and into a container. Save it in the refrigerator for another recipe. Bake the coconut in a 400 oven for ten to fifteen minutes. Wrap the baked coconut in a towel, and tap it with a hammer all over. This loosens the meat from the shell. Use a vegetable peeler to scrape off the brown skin before grating the meat.