National Taco Day!!

Just on the other side of Puerto Nuevo lies a stretch of road with some of the best tacos I have ever had. The carnitas stand was by far the most amazing, but the Adobada stand across the street and the little liquor store that sold the "Salsa Extra Picante" for a mere 15 pesos must not be forgotten either. Dreaming of these tacos today in celebration of National Taco Day! Viv la Mexico!!

Pops' Favorite Peach Cobbler

A family favorite comfort dessert. Easy and delicious! Excellent with vanilla ice cream!

1 stick butter, melted

1 cup + 2–3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

2 cups frozen sliced peaches 

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Melt the stick of butter and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, milk and 1 cup of the sugar. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour batter into a buttered 9x9 pan or equivalent. Nestle peach slices into the batter evenly across the pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons or so of the remaining sugar over the peaches. Bake  for about an hour, or until brown and bubbly. Dust with a touch more sugar just before it finishes baking if desired.

 

 

New Recipe Challenge: Cornish Pasties!

My father-in-law has been sick, and in the hospital the last couple weeks. When I asked him what I could make for him, sky's the limit, he came up with the challenge of making a batch of traditional Cornich Pasties. I did my research homework and came up with the following tasty recipe:

Cornish Pasties

Pastry:

3 3/4 cups all purpose or bread flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces and chilled

1/2 cup shortening, cut into small pieces and chilled

1/2-3/4 cup ice water

Filling:

1 lb raw beef flank or skirt steak, cut into small prieces (about 1/3-inch cubes)

1/2 of a large sweet onion, diced small

4 small russet potatoes, diced small

3-4 carrots, diced small

2-3 teaspoons salt

1-2 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

3 tablespoons flour

Egg Wash:

1 large egg

2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 400°F. 

Make pastry dough first, so it can spend some time chilling in the fridge. Place the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with an S-blade or the bowl of a stand mixer. Pulse/stir to mix them together. Add the cold butter and shortening. Pulse/stir until the mixture resembles course cornmeal. Add enough ice water until the dough just comes together. Do not over mix.

Pat the dough togeher with your hand as, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator while you make the filling. Pastry dough can be made up to a day ahead of time.

Chop meat and veggies so that they are all roughly the same size, small dice. Place all filling ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine evenly. 

Cut the pastry into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece out into a flat disk on a lightly floured surface. Place 1 cup of filling in each round and fold the pastry over to make a semi circle. Crimp the edges of the pastry around to seal in the filling. 

Place pasties on a heavy sheet pan, brush with egg wash and bake for 40-45 minutes. You will probably need to use 2 pans, so be sure to rotate halfway through baking. Serve hot with mustard on the side and a fresh green salad! 

Pasties will keep for a couple days in the fridge, but also freeze well for easy reheating in the oven! Enjoy!!

new look and new inspirations!

Part of my 2016 plan is more blogging, more yoga and yoga study, new websites and working some e-learning and self discovery to expand my business goals. I want to make Stephie O./Stephaine's Cucina/The Meatball Mama shine and explore business opportunities that highlight and make the most of my talents and specialties. So to start it all off, the first step is simply blogging more and setting aside time each week for business development. Stay tuned for fun new post, recipe ideas and hopefully sooner than later and great new website!