Brie en Croute with Raspberry

This is an easy and very tasty treat! It is Brie en croute with raspberry. The idea was given to me, by a friend, who mentioned she might be making this, for her Thanksgiving outing. Thanks Meagan! I researched the recipe and came up with this, from Paula Deen's recipe bank. It starts out with a puff pastry sheet and a wheel of brie. Most brie have a rind, check to see if it is edible or if not, remove the rind, first. Roll out the pastry sheet and place the brie in the center, of the dough. Spread the top of the brie with the raspberry preserves(or your choice of favorite preserves). Brush the corners, with an egg wash (beaten eggs and water), and pick up the ends and close it up. Give it a little twist, to keep the dough together. Tie the dough, with butcher's twine or kitchen string and give it a light brushing, with the remaining egg wash. This helps add a nice color to your pastry. In the oven, at 375 degrees, for about 25 minutes or till golden brown. We served it with whole wheat table crackers, as a dip. Everyone loved this appetizer. Enjoy!

Scotch Eggs

These are scotch eggs, sometimes also referred to as "armadillo eggs". You start out by hard boiling a few eggs, usually two pound package of sausage or grounded up pork for 6 large size eggs. You peel the eggs and cover it up in sausage and roll into a ball, completely covering the egg. Then using an egg wash ( 2 eggs beaten with a 1/4 cup of water), dip it in the mixture and then roll in your favorite bread combs. You can put them in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes, smoked on a smoker or, if you perfer, you can deep fry them. These particular ones were done in the oven. Quick and simple and taste great!

Quick and Easy Empanadas

Ever felt like you aren't sure what to eat, nothing seems to appeal to you? Well, that happened today and we found the empanada discs but didn't feel like prepping a filling. Came across the cold cut drawer and found Swiss cheese, low sodium ham, provolone cheese and Genoa Salami.
Gave the cold cuts a rough chop and started assembling the empanadas (actually the wife did the assembling). Once, the 22 empanadas were done, in the oven they went for 12 minutes, at 350 degrees. The fold over crimped ones, have the Salami and provolone, while the fork crimped have the ham and Swiss. Quick, easy and very tasty! The family loved them. Make great snacks, enjoy!

LLAPINGACHOS (a Native Dish from Ecuador)

Llapingachos is one of the native dishes of Ecuador. There are many variations of this recipe which varies the different regions of the country. This particular recipe calls for forked soft cooked potatoes mashed, with a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil infused, with Annatto seeds, to make what is known as"Achiote", which gives them the yellow color. Patties are formed and these were filled with fresh mozzarella cheese, any soft of farmers cheese could also be used. The patties are brushed with an egg white wash, to help giving it it's crispy brown crust. Cook time is usually about3 to 4 minutes on med to low heat, basically, you want the cheese to melt. The llapingachos are served with a fried egg on top and usually mixed thoroughly with the potatoes and melted cheese. In this preparation, we served it along side a chicken cordon bleu. Hope, I have perked your interests of native foods. Enjoy.

First Brisket since Hospital stay!

This is my first brisket since my heart surgery. No, I didn't have any, just wanted to cook something and let everyone else enjoy. It really felt good. Got great reviews.