My final class is coming up for the Spanish Tapas class I am in. Really bummed about this to be honest. I think I am ready for a longer class for sure. I have a lot of fun and this was just a great way to learn a few new things and some nice people and about a different culture and their food. A very delicious way I might add.
Last week’s class felt like I had been moved to the Twilight Zone for a number of reasons to long to post and that were out of my control backed on a long fun weekend with little sleep. So when I arrived at my cooking class to find the teacher not there and the supply cabinet locked up I knew the night was just another in the string of odd ones that actually continued for this whole week to be honest. I hope to awake tomorrow to my normal life. Yeah right.
So it turns out that the home ec teacher who has the classroom during the day decided to lock up the supply closet. So this left us with serving dishes and limited if anything to cook on or with. The menu that night was Churros with Hot Chocolate and Empanadas. How do you bake Empanadas without a cookie sheet? How do you even roll out the dough if you don’t have a rolling pin (or even a bottle of water to try)? It was just stupid. Our teacher came back and told us the day teacher complained we left the room a mess. This is about the time we noticed the home ec teacher locked up the soap and sponges in her mad quest to make us pay. Now I am sorry but does she really think her teen students clean up better than adults? I should video tape some of us cleaning supplies just to just to use it. I suppose if I was stuck teaching a bunch of teenagers how to cook pancakes I might be a bit bonkers too. I’ve been there and done that with my own kids and especially my girls who started out loving cooking then really didn’t care. Boys , clothes, make up and whatever was more interesting. I lost that battle before.
So that being said I talked to my teacher for a bit, packed up my personal stuff and headed home to cook at home with a glass of wine. Something we can’t do at class. I might say since it was Monday night and I live on the east coast I finished my tapas just in time for Monday Night Football with my three hungry menfolk happy to enjoy munchies.
The empanadas were very easy. Our teacher said they can be filled with anything we wanted but beef and tuna are most traditional. I didn’t have time to make my favorite dough that day so I picked up a box of puff pastry. Another student said they turn out best with puff pastry so I figured I would try it. I didn’t cut them into the traditional round circles either since my dough was square and I hate waste.
For the filling I browned some ground pork with onions and some garlic and a red pepper. Seasoned that with salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Next you cut your dough into pieces and then put your filling in the center. I then folded the dough over and pinched the open ends together with a fork. (See pics below). I put them in a 350 degree oven for 15 mins or until brown. My mind is racing with fillings and I would like to try a tuna one soon.
The Churros were crazy easy. Why was I afraid of these? Oh yeah I have a dessert phobia. LOL I also thought you had to have the neat little Churro gadget to form them. NOPE! We put our dough in a ziploc bag, cut a corner off and squeezed into the hot oil. I finally realized if I made a nice figure eight like pattern I could get a nice size for my guys to hold and eat verse some little funky ones. I dusted the hot churros out of the oil with a mixture of castor sugar and cinnamon. So good.
The dough I made was simple. All that is needed beyond the oil to fry is the following
- 1 cup white flour
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
Our teacher said just to mix it up and that was it. I left the class worried and thought maybe I should have stayed but at home it went well. I mixed, put in my bag and squeezed into the hot oil and fried till brown. I seriously plan on making these a lot for my family as a simple treat. Especially on cold winter days when the kids come in from playing and want hot chocolate.
That night I didn’t make hot chocolate but next time I plan on making the Adult Hot Chocolate that Nigella Lawson makes. Of course no rum for my kids but for us grown ups that might be nice. I also saw a recipe for a more Mexican spicy recipe I would love to try.
I would like to thank my husband and my middle son, “C-Slice”, for taking the pics with their phones and what not since I misplaced mine. Oh and for eating what I make and being honest all the time about how it really tastes.
Slainte!
Shelly's Cookery 