Last weekend my family gathered for an early birthday party for my dad, and an empanada cook-off. We all brought different ones, 6 in total. My mom made her traditional empanadas, using ground turkey, chopped hard boiled eggs, raisins, olives and spices, and another kind with smoked mozzarella. I love how mom brushes hers with egg and sprinkles sugar on top.
My sister-in-law brought two kinds, spicy turkey, and (my favorite) spinach and feta. My brother-in-law brought the winning chicken, corn and cheese empanadas (which I obviously didn't try). It was interesting to see the differences in shapes and textures. My mom used frozen puff pastry sheets. Pie crust was used from both in-laws, but I chose to use a can of Grands biscuits.
I carefully peeled each biscuit into two, getting 16 pieces from one can. I rolled each round out to about 6 inches, and filled with some mashed up black beans that I'd sauteed with garlic and spices. I added a pinch of shredded cheddar, then topped it with a small spoonful of chopped bananas, which I'd also cooked briefly in some olive oil and salt. After folding them over and sealing, I also brushed mine with beaten egg, but they are just as good without.
The sauce was a mixture of sour cream, mayo, a splash of milk, lemon juice, chopped garlic, and a pinch of thyme, basil, and savory.
The possibilites are endless with these little delicious savory treats!
The bread was soooo freaking good! We ended up eating it for dessert and breakfast with some fruit salad when my girlfriends came to visit me last weekend. Most of the bread was gone before trying it any other way, but I bet toasting it up and slathering with some butter, that bread would be drool-worthy!
All of the bagels had poppy seeds, and some had some dried onion flakes and garlic salt, for sort of an everything bagel. I'm still on the look-out for fennel seeds. I'd like to try to make Vegan Dad's lunch meat again--which I wasn't that thrilled with, but with a few modifications, I might like it better. These were big bagels--too large for my liking. It feels like you'll gain 10 pounds eating a full bagel, so I've been cutting them in half. Next time I will form them smaller, but still wide enough to make sammies out of.
