Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Jamaican Meat (Crazy) Patties



I've been on a kick to make dough lately...pizza, bread, anything I feel like!  I have not at all perfected it, but am having fun experimenting.   Dave's not picky about mis-shapen, weird n' dense, over-baked mistakes...which I love.  These actually turned out golden and flaky--yay!

My friend, Kavita introduced me to Jamaican  meat pies when I visited her in New Jersey a couple of years ago.  They are like spicy, curry hot pockets.  I found this recipe and adapted it a little with ground turkey, whole wheat flour, added vegetables and used less butter.  They were yummy!


IngredientsView Metric ]

Dough:
1 cupUnbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup Whole Wheat flour
2 teaspoonsSugar
1 teaspoonSalt
1 teaspoonBaking powder
1/2 teaspoonTurmeric
1 largeEgg
3 tablespoonsUnsalted butter; - at room temperature (I only had smart balance on hand)
2/3 cupWater

Filling:

2 mediumWhite onions; (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoonGarlic; - minced
1/2 cup pickled jalepeno peppers (or to taste--we like spicy)
1 poundGround beef; preferably round or sirloin
1 tablespoonCurry powder; preferably Madras (hot) style
1 tablespoonFresh thyme; - chopped (I used 1 teaspoon dried)
1/2 teaspoonSalt
1 teaspoonBlack pepper; - fresh ground
1 teaspoonSugar
2/3 cupBeef broth; homemade or store bought
1/2 cup Whole Wheat bread crumbs

1 cup frozen mixed vegetables

Dough:
Make the dough by hand or in a food processor.  Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and turmeric in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to blend the ingredients.
In a mixing cup, whisk together the egg and 2/3 cup water. Stir it all up with a wooden spoon.  I used my hands once it got doughy. Scatter the softened butter over the dough. Mix until the dough is very soft and moist but not sticky.  If the dough feels sticky, add about 1 tbl flour and knead until it is no longer sticky. Knead the dough up in the bowl until it makes a ball. Refrigerate for at least one hour before use.
Filling:
Throw onions and jalepenos in a food processor.  Mince the garlic. Heat the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add onions, garlic, and Scotch bonnet and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the meat, curry, thyme, salt, pepper, and sugar, and cook, breaking up the meat lumps with the back of the spoon, until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the broth and reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the beef is tender, about 8 minutes. Add the bread crumbs, stir well to combined, and continue to simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, about 2 minutes longer. Throw in frozen vegetables to taste. Remove the pan from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper if necessary. Let cool thoroughly.
Assemble:
Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Work with one piece of dough at a time, keeping the remainder covered in the refrigerator. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough piece out into a circle about 6 inches in diameter. Put about cup of the filling on the bottom half of the dough, leaving about a inch margin of dough exposed around the filling. Moisten the exposed edge with water. Fold the top half of the dough over the filling, forming a turnover. Join the edges by turning the bottom edge up and over and press the edge together. Press around turnover with the tines of a fork to seal.
Heat oven to 400 F. Place the patty on a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Cover sheet with a clean towel or plastic wrap until all the patties are formed to protect them from drying out. Brush patties generously with egg white and bake in preheated oven for twenty minutes, until light golden.
These are good with ketchup, but can be served with Jerk Sauce if you want to be all authentic. :)
Yield: 6 patties.

Crock Pot Baby Food

Today our Spook is 6 months old.  To celebrate,  we're going to introduce solids.  I've been making baby food out of produce we have around the house, and I had a novel idea.  Why not throw the stuff in the crockpot?
I actually read today that leaving the skins on while cooking retains more of the nutrients.

So I tried it, I used some sweet potatoes and a couple apples that needed to be used up. Just threw them in the crock pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. 

I froze in this fancy dancy flexible slicon tray.  They each yield 1 oz cubes, so it's easy to know exactly how much baby E's getting.  It worked fabulously!

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Rock Chalk Jay Hawk!


In celebration of Dave's 30th birthday, we all went to see KU play at the Alamo Dome here in San Antonio.  KU won, and we had lots of fun.