Pecorino Crusted Apple Turnovers

Dear Creativity,

Please come back. I miss you.

I think I lost you somewhere between getting home every night at 7 PM, just wanting to shove the nearest food item (usually candy corn) in my mouth when I walk in the door and being broke as a joke after not getting paid for a month and a half.

But I think I'm ready to be friends again. I think this time I will pay more attention to you. I promise you actually.

Love,

Meghan

In the meantime, these apple turnovers rule. Got lots of time and lots of butter? Make your own puff pastry. I did! I made it while unemployed a few weeks ago and froze half. It keeps for 2 weeks in the freezer. Or just buy it at the super market. It will still be good. And easier!


PS The new Geico Maxwell radio ad makes me infinitely happy (will there be.. snacks?!). Anyone else? Oh and check out these freakin meese! Cuuuute.

Parmesean Crusted Apple Turnovers
8 turnovers
Adapted from Joy of Cooking

1 lb puff pastry
1 lb apples (usually 2 large, 3 small)
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp AP flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 c Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated

Roll the pastry dough into two 11-inch squares, about 1/8 inch thick. Place each square on a baking sheet covered in parchment (or a Silpat) and place in the refrigerator to chill while the filling is prepared.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel, core and cut the apples to a 1/4 inch dice (do this while the pastry dough chills, not ahead of time). Toss together in a medium bowl the apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice and salt. Set aside.

Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and trim 1/2 inch from all sides of each square. This will leave you with two 10-inch squares and even edges. Cut each square into four equal 5-inch squares. Turn each piece over.

Spoon some of the apple mixture, dividing it equally, into the center of each square. (I typically have some apples left because they won't all fit. I just eat these. NBD) Brush two adjacent sides of each square with some egg wash (you know, to seal the turnovers) and fold so that the sides with no egg wash meet the egg-washed sides. Use a fork to seal by making impressions around the edges.

Brush the top of each turnover with egg wash and cut 3 slits in the top of each. Arrange on baking sheets at least 1 inch apart and top each with 1/8 of the cheese.

Bake the turnovers 15 minutes at 425 degrees, until they begin to brown. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes.

Try to serve warm or at least in the same day. Fresh pastry is always best. If you can't eat them all in one day, you can breathe some life back into them with a toaster oven (think toaster strudel).

Oh.. and you don't work in a bakery. So don't worry
some are rectangles, octagons or shaped like ghosts.

Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Ok, first of all: THIS !!!!!!!

Second of all: If I could take a picture of my camera, I would. (Ok, I understand how mirrors work people, but c'mon it wouldn't be the same.) I can't stop being obsessed with it. This came to mind yesterday: I actually can't wait until it snows, so I can take awesome pictures in the snow. Of Jagger. And of course other things...

This will have to do for now .. breasts.

Third of all: It has come to my attention that I need to buy some stamps. I haven't bought stamps in maybe 3 years. And I just realized I have literally no idea how much they might cost anymore. Also, do I have to go to the post office? Because their hours are extremely inconvenient! And honestly, my own lack of knowledge/ apparent lack of usage of the good ol' USPS just makes me feel badly for the poor postal system and now I want to buy extra stamps and mail tons of useless stuff. 

Anyone down for a chain letter? Speaking of chain letters, are there people out there right now mailing 10 friends copies of a letter that claims to get them into the Guinness Book of World Records? Or was a phenomenon that died in the '90's with parachute pants? (Dear Lord, please bring back parachute pants.) (Please follow that link and enjoy the epicness that is parachutepants.com. Although, I could just be paranoid, but I wouldn't recommend that anyone actually buy any parachute pants from that site I just linked you too. Seems a tad shady.)

Ahh yumm!

And now that I've gotten us all reminiscing about parachute pants and chain letters, nothing seems more appropriate than this video:

Break it down!

Whooaaaaaaa whoooaaaaaa whoa.

Soundtrack: Hmm.. The new Black Keys album is pretty seriously awesome. Please find a way to download this... legally ;)

Spicy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Serves 3 (for 4, add an extra breast and 1/3 more of everything, obviously)

3 medium sized chicken breasts, pounded down to about 1/4 inch (the most important thing is uniformity in the thickness)

salt & pepper

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 c Italian-style breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp chipotle seasoning (use more or less according to taste)

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1-1 1/2 c. fresh arugula

1/4 c grated Pecorino Romano cheese

cooking twine

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season chicken breasts with pepper and salt. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.

In a shallow or large bowl, whisk together the breadcrumbs, rosemary, chipotle, and oregano.

One at time, dip the chicken breasts into the egg and coat with breadcrumb mixture. Press the chicken hard into the bread crumbs to make sure they stick. Transfer the breaded chicken breasts to a greased baking dish and arrange side by side.

Top each chicken breast with 1/3 of the Pecorino cheese and 1/3 of the arugula. Working with each breast, one at time, slip a 12" piece of twine under the breast. Gather the arugula together and wrap the chicken around the greens until the ends meet. Wrap the string around the chicken and tie together. Repeat for each chicken breast.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Check for done-ness before serving.

This looks so real you could eat it! But don't... it's raw.

Jalapeno & Mango Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and cheese reminds me of two times in my life. 1) Being a little kid and 2) being a drunk college freshman at 3 AM. Not that those two things are really all that different: poorly thought out decisions and sloppy eating at their finest.


Regardless, I'm sure we can all agree that mac and cheese is an amazing food. Some might call it a super food. Not to be confused with superfoods. (Add ketchup. Enjoy!)

Just add mango

But now I've graduated. My tastes are more refined. Sophistication has won the day. No more boxed mac for me. It's actually really crazy how easy homemade mac n cheese can be to make once you get it out of your head that it's hard. No need for Easy Mac. Seriously, there is NO NEED for Easy Mac (I'm talking the just add water stuff here, not the boxed stuff in general. I love boxed mac and cheese.) Because it's NOT really that much easier to just add water to dehydrated cheese than it is to add milk and butter. Unless of course you don't have a refrigerator and your only means of cooking is in the microwave, then sure, get your Easy Mac on (HELLLOOO college memories...).


AND, I hope you aren't totally repulsed by the idea of cheddar cheese and mangoes. I know, it's weird. But if you are skeptical (as SOME people that I live with were...), you are dead wrong. The sharpness of the cheese. The sweetness of the mangoes. Match made in heaven. Those are not complete sentences. All balanced out perfectly by the hint of spiciness from chipotle and jalapenos. Baking the dish is key to fusing all these flavors together.


The responsible, healthy eater that I am, I went ahead and served this mac and cheese with a nice healthy salad. It was full of carrots, bell peppers, yellow (!) cherry tomatoes, and green beans. The more colors the better! And I slept better at night, know that I got my veggies in for the day.


Soundtrack: ALO

Jalapeno & Mango Macaroni and Cheese
(Serves 4 as a main course)


3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 c 2% milk
1 tsp chipotle seasoning
1/2 tsp paprika
2 c sharp cheddar cheese (white)
About 1/2 box of elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
1 small jalapeno, chopped very finely
1 medium mango, chopped
1/2 c. panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper


Preheat oven to 350.


Create a roux by melting the butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the flour, stirring until completely combined. Remove from heat.


Begin to whisk in the milk, adding a little at a time and whisking quickly to avoid lumps. Turn the heat back on to medium. Heat, stirring constantly and making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the pan until it begins to boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the mixture thickens (about 3-5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, chipotle, and paprika and simmer on low for another 10 minutes, continuing to stir often.


Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Add macaroni noodles, mango and jalapeno. Transfer mixture to a grease baking dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and bread crumbs are toasted.

Thickened white sauce.. hmmm

Little mango flowers!

Skillzz

Look! It's the leaning tower of Cheese-a!

Delicious...

Baked Cheese. Yum.
What else can you really say?