Empanadas (Empada in Portuguese) are hand pies originally from Portugal and northwestern Spain, Galicia. They can be traced back to the Middle East and India. There are now many variations of empanadas, as settlers brought them to North America, South America, and Asia. Empanadas de Espinaca were created by a bakery in Cali, Colombia. These…
Cardamom Strawberry Tartlets
Happy 4th of July everyone! I bought these tartlet pansfrom Amazon almost 2 years ago and found them in the cabinet last week while reorganizing. I hadn’t used them once. These Cardamom Strawberry Tartlets were the perfect recipe to finally break in the pans. A cardamom and vanilla bean thick custard (creme patissiere) fills a…
Kremmydopitarakia Milou (Greek Onion, Mint, and Cheese Crescents)
Chad bought me The Country Cooking of Greece for our anniversary in March and I have thoroughly enjoyed looking through all the recipes and photographs. The book is huge, with over 250 recipes in 384 pages. The photography is also phenomenal. One of my favorite things about this cookbook is that Diane Kochilas goes beyond…
Strawberry Nutella Mini Pies
Here is another recipe featuring strawberries and Nutella. I am still not sure which I like more, these Strawberry Nutella Mini Pies or the Strawberry Nutella Ice Cream I made two weeks ago. The combination of strawberry and Nutella taste amazing sandwiched in a flaky and buttery crust. I made a couple of pies with…
Italian Easter Ricotta Pie
This Italian Easter Ricotta Pie is a holiday favorite with a sweet cookie-like crust and chocolate chip-studded orange ricotta filling. Ricotta Pie is a traditional Easter dessert in many Italian households. There are plenty of variations, from the type of citrus added to chocolate chips and optional candied fruit. While searching for different recipes, I…
Bestila (Moroccan Chicken Pie)
Bestila (Pastilla, Bastilla, Bisteeya, Bstilla, B’stilla) is a Moroccan pie traditionally using squab (pigeon). Squab was unavailable here, so I used chicken. It is a savory pie with a hint of sweetness from the sugar topping and almonds. In Morocco, Warqa, a slightly thinner type of phyllo, is used to wrap the pie. If you…
Fudge Pie
This Fudge Pie is an old-fashioned southern U.S. dessert that comes together quickly with minimal effort. A basic pie crust (homemade or store-bought) is filled with a buttery chocolate filling and baked until just set. It can be served warm or cold. I personally prefer warm with whipped cream and strawberries. Last Saturday, we spent…
