Thursday, December 30, 2010

Resolutions & Empanadas OR I resolve to eat more Empanadas


Do you make New Year's resolutions?  I do.  I make them all year long.  I'm quite flexible when it comes to making up my mind, and so always keep a notebook close at hand to allow the jotting of revisions all year long.  Sometimes (rarely) I actually keep the resolutions that I make.  Most of the time though, I just resolve to add them to next year's list and hope for the best.

I've got a head start this year, however, as one of my resolutions was to learn more about food.  The collage of books you see above is but a part of what I currently have on hold at the library (and apparently the limit is 25).  In 2011 I've decided that I want to learn to cook more ethnic and regional foods.  I have never, for example, made a tamale from scratch.  I want to do this.  I want to learn more about the cuisine of Portugal and Spain, more about foods of various U.S. regions of the South, West, and Northeast.  I plan on reading and reviewing each book and sharing with you one or more of the recipes.  It should be an interesting journey for us both.


All of the searching for cookbooks put me in the mood for Mexican food, so I made use of the Beer-Braised Beef and Onions left over from the Insight Bowl dinner (an EXCELLENT recipe!) in the form of empanadas.  I used Grands biscuits that I first spread with refried beans before adding the beef, a dollop of salsa, fresh cilantro, sliced black olives, sliced scallions, and grated cheese.  As sides I served Ina Garten's Guacamole Salad and Spanish Rice.  Delicious!


Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again

What do you resolve for 2011?

5 comments:

Lyndsay Wells said...

I resolve to read and learn along with you. I love this idea and look forward to lots of fun cooking with you.

As an aside, I splurged today and bought myself Around My French Table - a book I've wanted for a long time now. I'll let you know how I do with it :-)

Happy New Year!

Jacqueline said...

Looks so yummy and what a fun resolution. I don't think my mom ever made that as a resolution but she was fascinated with making ethnic foods from scratch and I learned by her side.

Come visit me! I just posted tamales from scratch for Foodie Fridays. They are really easy and so satisfying! You can make them in so many variations and people can't believe that you actually made them!

Our Italian Kitchen said...

Love your recipes!I love that cookie book and the Italian Slow Cooker book too! Goodluck with your resolution and looking forward to reading more recipes in the new year!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

We love Mexican food too but I rarely make it at home. I would love to have more recipes like that in my arsenal also.

BTW, the microwave lemon curd is very good!

xinex said...

Looks delicious! Happy New Year!...Christine