Empanadole!

Last night, I attempted empanadas.  I followed the recipe...ish.  I used turkey instead of beef, forgot the onions entirely, used canned pie dough (sorry Megan...next time I'll try harder), and used olive oil instead of butter.  I'm not sure what the "soul" of an empanada is, but I'm pretty sure I crushed it unintentionally last night.  My bad.  They were still pretty yummy though.

Pie crust and turkey filling.

I also did the Margaritas version (which I called caprese all night). They were quite delicious, and cooked up a lot lighter than the meat ones. 

All the meat empanadas ready to bake.

The whole lineup.

This is the last known sighting of the empanadas.  They were utterly devoured shortly after this, and I didn't want to risk my fingers to take a picture.  They really were yummy.  I think I'm going to make these (with homemade crust, I promise) for our upcoming Christmas shindig. They're the perfect size for finger food, and there are so many variations I can try - I'm excited.  I think I'll try making them the night before and freezing them before baking them, so I can bake them while making other stuff.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty excited about cooking for a group again.  It's been a while since we've thrown a party (minus the wedding, which didn't really count) and I've got a whole slew of new recipes and gadgets to put to good use.

And finally, I've decided to participate in a sponsored giveaway with a TBA online store.  I'm waiting for them to announce their Black Friday sales before doing the giveaway, but it'll be for a $55 giftcard...stay tuned!

Empanada