Pomodoro Sauce

Sunday is the traditional day for Pasta in Argentina. Today Mr. T took over the cooking duties, and he certainly out did himself with this deceivingly simple and insanely delicious Pomodoro Sauce, for our Ravioli.

Ingredients:
1 fresh and very ripe tomato
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. sugar
salt
pepper
pimentón
1 cup tomato puree
1 olive
2 cloves of garlic
2 laurel leaves
basil leaves chopped
splash of red wine

Directions:
- Put to boil some water. Score a cross with a knife at the end of the tomato (not the stem side). Blanche the tomato for 30 seconds. Now the skin can be removed easily.

- Finely chop the tomato to a puree consistency. Put into a sauce pan.

- Add olive oil, sugar and splash of red wine. Let is simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

- Add tomato puree and the laurel leaves to the mix. Let it simmer for another 5 minutes.

- Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped olive and garlic, pepper, pimentón and basil.

Enjoy with two plates of pasta cooked al dente.

* Recommended to have some fresh bread on hand to clean the plate of the sauce after eating all the pasta.

Finally! I lost my virginity!

The virginity of using yeast in baking. I have been very intimidated forever, but after reading Orangette´s blog and following her recipe to a T, the Cinnamon Buns turned out perfectly, well except the first batch burned slightly, as we only have two temperatures on an Argentine Stove, Hot and Hotter!

Also, I do not have any fancy kitchen equipment, and a simple tablespoon sufficed in place of the stand mixer. We even had Philadelphia Cream Cheese in the refrigerator, so having the Cream Cheese Glaze ending made losing my baking with yeast virginity complete.

Dough:
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation

For dough:
Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.

Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.

Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).

Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.

For glaze:
Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ex-Presidental Empanadas

The following recipe for Empanadas Carne is from the city of Salta which is famous for their Empanadas. It is also the recipe for the Empanadas the Ex-President M_ _ _ _ ate for his daily Empanada quota.

*Just for the record, the man hands in the following pictures are actual man hands and not mine, my hands are very delicate and lily white.

One Kilo of Bola de Lomo (just find a hunk of meat that has very little fat through it)
750 grams white onions
One large potato
4 eggs
250 grams green onions
a little sugar
salt
pepper
pimentan

vegetable oil (Tenderflake or Crisco)
Empanada wraps (Or if you really want to be Martha or as I prefer Nigella, make your own)

1.Mince the carne

2.Cook the white onions and carne together on stove. Add a little salt, a little sugar and some pepper.
While this mixture is cooking, boil your eggs, and you can conserve pots by cooking the diced potatoes with the eggs. When ready, add pimentan and potatoes to the carne mixture.


3. Dice your green onions. Alway add the green onions to the carne mixture, when it has finished cooking. NEVER COOK THE GREEN ONIONS!

4. Dice up the eggs into fine pieces and add to mixture. Let the mixture cool.

5. Very lightly dampen the edges of the Empanada wrap with water. Add about a heaping tablespoon and a bit in the middle.

6. Pinch and crimp edges together to form a half circle.


7. Deep fry until golden or bake until golden!


8. Eat, red wine is particularly good with Empanadas and if I remember correctly,the Los Torrontes varietal grown in Salta is the best white wine for Empanadas.