Finally the first blog entry:

I made these empanadas for a potluck over the weekend and they are well worth the effort. Easy to follow directions and the recipe was flexible enough to be modified. Substituted sweet potatoes, regular 'ol button mushrooms and poblano peppers for the filling and left out the broth. Added some Latin spices too, e.g. oregano, cumin and cinnamon. I made extra filling to use up all the dough. Speaking of, I reduced the butter amount down to 3 sticks which still produced an unbelievably flaky, buttery and tender crust. This dough is fantastic--one of the most stress-free times I've ever endured while rolling out pie dough. Love this dough because it will definitely love being rolled out!!! Makes a great fruit pie too--just tried this, blog entry to come. Lightly brush the dough before baking with a beaten egg wash for a nice golden hue.

As they say in Spanish, Delicioso!

Here's the web address for the recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mushroom-and-Butternut-Squash-Empanadas-107182

Bake well TFLers,

evth

Watched Cook's American Test Kitchen on PBS today, and saw, what was for me, a very novel approach to making pastry dough.

The ingredients began with the usual: flour, butter, shortening, and cold water.

Then it got interesting. In addition to the water, an equal amount of vodka was added.

The result was a wetter than usual dough, that after the usual chilling, rolled out more easily, stayed together excellently, yet after baking was flaky and crisp.

The chef stated that alcohol and flour will not form gluten, like the water and flour will, and most or all of the alcohol content evaporates during the bake, leaving the dough wetted only with the usual amount of water that would normally result in a rather dry, and less manageable crust.

I'm happy with the pastry dough I make--flour, butter, lard, and water--but this is too interesting to not try at least once.

David G.