<font color="orange">
Spicy Pumpkin and Beef Empanaditas </font>
I made some teeny tiny empanadas. I suppose you could call this an amuse. They were bite-sized. Of course, I made a whole plate of them and my son and I ate them all, so that wasn't in the spirit of an amuse. I guess it was more like a party appetizer since we wolfed them down like that. Anyway, I made a dough of butter, flour, salt, and milk. I combined it with a pastry blender and chilled it while making the filling.
I cleaned and peeled half of a small pumpkin. Then chopped it up along with some red and purple potatoes, garlic, onion, carrot, parsley, and thyme.
I chopped up some cubed steak and browned it. I then added the other ingredients. I added salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper, and nutmeg. BTW, I REALLY liked what nutmeg did here. Overall, it was a good savory seasoning.
I rolled out the dough and cut it into small circles.
I filled the dough, shaping the empanadas into crescents. I pressed a fork along the edges and cut a small x into each one to vent steam. I brushed them with an egg wash and baked them at 350 until done.
