Cranberry Salad with Black-Cherry Juice and Toasted Pecans

Black-cherry juice has a naturally sweet-tart taste that’s a great companion to fresh cranberries. This cranberry salad, or relish, packs a zing with tangy freshness without being too sugary. Toasted pecans add both nutty flavor and a little texture to the finished dish.

Also check out Cranberry Relish with Chambord and Raisins.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
• 1 12-oz bag fresh cranberries
• 2/3 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup black cherry juice
• 1/3 cup toasted broken pecan pieces

Fresh Cranberries

Salad Ingredients

Preparation

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until beginning to soften, 3 minutes.
2. Increase the heat to medium-high and add the cranberries, sugar, dried cherries, and cherry juice. 

Shallot Beginning to Cook 

Cranberry Mixture Added

1. Bring to a light boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the cranberries begin to pop open and the mixture begins to thicken, 7-8 minutes. (It will continue to thicken as it cools.)
2. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature. Stir in the pecan pieces.

Mixture Beginning to Boil

Salad Cooking Down

Cooked Salad

Serve at room temperature or cover and refrigerate until ready to use. (May be made 1-2 days ahead.)

Cranberry Salad with Black-Cherry Juice and Toasted Pecans

Argentine Beef Empanadas with Sofrito

Argentina is one of the world’s largest producers of beef and has the highest per-person consumption rate of the meat. Given that, you can bet there are as many great beef dishes as there are people who enjoy them, and empanadas are one of the most popular.

These little stuffed pastries are filled with a variety of ingredients and are enjoyed throughout Latin America and Spain. Common ingredients in Argentina include beef, onions, bell pepper, raisins, olives, eggs, and spices. Parsley, cilantro, spicy chiles, tomatoes, and corn make their way into empanadas in other parts of South America, as well as Central America and Mexico.

A note about the dough: Making your own empanada dough is easy and lets you control the size of the meat pies you want to make. Yes, some recipes call for wonton wrappers or frozen puff pastry, but there’s nothing like fresh dough to stuff with fresh filling. This recipe makes enough for 6-7 large, dinner-sized empanadas, but you can make between 15-20 small ones if you’re serving them as appetizers or party food.

And a note about the sauce: “Sofrito,” in a very broad sense, is the Spanish word for a rich, savory sauce commonly made in Spain simply with tomatoes, garlic, and onions cooked in olive oil. Latin American sofrito is similar to Spanish, with the addition of mild peppers (often roasted) and fresh herbs.

Try the empanadas with Argentine chimichurri as well.

Makes 6-7 dinner-sized empanadas

Ingredients

For the Dough

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 1/2 cup very cold water (plus more, as needed)
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into small cubes and chilled in the freezer for 15 minutes
• 1 tbsp milk

For the Filling

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 lb ground sirloin
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup finely chopped pimento-stuffed green olives
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1 hardboiled egg, finely chopped

Filling Ingredients

For the Sofrito

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large cubanelle or anaheim pepper, chopped 
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes, from a 28-oz can
• 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper        
• 1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Sofrito Ingredients

Vinegar and Parsley

Preparation

For the Dough

1. Whisk 2 1/4 cups flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Whisk 1 egg, vinegar, and water in a small bowl.

Dough Ingredients

1. Place the butter cubes in the flour. Pinch the cubes into the flour until a chunky meal forms. (Be patient—it takes times to get the butter incorporated.)

Flour-Butter Meal

1. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture with a fork, combining until a wet dough forms. (If the dough seems too dry, add a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time.) Mix gently with your fingers a few times, then turn onto a floured surface.
2. Knead the dough a few times (don’t over-knead because the dough will toughen), then shape into a small disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Empanada Dough

Wrapped Dough Ready to Chill

1. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness (about a 16-inch-diameter circle).
2. Press a 6-inch-diameter dough-cutter into the rolled dough. (If you don’t have a 6-inch cutter, use a saucer or bowl to press into the dough and run a sharp knife around the edge to cut out a circle.) Continue with the remaining dough, rerolling the leftover dough until there’s not enough left to cut out. 
3. Transfer the dough rounds to a work surface.

Dough Rolled Out  

Cut Out Dough Circles

Dough Circle 

Circles Ready to Fill

1. Whisk the remaining 1 egg and milk in a small bowl and set the glaze aside.

For the Filling

1. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the beef. Season with salt and pepper and cook 6-7 minutes, crumbling the meat into very small pieces as it cooks. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Beef Beginning to Cook

Cooked Beef

1. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil in the pan. Add onions and peppers and cook until just softened, 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic, olives, raisins, and spices and cook 2 minutes.
3. Return the beef to the skillet and cook 1-2 minutes, until liquid has evaporated. Stir in the chopped hardboiled egg. Cool to room temperature.

Peppers and Onion Beginning to Cook 

Garlic Mixture Added 

Cooked Filling

For the Sofrito

1. Heat a skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the oil. Add the garlic, pepper, and onion and cook until beginning to soften, 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the crushed tomatoes and paprika and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until thickened, 15-18 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the parsley and vinegar.

Sofrito Beginning to Cook 

Cooked Sofrito

(Sofrito may be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Re-warm gently before serving.)

To Assemble and Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of filling on one side of each dough round, leaving a 1-inch edge.
3. With your fingers, dampen the edges of a dough round with water and gently fold the empty half over the filled half, lightly pressing down the filling and seam. Use a fork to crimp the seams tightly together. Repeat with the remaining empanadas.

Filled Circles 

Dampen the Edges with Water 

Crimp the Edges with a Fork

Empanadas Ready to Bake

1. Place the empanadas on the baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes, until the crust begins to brown. Brush with egg wash and bake 5 minutes longer, until golden brown. Remove and let cool 3-4 minutes.

Baked Empanadas

Empanadas with Egg Wash

To serve, place the empanadas on a platter with the sofrito in a serving bowl.

Argentine Beef Empanadas with Sofrito

Southern Beef Barbecue Sandwiches with Creamy Coleslaw

Deliciously tender, slow-cooked barbecue is revered all over the United States, and in the South, you may just find a heap of sweet and creamy coleslaw sitting on top of it. While slaw is common on the side of your plate just about anywhere, the southern way is to enjoy it as part of a sandwich. And that way is truly delicious.

When I want especially sweet and creamy coleslaw, I add one not-so-secret ingredient: evaporated milk. The milk itself is fairly sweet with a silky texture, so when blended with a bit of mayonnaise and white sugar, both taste and texture are enhanced. And the flavor is simply delightful.

While real barbecue, of course, is cooked outdoors over an open flame, for this recipe, I braised the beef and sauce together in the oven, giving them plenty of slow-time to develop blended flavors and rich barbecue taste. Yes, cooking the meat in the sauce makes shredding the chunks a little messy in the end, but one taste and you’ll forget all about that.

This is key: Chuck roast releases a considerable amount fat during braising, and that fat will rise to the top as the meat cooks. When the cooking is finished, remove the beef and carefully pour off the oil from the top of the barbecue sauce. Do this through a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl so that you can catch any sauce that accidentally slides out with the fat. Simply stir the sauce back into the pan and you’re ready to proceed.

Makes 8 sandwiches

Ingredients

For the Beef

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
• 3-lb beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 8-oz can no-salt tomato sauce
• 3/4 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp chile powder
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp dried red chile flakes
• 8 large sandwich buns or kaiser rolls

Chuck Roast 

Beef Ready to Cook

For the Coleslaw

• 1/2 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk 
• 2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups shredded green cabbage
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped shaved carrot (shave the carrot with a vegetable peeler, then chop)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

Shaved Carrot

Chopped Shaved Carrot

Preparation

For the Beef

1. Preheat the oven to 250° F.
2. Heat a Dutch oven or deep, ovenproof pan (with a tight-fitting lid) over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil.
3. Add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Sear until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Transfer the meat to a plate.

Beef Beginning to Sear 

Browned Beef

1. Reduce the heat to medium. If the pan is dry, add about 1 tablespoon more oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté 2 minutes.
2. Add the next 10 ingredients (through chile flakes) and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring well to combine, 5 minutes.

Garlic and Onion Beginning to Cook

Barbecue Sauce Beginning to Cook

1. Return the beef to the pan, nestling down into the sauce. Cover the pan tightly and place in the oven. Braise until the meat is fork-tender and easily shredded, about 3 hours, turning once halfway through. (Fat will rise to the top.)

Beef Returned to the Pan

Braised Beef with Fat on Top

1. Move the pan to the stovetop. Transfer the meat to a large plate and let cool. When cool enough to handle, pull the meat into thin shreds.

Beef Cooling 

Shredded Beef

1. Place a sieve over a bowl and carefully pour off the fat from the top of the sauce in the pan. (Stir any sauce caught in the sieve back into the pan.)
2. Return the shredded beef to the sauce and stir to combine. Re-warm over low heat.

Drained Fat 

Sauce with Fat Poured Off 

Beef Returned to the Sauce

To serve, spoon the beef barbecue onto the bottoms of the rolls. Mound coleslaw (recipe follows) on top and close the sandwiches. Serve right away.

For the Coleslaw

1. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, milk, vinegar, and sugar and season with salt and pepper.
2. Toss the cabbage, bell pepper, carrot, and red onion in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the slaw and combine well. Cover and chill 1-2 hours.

Coleslaw Dressing

Slaw Vegetables 

Creamy Coleslaw