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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 6, 2012 8:32:55 GMT
What's with these cookbook instructions that instruct you to butter the baking pan or sheet.
EXAMPLE
" Brush the pastes with the milk. Place them on a buttered baking sheet and allow them to rest for 15 minutes."
Don't they know that besides being expensive, butter causes baked foods to stick, it burns and it's expensive?
Seems kind of self defeating to me.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 6, 2012 21:28:25 GMT
What do you do, Don? Nowadays I'm likely to use parchment paper, as I have a cheap source.
Aren't there some things that need butter or oil beforehand (obviously not breads)?
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 6, 2012 22:29:22 GMT
I should have explained that the items in question were pasties, Mexican style.
I generally use PAM spray or plain white vegetable shortening, often dusting the coating with flour.
For non mould breads, I use parchment paper. Oil, for the most part, doesn't work well, either, as it tends to be absorbed by the dough. Exception: focaccia.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2012 0:41:26 GMT
I have always enjoyed smearing butter around in a pie pan, but I'm sure you are right about it.
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Post by lagatta on Oct 9, 2012 23:46:52 GMT
Looking it up, I see that Mexican pastes are a direct descendant of the Cornish pasty.
There were also a lot of Cornishmen (and women) emigrants to the Cono Sur countries as well and miners there, but lots of Argentine and Chilean empanadas went down the mines anyway.
Have you got a recipe for Mexican pastes? (In Spanish is fine).
I do a cheat on empanadas, as the pre-made tapas I buy here are actually very good. Turning up with a basket of them makes one very popular.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 10, 2012 0:32:36 GMT
Yes, I do have a recipe for Mexican pastes, but I have never made it. In Pátzcuaro, there's a family of bakers who sell only on the streets, following a regular route each day. The handsome son, Alejandro, stops each day at the corner of the Portal Hidalgo on the plaza Grande. Our favorite treat is a still warm " paste" (except that here thay are called "empanadas" filled with spicy picadillo. They are much smaller than a paste, so I have to eat at least 3, possibly 4 to fulfill my need.  Alejandro sets up his pastry case. I have a better photo somewhere. |
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Post by lagatta on Oct 10, 2012 2:14:31 GMT
Oh, that is already enough of Alejandro. What a dirty old lady am I.
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Post by htmb on Oct 10, 2012 3:06:32 GMT
I think another photo is called for.  |
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 10, 2012 6:41:05 GMT
I think another photo is called for. You shall have it. (LaGatta; don't look.)  Local lady on the left, Sra. Cuevas smiling on the mid left, Alejandro center, older expat (not me) on right. Note the offerings of pastries. Left, empanadas de carne y de atún (tuna fish); empanadas dulces, "cream puffs", filled with cajeta ("burnt" milk confection); pastel de naranja (orange cake, mmmm), galletas or cookies, such as polvorones (shortbreads). You may be wondering why he has the white cloth on his head. It's not a religious devotion. It's to cushion his scalp against the weight of the wood and glass pastry case that he carries on his head. I have on a couple occasions seen his father, also handsome, carrying a similar case around in the mercado area. In a stroke of brilliant merchandising, they send el guapo jóven Alejandro out to vend in the more touristed areas, while Papá sells among the locals. Another relative also has a small stand on a corner of the Plaza Bocanegra (Plaza Chica) in front of Hotel El Refugio, catty corner from the Oxxo store.  The woman with the red strap is a part time visitor to Pátzcuaro from New York, and SHE likes Alejandro's pastries. What was this thread about before I wandered off topic? |
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 10, 2012 7:18:56 GMT
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Post by lagatta on Oct 10, 2012 17:51:00 GMT
Actually, I thought the back photo was just as attractive, as he has beautiful posture and movement - of course he has a handsome face as well. I figured out what the white thing was from the first photo.
Please don't show me Papá, who'd be more the proper age group, but already taken.
I'm sure Lady from NY also likes Alejandro. I have a neighbour named Alejandro, but he is a (very cute) little boy, about 3 or 4.
Thanks for the recipe, yes the butter and beef filet seem absurdly rich for a dish made by miners (or more likely, miners' wives) whether in Wales or Mexico. The traditional pasty calls for raw ingredients, but I fail to see why that would be better than at least slightly pre-cooked. You could use far cheaper meat if you braise it slowly beforehand. And sour cream in the crust is just silly.
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Post by htmb on Oct 10, 2012 20:23:13 GMT
Perhaps Papá has a single friend or two, Lagatta  Don, how much weight do you suppose Alejandro carries on his head when the case is full? |
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 11, 2012 0:46:32 GMT
htmb, no tengo la menor idea. I'll have to ask him when I see him again.
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Post by htmb on Oct 11, 2012 2:44:39 GMT
I find it fascinating how some people carry heavy items on their heads as part of their daily work.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 12, 2012 20:16:14 GMT
I saw Alejandro on the Plaza Grande, and he smiled when I told him that the mujeres de Anyport le gusta su foto. But I forgot to ask him how much the pastry case weighed. I'll guess más o menos 10 kilos.
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Post by htmb on Oct 12, 2012 20:23:21 GMT
Muchas gracias, Don.
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Post by Don Cuevas on Oct 12, 2012 21:12:05 GMT
De nada.
(I only bought so pesos of empanadas de carne from him,as my wife loves thembut we already had leftovers lined up for lunch.
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