Wisdom's Kiss (80 page)

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I discovered this recipe—then called "Beef Empanadas"—while standing in line at the supermarket, and bought the magazine to try it out. (I think I even went through the line a second time after realizing how many of the ingredients I needed.) The original empanadas had a dough that, while doubtless accurate in empanada-dom, completely overwhelmed the filling. So I replaced it with my favorite pie crust, used in
Cuthbert en croûte
and pretty much every other pie I make. Trust me, this sour-cream crust is quick, easy, and almost indestructible—not adjectives one normally associates with pastry. The tarts ended up
delicious
and delightfully exotic—exactly the kind of delicacy I'd picture at a banquet in a foreign land. I just had to have them in
Wisdom's Kiss,
whatever feats of literary contortion it might take to squeeze them in.

So I did
, and I even managed to combine them with Felis's gluttony—ha! But when it came time to write the recipe, I faced a crisis: what to call the darn things? "Empanadas" wasn't quite right given that I'd eliminated the authentic empanada crust. I wanted a French-ish name given that the dish is supposedly from Montagne, but France doesn't seem to do savory, portable pastries; certainly I know of no French food akin to the empanada, samosa, pasty, pierogi, calzone, egg roll, turnover, knish, stromboli, bridie, wonton ... Crêpes, maybe? But they're not really finger food. It seems that every culture in the world has a starch-wrapped, handheld lunch food except the folks who invented cuisine. Go figure.

Regardless, I needed a name that was fun to say, traditional yet glamorous, and optimally descriptive. Hence
poches célèbres
(pronounced "puhsh SUH•lcb;" the singular, with same pronunciation, is
poche célèbre).
It translates as "celebrated pocket" and sounds rather like "posh celeb" with a glam-snobby French accent. As Dizzy would say, v. entertaining indeed.

I recognize that this dish has a lot of ingredients and requires some time, but it's worth it. Trust me. And if worst comes to worst, you can eat the filling with a spoon. Felis el Gato described them seasoned with honey, but he has no idea what he's talking about.

POCHES CÉLÈBRES
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Labor-saving tip: if you make the dough first, you can reuse the dirty food processor for the filling. Be aware that the dough will turn rock hard in the fridge; if you do refrigerate it, let it warm slightly.

Place the eggs in a small saucepan filled with enough water to cover the eggs. Bring the water to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. Immerse eggs in cold water. While the eggs are cooking, prepare the dough.

DOUGH

Pulse dry ingredients in a food processor until mixed, about 10 seconds. Cut butter into 24 pieces and poke into flour; pulse until the flour looks evenly sandy. Empty mixture into a large bowl. Mix in sour cream (first with a spoon, then with your hands). Knead several times into a large lump. Roll into a log, then cut into 12 equal pieces. On a well-floured board, roll each piece into a circle about 6 inches across. Stack for later. (This can be done while the filling is cooking.)

FILLING

Pulse bread and water or wine in a food processor. Add beef, salt, and pepper and process to combine.

Sauté onions in a large skillet until translucent. Add garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, and cloves; sauté for 1 minute. Add beef, and sauté until beef is cooked through, breaking up large clumps. Spoon out extra fat, but don't get crazy about it. Peel and chop the two hard-boiled eggs. Stir in cilantro, hard-boiled eggs, raisins, and olives. Season to taste with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Spread the filling evenly across the bowl. Using a spatula or table knife, separate the filling into 12 sections.

POCHES CLÉÈBRES

Preheat oven to 425° F. Set two rimmed cookie sheets in the oven to preheat. Put one rolled disk on a dinner plate. (Avoid the floured surface; water + flour = paste.) Scoop on
of the filling (it won't look like enough, but it is). With your fingers or a pastry brush, dab the edge of the dough with water. Fold the disk in half, then crimp with a fork to seal the two edges together. Set aside and make eleven more. I also trim the forked edge with a knife or pastry roller because my edges always look horrible.

Divide ⅓ cup of olive oil between the two hot cookie sheets. Arrange six poches célèbres on each sheet, and brush their tops with the hot oil. Bake 25—30 minutes, switching the cookie sheets' position halfway through, until poches célèbres are well browned. They can be served warm or at room temperature.

Recipe for Pumpkin Pudding
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Recipe for Poches Celebres
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First, a note on ramekins. Ramekins (from an obsolete Flemish term for toasted bread; go figure) are little individual baking dishes, usually white ceramic with ridged sides. They come in all sizes, from thimble to casserole, but the 6 ounce is standard. I had a wedding-gift set that I hadn't used once until this recipe; now I use them almost weekly. You can also make this pudding in a 2 quart casserole dish and bake in a water bath for 45—50 minutes. But ramekins are way cooler.

PUMPKIN BREAKFAST PUDDING
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