Take me to the Caribbean!! Old Favorite: Jamaican Beef Patties

I'm so tired of the winter. Like seriously. All I want is warmth, sun, beach, ocean. Sounds like I want to be on vacation, huh? Well then what better way to pretend you're somewhere fabulous in the Caribbean than to eat and drink like it, right?! I found this recipe on - take a guess...Pinterest of course! And per usual, it failed me not. These were so delicious, and so easy to make (much to my surprise). I'm seriously tempted to make a bunch, freeze and stockpile them. Now just have to find a good rum punch recipe, according to the beau lol.

Jamaican Beef Patties (Adapted from Baltic Maid) 
Ingredients:
Pastry Dough
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup / 1 stick / 113 g unsalted butter, softened but not melted
3/4 cup ice-cold water

Meat Filling
olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1 onion, finely chopped
3 green onions, chopped (was fresh out of these :-/, worked fine without lol)
1 clove garlic, grated
2 Scotch bonnet chili peppers (any color), seeded and minced (So I couldn't locate these :( , so I ended up using about 2 tbsp of this Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce I found at the grocery store)
1-2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper, or  to taste
1 1/2 to 2 1/2 cups water
2 slices whole grain bread, processed into crumbs in a food processor

Egg Wash
1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water

Directions:
In a bowl, combine the flour with the salt, baking powder and the curry. Add the butter and mix it in with your hands until it resembles a very coarse meal. At this point add the water. Squeeze the mixture until it just forms a ball. Knead once or twice to combine fully (the less kneading, the better).

Divide the dough into two pieces, shaping each into a thick pancake. Wrap the pieces in plastic wrap and place them in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. The dough will keep in the refrigerator for several days.  Take it out 30 minutes before using it.

For the filling, heat a little olive oil in a large frying pan and add the beef, onion, spring onions, garlic, peppers, and thyme. Fry the meat until it turns brown and the moisture has evaporated. Add the curry, salt, and pepper, and constantly stir. A crust will form on the bottom of the pan.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water. Stir and scrap the bottom of the pan to incorporate the brown goodness on the bottom of the pan. Add the breadcrumbs and more water if necessary. Cover and let everything simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir the mix occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 400°F / 200°C. Divide each dough pieces into 4 pieces. Divide the meat in the pan into 8 portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll one of the dough pieces into a rectangular shape with rounded edges. Place one of the meat portions on one side of the rolled-out dough leaving a free border of about 1 cm.

With your finger, apply a little water around the edge. Fold the one side over the dough over the meat and seal the edge. Lightly press a fork around the edge to make a pattern. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Place the pastries on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or foil sprayed with non-stick Pam, whichever you fancy). Brush them with the egg wash and bake them for about 20 minutes or until the pastries turn golden.

Then Bon Appetit! 

Feel free to top with cheese or your favorite hot sauce, but beware the scotch bonnet peppers/sauce packed the meat filling with its fair share of heat.

xox

LOTD: HipsterGeekChic @ Back in TIME Sessions

Vest: Romeo & Juliet | Shirt: Sanctuary | Pants: Paige

Glasses: Amazon | Necklace: Cross - F21, Bambi - Vintage

So apparently, Philly's Monday night best kept secret is out. About a year ago, a friend of mine invited me to this whiskey bar over on 13th & Sansom that played live music. And then we became regulars. We'd arrive around 9:30, appropriate our high-top table in the back, have a few glasses of wine, nosh on the awesome fries, sometimes dipping them in the mac & cheese topped with BBQ brisket, until the music started around 10. Then room would fill with the soulful sounds of Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Maxwell, you name it. Artists from all over the city would come to perform at this semi-open mic night/jam session for an awesome crowd of music lovers.

I mean you've got to love live music to drag yourself out on a Monday night, but it was always worth it. Sooner rather than later, the word got out, and last week when we went for my fellow regular's last night in Philly, it was literally standing room only. I'd never seen it so packed, but it per usual was an awesome show.

So I figured, since word's already out, I can divulge my Monday getaway.

Here's a clip of some of the musicians rocking out:

I think the bar itself might be more known for it's whiskey selection, as well as it's dance party scene on Saturday nights upstairs. It's definitely got to be one of my favorite places in Philly, and def worth checking out if you enjoy any of the above.

TIME, 1315 Sansom St., http://www.timerestaurant.net/ 

The Dan Dan Obsession

So if you live in Philadelphia, or maybe even came to visit for a short time, there's a strong possibility you've heard of a restaurant called Han Dynasty, well known for its fiery dishes, each coming with a spice level choice ranging from 1 - 10 - let's just say that my max is 6, and even then I can barely finish the entire dish. Nonetheless, there is one dish in particular, that littered the Yelp reviews and almost every article I read about Han Dynasty before going, and it's called "Dan Dan Noodles". I'm not even sure I can describe the dish to it's justice, but for you I will try. It is served in a medium sized bowl steaming with a pile of flour noodles topped with bits of succulent fried ground pork, but the key - the key is the sauce, the most amazing sauce, patiently waiting at the bottom of the bowl for you to combine the three components and go into Asian Cuisine heaven.

So you can imagine my excitement when I heard that PYT was teaming up with Han Dynasty to create a Dan Dan noodle inspired burger served with Sichuan fries, offered for one week only. On the last day of course, the beau and I headed down to our old stomping grounds in NoLibs to experience what everyone on social media was describing as life changing.

I barely looked at the menu, but clearly I should have looked a little longer, seeing as how when I asked for the Dan Dan burger, the server looked at me a bit confused. "Oh, excuse, I mean the Handy Nasty burger." Which you can find the description for below...

We shared a pitcher of Golden Monkey to pass the time, clearly accustomed to waiting at PYT. After a while our burgers finally arrived, I waited anxiously as they put the plates down....

...and in typical PYT style, there was barely a 5 oz patty sitting on a huge "soft white Chinese bun". o_O...Despite being off put by the apparent size of the burger, I dug in and was further disappointed to find a bland - not even spicy, but basic tasting meat patty overpowered by watery cucumbers and soggy sugary bread. Womp! I will say that the Sichuan fries were quite tasty, so much so that the beau tried to order just another batch of fries, but to our dismay they were "no longer selling them separately." At this point, we were pretty much over it.

Having not quite had my Dan Dan fix that I was expecting, I decided to have a serious go at the Original Han Dynasty Dan Dan Noodle recipe that I'd found online a few months ago, but sadly couldn't pin to Pinterest because there was no picture, devastating, right? Anyway, when I say I really hit the nail on this, it's by far the closest I've ever come to recreating a restaurant dish. So good! Had to share it with you all, with pictures! So you can pin to your heart's desire. Enjoy!


Dan Dan Noodles (Adapted from Philly.com)
4 serving(s)

2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 ounces ground pork (I actually used about 8 oz, left over from dumpling night ;) )
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons preserved Chinese vegetables (available at Asian markets)
1/3 cup plus 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons sesame paste
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons chile oil
1/2 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorn oil (available at Asian markets)
2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pound flour noodles (I used fresh ones from the refrigerated section, but any pasta will work!)

1. In a wok over high heat, heat 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil. Brown pork and garlic. Add preserved vegetables and 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce. Remove from heat.

2. In a bowl, whisk together remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sesame paste until emulsified. Add remaining 1/3 cup soy sauce, water, chile oil, peppercorn oil, and sugar, and whisk until emulsified.

3. Cook flour noodles according to package instructions.
4. Pour sauce into an empty serving bowl, add cooked noodles, and top with ground pork. Toss tableside.

And then dig in!