Empanadas with roasted corn, queso oxacana, rajas, and black beans at Johnny Sanchez

Johnny Sanchez offers new happy hour specials Wednesday through Friday, 5 to 7 pm. Cinco De Wednesday has $5 appetizers and house margaritas. Thirsty Thursday features $3 select draft beers and $3 nachos, and Viva La Friday has $3 tacos and select draft beers along with $4 domestic bottled beers. You might also want to check out their "Chips and Salsa Nights" where you can learn salsa dancing while enjoying Mexican cuisine and cocktails.

Guy's Cheesecake Challenge and S'mores Tart at Guy Fieri's Baltimore Kitchen + Bar

Over at Guy Fieri's Baltimore Kitchen + Bar, diners can enjoy $6 wings and French Fry Dippers Monday through Friday from 5 to 7 pm. To wash down those appetizers, there's $3 select draft beers, $4 domestic bottle beers, $5 house cocktails, and $5 house wines. Don't forget to check out their entrees and delicious selection of desserts, like Guy's Cheesecake Challenge topped with potato chips, pretzels, and hot fudge. The S'mores Tart is also a decadent delight with rich chocolate in a tart shell and topped with marshmallow fluff.

If you haven't had a chance to check out the Horseshoe Baltimore, or haven't been for awhile, these happy hour specials are a great incentive to venture over for an evening nosh. Plus, there's free parking in their spacious parking garage, which is a rare bonus in the downtown area.

Horseshoe Baltimore
1525 Russell Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
Tel: (844) 777-SHOE
https://www.caesars.com/horseshoe-baltimore/restaurants

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Posted on Minxeats.com.

One page from the article, featuring photos of my empanadas and bruschetta.

I'm excited to announce that Minxeats is in the November issue of Baltimore Magazine, as one of three local bloggers (along with Kit of Mango & Ginger and Dara of Dining Dish) who contributed dishes for a feature on Potluck Dinners.

In the article, which starts on page 226, you can find photos of my Chocolate Linzer Tart, BLT Bruschetta with Bacon Jam, arugula, and cherry tomatoes, and Sweet Potato Empanadas, which are based on a casserole recipe I concocted last Thanksgiving. The tart and bacon jam recipes are linked above, and here's the recipe for my sweet potato empanadas, which I thought were nice and Fall-ish. To make them even more appropriate for the coming season, one could add some chopped cooked turkey meat and perhaps a cranberry-based dipping sauce.

Sweet Potato Empanadas

2 large sweet potatoes

1/4 heavy cream
1 teaspoon chipotle powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon chopped scallion
2 slices of bacon, crumbled*
2 packages Goya empanada shells "discos"
1 egg

Scrub sweet potatoes and prick all over with a knife or fork. Place on microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 15 minutes until the potatoes are very soft. Remove from microwave and set aside to cool.

Sauté onion in olive oil until softened.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop flesh into a bowl. Add cream, chipotle, brown sugar, and cinnamon, stirring well to combine. Stir in scallions, cooked onion, and bacon. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat oven to 350F. Remove discos from packaging. Place a scant tablespoon of sweet potato filling in the center of each. Fold ends over to form a half-moon, and crimp closed with the tines of a fork. Place empanadas on a nonstick cookie sheet.

Beat egg with a teaspoon of water and brush onto tops of pastries.

Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes 20.

* 2 tablespoons of bacon jam may be substituted for the onion and bacon

Well, not really a party since there were only three diners, and the empanadas themselves didn't have all that much fun, what with all of the teeth involved. But hey, we humans had a good time.


In the past, I've made empanadas with supermarket brand all-ready pie crusts. They work fine, but the dough is fragile and soft and doesn't make for particularly pretty turnovers. This time, I used actual empanada dough. Mr Minx had purchased a bag of Goya Mini Discos some time ago and it languished in the freezer until I found them after a bit of re-organizing. The little discs of nicely resilient dough just needed to be defrosted, rolled out a bit, and filled. While the recipe on the bag called for frying, I popped mine in the oven for 15 minutes at 350º.

I had some leftover seasoned ground lamb that I had used for preseason-football-watchin' nachos earlier in the week, and I also made a chicken filling and a really simple veggie one. (When I say "simple," I mean it: 1 cup diced, cooked parsnip; 1/2 cup cooked, squeezed-dry, spinach, salt to taste.) Each empanada also got a pinch of grated Kraft Mexican four cheese blend.

They'd never give Max's Empanadas a run for their money, but they were pretty good and made for some convenient lunches over the next week.

Chicken Filling
3 boneless skinless chicken thighs, sautéed or poached until cooked through, cubed or shredded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
5 dried apricots, diced
1 tablespoon dried cranberries, chopped
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles
1 tablespoon ketchup
8 pimento-stuffed olives, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped nuts (I used cashews)
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

Heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil. When hot, add the onion and cook until wilted and beginning to brown, 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for a few seconds, then add all of the remaining ingredients except cilantro and nuts. Cook about 15 minutes until dried fruits have softened and sauce is somewhat thick.

Stir in chicken. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Before filling empanada shells, taste chicken for seasoning and add salt and pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Stir in cashews, chopped cilantro, and egg.

Makes a lot of tiny empanadas.


Empanada Sauce
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
4 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
dash salt

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Allow to sit at least 2 hours so the flavors can meld. Serve as a dip with empanadas.