I can’t think of a better way to kick off the new blog than to publicly declare my love for the empanada, particularly the Argentine empanada. If you haven't tried one, imagine a mini, three-bite calzone. It’s everything a hot pocket ever dreamed of being, yet never achieved.

Just about every culture has it’s own similar version of a stuffed pastry. India is famous for the samosa, although the name itself is derived from Persian. While invading or “discovering” Goa, the Portuguese adapted samosas and created chamuças. They brought along chamuças while they were busy oppressing and colonizing Atlantic Africa. In Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, local versions are still popular today. In parts of Mexico, filled and fried-to-order empanadas are popular street food. Frozen eggrolls are packaged and sold as “Chinese Empanadas” in Buenos Aires. The U.K. has the pasty, and of course in the South we have fried apple pies like my grandmother in Tennessee used to make.

The Argentinean version is normally savory filled, oven-baked thin, crisp dough or pastry. Like Hot Pockets, ham and mozzarella is a favorite filling, but so are cheese and onion, beef, steak, chicken, spinach, and pumpkin squash. There’s even a creamed corn variety called “humita”. My two favorite, and unexpected, flavors are plum, cheese and bacon and blue cheese, celery and walnut. Six leave you button-popping full, and set you back about $3.50 USD.

So thank you, empanada. Like the best significant others, you’re cheap, easy, satisfying and at my door in 15 minutes with just a call.