Sopapillas

When I was a girl and I walked into Grandma Helen's kitchen something always smelled good. Sometimes it was the salty aroma of beef stew simmering or the sweetness of biscochos baking, but nothing was better than the simplicity of her sopapillas! I loved watching the tortilla being submerged into the hot oil. The oil would boil up around it, sizzling and popping until the sopapilla puffed up and turned golden. Grandma would fish it out with her metal mesh ladle and drop it directly into a paper bag that was filled with a cinnamon and sugar mixture. My brother and I would close up the bag and shake it around like a maraca until grandma said, "Okay, that's enough now." Biting into the warm, slightly chewy sopapilla always felt like the same kind of treat as going to the donut shop on Sunday morning; exciting and delicious!

Ingredients:

Tortillas
Cinnamon
Sugar
Vegetable Oil

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a cast iron dutch oven or a deep skillet.
2. Cut the tortillas into triangles, then submerge them into the oil. Cook until they puff up and are golden in color on both sides.
3. Drop the fried tortillas into a paper bag that has a cinnamon and sugar mixture. Shake the bag until the fried tortillas have been sufficiently covered.
4. Eat!

To be authentic to Sepharina's style of sopapillas, make fresh tortillas that will cook in the oil, use these ingredients per Melinda Price:

Flour
Lard
Salt
Water

If you don't normally make tortillas and would like to try, here is my favorite tortilla recipe from The Joy of Cooking:

2 cups of flour
1 t salt
1/4 c lard or vegetable shortening
3/4 c warm water

1. Mix the ingredients together by hand or in your mixer on low speed until the dough comes together.

2.  Knead for 4-6 minutes.

3. Divide the dough into 8 small balls.

4. Cover and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

5. Roll out each ball into 6-8 inch rounds that are 1/8 of an inch thick.

6. Cut into triangles, then dunk into the hot oil to cook until puffed. Follow as directed above to finish off the sopapillas.

Helen's Macaroni Salad

1 box Ditalini pasta
1 small jar of capers
1 can of water chestnuts, chopped
1 jar of pimentos
Parsley, finely chopped, add to taste
Red Onion, chopped
Black Olives, Sliced
Mayonnaise, about 2-4 enormous spoonfuls
Salt (to taste)

1. Cook the pasta according to directions on the box. You want it to be al dente. Allow it to cool.

2. Mix all of the ingredients into the cooled pasta. (you will want enough mayonnaise to create a dressing but not so much that it thickly coats it). I probably have too much in this photo.

3. Refrigerate overnight for the flavors to meld. You may need to add a little more mayoannise before serving.