[1] Hand pies plated as a gourmet dessert at Sirena Cocina Latina in San Diego (alas, now closed). [2] Use cutters to make prettier pies, and crimp the edges with a fork (here’s the recipe from Driscoll’s Berries). [3] A ham, brie and fig jam hand pie with grainy mustard sauce (here’s the recipe from Cooking On The Front Burner).

Like pie? Like savory pie? Like fancy desserts?

Combine the two with plated hand pies. The pies, meant to be eaten without plate or fork, taste even better with a bit of glamour.

Sweet Hand Pies

Restaurant Sirena Cocina Latina in San Diego plated fruit pies with dessert garnishes (photo #1):

 
Savory Hand Pies

For an appetizer or first course, you can make meat, cheese or vegetable hand pies—or any variation combination (photo #3).

Choose savory garnishes:

 
TIP: Sweet or savory, use your cutters to create a shape at the top of the pie (photo #2).
 
 
THE HISTORY OF HAND PIES

Since there was dough, something to fill it with, and something to bake it on or in, there have been hand pies—beginning with savory pies.

Cultures around the world have what we now call hand pies: portable meals that could be stuffed with leftovers or any variety of kitchen ingredients. Empanadas, a popular Mexican street food, Jewish knishes and and Jamaican meat patties are hand pies.

Until someone in the U.S. called them hand pies (if you know who, raise your hand), these grab-and-go mini-meals were called meat pies or pasties (rhymes with nasty, not tasty).

In our own culture, they trace their origins at least to 19th-century England, where they were a convenient lunch for Cornish tin miners—but not as we eat pasties today.

For miners, the pastry casing kept the filling warm and dirt-free. Holding the edges, miners would eat the filling and discard the dough.

Cornish immigrants to northern Michigan brought the tradition to the U.S. [source] The concept engendered fruit versions among America’s home pie bakers, and corner sweet shops sold them to enthusiastic fans.

They’re portable, requiring no plate or fork, and can sit in the heat without melting. Give us a good crust, and we’re in!
  

While there are numerous regional variations of this traditional Mexican breakfast or brunch dish, the basic recipe tops quartered, fried corn tortillas with salsa or mole sauce, and crowned with fried eggs.

Pulled chicken can be added; the dish is topped with shredded queso fresco and/or crema, Mexican sour cream. Sliced raw onion, avocado, or other garnish can be added. A side of refried beans typically completes the dish, which you can see in this recipe.

Chef Adrianne Calvo of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar in Miami sent us her own twist on the recipe. Forget the pulled chicken: She uses beef short ribs.

We’ve broken her recipe into three separate ones since you can use each in combination with other ingredients and dishes.

The history of chilaquiles is below.
 
 
RECIPE #1: SHORT RIB CHILAQUILES

With Queso Fundido & Pickled Red Onion

Prep time is 10 minutes; bake time is 2 hours 20 minutes to 2 hours 50 minutes.
 
Ingredients For 2 Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325F. In a small bowl, combine the salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Set aside.

2. WHISK together the agave, garlic, soy sauce, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper in another small bowl. Sprinkle the ribs on both sides with the salt mixture, then place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

3. BAKE the ribs for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Pull out and brush both sides with some of the agave glaze and bake for an additional hour. Remove the foil, brush with the remaining agave glaze, and bake for another 20 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE #2: GREEN CHILE QUESO FUNDIDO*

Ingredients

________________

*Oaxaca cheese, pronounced wah-HOCK-a, is called the Mexican mozzarella.” It can be purchased in a ball or a braid. Fundido, the Spanish word for molten, refers to melted cheese.

†The quick substitution here are tortilla chips or strips. It’s not authentic, but it works.
________________
 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 450°F. Combine the jalapeño, onion, garlic, vinegar, lime juice, cilantro, salt, honey, and oil in a blender and set aside.

2. BAKE the cheese in a small ovenproof dish for 15 minutes or until bubbling.
 
 
RECIPE #3: PICKLED RED ONIONS

You may want to make quadruple the recipe: These pickled onions are a delicious garnish for just about anything.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING the ingredients to a boil in a small pot, and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 5-7 minutes.

[1] Short rib chilaquiles (photo ©Chef Adrianne Calvo).

[2] Raw short ribs (photo © Good Eggs).

[3] Oaxaca cheese (photo © Cheese.com).

[4] Traditional chilaquiles (photo © Avocados From Mexico).

[5] Pickled red onion (photo © Inspired Taste).

[6] Fresh cilantro: the perfect garnish for almost every Mexican dish (photo © Good Eggs).

The name derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word chilaquilitl, meaning herbs (or greens) in chili broth.

A traditional Mexican peasant dish, it provided a way to use stale corn tortillas, a staple food of Central America which are fried as the base of the dish. Chiles, too, were native to the area and readily available.

The simplest form of chilaquiles is simply topped with salsa to soften them somewhat prior to eating: an easy way to fill the stomach. Their cultural significance is as a versatile staple for peasants [source].

As the dish evolved, it incorporated inexpensive ingredients, including leftovers, to make it a main dish: bits of meat, cheese, or eggs.

As with most dishes, there are regional versions: in sauce (green, red, white sauce), in protein (cheese, chicken, pork, shrimp), garnishes (avocado, beans, cheese, onion, radishes), seasonings, and spiciness (epazote, hot chiles), consistency and so on.

Mexico City is known for using a spicy tomato sauce and always tops each serving with an ample sprig of cilantro.

While the dish may be centuries old in Mexico, the first published recipes found in the U.S. are from a cookbook dating to 1898: El Cocinero Español (The Spanish Cook), by Encarnación Pinedo [source].
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Cheeses aging in the Alpine Room. [2] Fontina in a variety of flavorful rubs, $6.99/wedge (photos courtesy Schuman Cheese).

Where do you go looking for real romantics these days? In Wisconsin. Turtle Lake Wisconsin.

Turtle Lake is home to the Schuman family’s largest cheese making facility, which has quietly been importing and manufacturing award-winning cheeses for the past ten years.

Never heard of them? It’s because they’ve primarily focused on supplying wholesale distributors with their superb products for a roster of demanding chefs, food service contractors, private-label markets, hotels, and restaurants around the world.

Now though, they have a new name and some new cheeses that will richly cater to your own discerning taste. Newly named Schuman Cheese (formerly Arthur Schuman, Inc.) has begun to send two of their most intensely researched, developed and tested cheeses to markets where they’re awaiting your shopping cart.

WHAT’S UP AT SCHUMAN CHEESE

Focusing on cheeses people love to cook with and snack on every day, Schuman has created two brand families: Yellow Door Creamery, and Cello for Italian varieties. These unique cheeses are made by hand to European specifications.

Separately, Schuman has formed an exclusive five-year relationship with France’s École nationale d’industrie laitière (ENIL), a series of five regional colleges that operate under the French Ministry of Agriculture and which defines the standards for cheesemaking artisans.

The partnership is devoted to immersing Schuman’s cheesemakers in the same European techniques that make us crave French and Italian cheeses.

Heading up this highly creative, passionate, and scientific effort is Christophe Megevand, who began his career in the French Alps. Having won numerous gold medals in cheese competitions for years, he oversees all of Schuman’s cheese production.

His passion for cheesemaking is with him 24/7, and every six months his hand-picked colleague Julien Rouillaud, who has taught at the ENIL for ten years, have led the Schuman company to an evolving educational partnership with a single mission: enhancing the everyday quality of cheese.

YELLOW DOOR CREAMERY

Yellow Door Creamery’s award-winning Fontina, semi-firm and velvety, has been taken in hand and given a new flavor profile.

Each perfect wheel gets a surface massage of distinctive, aromatic herbs directly from the hands of Schuman’s specially trained staff. They’re then cryovac-ed and aged for up to 50 days so that flavors ripen and fully develop.

These are the three you should look for to make your cheeseboards (and your guests) smile:

 
Soon on the way to join its family is a melodious Bergamot & Hibiscus-rubbed Fontina. It is maturing in the aging room, waiting to reach the same degree of perfection as its relatives.

All are perfect cheeses to accompany cocktails or wine, and are welcome in the refrigerator for snacks. The cheeses are delicious in popular recipes, from stuffed mushrooms and onion soup gratin to frittata and fondue.

New Alpine-Style Cheeses

Starting in May, Yellow Door Creamery’s three new Alpine-style cheeses, long in the making and perfecting, will be introduced to consumers. Christophe, who grew up in the French Alps, is particularly fond of these, even though they are the most difficult ones to make.

The cheeses are “naked cured” (not brined or aged in plastic), so that they are completely moisture-free, and are cultured and aged completely differently from softer cheeses. They are consistently tested and fine-tuned to produce different flavor notes.

The three coming to market indicate the specific mountainous regions from which they originate:

 
The Alpine selections are great cooking cheeses (think raclette and fondue), and are heaven for grilled cheese lovers. They can also easily be grated over cooked dishes just before serving. Dried fruits and nuts are able-bodied partners.

Yellow Door Creamery’s Hand-Rubbed Fontina is available at Costco, Sprouts stores, Sam’s Club, and Kroger supermarkets. The Alpine cheeses will launch in stores this summer.

–Rowann Gilman

RECIPE #1: FIG JAM & HARISSA FONTINA CROSITNI

Prep time is 5 minutes, cook time is 10 minutes.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
Preparation
1. PREHEAT the broiler to high. Brush the baguette slices with olive oil on both sides and arrange on a large baking sheet. Broil for 2-3 minutes, just until the baguette is golden-brown and toasty.

2. REMOVE from the oven and immediately top with the cubed cheese. Set aside for a few minutes to allow the cheese to melt slightly.

3. PLACE a dollop the jam over the cheese and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

RECIPE #2: FONTINA-STUFFED MUSHROOMS WITH PICO DE GALLO

Prep time is 10 minutes, cook time is 20 minutes.

Ingredients For 6 Servings

 
For The Pico de Gallo

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the pico de gallo: Toss the ingredients together and set aside.

2. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Remove the stems from the mushrooms; reserve the stems for another use. Lay the mushroom caps top side down on a baking sheet.

[3] Crostini with Harissa Rubbed Fontina and fig jam. [4] Mushrooms stuffed with poblano chile and Habanero And Lime Rubbed Fontina (photos and recipes courtesy Schuman Cheese).

4. TOP with micro cilantro and serve with pico de gallo.
  

These soft, chewy pretzel bites are a version of the jumbo soft pretzels sold by street vendors, and are easier (well, let’s say more elegant) to eat than pulling apart a six-inches-wide pretzel.

Warm from the oven and served with a cold beer: There’s no better way to celebrate the day.

The recipe that follows is from King Arthur Flour. If you want a gluten-free recipe, they’ve also created a recipe for gluten-free pretzel bites.

April is National Pretzel Month, so you can plan to make all of them next year!

Below:

> Soft Pretzel Bites recipe.

> More soft pretzel recipes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of pretzels.

> The year’s 6 pretzel holidays.

> The year’s 90 snack holidays.
 
 
RECIPE: SOFT PRETZEL BITES

Prep time is 20 to 30 minutes, resting time 30 minutes, and baking time is 12 to 15 minutes.

Ingredients For About 6 Dozen Pretzel bites

For The Dough

 
For The Topping

 
Salt Alternatives

Don’t want salt? You can leave it off, or substitute:

 
Plus

________________

*NOTE: Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

†DIPPING MUSTARD doesn’t have to be ballpark yellow, even if it’s your standard. Go gourmet with a great mustard from Maille. The company makes 50 different flavors, including seasonal limited editions. For spring, there’s a limited-edition honey mustard collection (photo #5). The mustards can be paired with meats, fresh vegetables, and cheese, mixed into vinaigrettes…and used to dip pretzels, of course!
________________
 
Preparation

You can make the dough by hand or with a bread machine.

1a. MAKE dough by hand: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or with a mixer for about 5 minutes, until it’s soft, smooth, and quite slack. Flour the dough, place it in a bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

1b: MAKE dough with a bread machine: Place all of the dough ingredients into the pan of the bread machine, program the machine for dough or manual, and press Start. Allow the dough to proceed through its kneading cycle (no need to let it rise). Then cancel the machine, flour the dough, and give it a rest in a plastic bag for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting…

2. PREPARE the topping. Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved. Set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm or room temperature.

3. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper. If you’re not using King Arthur Flour, do both: grease the parchment with vegetable oil spray to make double sure the bites won’t stick.

4. TRANSFER the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into six equal pieces. Roll the six pieces of dough into 12″ to 15″ ropes. Cut each rope crosswise into about 12 pieces.

5. POUR the cooled baking soda solution into a pan large enough to hold the bites. Place the bites into the solution, gently swish them around, and leave them there for a couple of minutes. Transfer them to a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and top with pretzel salt or sea salt; or with pearl sugar or cinnamon sugar, for sweet pretzel bites.

6. BAKE the bites for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and roll them in the melted butter. For cinnamon-sugar pretzels, toss with cinnamon-sugar once you’ve rolled the bites in the butter.

7. PLACE on a rack to cool. In you’re not going to enjoy the bites the same day, store them, well-wrapped, at room temperature. Reheat briefly before serving.
 
 
MORE SOFT PRETZEL RECIPES

[2] Use your favorite mustard: Dijon, grainy mustard, honey mustard, even yellow mustard.

[3] Chill your favorite beer to serve with the warm pretzel bites (photo © Pizzeria Uno).

[4] Did someone say Mother’s Day gift? How about a crock of honey mustard from Maille? (photos #4, #5 and #6 © Maille’s Old Style grainy mustard (photo © Maille).

[5] The limited edition honey mustard set from Maille: Mustard with Acacia Honey and Balsamic Vinegar, Mustard with Acacia Honey and Orange Blossom and Mustard with Acacia Honey and Walnut, are available individually or as a boxed set.

[6] Are you old school? Use old-school grainy mustard, the “original” mustard from the days when mustard seeds were ground by hand.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.