I hope everyone cooks with their kids. If you don't have any, I suggest you get some. And if that's too much trouble, just borrow one. My 4 year old, Olivia, would love to come to your house and help you with the flour. On our agenda this time: Empanadas.
Empanadas are a Latin pastry that can be filled with just about anything; pork, beef, chicken, cheese etc. Because every Latin culture has a variation of empanadas, what one country calls an empanada may be very different in another. The dough recipe I chose was this one. The cooking method is also variable. Ours were fried in peanut oil but baking is another way (more common actually and certainly healthier). I also chose frying because it's much more forgiving if the dough is not perfect.
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2009.