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to be precise about it). Arrange it so that a corner is pointing toward you. Place about 2 tablespoons of filling in the lower half of the dough, leaving about ½ inch of space at the bottom point. Fold over the dough so that it is in the shape of a triangle. You may need to pull it a little bit, just do so carefully so as not to rip it. Pinch together the seams with a fork or your fingertips and place on your baking sheet. Continue forming the rest of the empanadas.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm!

PANKO-STUFFED MUSHROOMS

MAKES ABOUT 20

TIME: 45 MINUTES

These little guys are different from your run-of-the-mill Italian-style stuffed mushrooms since they’re flavored with Asian-y stuff: sesame, mirin, and scallions. Panko is a Japanese bread crumb that stays crispier than the kind we usually use. Daikon provides a little crunch but you can sub water chestnuts or maybe celery if you roll that way. We like the way DIY-toasted sesame seeds look on these because they provide some color contrast, but you can buy them toasted if you prefer. Black sesame seeds would look cool as well.

22 big mushrooms (they sometimes are called “stuffing mushrooms”), washed and patted dry

1 tablespoon peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup finely diced daikon

3 tablespoons mirin

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

1 ½ cups panko

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, plus extra for greasing the pan and garnish

2-4 tablespoons water

½ cup finely chopped scallions, plus extra for garnish

3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

➣To toast sesame seeds: Preheat a small pan over medium-low heat. Pour in the sesame seeds and toast them, stirring often, for about 3 minutes. Once they are browned, immediately remove them from the pan to prevent burning.

PREHEAT THE oven to 350°F.

First, remove the stems from the mushrooms. An easy way to do this is to cup one in your writing hand, stem up, and gently but firmly twist and pry the stem out. Then use a small spoon to remove any remaining stem. Do not discard the stems; chop them up small and set them aside. It’s common to break a mushroom or two, which is why the recipe calls for twenty-two mushrooms but stuffs twenty. If one breaks and can’t be used, just chop it up along with the stems. If you have a mushroom stem-removing talent and manage not to break any, then finely chop the two extras anyway.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in the peanut oil and sauté the chopped mushroom for about 3 minutes, until some moisture has released. Add the diced daikon and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and cook for a minute longer.

At this point, lots of moisture should be released from the mushrooms. Add the mirin, salt, and white pepper, and cook for about 2 minutes.

Turn off the heat and add the panko in ½-cup batches and stir, alternately adding the sesame oil and splashes of water (up to 4 tablespoons) until all the bread crumbs are moist. The mixture should be crumbly but, when you press some between your fingers, it should hold together. Mix in the scallions and adjust the salt to taste.

Grease a baking sheet with a little sesame oil. Stuff each mushroom with the filling and place on the baking sheet. To stuff them, place a little of the filling into the mushroom crevice and then add another tablespoon on top of that, pressing firmly to form a mound.

Bake for 20 minutes. To serve, sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the mushrooms and drizzle with a little sesame oil, if desired. Garnish with extra chopped scallions. If you are going for a fancy plating, place a few mushrooms on a handful of raw spinach leaves.

BUCKWHEAT BLINI

MAKES ABOUT 36 BLINI

TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES, LOTS OF IT INACTIVE

Blini are light, savory, yeasted pancakes with a real Eastern European feel to them. They are small and bite-sized, similar to silver dollar pancakes and make a great appetizer. This recipe is a little time consuming because you have to make the pancakes in small batches, so you may only want to serve