oh great pumpkin … Candied Pumpkin Empanadas

I live near an empanada haven of sorts. Within a few blocks are three different empanada shops – and an Argentine gelato place. I’m not entirely sure why we’ve become the hot bed of these delicious pastries but I’m happy about it. Not long ago a friend and I decided to do an empanada crawl and hit them all, tasting and comparing. The first, a little grocery store that’s been in the neighborhood forever, sells hot empanadas from a case by the register. On our crawl night, they had a seasonal pumpkin version that was so good I went back and got two more. The pumpkin was caramelized in deep, dark, sweet chunks, almost candied, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

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Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roulade with Pumpkin Spice Caramel Sauce

Early in our adult life, a former boyfriend and I couldn’t always afford to buy plane tickets home to Arizona for the holidays.  This made me a little sad, as Christmas is quite the thing in my family.  Being poor was depressing enough but missing our traditional holiday meals only compounded the situation.  No Christmas Eve oysters?  No pierogies?  No crazy cooking marathon with my mom or opening stockings on Christmas morning like when we were kids?  Exchanging gifts isn’t nearly as fun when you’re not there to see the recipients face.  Luckily we had some family nearby and many friends who were happy to invite us to their celebrations, and this helped.  One year, we were invited to the family home of a good friends girlfriend for what became a rather memorable Christmas.

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