A Merry Recipe

Take your taste buds on a flavorful journey with Don Pepino Pizza Sauce Picadillo Puff Pastry Empanadas! This is my grand finale for the Don Pepino Pizzeria Bloggers Challenge! Boy, have I had some tasty fun!!! Picadillo Puff Pastry Empanadas are packed with savory ground pork, warm spices, sweet raisins, tangy olives, and robust Don Pepino Pizza Sauce, this Latin-inspired filling is wrapped in light, flaky puff pastry and baked to golden perfection. Crisp on the outside an

Don Pepino’s vine-ripened New Jersey tomatoes, sweet garlic, and signature spices already have the rich depth needed for a fantastic sauce—so I transformed it into a vibrant, crunchy, citrusy cocktail sauce with a kick. By balancing the sweet tomato base with prepared horseradish, fresh lemon zest, snappy celery, scallions, and a pop of fresh cilantro, you get a sauce that’s infinitely more complex and delicious than anything out of a bottle.

While setting up my cameras to shoot an Antipasto Pizza, (the original name) I got distracted by lighting and angles and completely messed up my assembly plan. Instead of artfully displaying the colorful green olives, kalamata olives, artichokes, roasted red peppers, and sliced Fresno peppers on top of the cheese, I layered them straight onto the Don Pepino Pizza Sauce, topped them with Calabrese salami, and buried everything under a solid layer of shredded mozzarella.

Here’s the deal….meatballs aren’t my favorite dish nor does pizza or pot pie call my name! However, Italian Meatball Pot Pie sounded like a great dish for the Don Pepino’s Blogger Recipe Challenge. After all, it had a catchy name and a sense of culinary adventure. The first time I made the meatball pie magic happened! The pizza sauce smothering the homemade Italian sausage and beef meatballs along with the lemon basil ricotta won my palate.This dish is crave-able!

Packed with bold zesty flavors and classic pizzeria appeal, these Don Pepino’s Hot Italian Sliders feature warm, pillowy rolls loaded with savory layers of ham, Calabrese salami, and pepperoni. Melted gooey mozzarella bridges every bite, perfectly balanced by a tangy mix of sweet roasted peppers, fiery Fresno chiles, pepperoncini, and green olives. Brushed with a rich, garlic-and-herb butter glaze and baked until golden brown!