Salad à la Paz

Sometime ago, Tattum blogged about what she had for lunch. I'm going to copy her and do the same. There is a salad that I put together for lunch, with no particular recipe in mind. The ingredients are what I had in my fridge that day -- romain lettuce, carrots, red onions, red cabbage, and tomatoes. For the dressing, I used Red Wine Vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, with salt and pepper to taste.

Paz

Salmon Baked in Foil

Salmon about to be baked in foil

Here’s a quick and easy salmon recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis. I love salmon and even before I took up the interest in cooking, preparing salmon featured in my very limited cooking repertoire. I had the simplest method – rub salt, pepper, and olive oil on the fish before putting it in the oven.

Well, this Salmon Baked in Foil recipe is not hard to prepare and adds extra ingredients (tomatoes, shallots, lemon juice, dried oregano and thyme) to the fish, which gives it an extra special taste and something more special to look at in its presentation.

Paz

Note:

* Instead of salmon, you can also use Halibut, Swordfish or Red Snapper fillets.

* When you use the fresh tomatoes, you don’t need to seed it.

* Use dry herbs for this recipe because the flavors are more intense than the fresh herbs.

Baked salmon straight from the oven

Salmon Baked in Foil

4 (5 ounces each) salmon fillets
2 teaspoons olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes, drained
2 chopped shallots
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle salmon with 2 teaspoons olive oil, salt, and pepper. Stir the tomatoes, shallots, 2 tablespoons of oil, lemon juice, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper in a medium bowl to blend.

Place a salmon fillet, oiled side down, atop a sheet of foil. Wrap the ends of the foil to form a spiral shape. Spoon the tomato mixture over the salmon. Fold the sides of the foil over the fish and tomato mixture, covering completely; seal the packets closed. Place the foil packet on a heavy large baking sheet. Repeat until all of the salmon have been individually wrapped in foil and placed on the baking sheet. Bake until the salmon is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Using a large metal spatula, transfer the foil packets to plates and serve.

The 23/5 meme

Sweetnicks has tagged me for an interesting new meme going around called 23/5.

Basically, the tagged blogger has to go to his or her 23rd post (or closest to), find the 5th sentence (or closest to), and then write something interesting about it on his or her blog.

Here are the Official Rules:

1. Delve into your blog archive.

2. Find you 23^rd post (or closest to).
   
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).

4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas...
   
5. Tag five people to do the same

I don’t have 23 posts yet. Instead, I have a 21^st post on Eggplant relish.

Here is the 5^th sentence from that post:

“That’s funny; they didn’t look like eggplants to me.”

Hmmm… Now, let’s see: What can I write that’s interesting from this sentence? I don’t think there’s a meaning, hidden text or agenda in my fifth sentence. Okay. So, this is what I can come up with:

Funny: Me cooking. ;-)

Interesting & Fun: I’m constantly learning something new about food and cooking – I really didn’t know that there were different-looking types of eggplants.

I have two new vocabulary words – aubergine and courgette….

I now pass the meme to:

Angelika at The flying Apple

Michele at Oswego Tea

Melissa at The Traveler’s Lunchbox

Mrs. D at Belly-timber

Tattum at Tattum’s Kitchen

I hope you’re able to participate. I’m sure that you will come up with something better with your 5^th sentence from your 23^rd post than I did. ;-) Have fun! Thanks, Sweetnicks!

Paz

Eggplant Relish

Three eggplants and a yellow squash

The other day, my mother brought home two huge bags of fruit that she bought at the Farmer's Market. There were a few vegetables, which I wasn't familiar with and she wasn't around for me to ask what they were.

I enlisted the help of Melissa, who took a look at the photos that I'd e-mailed her and immediately replied, "They all look like eggplant to me -- different (heirloom) varieties."

Eggplants? That's funny; they didn't look like the eggplant with which I was familiar -- dark, purple, almost black in color -- the kind that I'd see in the vegetable section of the grocery store or supermarket. Until then, I'd never seen white, green, or light purple eggplants. Interesting.

Now, how would I prepare my eggplants? I’d never done that before. I didn’t want them to just look pretty sitting in the fridge and then eventually spoil. What to do? What to do?

I happened to check out Simply Recipes, and by coincidence there was a recipe for Eggplant Relish, staring at me from my computer screen. Now, I knew what I’d make with the eggplants.

This recipe is another winner. It’s simple and tasty. I decided to serve on top of toasted French baguette slices. Next time, I’ll try bread sticks. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can also serve%2

Chicken Peanut Curry

Checking out the Simply Recipes blog for the first time the other day, I came across a recipe called Chicken Peanut Curry based on a West African meal. The recipe brought back another childhood food memory, which I didn’t mention in my meme.

I found it interesting because although I'd never cooked the food before, I did remember that the ingredients listed in the Chicken Peanut Curry recipe were totally different than the one used in the dish I ate as a child in Africa.

Not only were the ingredients different, the name, Chicken Peanut Curry, was also different from the one used in Africa. Here are the differences:

Current recipe:

Name: Chicken Peanut Curry

Ingredients: Curry powder, scallions, Serrano chili peppers, coriander seeds, mint and cilantro

Childhood recipe:

Name: Groundnut soup (but in the U.S. we call it Peanut Butter Soup because we use peanut butter)

Ingredients: Peanuts – roasted and finely ground, fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, shrimp powder, goat meat, fresh fish, smoked fish, or chicken

We hadn’t had this dish in a very long time – a couple of years, in fact. So, I decided to surprise my mother with the meal and see her reaction.

With the exception of one of the main ingredients – green onions – I found everything easily at the supermarket. I saw Spanish onions, red onions, white onions, yellow onions but no “green onions.” Nope, I couldn’t find them.

I returned home from grocery shopping and mentioned my dilemma to my sister who said she thought that green onions were scallions, but wasn’t sure. So, I looked it up on the Internet. She was right.

I couldn’t find “green onions.” You know why? Because there are no green-looking onions, that’s why! Silly me! Green onions are also known as SCALLIONS! Why don't people just say scallions? At least, I know what those are. And why does it have two names? I know: Just to confuse me, that’s why. ;-) I made a second trip back to the grocery store to pick up my scallions/green onions.

After obtaining all the ingredients, the rest of the cooking process was uneventful. I prepared the meal according to the instructions. Even as I stirred in the peanut butter into the pot, I didn’t think it would taste like the groundnut soup of my childhood days. Finally trying the Chicken Peanut Curry, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted like the soup I remembered.

When my mother first tasted the food, she exclaimed in surprise, “This tastes like Peanut Butter Soup!” She went on to finish her meal. I didn’t have to ask her how it tasted because when she finished, she decreed the meal as, “Very good.” I think I pleasantly surprised her.

I told her the ingredients I used and she confirmed that she normally wouldn’t prepare the Groundnut Soup that way, but we agreed that the end results were the same – the Chicken Peanut Curry tasted similar and good. That’s what counts.

Paz

Chicken Peanut Curry

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken pieces, cut into 1 1/2 inch wide chunks or strips
1/2 cup flour
4 Tbsp curry powder
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground peppercorns
1/2 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 serrano chili peppers, seeded, de-veined, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup peanut butter (if using freshly ground peanuts, add 2 teaspoons of sugar)
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
8 green onions, chopped, greens included
1/3 cup each finely chopped mint and cilantro
2 limes cut into wedges

1 - Rinse chicken and pat dry. In a small sturdy paper bag, combine the flour, curry powder, salt and pepper. Shake well. Add the chicken pieces and shake to coat well.

2 - Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Cook 5-10 minutes (depending on size of chicken pieces) tossing occasionally to cook chicken evenly. Add the ginger, garlic, chili pepper and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth to the saucepan. Cook for 3 minutes, scraping the pan with a spatula and stirring to combine everything well.

3 - Add the peanut butter, stirring quickly to incorporate it with the chicken. Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of broth slowly, stirring continuously to maintain an even texture. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Right before serving, add the coriander and green onions. Salt to taste.

4 - Serve with rice. Top each serving with fresh cilantro and mint. Squeeze a little lime juice over it as well.

Serves 6-8.

The Perfect Way to Cook a Hard Boiled Egg

Johanna has a delicious-sounding post on her blog for a recipe for Ham bagels with the creamiest scrambled eggs. Yum! She also mentions how she found the way to make her perfect soft boiled eggs, as well as celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay's revealed secret to make the perfect scrambled egg.

This got me thinking about what I'd heard American T.V. chef Sara Moulton said about making the perfectly hard boiled egg on one of her cooking episodes called Seafood Sandwiches:

Basically, you put the egg(s) in cold water; bring the water up to a boil; take the pot off the heat and cover the pot; Leave the egg(s) in the pot for about 17 minutes; then throw the egg(s) in an ice bath; Let the egg(s) cool off completely; and then peel the egg(s) under cold running water.

I hadn't realized that one had to go through all those steps to make the perfect hard boiled egg. A few days ago, when I was about to boil an egg, I decided to try Sara's technique. My egg came out just fine. No complaints from me!

Does you have your own version of making a perfectly cooked egg -- hard boiled, soft boiled, scrambled or otherwise? Please share!

Paz

Shrimp with Garlic

Here's a very good and simple recipe for shrimp with garlic by Mark Bittman. He recommends that you serve it with crusty bread to sop up the flavored oil. Yum! I'm happy to write that it's a hit in my household.

Paz

Shrimp with Garlic

1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil

6 cloves garlic slivered
1 bay leaf
Pinch to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or good paprika, or to taste
1 pound large (21/30) shrimp, peeled
Salt
Chopped fresh parsely leaves, for garnish
Lemon wedges

1. Put the oil in a medium skillet and turn the heat to medium. A minute later, when the oil is warm, add the garlic, bay leaf, and cayenne and cook until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Raise the heat to high and add the shrimp; cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer the entire contents to a shallow bowl, season to taste with salt, and garnish with chopped parsley and lemon wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Rice and Beans: Moros y Cristianos (Arroz con Habichuelas)

I saw this recipe demonstrated on Sara Moulton's cooking show, on the Food Network channel. She had guest chef Juventino (love the name Juventino!) Avila cooking with her, and they prepared dishes mainly from the Dominican Republic. Out of the three recipes prepared on the show, I tried the rice and beans recipe first. I’ve made this recipe twice and both times, my rice and beans have come out GREAT!

The recipe includes black beans, long grained white rice, diced white onion, diced green peppers, garlic, store-bought sofrito, oregano, ground cumin, chicken stock and salt and pepper.

The second time I made the arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans), just before I started to cook, I discovered that I’d forgotten to buy the sofrito, which is an important part of the recipe because it is the base of Dominican cuisine (and a lot of Latino cuisine, in general). Sofrito consists of vegetables, spices and herbs that are sautéed together and cause the flavors to come out even more.

Luckily, I had the recipe for fresh sofrito from Latina T.V. Chef Daisy Martinez. I had most of the ingredients on hand (and what I didn’t have, I improvised). So, I ended up making my own sofrito from scratch. I’m telling you, I impressed myself.

Now that I’ve tasted the difference between the store-bought and freshly made sofrito, I find that I prefer the fresh one to use in my cooking; and now that I know how to make it, I don’t mind going the extra step to make it.

Paz

Rice and beans: Moros y Cristianos (Arroz con Habichuelas)

1 1/2 cups Goya dried black beans (or canned pre-cooked)
3 cups long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups white onion, diced
2 1/2 cups green peppers, very small dice
1/4 cup olive oil, for sauteing
4 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1/2 cup sofrito
1/2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper

Cover the dry beans with water in a large pot. Do not salt the water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until tender, about 1 hour.

Rinse the rice with cold water until the water runs clear.

Use a large, 8-quart covered stockpot. Saute the onion and green pepper in the olive oil until tender. Add the garlic and sofrito and saute another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, black beans, oregano, cumin and bay leaf. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring gently.

Add the chicken stock and the rinsed rice. Season with plenty of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until rice is fully cooked.

Sofrito

Makes about 4 cups.

If you can't find ajices dulces or culantro, don't sweat. Up the amount of cilantro to 1 ½ bunches.

2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks 3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or cubanelle peppers 16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled 1 large bunch cilantro, washed 7 to 10 ajices dulces (see note below), optional 4 leaves of culantro (see note below), or another handful cilantro 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks

Chop the onion and cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients one at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully. Freeze sofrito in ½ cup batches in sealable plastic bags. They come in extremely handy in a pinch. You can even add sofrito straight from the freezer to the pan in any recipe that calls for it in this book.

Pantry Notes: Ajices Dulces, also known as cachucha or ajicitos are tiny sweet peppers with a hint of heat. They range in color from light to medium green and yellow to red and orange. They add freshness and an herby note to the sofrito and anything you cook. Do not mistake them for Scotch bonnet or Habanero chilies (which they look like)—those two pack a wallop when it comes to heat. If you can find ajicitos in your market, add them to sofrito. If not, up the cilantro and add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Culantro is not cilantro. It has long leaves with tapered tips and serrated edges. When it comes to flavor, culantro is like cilantro times ten. It is a nice, not essential addition to sofrito. (See Sources for both the above.)

Diced onions and green pepper in pan

Beans and sofrito added to the pan

Rice added to the pan

Brazilian Salsa Vinaigrette

I’m still on a high from the Brazilian Day festival and decided to make a Brazilian salsa vinaigrette during the week.

I LOVE this salsa, taken from the recipe in Cook Brazil. It's simple, fresh-tasting and as always – an important factor for me – EASY to make. The recipe recommends that you eat it with meat (like churrasco, the Brazilian barbeque), fish or sausage, but I ate it with my pollo frito (fried chicken) and I liked it just fine.

I used a large tomato, red and green bell peppers, bought from the Farmers Market (Oh, so good and fresh!). Since I like red onions, I used one, because the recipe didn’t specify what kind of onion to use.

Highly satisfied with the results, I plan on making it again, next time with the churrasco.

Paz

Brazilian Salsa Vinaigrette

Note: all diced ingredients = ¼ inch

1 cup of diced green and red bell peppers.

½ cup diced onions

1 cup diced ripe tomatoes.

¼ cup white wine vinegar.

2 tbs of olive oil

PREPARE:

In a bowl, mix green and red peppers, onions, tomatoes, vinegar and olive oil.

Hint: add salt to the salsa right before serving it. Salt dehydrates the tomatoes in the mixture if let for long time.

SERVE:

Brazilian Vinaigrette Salsa is great with Brazilian Barbecues or on top of any meat, fish and sausage.

SERVING SIZE: 8 portions

Craig's Lime-Garlic Grilled Chicken

Stephen has this enticing chicken recipe on his blog. I’d recently made Pollo Frito (Fried Chicken), and one might think that it was too soon to make another chicken dish. Not so. I didn’t mind, and neither did my family.

The dish consists of three major ingredients – the chicken, lime, and spices. I had the last two and bought chicken thighs in the morning.

According to the instructions, I started out by placing the chicken in a plastic bag (I made it a double bag, just in case the first bag busted.) and leaving it to marinate in fresh limejuice and chopped garlic in the fridge.

I also placed the bag of chicken on a plate, just in case there was an accident – like the bag busting – causing the ingredients to spill all over the fridge. What? No, I’m not paranoid or have some obsessive-compulsive problem. I just think that it pays to be careful, given the chance. After all, it’s no fun cleaning out a fridge and even less fun cleaning out a fridge that reeks of uncooked chicken and its marinade.

After five hours, I pulled out the chicken, mixed the spices together and rubbed the mixture on it.

The recipe calls for the chicken to be grilled over “a medium-hot charcoal fire with some hardwood chunks added for smoke.” I’m sure that the charcoal fire and wood gives the grilled chicken an extra special taste. However, I live in the city and don’t have an outdoor grill. Instead, I have what I consider one of the best kitchen inventions for people like me or people who don’t feel like grilling outside – a grill pan.

My grill pan is small, and not the nice long-sized ones that I see the T.V. chefs use on the Food Network station (which I watch frequently), but it is quite handy. With a little prayer that my chicken would grill nicely, I placed the spice-rubbed pieces in the pan.

Lime-Garlic chicken in the grill pan

Immediately they started to sizzle and grill. Soon, I turned the pieces over (just once as the recipe calls for) and after 25 minutes, the chicken was ready!

I had wanted to try the asparagus recipe that Stephen suggests to eat with the chicken, but forgot to buy the asparagus. So, I decided to make steamed broccoli and served the meal with a salad on the side.

The food was delicious. Unlike my pollo frito, which had a lemony taste, I could taste the lime on the grilled chicken. The sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, and paprika made a special coating on the chicken and the lime seemed to bring everything together.

For some time after the meal, everyone fell silent. I’m guessing that they felt the same way that I did – satiated after a good meal.

Paz

Craig's Lime-Garlic Grilled Chicken

Pollo Frito (Fried Chicken)

I felt like having some fried chicken (pollo frito), something I haven’t had in a long time. Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network channel has a nice recipe, which I tried for the second time.

The first time I prepared this recipe, I didn’t fry the chicken in the oil long enough. The outside was golden brown but the inside was still raw. I tried to ignore that fact and act as if everything was fine. My sister brought me back to reality very fast! She refused to eat the chicken. I was highly annoyed. She could have eaten it, after all the work I went through slaving over a hot stove with a pot of hot oil! Just joking. I don’t blame her.

I’m happy to say that today, my chicken came out perfectly! I had no problems putting the ingredients together and results came out very well – a light lemony-tasting fried chicken.

Paz

Pollo Frito (Fried Chicken)

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (2 to3 lemons, depending on size)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (3 1/2-pound) whole frying chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups olive oil (approximate amount)
1 cup all-purpose flour (approximate amount)
Lemon wedges, for garnish
6 sprigs fresh Italian parsley, for garnish

In a large casserole dish, whisk the lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt to blend. Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours and up to 1 day, turning the chicken pieces occasionally.

In a large cast iron frying pan or other heavy frying pan, add enough oil to come 1/3-inch up the sides of the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, drain the marinade from the chicken. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Sprinkle with pepper. Working in 2 batches, dredge the chicken in the flour to coat completely. Shake off the excess flour and then carefully add the chicken to the hot oil. Fry until the chicken is golden brown and just cooked through, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a paper towel-lined plate to drain the excess oil.

Arrange the fried chicken on a warm platter and serve with the lemon wedges and parsley.

Sphagetti a la Arrabiata

The other day, Tattum prepared Sphagetti a la Arrabiata. It looked so delicious (and of course, easy to make) that I decided to make it, too. I love when I see a recipe and have all the ingredients already in my kitchen! Yes!

Note: Tattum’s recipe calls for the following:

1 clove of garlic: Instead I used 4 cloves (I like garlic) ;-)

1 can crushed tomatoes: Instead I used 1 can stewed tomatoes

2 spoons of sugar: I used 2 teaspoons and that was fine, but next time I think I’ll just use 1 tsp sugar.

I loved that this recipe was easy and fast to make. The salty tastes of the anchovies and black olives blended well with the sweet taste of the sugar and tomatoes. I used thin spaghetti and it tasted great with the sauce. Best of all the dish was filling!

Thanks, Tattum, I liked this recipe a lot!

Paz

Tattum's Salad

Sometime ago, Tattum posted what she had for lunch. It was a simple, yet special-looking salad that she calls Green Salad with Honey and Lime Dressing. What intrigued me was the dressing – honey, the juice of one lime, olive oil and salt. I liked the sound of that combination and wanted to try it.

Her salad consisted of lettuce, fennel, chives, red onion and broccoli (I love broccoli and used steamed broccoli that I’d made earlier). I added red cabbage to this.

I was not disappointed with the dressing. The honey lent a nice taste to the tangy quality of the lime and mixed with the olive oil, it made a good salad dressing.

So that's what I had for lunch, too. . ;-)

Paz

Brazilian Day Festival 2005

Pão de queixo (cheese roll)

Instead of my cooking adventures, I'd like to write about my eating adventures that took place last Sunday, September 4.

Every year, during the first week of September in New York City, a Brazilian Day Festival is held to celebrate Brazil's independence.

A few of my friends and I have started what has become an annual tradition, where we get together and attend the festival. Each year, we have more and more fun. It is said to be the biggest Brazilian celebration outside of Brazil. All kinds of people attend the festival – young, old, babies, Brazilians, and non Brazilians (although I believe that everyone becomes Brazilian for the day). It’s a true multicultural event.

The air is charged with excitement, perfumed with the cooking street foods, and filled with the voices of the celebrants. Everywhere I look, I see a sea of yellow and green – the Brazilian colors.

This year, by the time I arrived at the meeting place to join my friends, it was very crowded. As we walked down the street to look at the displays of food, music, books, jewelry and other items, at times, we could barely walk down the street in some spots.

We bought Brazilian-related mementos and tasted some of the different Brazilian food.

First we passed by a stand that sold the traditional Brazilian dish, feijodao. The closest translation for this Portuguese word is “a mixture of beans.” This is a black bean and pork stew. I’m interested in learning how to prepare it someday. At the moment, the recipe is intimidating-looking for me to make. Prominently displayed, a large sign advertised the food and let the public know the feijodao ingredients – pork, jerk beef, smoked chorizo, and black beans – and the foods served with it – rice, farofa (a seasoned manioc flour, which is used as a condiment), hot sauce, kale, and an orange slice.

Complete Feijoada list with all the trimmings

Serving feijoada, the traditional Brazilian dish

We tried some churro recheado com doce de leite, which tastes like a long donut topped with milk caramel.

Churro recheado com doce de leite

We also nibbled on pão de queixo, a cheese roll/bread (see the top photo). Both were very good.

Some of us had a grilled shrimp served on a stick.

Camarão (shrimp)

One food stand sold pastels – deep-fried pastries – with different fillings, like beef, shrimp, bananas, Hearts of Palm, and cheese. I’d also like to learn how to make this. When I got to the stand there was only one left and that was soon sold to a customer luckier than me (the person in front of me). I could have waited for the vendor to pull more out and heat them, but I changed my mind and moved along. There were more things to see and eat down the street.

Pastels (deep-fried pastries)

We tasted some brigadeiro, which means Brigadier in English and is named after Eduardo Gomes, a dark-haired, blue-eyed, handsome Brazilian Air Force commander and politician. The brigadeiro is a chocolate fudge-type candy, topped with chocolate sprinkles.

Brigadeiro (Chocolate fudge sweet)

As we continued to walk, we passed different stands preparing churrasco, the traditional Brazilian barbeque. The difference between American barbeque and Brazilian barbeque is that Americans grill the meat with sauce, while Brazilians grill with salt and water (and sometimes with garlic and lime.). Churrasco is normally served with white rice, Brazilian salsa vinaigrette, and the condiment farofa.

Preparing Churrasco (Brazilian BBQ)

More Churrasco preparation

We passed other food vendors preparing Brazilian style kabobs on a grill. We didn’t stop to buy any of the meat dishes, but they looked impressive as the men turned them over on the fire and the smoke billowed out on us. We were sure by the time we got home, we’d smell like meat and smoke. I did for sure. My dogs will verify this as they sniffed me properly.

Brazilian-style kabobs

We ended our food tasting by sipping Caipirinha, a traditional Brazilian drink that tastes cool, sweet, and tart at the same time. Translated into English to mean “little country girl,” the main ingredients include sugar, lime and cachaça (a Brazilian sugarcane liquor) served over ice. After walking in the sun, among an intense crowd, it was most refreshing.

Caipirinha (the traditional Brazilian drink)

I returned home exhausted with sore feet, but happy and satiated. Despite the heavy crowd in attendance, it was a good and fun, lively, musical and food-filled day.

Here are two recipes. One for Caipirinha from the Food Network channel and the second for Brigadeiros, from Cook Brazil. They’re both good for any kind of occasions and worth tasting at least once.

CAIPIRINHA

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1 lime, cut into wedges
Ice cubes
2 shots Cachaça or white rum
Club soda

Crush sugar and lime wedges in bottom of glass. Add ice cubes then top off with cachaça and a dash of club soda.

BRIGADEIRO

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon margarine

3 tablespoon cocoa powder

COOK:

Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, margarine and cocoa powder.

Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring.

Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch balls.

Roll the balls over chocolate jimmies [chocolate sprinkles] to decorate.

Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the balls easily. If the balls don't hold the shape and flat down like coins, it means that you did not cook enough. Cook additional five minutes, take a small sample and dip it in a glass with cold water. If you cooked enough, this sample should hold the shape after cooling down in the water.

SERVE:

Place the balls in candy cups to serve.

They are great for birthday parties.

SERVING SIZE: 40 candies.

Another Peaches Stuffed with Amaretti Cookies Recipe

I had some peaches and Amaretti cookies left over after making Angelika’s Pesche ripiene al forno. By coincidence, I saw a slightly different yet similar recipe on the Food Network channel by Giada De Laurentiis. She calls it Peaches stuffed with Amaretti cookies. Inspired again by Angelika’s recipe and my success in making it, I decided to make this second recipe.

Like Angelika’s recipe, this one was also easy and delicious.

I’m loving all these peach desserts! Angelika, I fear that you’ve created a peach desserts-making monster in me!

Paz

Peaches Stuffed with Amaretti Cookies

1 1/2 ounces amaretti cookies (about 12 small cookies)
3 ripe, firm peaches (about 5 ounces each), halved and pitted
3 teaspoons sugar (1/2 teaspoon per peach half)
3 teaspoons unsalted butter (1/2 teaspoon per peach half)
2 cups fresh whipped cream

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter the bottom of an 8-inch baking dish and set aside.

Using a melon baller, clean out the red flesh from the center of each peach. Arrange the peaches cut side up in the prepared dish. In the bowl of a food processor, add the amaretti cookies and pulse until finely crumbled. Divide the amaretti crumbs between the peaches. Fill the center of each peach with the amaretti cookie crumbs. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of sugar over each. Dot each peach with 1/2 teaspoon of butter.

Bake until the peaches are tender and the filling is crisp on top, about 30 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Pesche Ripiene al Forno

Recently Angelika of The flying Apple wrote a special post with me in mind. Thanks, Angelika! You certainly know how to make a gal feel special. ;-) In it, she featured the Italian dessert – Pesche ripiene al forno.

The main ingredients include ripe peaches, Amaretti cookies, almonds, mascarpone cheese, sugar, and egg yolks.

I decided to make the dessert and first went to purchase the main ingredients.

I had no problem finding the mascarpone cheese, because I’d used it for the first time for another recipe and now knew were to find it.

I went to one of the grocery stores in my neighborhood that usually sells good foods, fresh fruits and vegetables. Since I was making the dessert dedicated to me, I wanted the best and freshest ingredients.

I bought their peaches, which were large and good looking. There were more expensive than the peaches in the other neighborhood food stores, but I figured they’ be worth it. When I got home and took a bite from one of the peaches, it tasted awful – like cardboard and something else horrible. It turned out that they all tasted horrible and belonged in the garbage.

I later bought some peaches sold in the street. Unlike the first peaches, they were tastier and cheaper.

Peaches bought in the street -- ripe, tastier, and cheaper

Next, I looked for the Amaretti biscuits. I went to my neighborhood store, Milano, an Italian foods specialty store. I remembered my sister buying the cookies from there before. Except, this time, I couldn’t find them and the staff didn’t know what they were. What a wierd episode. I looked throughout the store on my own and found a bag labeled “The Original Quadrantini Amaretto Italian Selection.” I snatched two bags and paid for it without really examining them. When I arrived home and opened the bag, I discovered that I’d bought the wrong kind of cookies – Almond cream-filled wafers. Oh, no!

Amaretto wafers - I bought the wrong kind of cookies

I eventually found the right kind of Amaretti cookies at Zabars. Yay! Now, I was getting somewhere! Time to start making my pesche ripiene al forno! The rest of the dessert preparation was event-free.

Amaretti cookies - the right kind!
I greased my baking dish with butter, peeled my peaches, removed the pits, halved them, and put them in the dish. Then I made the Amaretti filling and put them in the peach centers.

Peaches with Amaretti cookies and almond filling
I made the cream topping and folded the mascarpone into it, as the instructions called for. Unlike my first time, I understood what “fold,” meant.
Peaches with filling and cream topping

I put the peaches in the preheated oven at 375ºF and 30 minutes later, I had my pesche ripiene al forno. Looking good - golden brown, bubbling warm cream! Thanks, Angelika. It was a fun and delicious cooking adventure.

Paz

The finished product from the oven - Pesche ripiene al forno

Gold Coast French Toast

As soon as I saw this simple and enticing recipe for French toast, posted by Heidi of 101 Cookbooks, I immediately knew that I had to try it. The recipe comes from one of her vintage cookbooks, The Spice Islands Cookbook.

What I like about this recipe is that I had all the ingredients (including the heart-shaped cookie cutter!) in my kitchen already. Also, it didn’t take a long time to assemble the ingredients or make the French toast. I’ve seen other recipes, which are more involved.

Heidi used Hawaiian sweet bread, but since I didn’t know what type of bread that is, I used challah bread.

The best part of my Gold Coast French Toast is that it tasted so good! I love it – I made my own food of love! ;-)

Paz

Tomato Feta Salad

This is a nice salad, demonstrated by the Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) on her Food Network cooking show. It’s excellent at summertime but really great at anytime. The ingredients are a good mix. One bite of the salad brings a cool, tangy taste to the tongue. The juice of the cherry tomatoes bursts in your mouth, taking away the sharp, salty edge of the feta cheese. The red onion is crunchy; the champagne vinegar and olive coats the fresh basil and parsley making them cool to the palate. The red of the cherry tomatoes, white of the feta cheese, purple of the red onion and green of the basil leaves and parsley provide cool and pleasing colors to look at. Best of all, it’s simple to make.

Tomato Feta Salad

3 pints (6 cups) cherry tomatoes
3/4 pound good feta cheese
1 small red onion, chopped
3 tablespoons white wine or Champagne vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place them in a large bowl. Dice the feta in 1/4-inch dice, crumbling it as little as possible. Add the feta to the tomatoes and then add the onion, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, and parsley. Toss carefully and salt, to taste, depending on the saltiness of the feta. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Paz

Grapefruit Granita

The summer days have been filled with hot and humid weather for me. Unbearable. I've learned to make this Grapefruit Granita recipe by Dave Lieberman from the Food Network station. It hits the spot -- It's cool, sweet, and has a hint of tart taste.

Recently, the weather has become cooler, but I plan on making this grapefruit granita a couple more times before the cold weather sets in.

Paz

Grapefruit Granita

2 1/2 cups fresh pink or ruby grapefruit juice, at room temperature
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup superfine sugar
Mint sprigs, for garnish

Combine juice, water and sugar in bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved. Pour liquid into a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Freeze until hard, about 3 to 4 hours.

To serve, scrape with a fork and spoon the scrapings into small chilled martini glasses or small glass bowls. Garnish with small sprigs of fresh mint.