pão e queijo

Give thanks

 


I know, I've been kind of absent lately.  To be honest, I haven't had much recipe inspiration lately.  The past few times I've had to make my weekly grocery list, I've spent various hours browsing my cookbooks, my bookmarked recipes, and magazines.  And it's been a flop.  Also, seeing as I will be going home in a couple of weeks, I don't want to stock up too much. 

What I have been making:  Two apple pies (YES!!!), one for Gustavo and his family and the other for a friend. From the awesome King Arthur Flour Baker's Banter blog.  Let me just say, best pie crust recipe ever.  I pondered whether to post my small adaptations of the recipe here, but decided their detailed descriptions and photo guide are superior.  I made chocolate chip cookies last week which got fought over in class.  Dulce de leche brownies with  a friend of mine.  This superbly yummy eggplant flatbread pizza (I added quite a bit of modifications, and goat cheese!) from Bon Apétit.  Banana walnut pancakes that taste like banana nut muffins in a griddle cake, topped with an orange-honey-butter sauce (blog post probably coming soon).  And currently I have two loaves of Peter Reinhart's overnight technique sandwich loaves rising on my counter. 

Ok, I didn't forget it was Thanksgiving, actually, I kind of did until Gustavo sent me a message wishing me a Happy Thanksgiving around 11:30.  This is my fourth or fifth Thanksgiving that I haven't spent at home, so I guess you could say I'm kind of out of the loop.  And as you all know, I'm not a huge fan of Thanksgiving munch.  Besides the pie (remember I made pecan pie back in August for my birthday?  I could eat it every day).   Yesterday as I was explaining to Gustavo what Thanksgiving was all about (historically), he jokingly asked me if I was a pilgrim or a Native American.  I said I thought I was a pilgrim.  He thinks he's a Native American. 

In light of this wonderful holiday, which after all doesn't have to do all with food, here is a list of some of the things I am most grateful.  Remember, don't just count your blessings on Thanksgiving!

• My dad being able to recover from his health problem, and the miracle of him feeling much better!
• Love: from friends, family, Gustavo, God, myself.
• My good health, which is worth more than gold.
• Summer just around the corner.
• Always having a roof over my head and food to eat. 
• Being able to see, hear, feel, smell, and taste (oh yes, taste!)
• Going home for Christmas to be with my family, including my adorable nieces. 
• The gift of cooking and baking. 
• The gift of laughter and having a good laugh.
• Almost being done with this semester and my degree.
• Growth, forgiveness, and the ability to change if you want to. 

What are you thankful for? 

Breakfast heaven (Orange-scented buttermilk pancakes with strawberry coulis)

So, I don't want to brag… but.

These are by far the fluffiest pancakes I've ever had. 

The orange zest makes them ultra moist and melt-in-your-mouth good. 

Instructions::

1) Put on some good music.

2) Dance around your kitchen while your KitchenAid takes care of beating the eggs and buttermilk. 

3) Make the coulis while the griddle is heating or you are cookin' the flapjacks.

4) Try the first pancake after it comes off the griddle… just be careful to not eat them all before sitting down to breakfast. 

5) If you're going to snap some pics, do it quick!  The pancakes tend to cool fast. 

6) Enjoy the fluffiest pancakes of your life, topped with strawberry goodness.  This is what I like to call breakfast heaven. 

Orange-scented buttermilk pancakes with strawberry coulis
Pancake recipe heavily adapted from Gourmet; coulis recipe adapted from What Megan's Making

Note:  The original pancake recipe said it would make fourteen 3-inch pancakes.  I only got 9.  If you are serving more than a couple of people, or hungry people, double or triple the recipe!

Makes nine 3-inch pancakes and about 2 cups of coulis (You can also double or halve the coulis recipe). 

Ingredients
    For the pancakes:
Zest of 1 orange
2 TBSP sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 large egg
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
Vegetable oil for the griddle
    For the strawberry coulis:
2 cups halved hulled strawberries (If large, quartered) (You may use frozen)
¼ cup water
3 TBSP sugar
1 TBSP fresh lime or lemon juice

To make the pancakes: In a small-medium mixing bowl, combine the orange zest and sugar.  Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until well blended and fragrant.  Add the  flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk well until blended.  Set aside.

Beat the egg and buttermilk in your stand mixer until light and foamy, about 3 minutes (using the whisk attachment).  In three intervals, mix in the dry ingredients on LOW speed until just combined. 

Heat a skillet or griddle (I like to use my cast-iron skillet) over moderate heat, then brush with oil.  Pour batter in the amount you desire onto the griddle and cook, turning only once, until golden (about 2 minutes per side).  Keep warm by stacking or keeping in a preheated 200F oven. 

To make the strawberry coulis: Purée all ingredients in blender until very smooth.  Then press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.  Discard solids and seeds.  (My mesh sieve wasn't fine enough and the seeds went right through- it was fine though). 

 

A holiday confession (Spinach lasagna roll-ups)

I have a confession. 

I'm not a huge fan of Thanksgiving, a.k.a. "Turkey day." 

I LOVE reading food blogs and all, but honestly, I'm getting a bit sick of the pumpkin posts, the sweet potatoes, and butternut squash, not to mention another non-fav of mine, turkey (I am a vegetarian, after all). 

I think the only things I really enjoy about a Thanksgiving dinner (the holiday itself is fine) are the cranberry relish, rolls, and dessert.  I hate the gooey vegetable sweetness of mushy sweet potatoes and marshmallows and all the other foods I mentioned above.  Sorry, guys. 

The good news is, I do get pretty pumped about Christmas.  Within the next few weeks you will be sure to see a Christmas baking marathon around here.  And there will be expert help from my family, seeing as I will be going home in less than a month! 

The dishes you can expect to see on here in the following couple of weeks in preparation for (ugh) Turkey Day are a caramel apple tart and crusty dinner rolls.  No promises but we'll try!  Anyways, here's a not very Thanksgiving-ish recipe for you to try.  If you love lasagna but hate the fuss, this recipe if for you! 

 

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

Makes 8 rolls, serving about 4.  Inspired by a recipe on The Kitchn 

Ingredients

8 lasagna noodles

1 cup homestyle ricotta

¾ cup cheese (I used Parmesan, Mozzarella and Manchego; try your favorite blend)

2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1 cup spaghetti sauce (your favorite brand, or homemade- next time I'd use more)

Spices to taste (I use salt, pepper and dried oregano)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 8-inch square baking dish.

Cook the lasagna noodles until al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water.  When ready, drain, then rinse under cold water, and drain again. 

Mix together the ricotta, half of cheese mixture, baby spinach, and spices.

Lay your noodles on the counter or cutting board and spread on cheese/ spinach mixture.

Roll noodles from bottom to top, and place in pan, seam side down, side by side. Pour tomato sauce over the rolls, and sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.

Cook in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.

Next time: I would use more tomato sauce (maybe 1 ½ or 2 cups), spreading some on the bottom of the pan before adding the lasagna rolls.  I was a bit surprised there was no need to cook the spinach before adding it to the cheese mixture, and it tasted fine, but maybe next time I'd dry steaming it or cooking it in a skillet until wilted.  Also, salt is important here!

 

Play time (Giant lime-glazed lime poppy seed muffins)

I love Wednesdays and Thursdays when I don't have classes and get to play around in the kitchen. It's even better when you're not planning on making something, but get a craving and just happen to have the ingredients on hand!  I got 15 limes for just over a dollar this week and had some poppy seeds in my spice bowl, so when I came across Dorie Greenspan's recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins I knew it was meant to be. 

You see, I haven't had lemon poppy seed muffins since I was little.  And to be honest, I didn't really care for them.  They were too grown-up tasting.  Here we don't get lemons, so why not use limes?  The zing and zest of the limes, combined with the mysterious linger of poppy seeds is incredible.  Ice the muffins with a powdered sugar-lime glaze and you've got a fragrant snack for any time of the day. 

P.S.  When I have my own café, these are sure to be on the menu! 

Giant lime-glazed lime poppy seed muffins
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours

Ingredients
⅔ cup sugar
Grated zest and juice of 1 large or 2 small limes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup plain yogurt (may substitute sour cream)
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 TBSP poppy seeds

For the icing:
1 cup powdered confectioners' sugar, sifted
2-3 TBSP fresh lime juice

Preheat the oven to 400F and place the rack in the middle of the oven.  Grease a  6-cup jumbo muffin pan (you may use a normal 12-cup muffin pan). 

In a large mixing bowl, rub the sugar and lime zest together with your fingertips to moisten the sugar.  It should be very fragrant.  Whisk in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lime juice, and melted butter until well blended.  Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture and using a rubber spatula (or whisk), stir gently until just blended.  Do not over-mix.  Add the poppy seeds. 

Fill the muffin cups about ⅔ full, dividing the batter evenly between them.  For jumbo muffins, bake in preheated oven for 22-24 minutes.  For regular muffins 18-20.  They are done when the tops are golden and a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Cool muffins for 5 minutes in their pan on a rack.  Remove the muffins carefully and cool completely on a wire rack. 

To make the glaze and ice the muffins:  Put the powdered sugar in a small mixing bowl and add about 1 ½ TBSP of the lime juice.  Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar.  Add enough lemon juice, a tiny bit at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon.  To ice the muffins, they must be completely cool.  I put all of the glaze in a ziplock bag, zipped it closed (very important!), cut a small hole in one of the corners, and drizzled the icing over the muffins.  You may also ice the tops completely.

 

This past week (Broccoli mushroom tortellini casserole)

October was a pretty nice month in terms of rainfall.  Just when we thought that summer was right around the corner, we got hit by hurricane Tomas.  Last Wednesday night, we had torrential downpour that created mudslides and flooding all over the country.  While I slept peacefully, hundreds of houses were being carried away by rivers.  The next morning, the news announced that twenty people had been confirmed dead and there were 14 missing.  The country was devastated. 

We decided to go to the beach as planned, hoping that the weather would clear up.  Early Friday morning, we packed our bags and headed for the coast.  The rain didn't let up all day.  But we didn't let that ruin our vacation (and the birthday celebration for Gustavo's mom) and luckily Saturday and Sunday were absolutely beautiful! 

I haven't been able to cook or bake much lately, so I'm totally needing some kitchen time!  I made this casserole a few days ago… it's warm, creamy, and filling.  Perfect for cold weather and rainy (or snowy!) days.



Broccoli mushroom tortellini casserole
Inspired by a recipe from BigOven

Ingredients
8 oz tortellini (your favorite kind- I used cheese-filled)
2 TBSP butter
1 small-medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 small bunch fresh broccoli (or ½ large bunch), chopped
½ lb mushrooms, caps only, sliced or chopped
Heaping ¼ tsp salt or to taste
Fresh black pepper
2 TBSP dry white wine (optional)
1 egg, beaten (optional)
1 ½ cups cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup buttermilk
¾ cup fine bread crumbs (see note below on how-to)
Grated cheese for topping (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease an 8 x 8-inch square baking pan. 

Cook the tortellini in abundant salted boiling water until about half-done.  Drain and rinse under cold water.  Drain again and set aside.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onions and garlic.  Saute for about 5 minutes and then add broccoli, mushrooms, salt, and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the broccoli is bright green and just tender.  Remove from heat and add white wine.  In a large bowl, beat together the egg with the cream cheese and buttermilk.  Add tortellini, sauteed vegetables, and half of the bread crumbs.  Mix well.  Spread into the prepared pan and top with remaining bread crumbs and if desired, grated cheese.  Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for 15 minutes more. 

How to make your own breadcrumbs: Use a good quality loaf of bread (unsliced).  Tear off the crust with your hands.  Tear or chop the bread into approximately 1-inch cubes.  Place the cubes in your food processor and process, using the metal blade attachment, until they are fine crumbs. 

Note- two minor adjustments that I would make next time: a) Add the broccoli to the pan first; then the mushrooms (not both at the same time).  The broccoli takes a bit longer to cook and b) Either not cover the baking dish with foil or toast the breadcrumbs beforehand.  They were a bit pale and untoasted.

 

List-making (Quesadillas with Manchego, roasted red peppers and pesto)

 

Anyone knows me well is aware that I love list-making.  Every night, I make a to-do list for the next day.  I have a wish list, lists of food I want to make, and many, many more lists. 

 

 

Here are a "few" of the things on my "food I want to make" list:

    •    Croissants
    •    Soft pretzels
    •    Danishes
    •    Bagels
    •    Monkey bread
    •    Yeasted coffee cake
    •    Pecan sticky buns
    •    Dinner rolls
    •    Ciabatta
    •    Sourdough
    •    Artisan baguettes
    •    Scones
    •    Yogurt cake
    •    Pound cake
    •    Apple dumplings
    •    Lattice pie
    •    Doughnuts
    •    Molten chocolate cakes
    •    Tres leches
    •    Alfajores (Dulce de leche sandwich cookies)
    •    Coconut layer cake
    •    Decorated cakes
    •    Pillow cookies (Bakerella)
    •    Oreo balls
    •  Tons of different brownies (filled with candy pieces, with chocolate chip cookie dough, Snickers             brownies, Smores brownies, Nutella brownies, Salted caramel brownies, brownies with Oreo             chunks)
    •    Cake pops
    •    Rugelach
    •    Biscuits
    •    Gougéres
    •    Buckeyes
    •    Marzipan
    •    Candied walnuts
    •    Fudge
    •    Candied ginger
    •    Baked apples
    •    Red pepper jelly
    •    Fruit leather
    •    Oven dried tomatoes
    •    Stuffed french toast
    •    Gelato
    •    Tofu enchiladas


What's on your list?

 

Loaded Gourmet Quesadillas with Manchego cheese, (home) roasted red peppers and homemade basil pesto
Makes three 6-inch quesadillas

I got really excited about these quesadillas.  Quesadillas are one of my staples, and I'm always trying to reinvent them.  When I realized I hadn't posted any quesadilla recipes, I decided to create a recipe for pão e queijo.  This is the Loaded Gourmet Quesadilla that I came up with.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
6 flour tortillas (6-inch)
Heaping ½ cup Manchego cheese, coarsely grated (don't worry if there are some chunks)
2 small red bell peppers or one large one
⅓ cup homemade pesto (recipe below)
6 flour tortillas (6-inch)
Oil to grease the pan (optional; I use a nonstick skillet and don't grease it)


To roast the peppers:

Preheat the oven to 375F with the rack in the middle.  Meanwhile, wash the peppers and line a baking sheet or pan large enough to hold the peppers comfortably with foil. 

Roast the peppers in the preheated oven on the foil-lined baking sheet for one hour.  Every 20 minutes, check in on the peppers and, using heatproof tongs, turn them over so they aren't cooking only on one side. 

After an hour, take them out of the oven and (this is important, the insides retain heat for a long time) let cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before trying to peel.  When cool, remove the outer skins with fingers; they will come off easily.  I suggest you do this over the foil you lined the baking sheet with because it can get a little messy.  Then open up the peppers and using your fingers, a knife or a spoon, remove the stem and all seeds.  Chop coarsely. 

To make the quesadillas:

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat (medium if your stove tends to burn things).  If you like and are not using a non-stick pan, grease the skillet with a little oil.  Place one flour tortilla on the hot skillet.  Sprinkle with a third of the cheese.  Top with some roasted red peppers, and finally spread on some basil pesto.  Top with another flour tortilla.  Cook on each side until crispy and golden, a few minutes, watching so it doesn't burn and making sure the cheese has all melted.  Repeat with remaining ingredients until you have made the three quesadillas and used up all of the fillings. 


Fresh basil pesto:
Makes about ⅓ cup

Ingredients
½  cup medium-packed basil
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 TBSP pine nuts or walnuts
2 TBSP grated Parmesan
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

In food processor, combine all of the ingredients and pulse until puréed.  Add salt to taste.

Warning: for true chocolate lovers only! (Richest cocoa brownies with walnuts)

 

Last night hunger struck.  Or should I say, the sweet tooth.  As I anxiously browsed through all of my baking bookmarks, rapidly discarding options for pies (too complicated and would take too long), cakes (not in the mood), anything frosted (an extra step and would have to wash more dishes), I realized I had two main options; cookies or brownies.  Muffins no, they're not usually sweet enough.  It would have to be something I had ingredients for; I wasn't going to go to the grocery store at 8 pm. 

Deb's recipe fit the bill.  It was super quick to make and had a potent dose of chocolate, in cocoa powder form.  Folks, this is as close as I get to box mixes.  It was simple to make; combine liquid and dry ingredients in one bowl, pop 'em in the oven and half an hour later, munch down on deep dark chocolate goodness. 

Richest cocoa brownies with walnuts

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen Blog

Ingredients
10 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
1 ¼ cups sugar
¾ cup plus 2 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder (I used natural)
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, cold
½ cup all-purpose flour
⅔ cup coarsely chopped walnuts (or your favorite nuts)

Preheat the oven to 325F and place the rack in the lower third of the oven.  Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and coat with nonstick spray.

Whisk together the melted butter, sugar, cocoa and salt in a medium-large mixing bowl.  The mixture will look slightly gritty.  Stir in the vanilla extract.  Add the eggs one at a time, stirring well after each addition.  When the batter looks thick and shiny, add the flour and stir until you can't see it any longer.  Then whisk the batter vigorously until shiny.  Stir in the nuts if using.  Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes (I did 30) until set in the middle and a cake tester comes out with some moist crumbs.  Let cool completely on a wire rack, then lift up the ends of the foil liner and transfer the brownies to a cutting board.  Cut into 16 or 25 squares. 

 

Brunch at the Four Seasons (Brioche french toast with a hint of blueberry)

The other day I made brioche.  I thought I had never had it before, but I've heard a lot of bloggers (and real people!) say it's delicious.  So as part of the Bread Project, I decided to make it.  To tell you the truth, even with my KitchenAid it was a pain.  I had heard the dough was silky and smooth, and mine seemed sticky to the point that it didn't want to come together in a ball.  I was shocked that the recipe had such little flour (2 ¾ cups to make 2 loaves).  I added a bit more to see if that would help the sticky problem. 

Anyways, when I baked the loaves the next day I left them out to rise for a lot longer than suggested because they were so tiny!  They rose a little more, but I think it also made them dry out quite a bit.  I was pretty disappointed when I took them out of the oven and they only came halfway up the loaf pans.  After taking one bite, I was even more disappointed; they tasted like semi-stale bakery loaves that were nothing special.  Is that how they were supposed to turn out?  Seeing as I had no point of reference, and that the recipe on King Arthur Flour had gotten rave reviews,  I wasn't really sure what had gone wrong.  I put the loaves in storage containers for a few days to try to forget about them.

 

 

If you've heard of brioche or tried it, you probably know it's popularly used to make french toast.  This morning, I woke up sick (again, ugh) and decided not to go to the gym; instead I would try brioche french toast and see if the bread was any better dipped in an eggy batter.  I love everything blueberry, and I still had some blueberry jam my mom sent me home with a long time ago, and it reminds me of summer. 

 

When I sat down to eat the french toast my expectations weren't all that high.  But as soon as I took a bite, my taste bud memories came rushing back.  I had eaten brioche before, I just didn't know it. 

Back when I lived in Washington, D.C. for the semester that I went to American University, my grandpa (a very special grandpa) and his wife, Anne, came to visit.  I believe my mom had made us a reservation at the Four Seasons in Georgetown to have brunch.  All of us ordered a praline french toast and fresh orange juice.  I can still taste it and remember the special time with my grandpa.  It was definitely brioche.  After that we went shopping and touring around Georgetown.  What a wonderful memory.

Brioche french toast with a hint of blueberry
Makes about twelve ½-inch thick french toast slices

Ingredients
12 slices (½-inch thick) day-old brioche
1 cup milk (any fat)
2 eggs
2 TBSP (or more if you like) blueberry jam or preserves of your choice
Pinch of salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
Additional sugar, optional
Butter for the pan

Heat a griddle or skillet over medium heat.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, jam, salt and cinnamon and additional sugar if using (I didn't use additional sugar; use it if you like a sweeter french toast). 

Dip each slice of bread into the mixture and submerge for a few seconds on each side.  Cook on each side in greased skillet for a few minutes, until golden and slightly crispy on the outside.  Watch to make sure the blueberries from the jam don't burn.  Serve hot with the toppings of your choice.