#167 Brazilian Bread : Pao de Queijo

The first time we had this was in  February of last year, at Fogo de Chao in San Jose, it's a Brazilian Steak House. It was so good. I didn't know until recently that it is gluten-free and grain-free! I was very excited to make it and hoped that the recipe works!

I was lucky to have tapioca flour in the pantry and after 10 minutes prepping it, I was watching my little bread balls baking in the oven closely... I wondered if it was going to crack, pop..or burn?! I was hoping for the best. 20 minutes later, I was enjoying my hot Pao de Queijo! It was crispy on the outside, rubbery on the inside. And that's how it is supposed to be, I was glad it turned out great!

PAO DE QUEIJO

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups tapioca flour
2 teaspoons garlic
2/3 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 beaten eggs 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. In a large saucepan, add olive oil, water, milk and salt, bring to boil and then remove from heat immediately.
3. Stir in tapioca, mix well until well blended, around 10 minutes by hand, 5 minutes using a mixer.
4. Form little bite sized balls with well-oiled hands. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
5. Bake until tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Found a hero in this... Love it!!!

If you enjoyed this post, follow this blog as we will be posting 198 more recipes! 198 recipes to discover, learn to cook, take pictures and post here to complete the goal of 365!

 Will I finish this big task? Check back often to see my progress!

xo V. 

#54 Brazil's Churrasco

It is that season again! I love cooking outdoors, such a delight to enjoy great food, great laughs, refreshing drinks, and..easy clean up! :) We start our series of delicious grilling with Brazil's Churrasco. The frequent basting with simple sea salt + garlic + hot water made the meat moist and very delicious!

Brazilian Churrasco


Ingredients:

2 lbs beef tenderloin
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup hot water


Directions:

1.      Preheat grill.
2.      Cut tenderloin into about six pieces.
3.      Reduce heat and place tenderloin pieces on the grill.
4.      As the meat started to cook dissolve the salt in the water and add the garlic.
5.      When the meat is browned on the outside,  baste.
6.      Keep basting throughout until the meat is done.

We learned more about Brazilian food today. We've made the delicious Feijoada. Both Brazilian dishes that we have made so far are so delicious. We learned that the Brazilian diet is composed mainly of fish and other meats, rice and beans. The traditional food of Brazil is a combination of many different cultural influences. The country was colonized by Portugal and the Africans brought their food too during the times of slavery. Many other immigrants from Lebanon, Germany, Italy, Japanese, Spanish and many more brought their food as well. We shall explore more since we also love meat and rice very much.

What a great grilling day it was. I cannot wait for the next one. Happy grilling season to all of us! May this year bring many delicious grilled dishes on our tables. Thanks for reading!

#44 Brazil's Feijoada

We made brown rice and Brazil's Feijoada (pronounced Fay-ZWAH-da). It is a meat and black bean stew, served with rice and orange wedges. Adapted from Julianna Grimes' recipe but I used beef instead of pork, replaced the bacon with the less fattening turkey bacon and omitted the ham. I like how the vinegar gives that slight sourness to the dish. I used sunkist navel and cara cara ( a type of navel) oranges. It's a great dinner meal. We liked it very much!

FEJIOADA


Ingredients:

2 cups dried beans
4 slices turkey bacon
1 pound beef stew meat
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
3 bone-in beef short ribs, trimmed (about 2 pounds)
3 cups finely chopped onions
1 1/4 cups fat free, lower sodium chicken broth
4 garlic cloves,  minced
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 orange wedges


Directions:

Soak beans over night. Place in a small sauce pan, cover with cold water. Bring to boil; cook for two minutes. Remove from heat; drain and cover. 

Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium  heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, crumble. Set aside. 

Sprinkle meat evenly with  1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Increase heat to medium high , add olive oil, sauté meat, turning to brown on all sides. Transfer to electric slow cooker.

Sprinkle rib meat evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add ribs to skillet, sauté meat, turning to brown all sides. Add ribs in slow cooker. 

Add drained beans, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, onions, broth, garlic cloves and vinegar.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until meat is tender.

Stir in vinegar and crumbled turkey bacon.

Serve with rice and orange wedges on the side.

What we learned today:

• Brazil's official language is Portuguese. The country was a colony of Portugal until September 7, 1822 when they declared it's  independence and became Empire of Brazil.
• We saw lots of pictures of Rio de Janeiro's Cristo Redentor, it is amazing how massive it looks. What beautiful beaches they have. And of course, we also saw carnival pictures. 
• I already know that Brazilians are very nice, very affectionate and very happy people as I had the pleasure of spending many days with Brazilian ladies during my first few years in the United States. One lady in particular is so dear to me, and she opened my eyes to a lot of things..I just have no means of contacting her since she left with her family back to Brazil- if somehow you end up reading this blog...Adrianna, obrigada!! Um biejo! I hope to see you again. :)