Pão de Queijo (Brazillian Cheese Bread)

My friend Gal is from Brazil and she has made Brazilian Cheese Bread many times.  I have wanted to attempt to make the rolls, and I finally did.  The local asian market I go to had the tapioca flour needed to make these the traditional way.  I found the real Brazilian cheese at a Brazilian market that Gal recommended.  The typical recipe is yummy, but my husband and I agreed they were bland, so I added more cheese.  

These are delicious warm served with the Feijoada (Black Bean Stew).  My husband
 will tell you they are great in soup.

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 cups (10 ounces) Tapioca Flour or Cassava Flour
2 Eggs
2 cups Minas Cheese (Parmesan cheese can also be used)

Preheat oven to 450 Fairenheit.

Heat milk, oil, and salt in medium sauce pan over medium heat just until bubbles
come to surface. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and add all flour and mix until no more flour is dry.

A wooden spoon is easier to use to stir mixture.

Either continue stirring with spoon or transfer to a mixing bowl with attached paddle.

Mix until the dough has cooled enough to touch.

Whisk eggs and pour half mixture into dough and mix until combined and add
remaining beaten eggs.

Remove paddle and use whisk.  Set the mixer on medium and beat the mixture until
smooth and elastic.

Add all the cheese and whisk until combined.

Prepare two sheet pans lined with parchment paper.  

Portion dough with small ice cream scoop, or tablespoon and roll into balls.

Place sheet pans with puffs in the oven.  Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 Fahrenheit.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until they have puffed and are dry on the outside and just begin to color.

                                      

Enjoy!

Pão de Queijo (Brazillian Cheese Bread)

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients:

1 cup Whole Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 cups (10 ounces) Tapioca Flour or Cassava Flour
2 Eggs
2 cups Minas Cheese (Parmesan cheese can also be used)

Process:

Preheat oven to 450 Fairenheit.

Heat milk, oil, and salt in medium sauce pan over medium heat just until bubbles come to surface. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat and add all flour and mix with a wooden spoon until no more flour is dry.

Either continue stirring with spoon or transfer to a mixing bowl with attached paddle.

Mix until the dough has cooled enough to touch.

Whisk eggs and pour half mixture into dough and mix until combined and add remaining beaten eggs.

Remove paddle and use whisk.  Set the mixer on medium and beat the mixture until smooth and elastic.

Add all the cheese and whisk until combined.

Prepare two sheet pans lined with parchment paper.  

Portion dough with small ice cream scoop, or tablespoon and roll into balls.

Place sheet pans with puffs in the oven.  Immediately reduce oven temperature to 350 Fah renheit.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until they have puffed and are dry on the outside and just begin to color.

Enjoy!

Peach Galette

When I went to Lewin Farms recently, they had the last of the seasons fresh peaches, so of course I picked some up.  My parents and mother in law came to visit this weekend for my son's Baptism.  My dad really likes peach pie, so this morning I made the next best thing, a peach galette.  Galette is like a pie with crust and filling.  It is made on a flat sheet instead of in a pie pan.  Galette is like a French country version of the American pie that we have all come to love.

Summer dessert, perfect for those fresh peaches you found at the store.

Ingredients for Crust:

8 ounces cold Unsalted Butter
4 ounces Lard
5 to 7 tablespoons Water
18 ounces All-purpose Flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 tablespoon Turbinado Sugar (white sugar can be substituted)

Egg Wash of 1 Egg Yoke and 1 tablespoon Water

Ingredients for Peach Filling:

5 large Yellow Peaches

3 tablespoons Tapioca Flour

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 cup Cane Sugar (white sugar can be substituted)

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes.

Mix butter, lard, flour, and salt together in a mixer with a paddle attachment or
use your fingers to combine.

Cut peaches into 1 inch wedges.  Sprinkle tapioca flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg
over peaches and gently stir.

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Refrigerate crust for 20 minutes.

Cut dough in half and roll both halves into 1/4 inch circles.  Place on a cookie sheet.

Divide peach mixture between both crusts.  Fold crust over the filling.

Brush egg wash onto galettes and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake peach galettes for 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Peach Galette

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients for Crust:

8 ounces cold Unsalted Butter
4 ounces Lard
5 to 7 tablespoons Water
18 ounces All-purpose Flour, approximately 2 3/4 cups, plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 1/2 tablespoon Turbinado Sugar (white sugar can be substituted)

Egg Wash of 1 Egg Yoke and 1 tablespoon Water

Ingredients for Peach Filling:

5 large Yellow Peaches

3 tablespoons Tapioca Flour

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/2 cup Cane Sugar (white sugar can be substituted)

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

Process for Crust:

Cut butter into 1/2 inch cubes.

Mix butter, lard, flour, and salt together in a mixer with a paddle attachment or use your fingers to combine.

Refrigerate crust for 20 minutes.

Cut dough in half and roll both halves into 1/4 inch circles.  Place on a cookie sheet.

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

Process for Peach Filling:

Cut peaches into 1 inch wedges.  Sprinkle tapioca flour, sugar, cinnaon, and nutmeg over peaches and gently stir.

Divide peach mixture between both crusts.  Fold crust over the filling.

Brush egg wash onto galettes and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake peach galettes for 50-60 minutes.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Pie

My dad is famous in our family for making delicious strawberry pie.  I love strawberry pie.  We have a grocery store nearby called California Farmers Market.  Every time I shop there I can't help but ask myself does this store even at all remind me of California?  Not really, but it is cool to buy produce grown in California.  One of my favorite finds at this store are the strawberries.  New York City is not known for good produce, in fact it is difficult to find certain produce that tastes good, one of those items is strawberry's.  California Farmers Market has the ripest sweetest strawberries.  I bought the strawberries and made my daughters promise, cross their heart and hope to die promise, they would not eat any of these strawberries.  Thankfully they didn't eat the strawberries, and I made a pie with them. My pie is not like my dad's.  I made the crust using my graham cracker recipe that I already shared with you, and I didn't use Junket filling like my dad.  I made my own.  I brought the pie I made to my husbands work and everyone loved it, so I figure that means it is blog worthy.

 I love the glistening strawberry's and yes the crust was so very yummy.

Ingredients for Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour
1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour
2/3 cup Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Molasses
3 tablespoons Raw Honey
2/3 cup Turbinado Sugar

 Preheat Oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

 Mix dry ingredients in a bowl: flours, cinnamon, turbinado sugar, sea salt, and baking soda.

 Add coconut oil, molasses, and honey.  Using your hands mix together until combined.

Press dough into a 9 inch by 2 inch tart pan.  I use a tart pan because it is easier to cut and serve the pie slices.  Freeze pie crust for 15 minutes.

Bake pie crust for 10 minutes.

Ingredients for Strawberry Pie:

4 lbs. Strawberry's
1/2 cup Cane Sugar
1 1/2 cups Water
1/2 cup Tapioca Flour
1 Pre-baked Graham Cracker Crust

Clean 1 lb. of strawberry's.  Remove green stems and put in a small sauce pan with water and sugar.  

Cook over a medium flame until boiling.

Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

Remove pan from heat and using a potato masher, mash the strawberry's.

Strain the strawberry's into a bowl and return strained strawberry juice to small saucepan.

Cook strawberry juice over medium heat.

Slowly sprinkle in tapioca flour while whisking.

After adding all the flour turn of heat.

Clean remaining 3 lbs. of strawberry's, remove stems and cut in half.

Place strawberry's in pie crust.

Pour strawberry filling over fruit.  

Allow pie to cool and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving

Enjoy!

Strawberry Pie

Printable Recipe Found Here

Ingredients for Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/2 cups Oat Flour
1 1/2 cups Spelt Flour
2/3 cup Coconut Oil
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 tablespoon Molasses
3 tablespoons Raw Honey
2/3 cup Turbinado Sugar

Preheat Oven to 350 Fahrenheit.

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl: flours, cinnamon, turbinado sugar, sea salt, and baking soda.

Add coconut oil, molasses, and honey.  Using your hands mix together until combined.

Press dough into a 9 inch by 2 inch tart pan.  I use a tart pan because it is easier to cut and serve the pie slices.  Freeze pie crust for 15 minutes.

Bake pie crust for 10 minutes.

Ingredients for Strawberry Pie:

4 lbs. Strawberry's

1/2 cup Cane Sugar

1 1/2 cups Water

1/2 cup Tapioca Flour

1 Pre-baked Graham Cracker Crust

Clean 1 lb. of strawberry's, remove green stems and put in a small sauce pan with water and sugar.  

Cooker a medium flame until boiling.

Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

Remove pan from heat and using a potato masher, mash the strawberry's.

Strain the strawberry's into a bowl and return strained strawberry juice to small saucepan.

Cook strawberry juice over medium heat.

Slowly sprinkle in tapioca flour while whisking.

After adding all the flour turn of heat.

Clean remaining 3 lbs. of strawberry's, remove stems and cut in half.

Place strawberry's in pie crust.

Pour strawberry filling over fruit.  

Allow pie to cool and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!