3 cups sugar

1 1/4 cup groselha

1/2 cup corn syrup

2 cups water

1 t vinegar

Red food coloring (optional)

Mix sugar, groselha, and water in saucepan. Boil mixture until reaches hard crack (300ºF), then immediately add red food coloring and vinegar ,stir. (be careful, this is very hot)

While your mixture is boiling,wash and dry your apples, and spear with the sticks.

When liquid is ready, quickly  dip the apples, twisting to cover, and set on a greased cookie sheet.

ps: You can also skewer some grapes and dip them in the syrup.

Here are 3 of my favorite Pao de Queijo recipes.  The pao de queijo mineiro is my “to go” recipe. It is easy to make and it tastes delicious! Singapura is my second most favorite. I love the cream cheese or catupiry taste on it.  The one with potatoes is very good as well, just requires a little bit more time to make since you have to work with the potatoes.  Hope you enjoy them!

Pão de queijo Mineiro (delicious)

salt to taste

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup of finely grated cheese (I used a mix of Parmesan and cubed cheddar)

Place the 2 cups of  flour with a little salt in a bowl. Set aside. Boil together the oil and milk. Add to the dry mixture (it will turn very gooey). mix it together until it turns into a gum consistency. I like to use my kitchen aid,  Add one egg and half of the cheese mixture, kneed it with your hands.(of if using a mixer just mix until incorporated) It will be sticky.  Add the other egg and rest of cheese. Kneed until it forms a ball.

It should have a cookie dough like texture. If it doesn’t add a little more flour. I usually end up using 2 1/2 cups of flour. (start with 2 and add an extra 1/2)

This mixture will be quite sticky. If you put a little bit of oil in your hands, it will be easier to mold the cheese bread into balls.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes.

Pão de queijo Singapura

1 cup of tapioca flour (polvilho doce)

200 grm cream cheese (or 100 cream cheese and 100 catupiry)

1 egg yolk

5 tablespoons of parmesan

Pinch of salt

Mix every thing together in a bowl. You will need to mix it with your hands. It may look like it won’t come together, but the warmth of your hands will make it come together.

This dough will be a soft, smooth consistency.  When it gets to the soft consistency, make you cheese bread balls

Bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes

Pão de queijo com batata

250 g of tapioca starch (polvilho doce)

2-3 medium potatoes (boil and smash them while still hot)

All of these recipes can be made and frozen, to be cooked later. For more recipes check it here: Pão de Queijo

2 cloves Garlic

1/2 Onion (diced)

2 T Olive Oil or butter

2 lbs (or more if prefer)of Beef Tenderloin (you may use other type of meat)- cut into chunks

Salt and pepper to taste

2 (8 ounce) cans of Tomato Sauce

1/2 measure of tomato sauce can of Water

1 can Sliced Mushroom (optional)

2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T ketchup

1 t mustard

Green Onion and parsley (to taste)

1 can Table Cream

In a sauce pan, add oil, onion and garlic.  Saute until onion is translucent.  Add beef chunks, salt and pepper.  Let it cook.  Then add tomato sauce, water, mushrooms,  Worcestershire sauce, ketchup and mustard .  Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add and green onions and parsley.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Turn off the heat and add the table cream.

Mix well and it is done!

In Brazil we serve Beef Stroganoff  with rice and batata palha. (thin potato chips).  If I don’t have any batata palha take some Ruffles Chips and smash it a little. Sprinkle on top 😀

Enjoy!

I have also found this at my local Smiths Grocery Store!!! These are a little thicker than the ones in Brasil.

This is an easy, fast and simple dinner idea. I like it because it can be made with leftover  chicken , shrimp, shredded beef from a leftover roast and etc. Boiled shredded chicken (2 big boneless chicken thie or breast) chicken breast will be lower in fat, but you also loose a little bit of flavor and moistness.  I like to boil the chicken with water and 1-2 T of chicken bouillon.  You will use this water/broth latter to cook the risotto 1/4 onion diced 1 t garlic 1 T butter 1 cup arborio rice Chicken broth/water Salt Pepper Peas Sautee the onion, garlic and butter. Add rice.  Sautee until rice is transparent.  Season with satl and pepper. Add broth little by litte. About 1/4 cup at the time and stir until rice is cooked.  Adjust seasoning and cooked chicken and peas.  Serve with shaved parmesan

I know it is getting cold outside, but ice cream is always a must.  My cousin shared this recipe with me this week and I wanted to share with you. It is super easy and delicious!!! Enjoy

Homemade Ice Cream (easy)

1 can sweetened Condensed Milk
1 can crème de leite (table cream)
1 pkg Jell-O (any flavor) this one was cherry

Make Jell-O according to package instructions. Usually it asks for 1 cup of hot water, dissolve the jello package, then add 1 cup of cold water. (option, you can also use juice instead of water)

After you have this mixture, put it in a blender, add crème de leite and sweetened condensed milk. Blend until it all comes together. about 2-3 minutes Pour liquid into a freezer safe container. Freeze it for 5 hours or overnight.

Take it out of the freezer and beat it using a mixer until nice and fluffy. I used a wire mixing attachment,but I recommend starting with a paddle attachment then once soft change to the wire.

It is super easy and you can vary the flavor using different jello flavors.

We came across this cut of meat and I had to come up with a recipe. It is super easy and fast to make. You can serve it as a main dish or cut in small portions for appetizers.  Just ask your butcher to cut the short ribs in a long but thin strips (almost as thin as thick bacon)

Make the marinade:

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 c olive oil

3 T soy sauce

A good chunk of fresh Ginger (finely shredded)

Mix inside of a zip lock bag and add the slices of meat (about 12 slices or as much as the bag can hold)

Marinate about 1 hr

Put on top of wired sheet at 500 F  (or on broil) for 5 minutes each side.   Watch it closely, since the meat is so thin and the oven is super hot it cooks fast. It may also make a little bit of smoke because of the sugar in the marinade.

Sprinkle parsley on top (optional)

Brigadeiro is a basic yet very popular Brasilian candy. It is comparable to chocolate truffles. It was created in the 1940s and still popular today. This recipe is a twist on the original Brigadeiro.  Instead of chocolate flavor it is made with lemon.  The citrus contrasts the sweetness of this candy in a very delicious way. Hope you try it out!

Lemon Truffles

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 T butter

100 grams white chocolate (cut)

1 egg yolk

1 T powder milk

2 T lemon zest

10 ml lemon juice (fresh and strained)

In  a sauce pan mix all ingredients and cook it, mixing the entire time, on medium heat until it thickens and starts to bubble in the bottom of the pan. Take it off the heat and put into a plate. Let it cool, wrap it and refrigerate for 24 hrs.

Next day you can roll it any size you would like. It makes about 50-60 small brigadeiro balls (about 1 teaspoon size).  A trick I have been using is to use a little bit of cold water to wet my hands prior to rolling the candy.  It is quite sticky and if you don’t use some thing like butter or water, you are not going to be able to roll them properly.  I prefer the water method to the butter because the water doesn’t add any more flavor to the candy where the butter may add a little bit.  You don’t want you hands totally wet, just a little. You will see what I mean once you start rolling it and you will find what works best for you.

Here is a picture of my set up. My candy plate, my bowl of cold water, my crust (chocolate shavings) and the final plate.

I like to rolls these lemon truffles into white chocolate shavings.  I use a microplane and shave the chocolate very fine, almost like a powder.

This gives a delicate crust to the candy.  You could also use milk chocolate, or crush some lemon drops (hard candy) to put on the outside.

Enjoy!

Pavê is a classic Brasilian dessert. It differs in flavors just like a trifle would.  It is made with a combination of layers of cookies, cakes, fruits, creams.   What I like most about them is the possibility of creativity.

We had a Brasilian party a couple months ago in my neighborhood and I made these 4 different types of paves by simply changing the cookies and fruits that go inside.  I will post all of them here. Hope you enjoy it.

PAVE DE AMENDOIN (peanut pavê)

This is a little less creamy as the usual pavês, however it is one of the favorites in our family.

3 c sugar

2 egg yolk

300 grms butter

2 can media cream (crème de leite/table cream)

2- 3 T sweetened condensed milk

bolacha maisena

milk

500 grms toasted peanuts (grind)

Beat together the sugar, yolks and butter, until it becomes light and fluffy.  Fold the table cream and sweetened condensed milk. (set aside)

Assemble:

Dip the cookies into the milk and layer with the separated cream and nuts.  One layer of the cookies (bolacha maisena), thin layer of the cream, sprinkle toasted grinded nuts on top. Keep doing this until you use all the cream. End with the nuts.

Refrigerate overnight.

 PAVE DE CHOCOLATE

1 pkg bolacha maisena de chocolate

milk (just to wet the cookies a little bit)

2 sweetened condensed milk

2 c milk

2 T corn starch

4 eggs

4 T cocoa powder

4 T sugar

1 can table cream (crème de leite)

Cream 1:

in a sauce pan at medium heat, mix 1 sweetened condensed milk can, 1 c milk, 1 T corn starch, 2 egg yolks. cook until it thickens. set aside

Cream 2:

in a sauce pan at medium heat, mix 1 sweetened condensed milk can, 1 c milk, 1 T corn starch, 2 egg yolks and 4 T cocoa powder. cook until it thickens. set aside

Cream 3/top:

beat the egg whites with sugar until hard peaks. Fold in the table cream

Assemble:

Layer cookies (dip them in the milk first), cream 1, cookies, cream 2, cookies, cream 1, cookies, cream 2, cookies cream 3 . Top with chocolate shavings or sprinkles

PAVE ROCHER

1 box lady finger cookies

2 1/2 c milk

4 T cocoa powder

2 eggs

1 T corn starch

1 can sweetened condensed milk

15-20 Ferrero rocher

3 T sugar

1 can table cream (crème de leite)

12 oz chocolate (milk or dark)

1 c cream

Cut the Ferrero rocher and set aside.

Mix 1 c milk and cocoa and dip the lady finger cookies.  Layer the booton of your serving dish. I also did the sides.

In a sauce pan at medium heat mix the remaining 1 1/2 c milk, sweetened condensed milk, egg yolk, corn starch. Cook until it thickens, about 10 minutes.  Set aside

In the mixer beat the egg whites with sugar until hard peaks. Fold in the can of table cream.

Melt the chocolate add cream to make a ganache

Assemble:

Lady fingers, cream, cut Ferrero rocher.

Top with the egg white mixture.  After it is cold top with ganache and decorate with Ferrero rocher.

PAVE DE PESSEGO

2 sweetened condensed milk

2 c milk

3 egg yolks

3 T corn starch

This is really good as an appetizer, or side dish.  It is simple and it taste delicious.

2-3 T oil

1 T minced garlic

1 T ginger  (fresh)- either cut very fine or use a grinder

1/2 cabbage (diced)

1 T sugar

salt and pepper to taste

I like to also add a little bit red pepper flakes

Sautee the garlic and ginger in the oil.  Add the cabbage and quickly stir fry it.  You want the cabbage to still have a little crunch. Don’t over cook it. 😉 Add sugar, salt and pepper to taste.  Serve as an appetizer or side dish.  I like to add a little sprinkle of red pepper flakes. YUM

Salpicão, the brasilian “chicken salad”. This is another recipe where you will find many variations.  Basically you can substitute or add ingredients accordingly to your family’s taste.  Here is the basic recipe:

2 chicken breasts (boil and shredded) I usually boil them in water with a generous amount of chicken boilon (you can use this water latter to make risotto, or coxinhas)

1 medium carrot (shredded)

1 small onion (diced)

Hearts of palm (to taste- also diced or sliced)

2 small tomatoes (diced)

Green onions (to taste)

Parsley (to taste)

Salt and Pepper

1 cup of requeijao

1 or 2 T of mayo

Salt and Pepper

(this is a picture of a requeijão package, for those who don’t know it.)

Boil chicken (water with boilon) or chicken broth.  Shred it really fine and adjust seasonings.

Add all the other ingredients. Taste for seasoning. Mix well.

You may need to add more mayo. It will depend on the wetness of the ingredients. Add a little at a time, that way you will know if it needs more.

Serve with crackers, chips or also good in sandwiches.

(this one was made with 1 slice of whole wheat bread,cut into 4, then you layer bread, salpicao, bread, lettuce, bread, salpicão and bread)

Another thing I like to do is to bake some wonton wrappers into a small cupcake pan. It will create little wonton cups. Then fill them with this mixture and serve at parties. It is delicious.

Other ingredients you may add to your salpicão:

can of corn

olives

diced apples

raisins

diced ham

diced cheese