Turtle-Candy Tart -- A Taste of the South

My little Palauan fourth graders were sitting at my feet, listening to me read Peter and Fudge's story in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  It was the point where Peter learns that his (rather annoying) little brother Fudge not only killed Peter's turtle, but he ate it.

"Ew!" I said in overly exaggerated disgust.  "He ATE a turtle!"

I looked down at these nine-year-olds expecting to see horror on their faces. Nothing.  And then one little voice popped up...

"Teacher, of course he did.  Turtle is food."

Turtle is food?  Huh.  Clearly this was something that my culture never shared with me.

Don't worry, I don't have a turtle recipe to share with you.  Well, I do, but it isn't green, shelled turtle.  I think I would have the PETA people here in a heartbeat if I did.  No, I have a Turtle-Candy Tart.  No reptile, lots of sweetness.  That's turtle I can enjoy.

This is another one of those, "Let me make your house my photo studio" posts from Alabama.  But this recipe I actually had a part in making.  My friend Blaine made the chocolate-graham cracker crust, I made the caramel center, and Lisa made the ganache topping.  We make a great team, don't we?

I never realized how incredibly easy ganache is!  You seriously just boil heavy cream and pout it over bittersweet chocolate and stir.  And with how delicious this tart is, well, I will be making that ganache again -- and soon!

(Next time however, I will cut the tart into small squares as it is too rich to eat one whole piece in one sitting.)

Recipe from Country Living, September 2012

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• 14 chocolate graham cracker, crushed
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• sea salt
• 1 cup light-brown sugar
• 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 6 ounces pecan halves, toasted (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Meanwhile, in a small pot over medium-low heat, melt 1 stick butter. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add graham crackers, granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and combine. Press mixture into the bottom and along the sides of an 11-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Bake crust for 10 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, make the caramel: In a medium pot fitted with a candy thermometer, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add brown sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup, and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and stir to combine. Allow caramel to come to a boil; maintain gentle boil, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 240 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Stir in pecans and vanilla. Pour caramel into tart crust and spread evenly. Set aside to cool, about 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the ganache: Place chocolate in a medium bowl. In a small pot, bring 1 cup heavy cream to a boil and pour over chocolate. Let sit for 30 seconds, then stir until melted. Pour over caramel and spread ganache into a smooth, even layer with a spatula. Refrigerate tart until set, about 1 hour.
4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl and using an electric mixer, beat remaining heavy cream until soft peaks form. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Once tart is set, remove outer ring of pan. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Serve with dollops of whipped cream.

COST: $10.65    COSt per serving (16 skinny slices): $0.67

Read more: Turtle Candy Tart Recipe - Country Living 

Him & Her: The anatomy of a couple

My husband and I are an "us".  And I love that.  Together we are a young couple, enjoying life and sunshine.  We are a family -- a little family, but a family.

But we are also two individuals.  There's him --

and there's me --

Notice how incredibly cool his list is.  Surfer?  Drummer?  These two words scream, 'Not boring!'  (And that stuffed snake around his neck?  It was handed to him by a five year old, and he was very obliging.)

My list, however, is a bit different. 

Reader.  Writer.  Photo-taker.  Not quite in the same category as surfer, huh? 

Oh well.  I am cool by my own right.  It just doesn't look like that on paper.  Good thing paper doesn't define me.

At least we have the last one in common.  Being a goofball trumps them all.  And we are so darn good at it!

Sometimes we switch rolls, though.  Like last summer when I  tried, and succeeded, at getting up on the surfboard.  Need proof?

I look I am going fall over, huh?  That's because I did right after this picture was taken.  But I don't care.  I am up.  On a surfboard.  Am I a surfer?  No way.  But I can surf...

This past weekend my husband tried on one of my hats and made some pizza.  Luckily for him the dough was already made by our friend and all he had to do was roll it out and put toppings on it.  Still, he did it!

Is he a cook?  No way.  But he can cook...

Way back when we were first dating, like first dating (maybe 1 week into it) I was in his mom's kitchen making soup with her (BTW, I was staying with his family in Brazil when we started dating.  We joke around that his mom fell in love with me before he did, but I think it really is true...).  I needed some onions to be chopped and so I asked him to come in to do it, and he did.  I didn't think much of it until his mom said, "Eh necessario uma americana para fazer um brasileiro ir para a cozinha."   (It takes an American woman to get a Brazilian man into the kitchen.)  HA!

This time it wasn't an American woman but an American friend that got him in there.  But look at him!  He is like a pro!  Sure, he had some help, but so did I with the surfing.  And I must say, Caleb's dough with Paulo's toppings made a great pizza. 

Looks like we are rubbing off on each other...

Cooking with Friends: Apricot and Walnut Stuffing

A few months ago I read in one of my student's journals that she like to cook.  Taking my comment-making pen (green, by the way, and not red) I wrote, "Me too!  It would be fun to cook together sometime!"  I continued reading, closed that journal, and moved on to the next one, probably to read about a crush on Justin Bieber or something else incredibly important my little 9-year-olds share with me.  Later that day, however, this particular little girl came up to my desk and said, "I would love to cook with you.  When will you have me over?" 

You gotta give the girl some credit -- she knows how to go after something she wants.

Because I was already friends with this particular family (I have had more than this child as my student) and have actually know them outside of school, I did invite her over and we spent a day cooking together.  First, we made French Toast (her request) for brunch.

Then we *attempted* to make homemade peppermint hot chocolate.  Only I didn't know that Dutch Process Cocoa and regular unsweetened cocoa were so different from each other.  Our hot chocolate was OK, but it was definitely pepperminty.

And last but not least, we made apricot and walnut stuffing.  We had a recipe straight from England from one of my friends who lives there, but it was made very differently than I know stuffing so we adapted it and sort of made up our own recipe as we went.  You will also notice that this stuffing made a repeat appearance in my house and showed up on our Christmas table last night.  It was that good.

Cutting up the sourdough to make croutons

The Super-Crouton-Maker

Sauteing the onion, garlic, and celery

We did it!  A day full of cooking!

The finished product.  Yes, it is purple and gold.  I guess it would be a good treat for any LA Lakers fans out there.  Or nobility.  (Anything else you can think of that is purple and gold???)

INGREDIENTS:
1 onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 slices sourdough bread cut into small cubes
1/2 cup dried apricots, cut in small pieces and soaked in water for an hour
1/2 cup walnut pieces
3 cups chicken broth
3 T butter
garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Make croutons.  Take the bread squares and drizzle half of the butter -- melted -- over them.  Sprinkle with garlic salt and mix.  Transfer to baking sheet and cook for 13 minutes on 350 F.
2.  Meanwhile, saute onion, celery, and garlic in remaining butter over medium-high heat.  After about four minutes add broth. 
3.  When croutons are finished, mix in a large bowl with apricot pieces (water drained out) and walnuts.  Slowly pour broth mixture over the top.  Mix.  Allow to sit for five minutes.
4.  Transfer to a baking dish and bake at 375F for 30 minutes, until top is lightly browned. 

COST: $6.70     COST PER SERVING (6): $1.12

And my favorite picture of the day:

"Look, if I turn the apron around I am a super hero!  I am here to save the day!!!"

Cooking With Friends: Melanee & Bonnie (Crepes)


COST: $8.46                   COST PER SERVING (3): $2.82
(including one avocado and two tomatoes)

Foodbuzz 24x24: Festa Brasileira

I feel so honored that Foodbuzz selected my proposal for this month's 24x24.  For those of you that don't know, every month 24 food bloggers around the world are selected to host a dinner party on the same day, making 24 dinner parties in 24 hours.  My theme, Festa Brasileira, was chosen and I did a little happy dance.  And then I panicked.  Really, what do I really know about making Brazilian food, other than how to cook beans?!  Luckily I am blessed with great friends who rallied behind me, making this not only a dinner party, but a learning experience and a time for Brazilians and Americans to come together to make something fabulous happen.

In addition to all the prep work that happened the night before, there were a total of six cooks working in shifts for three hours before the party began -- and several who continued to work throughout the party.  All in all, we logged about 20 cooking hours between us... not counting the three hours spent driving around finding all the (sometimes hard to find) ingredients.  WHEW!

But all that work paid off, because we had amazing dishes waiting for us in the end.

THE MENU

(translated into English)

Appetizers

Brazilian Cheese Bread

Fried Yuca

Salad

Stuffed Tomato Baskets

Main Dishes

Beans and Rice with Farofa (Brazilian bread crumbs)

Hidden Meat Casserole

Steak Rolls

Desserts

Brazilian Custard

Passion Fruit Mousse

Drinks

Pineapple Juice with Mint

Being a Brazilian party, it seemed fitting to invite Brazilians!  Not only do they like to have a good time, but they look good doing it :)  Luckily for me, we live in an area that has many Brazilians around, and being married into that community, I had no trouble coming up with the list of invitees.  This list, however, was carefully planned: I invited young married couples (1 fully American, 2 fully Brazilian, and 3 half-and-half couples like Paulo and myself) and each couple knew about two of the other couples (but no more) so that new friendships could be formed.  And it was a success!  Everyone enjoyed themselves, the food was raved over, and in the end phone numbers were exchanged and plans were made to meet up again.  

I would like to say a huge obrigada! to the following people: Mindy and Caleb for giving us space to make this happen; Daniela for helping me come up with a truly Brazilian menu; Esther for taking the lead in the kitchen when I did not understand the recipes or what to do with them and having extreme patience with my attempts in Portuguese; Esther, Daniela, Caleb, Paulo, and Vicente for helping in the kitchen; Mindy for setting up the tables and chairs and making it look so nice; Mindy's parents for being great support with washing dishes and taking pictures; my mother-in-law, Nilza, in Brazil who shared her favorite recipe with us; and all of our friends who came out to celebrate.  This, my first dinner party ever, was a success because of YOU!  Muito obrigada, todos! 

And for you, my dear reader, so that you may enjoy a glimpse into the beauty and wonder that is Brazil and see why we were so eager to celebrate this beautiful culture, click on the video below.

Obviously, there are a lot of recipes here... and not all of them are possible to make for those that don't have access to Brazilian ingredients. However, here are the ones that I believe you will immensely enjoy and you can actually find the all the required ingredients.

Mandioca Frita (Fried Yuca)
INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs. yuca (Can be found at Whole Foods or Mexican style grocery store)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 t salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Peel the yuca and chop in to pieces similar to what you would do to make potato salad, keeping it rectangular shape rather than cubed.
2. Boil the chopped yuca for about 15 minutes, until tender (about the same tenderness as potatoes for potato salad).
3. Let yuca cool. Heat the oil in a frying on medium-high heat and add the yuca and salt, cooking until a light golden brown. Let dry on papertowel lined dish.

Escondidinho de Carne (Hidden Meat)
INGREDIENTS:
3 lbs. yuca
1/2 cup milk
3 T butter
salt
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare the yuca like mashed potatoes (peel, cube, boil, drain, mix with the milk and butter, salt to taste). Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a large frying pan, add the oil and heat on medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and cook until light colored, about two minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another two minutes.
3. Add the ground beef to the onion and tomato mixture. Add salt, about 1 Tablespoon (more or less depending on your preference). Cook until meat is no longer pink. Add the tomato paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. In a large casserole dish, spread 1/2 of the mashed yuca. Next, add the meat mixture, spreading across the entire casserole dish. Use the remaining 1/2 mashed yuca to cover the meat, "hiding" it (remember the name of the recipe? There you go...). Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake for 30 minutes.

Bife a Rolet (Steak Rolls)
INGREDIENTS:
10 thin slices of Silverside beef, about 5 inches wide and 10 inches long
5 bacon slices, cut in half
1 tomato
1/2 onion
1/2 bell pepper
1 carrot
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 lime
1 teaspoon of salt

DIRECTIONS:
1.  In a dish, season the meat with the juice of the lime and the salt.  Set aside.
2.  Chop the tomato, onion, bell pepper, and carrot into 5 inch-long slivers -- ten of each vegetable.
3.  Taking one piece of meat at a time, place one piece of bacon and one of each of the vegetable pieces.  Roll like a burrito, tightly wrapping it so each end is covered and nothing can fall out.  Secure with toothpicks (2-3).
4.  Add the oil to the bottom of the pressure cooker.  Place the beef rolls inside.  Cook in the pressure cooker on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes after the pressure builds up.  When it is finished, be careful to let the pressure die down before you open the lid.

Pudim de Leite (Brazilian Custard)
INGREDIENTS:
4 Eggs
1 Can of sweetened condensed milk
Equal amount of regular milk
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. water

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Mix the first three ingredients together in a blender.
2.  Spread into bundt cake pan or a bain-marie pan. Bake in a water bath for 40 min.
3.  Melt the sugar in a small pan, adding the water and stirring to make smooth.  Add this syrup to the top of the custard when the custard is complete.

Suco de Abacaxi com Hortela (Pineapple Juice with Mint)
INGREDIENTS:
1 pineapple, peel cut away and cubed
10 mint leaves
Ice
Sugar to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Blend the first three ingredients in the blender.  Add sugar to sweeten.  Enjoy!