The OTHER Expats

Guest posting today at Rachel in Rio's blog!  Talking expats and the many flavors they come in.  FYI -- my husband is the 'balanced' kind, which means he is practically perfect in every way ;)

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

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Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies {Guest Post from Indigo Scones}

Friends, do I have a treat for you!  I would like to introduce you to Ellen from Indigo Scones.  Not only does she whip up amazing goodies and take breath-takingly beautiful photos , but she is still a teenager.  Yes, you heard me right, this is the work of "a kid".  Her talent at such a young age far surpasses many of us "old folk", and it goes to show that we never are too young to start, or too old to keep learning!  Thank you, Ellen, for helping a girl out in my time of being a kitchen absentee, and the rest of you, GO CHECK OUT HER BLOG!!! 

Hello friends of Tiffany! I'm happy to be here today, sharing naughty recipes and silly stories. I'm sure we'll get along swell.

There's something you should know about me, I'm a cream cheese girl. My toasted bagel isn't complete until it gets a thick slathering of it. This disgusts some people, and others it relieves; knowing they aren't the only ones who binge. Cheesecake is heavenly, cinnamon rolls scream for cream cheese frosting, and red velvet is nothing without it. The world needs cream cheese.

One day I was stuck with a surplus of pie crust scraps. When you're a crazy baker, these little odds and ends tend to pile up in your freezer. I wasn't feeling up to sprinkling them with cinnamon sugar and calling it a day, a combo that I never was crazy for, I wanted something a little different.

I improvise a lot in my kitchen, mostly because I don't have a steady income and I live 20 minutes from the nearest grocery store. You learn to work with what you've got! I recalled seeing some cute little hand pies floating around the internet, and thought, why not make even smaller ones? Bite-sized pies filled with whatever my heart desired, that's what I was going for. So I did a quick inventory check, and came out with a jar of Jif, chocolate chips, some leftover brown sugar pecan filling (crazy baker leftovers strike again!), a jar of raspberry jelly, and some cream cheese.

Look, suffice it to say that I don't even remember what the other flavor combinations tasted like. One bite into those raspberry jelly cream cheese pies, and I was a goner. It was a combination to die for.

Not too long ago, I was making a pie to bring to some occasion or other. I felt a little bad for leaving my parents pie-less when the whole house smelled like heaven, so I pulled out a little cake tin and again put those pie scraps to use. A layering of jelly, frozen berries, and cream cheese chunks was all that was needed. It baked up with the big brother pie and I left it to cool for their dessert. 15 minutes later I got texts from both of them, gushing over how fabulous it was. They had just grabbed a couple of spoons and gone at it, even my crust-hating dad. It was still a winner.

And here I am now! Incorporating this flavor into whoopie pies, with some lemon thrown in, just for good measure. Whoopie pies are a little different from your average cookie, they're more cake-y, and just glorious when stuffed with frosting and left in the fridge overnight. They're also really fun to say five times fast. The batter is very thick, and not too easy to pipe.

I'm a little out of practice in my whoopie piping, so they kind of came out like little beehives. Just use a very large tip, and know that the less beehive-like they look, the better. Also, try not to mound them too much (which kind of goes with the no-beehive theory), you want them a little more flat and disc-like as they will puff up in the oven.

And most importantly, remember that no matter what they look like, they're still going to taste awesome :)

Gauging when they're done isn't hard, but be very careful not to overbake them. Hard, crumbly whoopie pies just aren't right. Their color doesn't change much when baked, but they will puff up and firm. When you touch the top lightly with you fingertip, it should bounce back. However, I prefer to go by the "just until set" method; meaning they will be puffed, no longer raw-looking, but still a bit soft in the center (hence the fingertip test doesn't work so well).

Filling them is a breeze. Food coloring is optional, and I went a little overboard with mine here. I wanted to accentuate the raspberry jam a bit more, and got some reaaalllyyy pink frosting as a result! Anyway, these really are hard to screw up. They only thing I should warn you about is their addictiveness.
  

Recipe:
Raspberry Lemon Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies
Yield: 20-24 sandwich cookies

Ingredients for the cookies:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 large egg plus 1 large egg white
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (from about half a lemon)
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ cup buttermilk

Ingredients for the filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, chilled
2½ tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons raspberry preserves
1¼ cups powdered sugar
Red food coloring, if desired (I used gel food coloring)

Directions:
To make the cookies, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a handheld mixer), combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Blend in the egg, then the egg white; scraping down the bowl between additions. Scrape the beans from the vanilla pod into the bowl and blend in with the lemon zest. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, just until incorporated.

Transfer the cookie batter to a large pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe the batter into 1-inch or 1½-inch rounds onto the prepared pans, spacing them an inch or two apart (Be mindful that you don't mound them too much, unless of course you want them to be that way.). Bake 7-12 minutes, or until puffed and set, rotating halfway through baking time. Let cool on the pan at least 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a handheld mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract and raspberry preserves. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, then increase the speed and beat until smooth. Add food coloring, if desired. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a large tip.

To assemble the cookies, match them up in pairs by size. Pipe a dollop of filling onto the flat side of one cookie of each pair, and sandwich the cookies together, pushing the filling to the edges. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate until set, at least 1 hour.


Sources: whoopie pie adapted from Annie's Eats, cream cheese filling also adapted from Annie's Eats

Guest Post: Rolinhos de Mamão Verde (Papaya Rolls Compote)

Oi!  I must confess, I am stuffing myself silly here in Brazil.  Fresh mango, pineapple, coconut water, papaya... the food of Heaven, right? 

I have a very special treat for you today.  Another amiga from this blog world is sharing one of her family recipes from Brazil, perfect for those of you who love tropical fruit.  (Is there anyone who doesn't???)  Lulu is known for her sweet treats and lovely photography that accompanies it.  Her recipes and her pictures make my mouth water.  Visit her page at Lulu's Sweet Secrets to see that I speak the truth.  And make sure you have a napkin ready to catch all that drool... ;)

 

My home state in Brazil, Minas Gerais, is famous for their traditional culinary. One of the most popular are sweets made just with fruits and sugar syrup, called compote. Cooking fresh fruits with water and sugar is a tradition inherited from colonial times adapted for tropical fruits, such as cashews and green papayas. Today I have the pleasure to share with you Papaya Rolls Compote.

I grew up watching my mother, grandmother, and aunts making large amounts of sweets on a farm using huge copper pans. Most of those sweets still remain as the main dessert of my family gatherings. Papaya compote is one of my favorite. There are many ways to make it: grated with molasses, in cubes, or in rolls.  All of them are delicious, but the shaped rolls are the most beautiful.

  

Be sure the papaya that you are using is green and firm, otherwise it will be very hard to peel the strips. I had this experience with the first papaya that I bought for this post. It was so ripe that was impossible to obtain the strips. Then, roll the strips and connect them together with a needle and a piece of thread. It’s a little bit of work, but at the end your efforts are well worth it. To obtain the correct firmed consistency, keep the papaya rolls overnight in a bowl with some sugar (use the same weight of sugar as you used for the papaya). You will observe on the next day that a large quantity of water will be released from papaya. Place the entire content of the bowl in a pan and cook until boiling.

Recipe:

Ingredients

1 green papaya

The same weight of sugar as the papaya

 Cloves if you like

Directions:

(from here)

1. With the aid of a knife make slits on the papaya peel. A whitish liquid will be released and this takes away the bitterness of green papaya. Rinse well after one hour.

2. Cut the papaya in half and remove the seeds (do not peel the papaya). Using a vegetable peeler or mandolin fitted with a flat blade, slice the papaya into paper-thin strips and place in a bowl.

3. Prepare a needle and a sewing line; secure the line with a knot, and roll each piece of papaya as tight as you can without breaking the fruit. Slide them close together on the sewing line, fitting as many as you can and tie a knot after the last piece of rolled fruit. You will have to prepare many strings to use the whole fruit.

4. Keep the papaya rolls overnight in a bowl with some sugar. You will observe on the next day that a large quantity of water will be released from papaya. Place the entire content of the bowl in a pan and cook until boiling.

5- While the fruit is cooking, sterilize the jars in the oven or in hot water bath.

6- Remove the pan from the heat. Remove each string from the syrup, cut the string, release each rolled papaya from the sewing line, and return them to the syrup. Repeat the process until all fruit are released.

7- Carefully ladle some syrup and papaya into the hot sterilized jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Remove any air bubbles by running a long wooden utensil such as a chopstick or wooden skewer between the jar and the syrup. Wipe the rims clean and seal according to the jar’s manufacturer. Process the jars in boiling water bath for 40 minutes, and then turn off the heat. Wait 5 minutes and then lift the jars using tongs or a lifter. Transfer the jars to a towel lined baking sheet and let them rest. Check the seals and wipe the jars.

Guest Post: Espetinho de Camarao (Shrimp Skewers)

Today's special guest post comes from someone you have seen here before -- Amanda of Give Me Flour.  If you have been following me for awhile you have actually seen a lot of her work, because she is absolulely, positively one of my favorite food photographers.  Not only that, but she is someone I would consider a friend in this blog world.  I was so happy when Amanda agreed to do a post because the place I am at holds a special place in her heart as well as mine, although for different reasons.  I fell in love here and a year later got engaged in the same spot; she spent her summers as a child on this beach.  Both ways have left Ubatuba as a very memorable place in our lives, and she is here to share a bit of her memories of this this little spot on the globe with you. 

So, Ubatuba... Tiffany is in Ubatuba.  I guess I am not supposed to admit this but since she is away, here it goes: I am jealous, really jealous!

I can almost smell the salty breeze and picture small details of the landscape. I can see the curvy road in front of me and remember the sensation of touching the water after spending a couple months dreaming about our vacation. It proves that memories do stick in your mind from when you are a child, don’t they?

I don’t remember what I ate for breakfast yesterday but I do remember what I used to eat during the two sacred and endless weeks my family spent in Ubatuba each summer for almost ten years in a roll.

We used to go in early December, by the time the city was still empty. The beaches felt like ours; the view, water and mountains together promoted the freedom we were looking for, creating the perfect refuge for my family.

For two entire weeks everyone was happy; my parents for not having to worry about daily obligations and us kids for not having to worry about our parents' rules. There was no right time to eat, for instance. And I was pretty much free, or at least I thought I was, to choose my own food: corn in a cob, heart of palm empanadas, tropical fruit popsicles, coconut water and tons and tons of shrimp skewers.  

I hope Tiffany enjoys them as well!!

Meanwhile, we can try the skewers ourselves because this recipe can’t get any more simple: marinate, thread, and grill. I can’t promise you the beach experience, but I swear it is still crazy good if paired with a hot, sunny day and a bottle of beer.

No, the recipe is not wrong; the shrimp skewers found in Ubatuba beaches are pretty simple and don’t require more ingredients than that. They can be deep fried or grilled and always come in a shell, which gives an extra crunch to the dish.

 Just place all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to two hours.

Thread four shrimps onto each skewer bending each shrimp almost in half, so that the large end nearly touches the small. Insert the skewer just above the tail, so that it passes through the body twice. Set aside.

This time I chose to grill instead of fry, so pre-heat a grill or skillet to medium hot. Brush the skewers with a little olive oil and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning one, or until shrimps are translucent and pink in color. Serve immediately.

As an option, you can top them with chopped fresh tomatoes, scallions and a bit of lemon zest to kick off the citrus flavor.  Enjoy!

Guest Post: Açai na Tigela (Brazilian Açai in the Bowl)

I would like to introduce you to Ana Helena, a fellow food blogger whose pictures are beautiful and full of life, much like the woman who makes them. 

She grew up in Brazil and brought her culture, food and all, to her marriage here in America.  I love seeing what she cooks up because I know there is a pretty good chance that if I attempt to make it in my kitchen my husband will fall in love with me 10,000 times the amount he already does.  Yes, her food really is amazing.  Stop by and see for yourself at her self titled blog, Ana Helena Campbell.   You and your bellies will be glad you did!  And enjoy this beautiful  treat -- one of my favorite Brazilian foods.  You know I am right now ;)

Hi everyone, my name is Ana Helena Campbell, and I so excited to share this very traditional Brazilian recipe here at Tiffany’s blog.

I discovered Tiffany and her blog last year while browsing at the Foodbuzz 24x24, and found her beautiful authentic Festa Brazileira. She did an amazing job displaying some of the most traditional foods that Brazil has to offer. I knew then, I had to introduce myself to Tiffany to let her know we both shared a few things in common: The privilege to enjoy two cultures every day and the love of food. We are definitely “experiencing the best of both worlds”.

Today, I will show you how Brazilians like to use the açai berry, using ingredients very easy to find here in America.

Brazilian Açai na Tigela or Açai in the Bowl is a very popular dish you can find it all over Brazil. Açai is a dark purple berry, very delicate, small like a blueberry, and considered by many the "miracle berry."

This little gem is very famous and has made many appearances on TV shows, the news, and TV adds. At grocery stores you can find açai sold as powder, pulp, or juice. Açai is big in antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids. No need to convince you how good this berry is for you. But if you are still skeptical about it, I forgot to mention that açai is considered a “super food."

We should have respect for this berry, with titles and TV appearances like that,  the least we can do is to pronounce it correctly. Açai has its emphasis in the end like “Ah-Sigh-EE”, not in the middle. Now, the next step is to try it at least once if you haven't yet done so.

Growing up in a coastal part of the country, Açai na Tigela was available in most kiosks along the boardwalk, as well as in corner snack bars throughout the city. This little berry has definitely conquered the hearts of many in the vast, diverse, and very creative country of Brazil.

Açai na Tigela or Brazilian Açai in the Bowl

Ingredients:

Serves 2

·         2 individual packages of sambazon organic frozen açai pulp.

·         2 ripe bananas

·         2 tbsp vanilla coconut milk

·        1/2 cup of your favorite granola

Directions:

Blend the organic frozen pulp with one ripe banana, making sure you have a creamy thick consistency in the end. Don’t forget to break up the frozen açai pulp into pieces before blending. Pour the acai blend in a bowl. Add some sliced bananas and top it with your favorite granola.

Açai na Tigela has a few rules that you may not break or it will no longer be called Açai in the Bowl but simply a smoothie. Brazilians take pride in how their food is prepared, and if you add a little more liquid or ice, you will have a smoothie in a cup not an Açai in a Bowl. Your final result cannot be soupy or liquidy-ish, it has to be thick enough for you to use a spoon and not a straw.

Brazilians are also crazy for a little berry called Guarana, and the traditional recipe calls for a Guarana extract that will keep you packed with energy for the rest of your day. My version of the traditional recipe was created to accommodate our family life style. I chose the coconut milk but you can choose any milk you want. I also decided to omit any sugars and used nice, ripe bananas. The natural sugars from the bananas gave this recipe a desired amount of sweetness and the toughest critics in the house, my two boys, were very satisfied.

My portion of granola was not as generous as what the Brazilian snack bars serve. It is up to you to add as much as you want in yours, and make sure to use your favorite granola.

Espero que gostes!  (I hope you like it!)

Praline-Topped Sweet Potatoes {Guest Post}

One more great Thanksgiving idea for you, this time from Justine at Full Belly Sisters.  When she said she had a great sweet potato post, I thought, "Hmm, ok, sweet potatoes.  I guess I like sweet potatoes enough."  But my husband responded differently.  "Sweet potatoes?  YES!  Please have her share so you can make some so I can eat it."  So, there you have it.  We need more sweet potatoes in our lives.  I tried some the other day, thinking they weren't all that exciting, but you know what?  I love sweet potatoes!  I had confused them with yams.  Oops.  Thankfully Justine is here to save the day. 

Actually, Justine and her sister save the day for me many times.  There is so much about being a mom someday (not yet!) that I have questions about and they have the answers.  Friends, if you need info on raising healthy little one through pregnancy and afterwards, they are a wealth of good information.  Check them out at there website by clicking on any of the pictures or HERE. 

As a certified health coach, I generally steer my clients and blog readers toward nutrient-dense and low-calorie foods (read: tons of veggies and fruit). They really should be the bulk of your diet in order to maintain your weight and to achieve optimum health. But I do sometimes eat foods that don't exactly fit that bill. And that's okay.

One of the rules I try to live by is "eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself" (from Michael Pollan's Food Rules). The fact is that indulgent, rich and/or sweet foods have gotten so inexpensive and easy to buy that we don't consume them just for special occasions anymore; now we see these foods as part of our everyday diets.

Additionally, if we make our own "junk food," we control the quality and quantity of our ingredients. I cut the sugar in pretty much every recipe I make. And we can and should use the best ingredients we can afford, such as organic vegetables and grass-fed dairy; pastured eggs; real maple syrup (not that maple-flavored sugar water); and whole grains.

This recipe - a favorite for many years at my family's holiday dinner table - is rich and sweet. It's high in calories, too. However, it's also packed with vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, good fats, and protein. So, while it's not something I'd recommend eating every day, this dish is a real treat that is perfect for a special holiday dinner; it is a wonderful accompaniment to the more savory Thanksgiving fare. The fact that it also packs a nutritional punch is just a really great bonus.

Ingredients

(serves 10-12)

•   6 large sweet potatoes

•   1/2c half and half (whole milk works fine, too)

•   1 egg

•   3T real maple syrup

•   2T orange juice

•   1 1/2tsp salt

•   1t vanilla

•   2/3c packed brown sugar

•   2T real maple syrup

•   1 1/4c pecan pieces

•   1/2 t cinnamon

•   7T unsalted butter, softened and cut in pieces

•   1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes and poke each one a few times with the tines of a fork. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet covered in foil or parchment (as they bake, they will ooze some sweet syrup - you want to catch it before it gets in your oven!). Bake for about an hour, until they are tender to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool. (Make-ahead note: You can bake the potatoes a day or two beforehand; just keep them in their skins and refrigerate.)

Halve the potatoes lengthwise and peel off the skins; you should be able to do this with your hands, or you can scoop the flesh with a spoon, as you would an avocado. Place the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Add half and half, egg, maple syrup, orange juice, salt and vanilla. Beat until potatoes are mashed and mixture is light and fluffy.

Spoon into buttered two-quart casserole dish and spread into an even layer.

In a separate bowl, combine sugar, syrup, pecans, cinnamon, butter, and flour. Mix with hands until all ingredients are fully incorporated and the mixture is crumbly.

(Make-ahead note: You can cover the mashed potatoes and the crumbly topping separately and refrigerate for a day or two; assemble when ready to bake.)

"Spread topping over the top of the mashed sweet potatoes, covering all the potatoes. Bake the dish, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. The topping should be hot and bubbling.

Let sit for about 10 minutes; this allows the topping to come together and get a bit crispy. It should crackle a little like a crème brûlée when you spoon into it.

Scoop and enjoy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Can-Free Green Bean Casserole {Guest Post}

You know what I love about this little (or rather large) food blog thing?  I have discovered there are so many others out there like me -- people who are working hard to improve their food-lives.  Many of them started out when they were young, but even more started out as an adult after some kick-in-the-pants happened.  For me it was marrying a Brazilian who had only eaten "real food" in his life that opened my eyes to what I could be having AKA something other than top ramen every night.  For my guest blogger today, it was something different.  So although our stories have different starts, the journey is surprisingly similar.  I am so excited to try this recipe, guys!  I love green bean casserole.  And now I know how to make it sans-cans.  Woot-woot!  I hope you get inspired to try some yourself :)

Meet Jackie.
(Photo borrowed from her website)

For see more of Jackie's recipes/stories/pictures, visit her at domesticfits.com or click on any of the pictures.

Hi, I’m Jackie, from Domestic Fits.

I love to make food from scratch. How can I possibly indulge myself in in scratch food making? I must have all the time in the world, tons of money, and no job. And servants. Lots of them.

Nope. Working Mom. Full time even. And I run a social work program, so the Big Bucks have yet to roll in. I just think it’s really important, and we find time for those things in our lives that are in that golden circle.

It started when I was pregnant with my daughter (in 2009) and my Splenda addiction was in full force, poised to take over my body. I took one look at that little yellow packet, with it’s completely unknown contents and had a revelation: What In The Crap Will This DO To The Brain I Am Growing In My Guts?

Because, it wasn’t until I found out that I was growing an actual brain that my daughter became real (if you really want THAT store you can read this).

It all spiraled from there, and I became obsessed with knowing what was in my food before I fed it to the brain and it’s attached adorable fetus body.

I never really stopped this, although I have lightened up a bit with my OCD version of Farm to Table.  But the core is there. Cook foods that you know what all the ingredients are, better yet can SEE all the ingredients, i.e. Green Beans. Real, fresh ones.

My husband has the obsession with this here American favorite: Green Bean Casserole. It only calls for 4 “ingredients,” however, 3 of them come from cans and who know HOW many ingredients are in those things. Plus mushy green beans are yucky. Clinical term: Yucky.

SO here is my grown up version of this. Husband even liked it better than his mom’s Three Can Wonder. Don’t tell her, she’ll never know.

Grown Up Green Bean Casserole

From Domestic Fits

Topping:

2 leeks

1 large white onion

1 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 tbs salt

Casserole:

5 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and cut in half

2 tbs butter

4 cups Crimini mushrooms (baby bella), washed and chopped

3 large cloves of garlic, chopped

1 cup of chicken broth

2 tbs flour

1 cup cream

Preheat oven to 400.

Cut the leeks (white and very light green portion only) into thin rings. Cut the onion into thin slices. Place in a small bowl and toss with the olive oil to coat. Add to a baking sheet and add the Panko breadcrumbs and salt, toss to combine.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, tossing about every 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven when a golden brown color is reached.

Place the green beans in a pot of rapidly boiling water. Boil for 5 minutes and immediately drain by pouring into a colander, rinse with cold water for 2 minutes to stop the cooking.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, or until they turn a dark brown. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

In a separate bowl, add the chicken broth and the flour, stir to combine. Pour into the pan through a mesh strainer to remove any flour lumps. Stir until thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat, add the cream and stir until combined. Return to heat and allow to cook until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, add the green beans and 1/2 cup of the onion/leek mixture, stir. Pour into a 2-quart baking dish.

*Time management tip: If you want to make this the day before Thanksgiving, this is where you stop. Cover the baking dish and put it into the fridge. Put the cooled onion/leek mixture in a separate container of Ziplock bag to prevent them from getting soggy from sitting on the top of the casserole all night. 

Top your casserole with the onion mixture and place in your 400 degree oven. Reduce heat to 375 and bake for 15 minutes or until warmed all the way though (note: if you are cooking this after removing from the fridge, as in the above Tip, the cooking time will be longer, approximately 22 minutes).

For a printable version, Click here

Garlic and Mushroom Mashed Potatoes {Guest Post}

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and if you are anything like me, you are excited.  Excited for the good food, excited for the time with friends and family, excited for a few days off of work.  Speaking of good food... I have asked several fellow food-blogger friends to share their favorite Thanksgiving recipes with us.  Why?  Because although my food is good, it is always the same and I want to see what else there is out there! 

The following (AMAZING) recipe is from Amanda over at Give Me Flour.  I have mentioned her before (in fact, she has a whole post dedicated to her...) because of her beautiful pictures, great tasting recipes, and the fact that she is a Brazilian woman learning English -- my counterpart, as I am an American woman learning Portuguese.  We are both navigating this American/Brazilian world at the same time, and it is fun to see it happen from the other side.  Be sure to stop by her page and give her some love (click on any picture and it will take you there).  You will not regret it!

 

The first time I made mashed potatoes (or thought I was making it), I was 10, 11, no more than 12. I simply put a bowl of smashed potatoes on the table and told everybody lunch was served. No salt, no butter, no pepper, no cream or even a drop of milk. Fortunately, my mom saw my mistake in time and nobody had to eat my insipid attempt. 

Ironically, I’m here in charge of a mashed potato recipe for the most important American food-related holiday.  Good thing I’ve learned from my mistakes and my mashed potatoes grew from that insipidness to a much more tasteful side dish. Garlic and mushrooms, come on, what could go wrong with that?

Well, potatoes are some of the most versatile ingredients I know and they go along with a bunch of good things but, when the matter is mashed potatoes, if you don’t have a good base, no other ingredient will do the job for you.

For a good base I mean a good quality, properly cooked and well smashed potato. And I have my preferences for that -- the Yukon gold potato. First because I care about the color, there’s something about a yellow “purée” that really stands out to me.  Second, it gives me the consistency I expect with mashed potatoes, smoothness without lumps.

So, for 6 to 8 servings you are going to need:

First of all, grab a large pot, add the potatoes in, and cover them with cold water. One of the first things I learned about cooking is we should always place potatoes in cold water and let everything heat together. It helps them to cook more evenly.

So, add bay leaves and 1 tbsp of salt to the pot and bring it to a boil. Cook until potatoes are tender or until they fall apart easily when pierced with a fork.

Meanwhile heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan; add garlic and thyme and sauté until lightly brown. Scoop out the garlic and set it aside.

Using the same frying pan with the thyme, heat the last two tbsp of olive oil and sauté the mushrooms in a high heat for 2-3 minutes. Scoop and set them aside.



As soon as the potatoes are tender, dry them in a colander and let them rest for about 5 minutes. That’s just another good trick to get rid of the extra humidity and the water that can make our base soggy.

Place potato in a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher. If you have a food mill, go for it, it is just the best tool for making a smooth base.

Add butter, parmesan, black pepper and milk, a bit at a time, until you get the consistency you desired. I set a limit of 1 ½ cups of milk but the quantity can vary according to the quality of potato you are using too. Add more salt if needed and mix well.

Add sautéed garlic and mushrooms to the base; mix well and place in a serving bowl. Pile some extra garlic and mushrooms on top and serve immediately.