Potato Rösti filled with Chicken and Cream Cheese

Rösti is a Swiss dish made with roughly grated potato, cooked or raw, which are fried until golden. In the beginning, it was a common breakfast eaten by the farmers closer to Bern, Switzerland, but now it’s consumed all over the world. The original one consists only of potatoes, but you can use your touch to add flavors using other ingredients, like bacon, onion, cheese, and/or fresh herbs.

It’s not difficult to prepare a good Rösti. After using your imagination to choose the ingredients, you shape it into rounds. Then you will need a good nonstick skillet to invert the potatoes easily to sautéed the other side. Most of the time it is pan fried, but it can be baked in the oven too.

The first time I ate Rösti was during a dinner in my friend’s house, Fernando. He filled the potato with calabrese sausage and the result was fantastic. Last week, my beloved hubby went to a conference and had his first Rösti. He loved it so much that he asked me to prepare another one for him. This time, I filled it with chicken and Catupiry®, a very famous and delicious Brazilian cream cheese. 

Potato Rösti filled with Chicken and Cream Cheese

Braised Chicken Breasts with Rosemary

1 boneless chicken breast diced

1 small onion

1 tomato

rosemary

parsley

2 cups of water

Salt

pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

In a medium pan , heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper. Saute until are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken breasts and rosemery, and simmer uncovered over low heat until cooked, about 30 minutes.

Rösti

(Serves 2)

6 Yukon gold potatoes

1 braised chicken breasts

Catupiry or Cream cheese  

4 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Boil the potatoes about few minutes avoiding overcooking. Peeled and let cool. Shred potatoes on the large holes of a box grater.Toss with salt in a medium bowl. Season with pepper. Divide into four equal parts.

In a non-stick saute pan melt 1/2 a tablespoon of butter. Spread into a thin layer in the pan add the chicken and cream cheese and cover with another thin layer. Brown for 5 to 7 minutes. Invert the roesti onto pan lid and remove pan from heat. Add additional 1/2 tablespoon of butter to the preheated pan. Slide roesti into pan raw side down and brown for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Remove to a rack and hold in a warm oven. Repeat previous steps for remaining potato mixture.

Honey Cake with White Brigadeiro Filling Covered with Chocolate Ganache - Bolo Pão de Mel

Honey cake (pão de mel, in Portuguese) is a very typical treat in Brazil. The pleasure provided from this cake started early on the oven, when the smell of sweet and spices swirl around the kitchen and coming to you. This pleasure is completed after a very moist cake slice, with lots of honey and clove savor. 

This recipe is from the notebook that my dear friend Hugo gave to me. It was one of the first recipes that I tried and immediately it became one of my specialties. You can fill it with custards, brigadeiros, caramel creams, nuts or dried fruits. Today I used a white brigadeiro filling that harmonized perfectly with the chocolate and spices flavors. It is perfect for parties when prepared as cupcakes and mini discs.

Honey Cake

1 cup honey

1 Tb whole cloves, 1 cinnamon sticks, 1 Tb fennel seeds and 1 cup water to make an infusion.

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup cold whole milk

3 cups all purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of salt        

1 teaspoon baking soda

Grated nutmeg 

For the cake, preheat oven 350 F.
Make the spices infusion: in a small saucepan, combine the water, cloves, fennel seeds and cinnamon stick. Bring the mixture to a boil then lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes until the mixture is fragrant. Pour into a cup through a fine mesh sieve and discard the spices. Place honey, sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until well combine. Dissolve baking soda in milk. Then add the spices infusion, milk and flour and mix until well combined. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.  Pour the batter in a greased and floured pan and bake for approx. 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake come out clean.

White Brigadeiro Filling

1 can sweetened condensed milk

4 egg yolks

1 can table cream or 8 fl oz/ 240ml heavy cream

Pour the condensed milk into a medium saucepan and place over low heat.

Add the eggs. Stir the mixture until it starts to show the bottom of the pan while you scrape it with a spoon. The mixture should be thick enough to show the bottom of the pan for a few seconds before the mixture back again. Transfer to a greased bowl. When the Brigadeiro mixture is at room temperature, add the cream and mix until combine. Place it in the fridge until decoration.

Chocolate Ganache

400g milk chocolate, chopped

200g dark chocolate, chopped

1 can table cream or 8 fl oz/240ml heavy cream

Melt the chocolate in the cream in a bain marie. Lower-fat crean like light cream, half-and-half, and evaporated milk tend to "break" or curdle when added to sauces. To prevent this from happening, heat the cream over low or medium heat in a bain marie before add the chocolate. Don't let the cream boil.  Whisk until you have a thick cream consistency. Pour over the cake. 


This recipe was featured on Foodbuzz Top 9 : June 10, 2011

Green Fig Compote - Doce de Figo

Staying at my parent’s house has being wonderful.  Although my adorable new life in US, it is a privilege to eat my mother’s food again, especially those traditional and regional recipes. After the marolo candies, today I will share with you, my dear readers, Green Fig Compote. This is a classical sweet from Minas Gerais State made with green figs and sugar syrup. 

As figs are very fragile and also has a short "shelf life" (about a week), it is customary to find them in the dehydrated form. In Arabic, Turkish and Greek cuisine, for example, there are a plethora of sweets made with dried figs. But here in Minas we prefer to make compotes. Cooking fresh fruit with water and sugar is a tradition inherited from the colonization times.  But this tradition was also adapted for tropical fruits as cashew and green papaya. Fresh or dried, figs have many fibers, so it helps in intestinal function and enhances the feeling of satiety. They are also a source of potassium, which makes it perfect for those who likes sports and physical activities. 

My mother is an expert in fruit compotes, such as guava, papaya, pumpkin and orange peel compotes.  They are absolutely luscious! The biggest difference between those compotes and fig compote is the cooking process. The figs are not cook in boiling water with sugar, as the other ones. First, the figs are cooked just in pure water for one day, and then, only on the second day, the sugar is added.  To get intense green figs, you have to use a cooper pan; otherwise the figs will get a yellowish green color. The taste will not change if you use another pan, but for me they look more appetizing when they are intense green. Green fig compote is very good by itself or with whipped cream.

Green Fig Compote

2 pounds fresh green figs 
2 pounds sugar 
water 

Wash figs in warm water and lightly rub each one with a cloth or knife. Cut into 4 wedges and let the edges attached. In a cooper pan over medium heat boil in water about 15 minutes and change the water. Repeat this processe during 1 hour or until the figs are cooked. This time the figs will be yellowish green.  Remove from heat and let stand overnight, at room temperature.

On the second day, change the water and let figs boiling about 15 minutes. The figs will change the color to intense green.  Change the water and add sugar. Cook until it becomes thick syrup. Cool the figs in the fridge. Arrange the figs on serving plates, drizzle the sugar syrup over them, and garnish with whipped cream.

Mini Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts filled with Homemade Dulce de Leche - Bolinho de Chuva Recheado com Doce de Leite

Hi dear readers! I’m sorry for being absent. I wish I could post more recipes, but I’ve been busy writing my PhD thesis. But I love so much sharing my experiences with you that I couldn’t wait any more. Today is about Bolinhos de chuva, which  are the Brazilian version of doughnuts. They are little balls coated with cinnamon and sugar.

When I think in these mini doughnuts my childhood memories came back. My mother used to make them for me and my sister in one of those rainy, lazy days. Oh, it was so good! The sweet smell when they were frying and the aroma of cinnamon as the touch final made me eat dozens of Bolinhos de chuva. And better than this is that I didn’t have any concerning about the calories. Good times!

I have never made doughnuts before, but I saw an interesting recipe on TV of mini doughnuts filled with dulce de leche. Definitely this recipe has to be the first one to try! To get a good result and a nice shape, it’s very necessary a firm dulce de leche balls before covered it with the dough. The dulce the leche should stay in the freezer for at least one night, otherwise the dulce de leche will mix with the dough (which is not a bad idea). These mini doughnuts are the best I’ve ever eaten. Even my mother agrees with me.  They are so soft and so sweet. Simple irresistible.

Mini Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts filled with Homemade Dulce de Leche

2 cups  dulce de leche
3 1/2 cups  all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
350 ml milk

2 cups sugar
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Canola oil, for frying
Homemade Dulce de leche from here

Place the dulce de leche in a plate and bring to a refrigerator overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator and make small balls and set aside in the freezer for 20 minutes just to firm. Apart sift flour with baking powder and salt. Reserve. In a bowl place butter, sugar and eggs and beat with a whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the dry mixture of alternating with milk and mix well until dough is smooth. Reserve. Dip each ball of dulce de leche in the dough with the help of two tablespoons. To fry the doughnuts, fill a pan up to 2" of canola oil. Heat the oil until it reaches 375F. Do not over-crowd the pan with doughnuts. Fry about 5 at a time (depending on the size of the pan). They will sink to the bottom but then float to the top. Turn them over and let them cook for an additional 2 minutes or so.Drain them on paper towels and while hot, coat them with the cinnamon sugar.

This recipe was featured on Foodbuzz Top 9: May 16, 2011

Rôti de Porc au lait - Braised Pork with Milk

When I started getting interest in cooking some years ago, my lovely sister gave me the Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. It is a great book. He explains with a sensor of humor some classical French dishes. But my favorite part is what he said on the introduction. Basically, he said that cooking isn’t in the blood. You need the will, the desire, the determination, the persistence, the passion, the curiosity, the start over and the love to cook well. With his words, I wanted to learn to cook everything. So I started with the Rôti de Porc au lait (Braised Pork with Milk).

There are several ways to prepare a pork loin. You can grill, roast, fry… Well, I think everyone has your favorite method. Now, mine is “Braised Pork with Milk” because the result is a juicy and tender piece of pork. This recipe requires two important steps that shall be followed. First, you have to brown the pork loin on all sides to seal the meat and to conserve the juicy inside of it. The second one is the milk. It has to be fat milk, otherwise you won’t get the wonderfully sweet flavor and meat moist that this recipe provides.  Normally, I use pork loin, but this time I changed it for pork tenderloin. The result was also fantastic! 

Rôti de Porc Au Lait - Braised Pork with Milk

(from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook)

Serves 6

3 lb / 1.35 kg boneless pork loin roast or pork tenderloin

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp / 28 ml olive oil

1 tbsp / 14 g butter

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped

1 leek, white part only, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 tbsp flour

2 cups / 450 ml whole milk

1 bouquet garni (1 sprig of flat parsley, 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, and 1 bay leaf, tiedtogether with string. Tying the bundle in cheesecloth makes it easier to retrieve from the pot)

Cook The Pork: Season the pork with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven. When the oil is hot, add the butter. Brown the roast on all sides, 6 to 7 minutes total. Remove the roast from the pan and set aside on the large plate. Add the onion, carrot, leek, and garlic and stir over high heat until soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Stirring constantly, add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, then add the milk and the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and cook over high heat for 5 minutes. Add the pork and any juices that have collected on the plate. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat for 1 hour, making sure to periodically rotate the pork (the sugars) in the milk can cause sticking and scorching). Remove the pork and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Finish the sauce and serve: Remove and discard the bouquet garni. Strain the cooking liquid into a small pot and bring to a boil. Using a hand blender, puree the sauce until foamy. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

Carve the pork and arrange on a serving platter. Spoon the sauce over and around and serve immediately.

Pasta Shells with Prosciutto, Ricotta, Mushrooms and Marinara Sauce

My husband and I really enjoy spend the weekends cooking together. Everything is so much fun for us, from choosing and shopping the ingredients to the preparation of the dish. We love to share all these moments. Most of the times we choose a challenge, like dishes with many preparation steps and long cooking time. But sometimes we have an early appointment, so we decided for something simpler and also quicker.

This pasta shells are very simple to prepare. They are stuffed with ricotta, parsley, mushrooms and prosciutto, covered with marinara sauce. I made the stuff while he prepared the marinara sauce, and then we stuffed the shells together. We spent a short time in the kitchen, but it was very fun. Besides, who said that a quick and easy meal could not be savory? These pasta shells are the perfect example that proves the opposite.

Pasta Shells with Prosciutto, Ricotta and Mushrooms

(adapted from here)

• 
  
• 12 jumbo pasta shells

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 ounces prosciutto, fat trimmed, chopped
• 2 large shallots, chopped
• 8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, chopped (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 15-ounce container prepared marinara sauce (about 2 cups)

• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped prosciutto and shallots and cook until shallots are translucent, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes. Add chopped mushrooms and cook until tender and juices evaporate, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in ricotta, basil and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 Spoon 1 rounded tablespoon mushroom mixture into each pasta shell and add marinara sauce.

Marinara Sauce


1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 small onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

2 bay leaves

basil

oregano

In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)

This recipe was featured on Foodbuzz Top 9: April 30, 2011

Easter Eggs Part II

I love flowers, I love the spring time. The life’s explosion everywhere brings me such a happiness and peaceful felling. When I was living in England I had the pleasure and happiness to see the bloom of lovely and gorgeous flowers. Peonies, tulips, cherry blossoms… they are my favorite! Those flowers are the reason of my love affair with photography. I was so impressed with such beauty that I started to photography every flower that I saw in front of me.

As I come from a country where Easter is in the autumn season, that spring felling led me understand the true meaning of the rebirth celebration. The Easter on that year was very special for me. I had a great day with a lovely couple of friends. The day was very beautiful and sunny. Beyond the wonderful meal that my dear friend Biankita prepared and the good talk, she gave me an adorable gift, a bit of her childhood. She gave me an Easter egg shell handmade by her mother. 

I loved to listen how she and her sisters appreciated the egg hunt on her home and how her mother liked to prepare this activity. I really loved my gift.


Two years later, when I saw the April edition of Martha Stewart Living, those memories come to my mind and I was very inspired to make dyed Easter Eggs. As I like painting I decided to make little flowers, dots and leaves, something very simple. To dye them I used food coloring, vinegar and hot water and to decorate I bought a water-based acrylic colors special for eggs.

These gorgeous eggs can be used for egg hunts, filled with chocolate or candy, and to decorate the house. Here are some examples that I made.

I also made some solid domino chocolate eggs. So yummy!

The egg shells make beautiful vases for tiny flowers centerpieces. I used orchid and Schlumbergera, also known as Easter cactus (flor de seda).

Besides the chicken eggs I used quail eggs too. How cute they are!

There are countless options to decorate Easter eggs. I had a great time making those eggs and this will become a beloved tradition for me. I have to say that one day I wish I could learn the pysanky technique. This Ukrainian style is wonderful, so rich in details and colors, a great masterpiece.

Chocolate Egg 

(how to from Martha Stewart)

Using a pin, poke a hole in the bottom of a large raw egg; insert the tip of a utility knife, and turn to open the hole slightly. Using a rotary drill fitted with a 3/8-inch bit, carefully widen the hole to at least 1/2 inch in diameter. Insert pin into the hole to pierce and "stir" the yolk. Hold the egg, hole down, over a bowl, and blow air into the hole with a rubber ear syringe (the air will displace and expel the egg). Rinse out egg. Repeat to make 12 blown eggs (you may want to make extras in case some break).

Sterilize eggs: Submerge them in a pot of cold water with 1 tablespoon white vinegar; bring to a boil, then simmer, skimming foam from surface, 10 minutes. Let drain on a pin board. If not dyeing eggs, let dry completely on pin board, 2 to 3 days (check insides for moisture).

 If dyeing eggs: Mix 4 tablespoons vinegar and 12 drops of blue food coloring with 2 cups boiling-hot water in a heatproof glass or enamel bowl. Fill a separate cup with white vinegar. Using a plastic spoon, dip eggs in vinegar, then into the dye, 2 to 3 minutes. Pat eggs with paper towels to eliminate streaks. (If dye begins to cool while you're working, make a new batch.) Let the eggs dry as described above.

 Using an offset serrated knife, very finely chop 3 pounds of chocolate. Reserve 1 cup chocolate; using a bench scraper, transfer remaining chocolate to a large heatproof bowl.

 Temper chocolate: Set bowl over a pan of simmering water. Melt chocolate, stirring occasionally, until a chocolate thermometer registers 131 degrees. (Note: Many brands of dark chocolate should not be heated to more than 118 degrees.) Remove from heat; stir in reserved cup chocolate until completely melted. Pour 2/3 of the melted chocolate onto a clean smooth work surface (such as marble or stainless steel). Spread thinly with an offset spatula. Then gather together chocolate, and take temperature. Continue spreading and gathering chocolate until it cools to 82 degrees to 84 degrees.

 Scrape chocolate back into bowl with remaining chocolate. Stir until it cools to 82 degrees to 84 degrees. Set bowl over a pan of warm water, and reheat to 88 degrees. To check consistency, dip a spoon in chocolate and remove; chocolate should set in about 2 minutes, turning shiny and hard. Note: This temperature must be maintained as you fill the eggs; keep a thermometer in the chocolate, and check frequently. Rest the bowl on a heating pad wrapped in a towel, or set bowl over the pan of warm (not hot) water.

 Place eggshells in an egg carton. Place a disposable pastry bag in a tall glass, and fold top down. Fill bag with chocolate; cut tip to create a 1/4-inch opening.

 For solid chocolate eggs: Insert tip of bag into each egg, and fill with chocolate (about 1/4 cup per egg; fill a new bag with chocolate as needed). Let set completely, about 4 hours.