Fogo bread

Technically, it's pao de queijo, but I think of it exclusively as attached to the lovely Brazilian steakhouses we go to for mega celebrations.  The bread.  Ooooooh the bread.

I salivate just thinking about it.  I think my toes even twinkle at the thought.

There's actually a "cheaper" Brazilian steakhouse called Brazilian Cowboy in Plano that Tom and I like to go to.  Now, it is not Fogo, not by a long shot, but if you treat it as a different beast--a nice, family-friendly place with limitless servings of good meat (picahna is far and away their best cut), fried bananas and pao de queijo and pretty decent frozen margaritas--well then, you'd be quite pleased.  We've even been known to take out of town guests there, and they have been quite pleased.

But I am really digressing from the point of this post.  The cheese bread.  It starts with a tapioca flour, which seems to just meld with the other ingredients instead of remaining aloof like wheat does.  Then you blend in egg, cheese and oil.... How could that go wrong?  It can't. I will say, however, that I should have chosen a sharper cheese.  I used mozzarella, and the taste was just... flat.  It needs something with some tang.  I'm thinking of using a mix of mozz and parm next time.

Also, you really do need to grease the pan. There's a reason that the only photo is of a pan full of bready goodness.

I got this recipe from Rasa Malaysia.  The pretty little muffin looking breads are definitely more true to the restaurant, but I don't own a mini muffin tin and will probably not be buying one for my overpopulated kitchen any time soon.

1 egg
2/3 c milk
1/3 c olive oil
1.5 c tapioca flour
1/2 c shredded cheese (various recipes indicate you can use any kind you please.  I used mozzarella and would recommend something tangier)
1 generous tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease muffin tin WELL.

Mix all ingredients together in food processor or blender until well blended. This will be very, very liquid-y. Pour into muffin tin. Sprinkle parmesan on top if you please.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Try to restrain yourself from eating the whole batch in one sitting.

Cilantro-lime-garlic roasted shrimp

For my entire life, I have loved shrimp.  Any time we went out to eat, I ordered shrimp.  I strongly identify with Bubba from Forest Gump.  Shrimp for every meal every day would suit me just fine.  

A few months ago, I saw a recipe on Pioneer Woman for Lemon Parsley shrimp, and they looked awesome, but I thought I could kick it up a notch, and I subbed in lime for lemon and cilantro for parsley to give it some southwestern flair.  A win.

1 pound raw shrimp (I used ez peel, but headless is the only requirement for easy eats)

1 stick butter, cut into chunks

4 cloves garlic

1 handful cilantro

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1 lime, juiced.

How-to:

1) Place shrimp in single layer on cookie sheet.

2) Process the rest of the ingredients.  Spread goo on shrimp.

3) Bake at 375 for 12ish minutes.

Inspired by Ree, the Pioneer Woman, and her Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp 

Skillet chocolate chip cookie with Mexican flair

The layer of whipped cream should be as high as old school Dallas hair....

I made this for a game night Tom and I had with a few friends a few months back.  I had warned the wife of said couple that Tom is a no-holds-barred kind of competitive.  All the same, my jaw went slack when the word "rune" came up during a casual game of bananagrams.  PJ cast Tom the casual query, "what's a rune?"

And that's when I winced, because I foresaw the future.

"You don't know what a RUNE is?" my husband asked disbelievingly.

"Uh, no...."

"Like, in TOLKIEN????"

At this point, I started making bubble cheeks of "uuuuuurrrrggggh" at my friend across the table as our husbands sorted out this rune business.  In Tom's mind, everyone should know what a rune is, or at least that it is.  Let's not even THINK about the people to whom Tolkien's writings are unfamiliar.  Apparently, PJ often does this with medical jargon, so it was only a just dose of his own medicine (no pun intended), and Amanda was getting a kick out of the exchange.  Apparently we have found our kind of people.

In addition to being generally well-matched couples regarding games, we also all appreciate desserts made in cast iron skillets.  I heart my cast iron.  And it gave a mighty crust to a mighty cookie cake.  While this recipe was based on Martha Stewart's recipe, I amped it up a bit by adding 2 T cinnamon and 1 tsp cayenne for more Mexican chocolate flair as well as pumping up the vanilla a little.  The darker color comes from the fact I used dark brown sugar, not light.  I will definitely make this again.  The whipped cream is at your discretion, but I thought it added a nice touch.

If you want the original recipe, it is available here.

2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne
2 T cinnamon
3/4 c butter, softened
1/2 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Sift/whisk together dry ingredients. Cream together butter and sugars.  Add egg and vanilla to butter/sugar.  Mix in dry ingredients.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into a 10" cast iron skillet (of course!) and pop in the oven for 40-45 minutes.

fajita feast

I love Tex-Mex food.

I will confess, my at-home Tex-Mex does not taste like what you find in a restaurant, but it does taste good.  It's probably because I don't douse everything in oil and sour cream (not that there's anything wrong with that, my way is just *different*).

The salsa I made, which you can find here, made the meal.  I might, however, ramp up the cilantro next go round.  Cilantro is one of my favorite herbs.

The tequila-lime marinade I used did not really float my boat, so I won't post it, but I will say that the steak that was simply salted and peppered before hitting the skillet for a brief sear was a win.  The salsa, fresh veggies and good corn tortillas complemented that simplicity well.  I would have keeled over from joy if we had grilled the steak, but our grill is currently out of reach.

Give that, here's what you need:
3-6 tortillas per person (some people seem to like to double up the tortillas; I like corn tortillas)
1/4-1/2 lb lean steak
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1/2 sliced onion
1 avocado
1/4 c chopped white onion
1/4 c chopped cilantro
jalapenos
salsa.

Sear steak.  Let rest before slicing.
Grill/saute sliced onions and peppers while steak rests
Layer steak slices, veggies, chopped raw onion, chopped cilantro, salsa and avocado.
So easy even an exhausted teacher can make it.

Sushi makes my skirt fly up

I follow Pioneer Woman. Her phrasing amuses me.  One I've never really gotten on board with, however, is "makes my skirt fly up," which she says about something when she REALLY likes it.

Well, sushi makes my skirt fly up.

No, I'm not adopting the phrase.  I literally was walking into the grocery store where I can buy sashimi grade fish when my skirt went WOOSH! right up.  Thank goodness I was wearing a slip.  My mother emphasized the need for a slip for years, and it was only when I got to my late teens/early 20s that I would put it on routinely.  Thanks mom.

Also, having your skirt fly up is not nearly so mortifying as it was in my "youth."  I did not die on the spot, I did not hear any mocking laughter.

I did, however, hold my skirt down all the way into the store and then all the way to the car.  This North Texas wind....

This is where I start writing about this sushi.  Even if I had been a 6-year-old mortified girl, the skirt incident would have been worth the sushi!  This weekend is Tom's and my "we started dating 3 years ago" anniversary, and on that weekend, we went out for sushi.  Being more energetic and endeavorous this year, I decided to make sushi.  The delightful thing is that you only have to make the rice and slice up stuff for the rest.  We are still mastering the roll assembly, but the rice recipe was awesome and the fish was delectable.  Add in some crisp cucumber, crunchy jicama and creamy avocado for veggies and sriracha and wasabi mayo for dipping or mixing sauces, and we were in business! The rice recipe follows.

And, since I am on a cost kick, I rang it up.  We ate 2 double stuffed rolls apiece and 3 regular rolls apiece, 2 nigiri apiece.  At the cheaper local joint, that would have been $52 (granted, we ate more because we had to finish the fish), but for making this at home, it came out to a whopping $9.18.  Honestly, if we'd gone out, we would have probably eaten less sushi but selected a fancier roll to go with our old stand bys, and I can at least say that in the past, cost has traditionally ranged from 38-60.  Even if we go with the low end, that's still a $30 savings.

Also, we ate collectively 2 cups rice and 1/2 lb salmon, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 avocado and 1/4 lb jicama.  That comes to 320 calories for the rice, 161 calories for the salmon, 90 for veggies (oh, avocado) per person.... Altogether, not a bad meal!

The rice recipe came from here, but we halved it to suit the size of our dining party.  We still had about 2/3 c left over.

1 c calrose rice
1.5 c water
1" piece konbu (kelp; if I know you, I have plenty to spare or can direct you to where to find it in the area)
1.5 T rice vinegar
1.5 T sugar
1/2 tsp salt.

Rinse rice until the water runs clear.  It takes a bit; the rice is pretty starchy. Drain it well.  Add rice, water and konbu to quart sized pot and let soak for 30 minutes.  Bring rice to a boil, cover, and bring down to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off and let sit 5 minutes.  While rice cooks, mix remaining ingredients.  After rice has sat its 5 minutes, scoop it into a large bowl and pour the vinegar/sugar mix over the top.  Stir until it's incorporated, but don't overmix and break up the rice.  Let sit until it is cool enough to handle (about 1 hour).

There are some more photos below because I was REALLY excited.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

• SO EASY.

ADDS SO MUCH FLAVOR.

MAKES ME WRITE IN ALL CAPS.

That may seem like an overreaction, but I assure you it is not.  This is the sort of easy food that ramps up the flavor on anything you might want to add it to. It makes some mean chilaquiles, goes great with nachos, and blends well with white beans for a creamy dip.

That's without even trying.

Tom and I recently ate at a Salvadorian restaurant that was just to die for.  Delicious food, hard working and good eating ambiance, papusas made right as you watch.  I had a papusa with cheese and some sort of zucchini flower (I think), and the green sauce on the table made it out of this world.  I could take home the leftovers but not the jar of salsa.  I mean, I thought briefly about sneaking one out (soo good!) but decided that since I want to be able to show my face in that restaurant again, I had better not abscond with their property.  Happily, my own rendition comes scarily close.

On the other hand, I will never master those papusas, and the ambiance of a small, independently owned restaurant is worth the occasional night out.  At least I will have my salsa ready for left overs!

• 1 pound tomatillos (about 8, each 2 in. wide)
• 2 jalapenos
  
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 or 2 green onions, rinsed, ends trimmed, and chopped
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.

1) Roast peppers and tomatillos.

2) Process everything in the food processor.

Inspired by Renee Shepherd's Tomatillo Salsa found here.

Gourmet on the Cheap... seared ahi tuna with tropical melange

This was my meal.  It was amazing.

This is the close-up of the salad.  So vibrant.

Tom and I are trying to conserve funds.  Our overall income has gone down, and with it, our desire to fritter away our money.

Not that we ever desired to fritter away our money.

I occasionally did desire corn fritters.

Anyway.

One of my bigger money/food issues is that I really like good, expensive food, like seared ahi tuna.  At a restaurant 'round these parts, that can set you back $15 per person before the tip, and I like my tuna with a glass of sauvignon blanc.  That puts me at $22, just me, and Tom at another $15, plus tip.  $22+15+6=43.  

Tonight, I had seared tuna with a tropical fruit and vegetable melange for 2.98.  Adding in a generous pour of wine for $3, my meal cost 5.98.  Tom still only sipped my wine (when I let him), so he only cost another 2.98.  Together, our meal cost 8.97.  Savings of just over $34.  Ridiculous.

To get this meal, you have to do 2 things:

1.  Season tuna with salt and pepper and sear 1 min per side.
2.  Chop up 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1 small jicama, 1 mango, and 1 ring of a red onion.  Toss in one rinsed box of blueberries.  In a separate bowl, mix 2 T chopped cilantro, juice and zest of 1 lime, and one chopped serrano.  Pour over fruit/vegetable mix and toss.

We still will go out, but at least less often, and I will also be more likely to buy something really cheap because I can make the good stuff at home.

Soft pillowy pretzels

As a child, Target meant one thing to me: PRETZELS.  Soft, chewy bread, the memory of which makes me salivate even now, crunchy crystals of salt.  With one of these in hand, I would happily wander the aisle while Mom found the necessary elements to make our life keep going.  In my head, that bulls eye will always be associated with salty, chewy goodness.

Of course, I now troll the aisle of Target at least weekly because it gives me a sense of calm to find everything necessary for life in an orderly and colorful array.  I do this without the help of a pretzel.

I love how the bread stretches immensely before it breaks as you pull the pretzel pieces apart.  There is magic contained in the bready goodness of every pretzel.

However, pretzels are still glorious things.  I saw one on a blog and knew I had to make it mine.  These ended up being tasty, easy, and even better (because sweeter) than their Target forebearers.  Dijon mustard would be a good fit.  This is super easy and goes well with Shiner.  Then again, what doesn't? :-)

Ingredients:
4 tsp yeast
1 T sugar
1 c warm water

5 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1.5 tsp salt
1 T butter, melted

.5 c baking soda
4 c water

1) Get that yeast going in the warm water with the sugar.  Let sit 10 minutes until downright frothy.
2) Mix flour, sugar, salt, butter and yeast mixture together.  Knead for 8ish minutes.  Let rise for an hour.
3) Divide dough into 12 equal parts, roll out and form pretzel shapes.  Heat oven to 450.
4) Mix baking soda and water.  Dip each pretzel in soda water and put on baking sheet. Dust with salt or flavorings to suit.
5) Bake at 450 for 8 minutes.

Recipe from Christa Rose at AllRecipes.

Egg salad with avocado, caramelized corn, fresh tomatoes and bacon

OMG.  Sometimes, I cook things and neglect to share them.  They were forgettable, my photography stunk, I wasn't in the mood to blog, whatever.  This, my friends, needed to be shared.  Usually it takes a few days for something to get to the blog, but this was consumed less than an hour ago.  I feel a real sense of urgency for changing your lives here.

The idea for this has been flitting around in my head since a few days ago when I saw Pioneer Woman's egg salad with avocado.  Now, that's a darn good idea, but why stop there in summer when not only avocado but also corn and tomatoes are at their prime!  And how could you have luscious avocado, sweet, bursting corn and gorgeous tomatoes without adding bacon?  I can't.

This is more a dump bucket than a recipe, and I love it for that.

Ingredients:
8 hard-boiled eggs, peeled
2 ripe avocados
2 ears corn, shucked and sliced off the cob
1 T butter
4 slices bacon, crisp and chopped/crumbled
2 roma tomatoes, chopped medium
1/4 c mayo
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T Dijon mustard

How-To
1) Sautee corn in butter. Let caramelize.  Do a happy dance for the glory of caramelized corn.
2) Use a pastry cutter to slice and mix avocado and egg to desired chunkiness.
3) Add corn, tomatoes and bacon to egg/avocado mix.
4) Mix together mayo, vinegar and mustard.  Stir into egg mix.

We love this straight up, on salad, on bread, in our dreams....

Public transport and spinach and feta egg casserole

I ride public transportation, even in Texas.

Yes, that’s right, Texas.

I became a fan of public transport while I went to college in Boston.  The city was at your fingertips!  There was nowhere I couldn’t get to in a reasonable amount of time for just a buck (now more, alas).  Then I moved back to Texas.  Woe, woe, woe.  As much as I love our great state, public transportation is just not our forte, and its cost is rather high in comparison to what I am used to.

That said, the Dallas area has been making a concerted effort, however, to improve the maneuverability of its city, and I am grateful.  I actually can now ride every day to work using the dart, which means I save, at a minimum, 100 bucks a month.  All the more coffee and chocolate to drink and eat!  Plus I get to update my blog (hi guys!), read or work on my lesson plans on the road, all of which are much better options than dealing with Dallas drivers.

It also gives me good stories.

A while back, for example, I hopped off my train and onto my bus with my usual crew.  There’s a guy I think of as iPad man because he always gets on and reads his iPad for 3 or so stops before getting to his destination.  I never talk to him because he obviously wants to read whatever he’s reading.  However, a guy we’d never seen before hopped on after iPad man and immediately accosted him to chit chat.  The conversation went like this:

“I gotta do 130 hours of customer service,” said new dude (GREAT way to introduce yourself).

“Herm.” iPad dude

“I got traffic violations. Those guys don’t play.” New dude

“herm” iPad dude (not unsympathetically).

“Yeah, I gotta work at the Salvation army.  I gotta work in the back sorting stuff and preparing food palets.  They have a cooler with soda water for us and all.  I just hate it. The work’s so BORING! I mean, I get my own radio to listen to, and that’s nice, but there’s not much work.  I work with these Mexicans, man, and they keep saying “esse, slow DOWN! You’ll run outta work!” but I just keep working.  They lazy.” New dude shining strong.

“So you’re doing this how long?” iPad man engages.

“They let me pick my own hours, so I’m just going to go when I can.  I want to get my car out of hock soon though.  See, they did this to my sister.  She got stopped in Ft Worth and they took her car because it wasn’t registered.  Then they MADE her get her license renewed because it was expired and MADE her get the car inspected and registered and MADE her get insurance.  Man, I ain’t going through that rigamarole.” New dude looks for sympathy.

“Good luck.” iPad man got off the train, no reading done. 

New dude=my negative image of entitled America.  

However, a few stops later, this kid who goes to a nearby middle school hopped on the train and started talking to one of the women who works at a hospital close to my school.  He and she have been chatting lately, and she seems to have taken him under her wing.  Their conversation restored my faith in America.  It went like this:

“So, I got suspended.” Guess which one.

“Really.  What did you do.” Nurse. I love how some people make those statements and not questions.

“I got in a fight and sassed a teacher.” Munchkin

“Hon, you are close to the end of the school year. Don’t get rowdy now.” Nurse.

“But I KNOW everything! The teacher don’t like me because I know too much.” Munchkin.

“Now I know that’s a lie.  You need to get your education and go to college.  That’s the only way to make your way in this world.” Nurse. I really love her about now.

“But she grabbed my neck and smacked my head into the desk.”

“No she didn’t. If she did, you deserved it. Don’t get smart with her.”

Love.

Anyway, the rest of my day was pretty awesome as well, but by the time I got home I was wiped.  I was faced with the need to cook dinner and prep lunches for the rest of the week.  I ate some leftover saffron rice and leftover thai food for dinner and made our classic, go-to spinach, cheese and egg casserole. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped coarsely
1 T olive oil
1 bag frozen, chopped spinach
12 eggs
1/2 c cottage cheese
1/4 c sriracha (because I add it to everything; it tastes fine without)
2" square of feta, shaved or chunked into however much feta you like to taste at once

How to:
1) Sautee onion until translucent.  While that's going on, melt spinach in microwave.  I tend to pour spinach from the bag into a big pyrex bowl, melt it, and then whisk the rest of the ingredients in from there to avoid mess.
2) Preheat oven to 350.
3) Whisk in eggs, cottage cheese (added for creaminess) and sriracha.
4) :Layer onions in 13X9 baking dish.  Pour egg mixture on top. Stud with feta chunks. (The sweet of the onion and salty of the feta go really well together!)
5) Bake at 350 for 25ish minutes.