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.

Cheese please!

All wrapped up and ready for the fridge.

Back in the day, my mom sent my sister and I off to eco camp at the local nature center.  There we chased butterflies through fields with nets, stared into ponds to find tadpoles, turtles and alligators, and did the odd frontiersman task like make cheese.   Now, I know I ate that cheese then and found it utterly awful, probably because at that point I preferred velveeta to mild cheddar.  Since then, I have hopefully evolved as a person, but I can guarantee you that my tastebuds are completely different.

However, some activities from that time period bear revisiting, particularly the cheesemaking.  I love cheese.  I eat lots of it.  I remember reading somewhere that cheese and bacon are actually addictive, and the empirical evidence of my life indicate that this is a valid fact.  From the velveeta of my youth to the varieties of cheddar, jack and queso fresco that I find in Tex-Mex to the green-specked blue cheeses and ooey gooey soft cheeses I encountered in Belgium, I have become a well-eaten cheeseaholic.  And now I present to you a perfectly valid way of making your own cheese that hearkens back to those farm days.  My mom said that it tastes pretty much like skim milk, which it does, and which is perfect as I use it as a foil to my super spicy Indian dishes.

Cheese/Paneer


Ingredients:

• .5 gallon milk, whether 2% or whole is your choice.
• Juice of one lime -- yes it's really that simple!

Method:
1.  Bring milk to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching

2.  Add lime juice and lower heat to medium-low. Stir stir stir!  Curds should form immediately and start clumping.  Stir for 5 minutes.

3.  Let cool for five minutes.  While the deliciousness that is cheese cools, line a strainer with cheesecloth if you have it.  I used coffee filters.  They drained slowly but did the job. 

4.  Squeeeeze out the extra liquid, wrap in saran wrap and chill for a few hours before using.


The whole process took 30 minutes and made me feel oh so gifted in the kitchen.  I recommend it.  And we did eat it with the saag paneer I made, and lemme tell ya, it was good stuff.  Not as good as my fave resto, but high quality for minimum kitchen time.  That recipe is up next!