pão de queijo

2 cups tapioca flour (aka manioc starch)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese (or cheese of your choice)
2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a mini-cupcake tin. Bring milk, butter and salt to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add tapioca flour slowly and evenly until you have a smooth consistency. Add the cheese and eggs. If you have a very wet batter, add a little tapioca flour. Drop dough into tin, just below rim of muffin cups. Sprinkle with cheese if you want. Bake until golden brown, which is somewhere between 12 and 15 minutes. Eat hot. Enjoy.

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

We made these from a Bon Appetit recipe this past Monday and think they're pretty yummy.

Ingredients

cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 very ripe large bananas, peeled
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk

frosting

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature (don't melt too much - if you do, refrigerate overnight)
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (do not use old-fashioned or freshly ground)
Chopped lightly salted roasted peanuts (optional)

Preparation

CUPCAKES

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 12 standard (1/3-cup) muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Mash bananas with fork in another medium bowl until smooth. Mix sour cream and vanilla into bananas.
2. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk and beat until well blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with banana-sour cream mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating just until blended after each addition. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups (generous 1/4 cup for each).
3. Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center of each comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes to rack and let cool completely.

FROSTING

1. Sift powdered sugar into large bowl. Add cream cheese, butter, and peanut butter. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cupcakes, dividing equally. Sprinkle lightly with chopped peanuts, if desired. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

kahlua chocolate chip cookies

My friend Dylan made these and they were so good I asked for the recipe. Because I am a cookie snob, I adapted the recipe.

The kahlua gives the cookie a bolder, darker taste. Yarm.

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons kahlua
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon zest if'n you desire
chocolate chips as you desire
sliced or chopped almonds as you desire
dried cranberries if'n you desire

cream the sugars and the butter.
stir in the eggs, kahlua and zest.
fold in flour, salt, soda, chips and extras 'til they are just barely mixed in.
(do not overmix)
preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
bake about 10 minutes.

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup Recipe (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients

4 large red onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
6 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups of beef stock, chicken stock, or a combination of the two (traditionally the soup is made with beef stock)
1/2 cup of dry vermouth or dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
8 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large saucepan, sauté the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30-40 minutes (or longer). Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

2. Add garlic to a large soup pot and sauté for 1 minute. Transfer onions into the pot. Add the stock, vermouth or wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

3. Meanwhile, cut several slices of an artisan French bread and top with the cheese. Put in the oven on a baking sheet. Broil for 5 minutes or so. Once the soup is done, add these croutons to your soup.

Cilantro and Arugula Pesto

Cilantro and Arugula Pesto

2 cups packed cilantro (stems and all)
1/2 cup packed arugula
2-3 cloves garlic
1/3 cup almonds (or nut of your choice)
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except olive oil in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add olive oil gradually and process until smooth.

We made grilled cheese sandwiches with this pesto and smoked mozzarella, on a hearty potato bread. Yum.

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Another Bon Appetit gem.

Prep 1 hour Total 1 hour

Ingredients

6 first-course servings For step-by-step photos of this recipe, see “Prep School,” pg. 134.
9 ½ tablespoons butter, divided
1 ½ pounds fresh wild mushrooms (such as cepe (porcini), hen of the woods, chenterelle, or stemmed shiitake); large mushrooms sliced, small mushrooms halved or quartered
7 cups (about) low-salt chicken broth
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cup finely chopped leek (white and pale green parts only)
1 ¼ cups arborio rice (8 to 9 ounces)
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup dry white vermouth
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving (optional)

Directions

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ¼ of mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Saute mushrooms until tender and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to medium bowl. Working in 3 more batches, repeat with 6 tablespoons butter, remaining mushrooms, and salt and pepper.

Bring 7 cups chicken broth to simmer in medium saucepan; keep warm. Melt remaining 1 ½ tablespoons butter with olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add leek, sprinkle with salt, and saute until tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Add rice and increase heat to medium. Stir until edges of rice begin to look translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add white wine and vermouth and stir until liquid is absorbed, about 1 minute. Add ¾ cup warm chicken broth; stir until almost all broth is absorbed before adding more, until rice is tender but still firm to bite and risotto is creamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, if using. Transfer risotto to serving bowl. Pass additional Parmesan cheese alongside, if desired.

For National Chocolate Cake Day (yesterday)

This is a recipe I found on allrecipes.com. It was delicious and super moist. Greg said it was the best chocolate cake ever.

Dark Chocolate Cake

Ingredients
2 cups boiling water
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 3 - 9 inch round cake pans (or fewer or different sizes). In medium bowl, pour boiling water over cocoa, and whisk until smooth. Let mixture cool. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at time, then stir in vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the cocoa mixture. Spread batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar (we halved the confectioner's sugar - it was already very sweet and more frosting than we needed for the cakes)

Directions
Melt chocolate and the butter together. Let cool and blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Gradually add the confectioner's sugar until the frosting is of spreading consistency, beat well (keep beating the whole time, it may look lumpy but if you keep beating it will smooth itself out).