Berry Pie and Trem Bom Challenge

I'm not the kind of person who participates a lot in these blogs challenges, but Valentina is such a nice and thoughtful person and Trem Bom has served me such a variety of times with the most delicious recipes that I decided to join this. I wanted to prepare something special - and beautiful! And nothing better than a celebration for me to serve this joyful pie. The recipe is really easy and the crust - which I thought would give me a lot of work - was quickly done. I hope that you enjoy and, specially VOTE on my recipe, available on Trem Bom from december 6 to 12!

Berry Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:

250g flour

125g softened butter

100g sugar

1 egg

A pinch of salt

Cream:

50 ml milk

150g sugar

4 egg yolks

50g flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Pie Crust - In a bowl, add the butter, sugar and salt and mix them with the palm of your hand for a  while. Stir in the eggs and mix. Add the flour, previously strained, and mix until you get an even dough. If the douhg is sticking to your hand or bowl, add some more flour, and knead the dough, delicately. Wrap the dough in a plastic bag and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using. Open the dough  3 or 4 mm thick and  line it in the baking sheet. Cover it with aluminum foil, fill it with raw beans (or any other grains) and take it to the preheated oven 200oC for about 35 minutes.

Cream - In a saucepan, boil the milk with the vanilla extract. Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat the yolks with the sugar until they get white and foamy. Add the strained flour. When the milk starts to boil, pour it into the mixture and mix it well with a fouet. Transfer the mixture to the same pan where the milk was boiled and cook it in low heat, mixing constantly with the fouet or a wooden spoon. Boil the cream for a couple of minutes and pour in another bowl, covering with a plastic bag until cold.

For the topping I used 250g strawberry, 200g raspberry, 150g blackberry and 100g blueberry.

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

 

 

My brother is 2 years older than me. Last year he was hired for a job and moved to another city. Even though I didn't meet him so often when he lived here, I knew that I could see him everytime and everyday. Since he moved out, I realize we cannot see each other whenever we want to, but I remember him everytime I make something special. When we were kids, he used to like bananas with everything. Cakes, pizza, skakes, everything! And he loved strawberry as well. Cookies, ice-cream. If he was around here, I'm sure he would enjoy this smoothie. My hubbie tried it and said it is not a smoothie, but just a nice regular shake! But it certainly didn't feel any regular to me!

 

Banana and Strawberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

2 bananas (I used frozen ones)

5 fresh strawberries, rinsed & hulled

350 ml milk

1 tsp sugar

Directions:

Blend the ingredients thoroughly and serve it cold.

Chicken Soup

Today was a very long day in here. Lots of things to do, many things to organize. I wasn't able to prepare lunch and, according to my 'tradition', it's a perfect day to prepare soup for dinner. As there weren't many vegetables in the fridge and I had bought so many potatoes yesterday, I decided to prepare a chicken soup. Bruno liked it so much that he ate the whole thing, quite incredible for a kid that isn't into soup! So I took a recipe from the internet, for all of my chicken soups 'til now always ended up like a thick porridge. And this recipe was awesome, the result was great!
Chicken Soup
from here

Ingredients:

4 carrots
4 potatoes
2 peeled tomatoes
1 pound chicken breast,  cooked and pulled
1 cup brown rice
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 tbsp oil
Salt

Directions:

Dice the carrots and potatoes. In a saucepan, heat the oil, the onion, the tomatoes and the salt. Stir-fry until they get a light brown color and the tomato is softened. Add the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Add water and cook it for 10 minutes. Pour the rice and chicken and mix it well. Sprinkle some dehidrated parsley to serve.

Steak with Caramelized Onions and Potato Gratin

I think that my main motivation to write a blog is the need of varying a bit the way things are. Now everyday I want to make something new, just to take a picture and post it here for you to read. A while ago I was the 'queen of the same'. Strogonoff, plain steak, roasted chicken.. Now I can no longer be like this, or else how would I be able to update my recipes daily? Anyways, I went to the market today and bought some potatoes. I got home with the idea of making potato gratin. I ended up by replacing most of the ingredientes, but it turned out amazing! Sometimes the easiest things are the tastiest!

Steak with Caramelized Onions and Potato Gratin

Ingredients:

8 steaks

3 cloves of garlic

4 purple onions, sliced

6 medium-sized potatoes

300g cheese (I used a brazilian cheese called Minas, but Mozzarela woud do great)

1 tbsp cream cheese

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Salt

Olive Oil

Butter

Directions:

Steak: Finely slice the garlic and mix with 1/2 tsp of salt. Season the steak and fry them with 2 tbsp of olive oil.

Onions: Place the onions in a frying pan with 1 tbsp of butter. Fry them in low heat, until they wilter and get a light brown color.

Potatoes: Peel the potatoes and cut them in thin slices. Put them in boiling and salted water for 3 minutes or until they get soft. Take off the heat, drain and put together, in a baking tray, the layers of potato and cheese. Finish with the cream cheese and the grated Parmesan. Bake it for 20 minutes or until the Parmesan gets light brown. Take off the oven and serve it with the steak and some steamed broccoli.

PS: We all love the Beatles here in my house. From our little boy to my husband, it is something that has become a trademark in here. Now, to top it off, even the picture has a Beatlemaniac detail..

Pat Scarpin's Cookies

 

 

You might not know, but it hasn't been long sinca I became a huge fan of foodie blogs. I've always read them, but never really left any comments. Many and many times I took some recipes from them, and I were always  praised for them. And suddenly this recipe showed up. I've always enjoyed to visit Pat Scarpin's blog. The pictures are gorgeous, such as the foods. I've done this cookie many and many times, and people's responses are always the same! Everybody loves these cookies! Some friends suggested me to open my own cookie store!! And here's another fact: it is very easy to make them, and in 30 minutes you can have 30 delicious bits to devour. Even my kids and hubbie, that are not so into chocolate, love it!

Better Than Brownie Cookies
from here, slightly modified

1 1/3 cups (233g) de bittersweet chocolate
2 tbsp - 28g - butter, room temperature
2 eggs
2/3 cup (134g) refined sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup (35g) flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 cup (175g) milk and bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF; line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Melt the 1 1/3 cups chocolate with the butter in a small saucepan over low heat – stir constantly until smooth. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes. Mix eggs, vanilla and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Sift flour and baking powder together in a small bowl.
Add melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture and slowly add your dry ingredients. When stirred, add the cup of chocolate chunks/chips and stir.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of dough onto prepared sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they are firm on the outside (dough loses its sheen). Leave to cool completely on sheets.

Strawberry Sorbet

Hello everybody! From today on, I'll try to post all my recipes in english for all our english-speaking readers. And nothing better than starting with a super-refreshing strawberry sorbet. I really wish every reader of mine could have an ice cream maker, so that they could have the same feeling as I do in these sooo hot and crazy days. This sorbet tastes just like a strawberry popsicle, incredibly delicious! And, besides being super easy to make, its colour shines all over the place.

Strawberry Sorbet

from here

Ingredients:

1 pound (450 g) fresh strawberries, rinsed & hulled
3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
1 tsp kirsch (optional)
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch of salt

 

Directions:

Slice the strawberries and toss them in a medium bowl with the sugar and kirsch, if using, stirring until the sugar begins to dissolve. Cover and let stand for 1 hour, stirring every so often. Purée the strawberries and their liquid with the lemon juice and salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Press the mixture through a strainer to remove seeds if you wish. Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.