Rio here we come

It always takes longer than I think this travelling cuisine marlarkey. Trying every shop on the street for tapioca flour. Checking out on google whether tapioca flour is the same as the cassava flour which is the only think I can find in the local corner shop. Wondering what sort of chilly I have bought from the fabulous local greengrocer who doesn't much go in for labelling of products. More googling helped. Fab chilly chart for the uninitiated. But I was still guessing, to be honest. I guess I should have chosen a pudding which didn't call for being cooked for 2hrs and then chilled for 6. No one should have to start cooking Tuesday night tea the day before. And here I am blogging about it at nearly 1am on the following Tuesday as I haven't had a moment to finish it off til now. I've got to get a grip...

THE DISH

As well as the things, below, which I prepared for the main meal, I also bought some banana chips
and some coconut and passion fruit juice for a totally tropical taste. I am sure that there must be a stack of good cocktails but I just ran out of time...

Brazilian Chicken Stew (it seems a great shame that there isn't a wonderful Portuguese name for it..)
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/brazilian-chicken-stew
  
1/3 cup peeled and thinly sliced ginger (3 ounces) 
4 garlic cloves, chopped 
2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped 
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
1 tablespoon sweet paprika 
2 tablespoons water 
1/4 cup vegetable oil 
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped 
2 cups drained canned plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped, juices reserved 
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk 
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts, finely chopped 
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, plus more for garnish 
1/4 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish 
3 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium broth 
Salt and freshly ground pepper 
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces 
Steamed rice and lemon wedges, for serving

1. In a food processor, pulse the ginger with the garlic, jalapeños, lemon juice and paprika until finely chopped. Add the water and process to a paste.
2. In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil until shimmering. Add the onions and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the ginger paste and cook until it begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add half of the tomatoes along with the coconut milk, peanuts, 1/4 cup of the shredded coconut and 2 tablespoons of the cilantro and cook until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
3. Scrape the sauce into a food processor or blender and puree. Return the sauce to the saucepan. Add the stock and the remaining tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of cilantro and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper and simmer over moderate heat until reduced to 5 cups, about 20 minutes. Keep warm.
4. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sauté over moderately high heat until golden and cooked through, about 10 minutes.
5. Add the chicken; season with salt and pepper. Spoon into bowls and garnish with coconut and cilantro. Serve with steamed rice and lemon wedges.

Pão de Queijo - cheesy puffs

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/

• 1 egg*
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• Scant 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, your preference, though we got the best results from Mexican farmer's cheese - queso fresco
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a mini-muffin tin. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the blender so that everything gets blended well. At this point you can store the batter in the refrigerator for up to a week.
2.  Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy and just lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for a few minutes.
Eat while warm or save to reheat later.
Note that Brazilian cheese bread is very chewy, a lot like Japanese mochi.

(makes enough batter for 16 mini muffin sized cheese breads).

THE REACTION
Apart from the obligatory melt down from the kids as they waited for food to be delivered, and the obligatory melt down from the mother as the extra burden of delivering the obscure cuisine sank in, it was all quite cool. No one made too much fuss as I served up, they all got pretty well into watching capoeira and videos of mardi gras (which is completely mad and seems much more like the one in the Disney/Pixar film Rio than I ever anticipated!!) and I even showed then a short video from amazonwatch.org/ about the Brazilian tribes fighting the government over the Belo Monte dam which threatens their homes and lives. To be honest the sauce turned out a little sick-looking-like so I was amazed it wasn't greeted with derision.


THE VERDICT
M: I liked the pineapple and coconut juice and the chicken (but he didn't really eat the sauce).  I would give it about 4 out of 10.
K: I liked the whole entire meal. I would give it 10 out of 10.
E: Say that I was the only one who ate it all.  I give it 7 out of 10.
me: I had been rather looking forward to the cheesy balls after the Travellers down the road had raved about them on their Brazilian night. But I thought the casava flour smelt of vomit when I was making them and they didn't improve much once in their mini Yorkshire pudding guise. Maybe that's the price you pay for recipes off the internet instead of getting the genuine article off your Brazilian cleaner. And, if I'm honest, what with the left over tapas rice on the plate with the cheesy puffs and slightly sickly looking stew, it all looked a bit orange. Had to shove on some red pepper and cucumber and a slice of lime at the last minute just for interest's sake.

THE PUDDING

Thanks to Brazilian Ana living in the States for the pudding. I must say it sounded devine and the pics on her blog are amazing. But... after the whole damn shebang of boiling it for 2 hours, whipping cream, cooking a custard, cooling it, layering it, freezing it etc etc I happened to nibble on a slice that I had saved for a garnish. That pineapple may have been lovingly bought by the Lovely Mary for my Lovely Birthday Soiree. But that pineapple was not lovely. Dry, tasteless and hard. Oh my what a disappointment! I reckon this could have been about the best pudding I've cooked for these Tuesday night adventures but I can't really say for sure because with this mediocre fruit it was not exactly the tropical taste explosion I had been hoping for. Damn.

• 1 medium fresh pineapple
• 3/4 sugar
• 1 cup water
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 can sweet condensed milk
• whole milk (use the condensed milk can to measure the milk)
• 1 can crema media (I think I would call this evaporated milk. But this is so 1970s I couldn't bring myself even to buy it. I used single cream instead).
• 3 tbs sugar
• 3 egg whites

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Cut your pineapples is small cubed pieces.

Add sugar, water in the pineapple and let it cook on medium-high heat for about 2 hours until pineapple becomes tender and water evaporates. You should have very little liquid left, and be very careful not to burn the pineapple compote.

In a sauce pan add condensed milk, whole milk, and eggs. Mix with a wooden spatula cook on medium heat until creamy.

Have the crema media can in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it. With your can opener placed on the bottom of the can poke a hole and let the liquid run down until empty.

Using your mixer beat the egg whites on high speed until stiff. Beat the sugar for about 2 minutes then with a spatula mix the crema media.

Make sure everything is cooled down completely. Start with the pineapple, second, add the cream and third, add the topping made with the egg whites, crema media and sugar. Spread each layer evenly.

Keep in the freezer for at least 6 hours. It has to be frozen just like ice cream. I used some of the pineapple juice that was left with 2 tablespoon of sugar to make a thicker sauce for pouring on the dessert.

Before serving, let it sit on the counter for about 5 minutes, and serve immediately