Brigadeiro

The ultimate sweet. Originating in Brazil and named after Brigadier Eduardo Gomes (supposedly because he was dark and handsome), it's popularity has spread simply because it is soooo delicious.

This is a must-have for parties, especially chidren's parties - but be prepared for some hyperactive kids afterwards.

Made by mixing a little butter, condensed milk and chocolate powder. If you have a tendancy to eat sweet things, this is the food for you.

You will need a good quality pan with a thick bottom for this, if you burn the mixture it will ruin.

You might also want to use some individual mini muffin cases, but this is not essential.

Preparation time:
5 minutes + 30 minutes cooling + 30 minutes making

Cooking time:
15-25 minutes

Ingredients:
half a spoon of butter
2 spoons of chocolate powder
1 can condensed milk
chocolate spinkles

Method:
Sift the chocolate powder into a pan, add the butter and condensed milk and mix as well as you can (there will be a few balls of butter but these will melt during heating).

Put on a low heat and stir and fold continuously until the mixture becomes just thick enough to stay on the spoon/spatula.

Pour into a lightly greased bowl and leave to cool for 15-30 minutes.

Lick the pan (you will not be able to resist!).

Pour some chocolate spinkles into a bowl.

Now comes the messy bit. One the mixture is cool, grease your hands with butter. With a teaspoon scoop up a little of the mixture, transfer to your hands and roll into a little ball. Drop into the sprinkles and roll around until the ball is covered.

Place in a muffin case and repeat the process until all the mixture is used up, you should have about 20 or so when finished.

Haddock & Potato Bake

This, I have to confess is not my own creation - I got the idea from one of those Waitrose suggestion cards. Nonetheless, it is the type of dish you can add variations to very easily and so worthy of an entry on the blog.

The dish itself is already a variation on one made with anchovies, known as Jansen's Temptation.

Preparation time:
15-20 minutes

CookingTime:
1 hour

Serves:
4-6

Ingredients:
400g haddock
700g potatoes
1 onion
2 gloves of garlic
300ml single cream
100ml milk
Salt & pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Peel and cut the potatoes into chips about 5mm wide. Season and leave to one side. Chop the onion into slices.

Put the haddock in a pan with cold water. Cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the meat is just cooked through. Drain off the water and remove the skin. Flake the meat into a mixing bowl, add crushed/chopped garlic and mix together. Season with a little salt and pepper.

Add the potato and onion and toss gently then put the mixture into a greased dish, leaving the top uneven. Mix the milk and cream together and pour over.

Leave in the oven for 1 hour. If the top layer starts to look too burnt (you want it somewhat crispy), cover with foil. Serve immediately with a green salad or peas.

Lime & Pepper Chicken Goujons

This is a well known combination, but it is simple and delicious. The secret here is quality ingredients.

The preparation is the most difficult part with this one, but if you get everything ready beforehand the process is quite straightforward.

Preparation time:
30 minutes

Cooking time:
30 minutes

Serves:
2-4

Ingredients:
400g chicken breast fillet
3 slices good quality brown bread
1 egg
2 limes
plain flour
black pepper
salt

Method:
Slice the chicken lengthways into strips about 2-3cm thick and put aside in a bowl and season with a little salt.

Lightly toast the bread and break up into crumbs (or put in the blender).

Wash the limes and grate all the zest into a dish. Add the bread crumbs and a little salt. Add the black pepper, turning the grinder for about 20 seconds, and mix the ingredients evenly.

Add the juice of the limes to the chicken.

In another bowl whisk the egg.

In another bowl (a flat dish if available) put some plain flour, enough so that there is about a half centimetre layer in the middle.

Line the bowls and dishes up as follows:
chicken
flour
egg
bread crumbs

Take a piece of chicken (allow to drip-dry a little) and dip first in the flour to soak up the lime juice, then in the egg and finally in the bread crumbs. Add to a greased baking tray.

It is best to use a pair wooden tongs here, unless you like having kak-covered fingers of course.

Place in the oven at 190 degrees and cook for 30 minutes turning once or twice. Allow to cool a little before serving.

Chocolate, Orange & Whisky Cake

There seems to be a bit of a running theme developing here...what can I say? Cake is good and this one was especially good.

Orange cake is very common in Brazil and you will find it in nearly every coffee shop/snack bar. They make it in much the same way but in a traditional ring form, like a big doughnut.

I have substituded the type of chocolate powder used for the topping because I could not source 'Padre' (a Nestlé chocolate powder with two priests on the front), using Cadbury's Bournville powder instead.

Preparation Time:
30 minutes

Cooking Time:
1 hour (approx)

Ingredients:
1 large orange
2 eggs
sugar
self-raising flour
a handful of sultanas
whisky
unsalted butter
icing sugar
bournville (or Padre) chocolate powder

Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees.

Put the sultanas in a glass. Add whisky until about half the sultanas are covered. Stir gently, adding a little sugar until all of the sultanas are wet with whisky. Cover with a small plate or clingfilm and leave to soak.

Wash the orange and cut in half. Cut one half into smaller segments and add to the blender (peel and flesh). Add just the peel of the other half to the mix and blend for 30 seconds.

Weigh the eggs and weigh out the same in butter, sugar and self-raising flour. Add the eggs, butter and sugar to the mix and blend. Add the flour and blend again until all is mixed in well and you can see no lumps moving around.

At this point you need to use a bit of judgement - the cake mix is going to be a bit wetter than a normal cake because we have added the juice of half an orange. Add a little more flour, blending as you go, until the mix looks right...Using a spoon or a spatula, take a big scoop of the mix - if it drips off it is too wet, add some more flour.

Grease a cake tin and lightly dust with plain flour to prevent the cake sticking to it during cooking. Add the mix.

Add the sultanas and whisky on top, folding in very gently to the top layer of the mix. You should still be able to see some of the sultanas poking through.

Put in the oven for approximately one hour (check with a knife to see if the middle is done at about 50 minutes).

Take the cake out of the oven, remove from the tin and leave to cool on a rack.

To make the topping first melt some butter in a pan, do not boil it.

Add some chocolate powder and the same proportion of icing sugar to a bowl and mix evenly, making sure any balls of icing sugar are broken up (you could always sift the powder in instead).

Add the melted butter, mixing it in evenly with a spatula as you go. You want the mix here to be quite thick but if you feel it needs more butter then add some (only needs to be soft at this stage, no need to melt it in the pan again).

Wait until the cake is completely cool (otherwise your butter icing will melt off the sides) and spread the mixture over the top and sides evenly. Wait for the topping to harden a little and serve.