Pavé - My Sweet Tooth goes Brazilian

You know how there’s always someone at a gathering who drops the bomb by saying, “Me meetha ni khati. (I don’t eat sweets.)”. Well, I don’t get such people. What do they have against sugar/sweet stuff? In my opinion, anyone who can’t handle a bit of a sweet thing isn’t worth my time or attention. It’s just as simple as that. All my friends are people who love eating, and they love eating sugary stuff. Hand one a pack of Galaxy Minies and they’d start dancing (albeit awkwardly) with joy.

I came by this post a few days back about a bunch of Brazilian dishes that should be tried out. And the one that caught my eye turned out to be layer-after-layer of pure sugary pleasure. It takes a little time to make, and since it has a lot of layers, you have to spend some time on your feet and there are a lot of dirty dishes in the sink in the end. But trust me, it’s all worth it.

The original recipe didn’t call for it but I added a cheesecake layer in the middle just to balance out the dulce de leche on top. Turned out amazing, if I don’t say so myself. :-P

8 Layers of Awesome

Ingredients

Dulce De Leche
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (lowfat or fat-free okay)

Cookie Layer
3 (7 ounce) packs Marie biscuits or plane tea biscuits
1 cup milk (I use skim or fat-free half & half)

Cheesecake Layer
1 sachet Whip Cream or 1 cup Whip Cream
½ cup Milk
1 cup Heavy Cream
6 Kiri Cheese squares

Pavé
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 ounces butter or 4 ounces margarine
4 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Maraschino cherries, for decoration

Directions

1. Remove label from condensed milk can. Place UNOPENED can in a large saucepan and cover it with water. Boil for 1 to 1. 5 hours, making sure that the top of the can is always covered with at least a half-inch of water to prevent an explosion (if the water level becomes too low, just add some more hot water to the pan until can is sufficiently covered). Remove can from water with tongs or a strainer and set aside to cool. Allow can to come to room temp before opening (WARNING: hot can is under pressure and will spray you if opened).

2. With a mixer, beat the butter/margarine and sugar until well-mixed (3-5 min. depending on strength of your mixer). Add yolks, one by one, beating well after each addition. Add cocoa powder. Beat in vanilla extract and heavy cream (beat only until mixture is homogeneous and fluffy- it will become grainy if over-mixed).

3. In another bowl, empty the sachet of whip cream, pour in the milk and beat until peaks form. Pour in the heavy cream and beat until well-mixed. Then put in the Kiri squares and beat until the cheese is mixed in with cream.

4. Pour milk or half-and-half in a shallow dish for moistening cookies.

5. In a 2-quart glass casserole or 8x8" dish, dip cookies one by one and form a layer to cover the bottom of the casserole. Next, spread half of the butter-cream mixture over the cookies. Top with a layer of softened cookies. Spread the whole cheesecake mixture. Top with another layer of moistened cookies and rest of the butter-cream mixture, ending with a layer of moistened cookies. Spread entire can of room-temp dulce de leche over the dessert.

6. Sprinkle with roasted peanuts, and decorate with maraschino cherries that have been patted dry.

7. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight to allow layers to fully blend.

What's for Brunch?

Mollet Eggs Florentine

I’ve always been one for an elaborate breakfast. I believe the first meal of the day should be a big deal, especially considering how important it is. Normally I don’t have a lot of time on my hands to make an elaborate breakfast. But when I see a recipe online that I just have to try, I make time for it. Plus Fridays in our home are all about sleeping in a little, going for Jumah prayers and brunch. So that gives me even more time to cook up something elaborate.

I found the recipe for Mollet Eggs Florentine a few months back. But I just couldn’t find time for it. And turns out, my Mom isn’t a really big fan of the soft-boiled eggs. The thing is, “mollet” means soft in French, or so the site said where I found the recipe. The eggs are supposed to be boiled so that the yolk is solid but not completely cooked through. So if you’re not a big fan of raw or raw-ish eggs, just forget the “mollet” part and make a simple Eggs Florentine by boiling the eggs completely through.

Ingredients

8 large eggs, preferably organic

SPINACH
2 pounds spinach
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper powder
3 tablespoons grated Mozarella cheese

MORNAY SAUCE
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated Mozarella cheese

Directions

Bring 4 to 6 cups water to a boil in a shallow saucepan (about 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep). With a pushpin or thumbtack, prick a small hole in the rounder end of each egg (this will help prevent the shells from cracking during cooking). Using a small sieve, lower the eggs into the boiling water, and let it come back to a simmer. Cook for about 6 minutes. Pour the water out and shake the pan to crack the eggshells. Cool thoroughly.

Gently shell the eggs (to prevent breaking them) under cold running water.

FOR THE SPINACH: Bring about 1/2 inch of salted water to a boil in a stainless steel pot. Meanwhile, remove and discard the spinach stems. Drop the leaves into the boiling water and boil, covered, for about 1 minute, until wilted. Drain the spinach in a colander and immediately refresh under cold running water to stop the cooking and keep the color. Drain again, pressing on the spinach to extract as much water as possible.

Put the spinach on a chopping block and coarsely chop.

Melt the butter in a skillet over high heat and cook until it turns brown. Add the spinach, salt, pepper, and red pepper, mix well with a fork, and cook for 2 minutes.

Arrange the spinach in the bottom of an ovenproof dish large enough to accommodate the eggs. Arrange the cold eggs on the spinach, with a little space between them, and sprinkle the cheese on top.

FOR THE SAUCE: Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Stir in the flour until smooth and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, until the mixture froths, without browning. Add the half-and-half, whipping constantly with a whisk, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Stir in the seasonings and continue cooking over low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly with the whisk. Cool for 6 to 8 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Add the egg yolk to the sauce, whisking very fast and hard.

Coat the eggs with the sauce and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Place under the hot broiler (not too close, so the eggs have a chance to get hot inside) for 5 minutes, or until the sauce is nicely browned. Serve immediately. (This recipe serves 8.)

Original Recipe: http://blogs.kqed.org/essentialpepin/2011/09/10/mollet-eggs-florentine/