Brazilian Cheese Bread

Brazilian Cheese Bread
Makes 24 mini Cheese Puffs
Recipe adapted from simplyrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS

• 1 egg*
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups (170 grams) tapioca flour or potato starch
• 1/2 cup (packed, about 66 grams) grated cheese, your preference, we get good results with feta cheese (no need to grate), or fresh farmer's cheese (if using fresh farmer's cheese, you may want to add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt)
• 1 teaspoon of salt (or more to taste)

Special equipment recommended:
One or two mini muffin tins. Mini muffin tins are about half the size of a regular muffin pan. The muffin openings are about 1-inch deep, and 1 3/4 inch wide at the top.

Note: 
*It helps when baking with eggs to start with eggs at room temperature. If you don't plan ahead (that would be me, usually) you can put the egg in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to gently take off the chill of the fridge.

METHOD
1) Preheat oven to 400°F. Spread a little olive oil around the insides of each well of a mini-muffin tin.
2) 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.
3) Pour batter into prepared mini-muffin tin, not quite to the top; leave about 1/8 inch from the top.
4) Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until all puffy. 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.

Mom's Mac n Cheese

   

My mom made this recipe recently for my Dad's birthday party and several people asked for the recipe, so here it is:

Mom's Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:
8 oz. elbow macaroni (2 cups)
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1/2 cup Parmesan
3 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 tbs. flour

For topping: 
2 tbs. butter
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1. Cook macaroni - boil 6 minutes for "al dente".
2. Melt butter in a pan on medium heat. Stir in flour to make a roux. Add milk slowly, stir constantly on low heat. Stir in cheeses til melted and sauce becomes thicker. Put macaroni in a large casserole dish and stir well.
3. Topping: melt butter in a saucepan, add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni to cover; sprinkle with paprika.
4. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Mom's Note: I tripled the recipe, using a Romano/Parmesan mix for 1/2 cup of the cheese, and prepped it all the day before, so just popped in the oven 30 minutes the next day.

Eri's Note: Mom toasted some whole wheat bread to make her own breadcrumbs.