Welcome back!  Today, we have a famous Brazilian dish: Pão de Queijo! This dish is essentially what the Portuguese name translates to: "cheese bread". But this baked good is actually a lot more nuanced because of the ingredients that go into it. Specifically, the use of tapioca flour mixed with a cheese like mozzarella gives this bread a very chewy texture on the inside that perfectly complements the crisp exterior. Pão de Queijo Makes 18-24 pães Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup (170 grams) tapioca flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (60 grams) Mozzarella cheese, shredded 1/8 cup (15 grams) Parmesan cheese, grated 1 egg 160 grams milk 80 grams oil Directions: In a food processor, add in all the ingredients and pulse until evenly incorporated. Brush oil in a mini muffin tin and pour in the batter. Try not to fill the pan up too much because they will expand significantly while baking. Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes. If you just looked at the final product, you'd be surprised at how eas...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious holiday side: Roasted and Spiced Kabocha! This is a simple pumpkin dish that brings both the sweet and savory undertones of the kabocha through a complex blend of spices. Adding the pecans and cranberries on top of that brings forth even more flavor and texture. Pair it with some roast beef, holiday ham, or even seafood like lobster, and you’ll have a great meal for the holiday season! Roasted and Spiced Kabocha Ingredients: 2 pounds kabocha, peeled (optionally) and cubed 1/2 cup pecans, broken into pieces 1/4 cup dried cranberries 2 tablespoons olive oil Salt to taste Spice mix: 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin  1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon cayenne 1/4 teaspoon allspice 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper Directions: Season the cubed kabocha with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt, and bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes. Mix together t...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a quick recipe to enhance something very simple: corn! This method of preparing corn is inspired by the viral dish, "corn ribs", but it's really not anything too complicated, consisting primarily of just a seasoning rub over the corn. The interesting component to this dish is how the corn sort of curls when cooked because of being quartered the way it is.  Oven-Baked Spiced Corn Ingredients: 2 ears corn 1 tablespoon melted butter/oil 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/4 teaspoon salt Pinch of cayenne (optional) Directions: Cut the corn into quarters to create four long strips. This will be easier if you cut the corn in half first, giving you eight shorter strips. Mix the melted butter/oil, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and cayenne together in a bowl. Rub this mixture on the corn. Bake in the oven at 425°F for 10-12 minutes. For an oven like ours with an air-fry setting, you could air-fry it at 400°F for about 10 minutes. Honestly...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another great side dish: this one is a quick recipe for roasted mini potatoes. This is something that can go with anything, and everyone likes potatoes, so everyone will like this dish! This dish also works with many different ingredients; you can use different types of potatoes or different seasonings on top. Quick Roasted Mini Potatoes/Smashed Potatoes Ingredients: 1 pound mini potatoes Olive oil Salt and pepper to taste To garnish: Herbs Parmesan/shredded cheese Directions: For standard roasted potatoes: Cut the mini potatoes to desired size (we usually cut them in half) Put a pot of water on the stove and put a little salt in it. Once at a boil, put the potatoes in the water. Cook for about 8-10 minutes until almost fully cooked. Put the potatoes on a baking pan and sprinkle with olive oil and your desired seasoning. Bake in the oven at 375°F until golden brown (maybe about 15 minutes). For smashed potatoes: Don't cut the potatoes - leave them whol...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another classic holiday feast side: stuffing! Traditionally, this is stuffed in the turkey to fill up the insides, which helps the turkey retain moisture and enhances the flavor. However, since we didn't cook a whole turkey at once, there was no turkey to stuff, so instead of making stuffing to stuff the turkey with, we decided that this stuffing would just be to stuff our bellies with. Stuffing Ingredients: 1 pound cornbread 1/2 pound baguette or sourdough bread 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons butter 1 medium onion (1 cup), chopped 3 stalks celery (1/2 cup), chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves 1/4 cup parsley, chopped 1 egg 1 3/4 cup broth 1/3 cup white wine Directions: Cut the cornbread and bread into cubes. You should have about 7 cups of bread. Bake these in the oven at 325°F for about 20-30 minutes to dry them. In a pan, saute the onion, celery, and garlic with the olive oil and ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for a casserole that's commonly featured as a side dish for Thanksgiving feasts: Green Bean Casserole! It was first created by a Campbell's Soup worker, featuring their cream of mushroom soup. Nowadays, a large portion of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup sales go towards the making of this casserole, which is quite interesting. However, since we wanted to make something as fresh and gourmet as possible, we didn't use the canned soup and instead made our own "soup" to go with the beans. Green Bean Casserole Ingredients: 1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut 1 shallot, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 3 slices of bacon, chopped 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced 2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons flour 2 cup half & half 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional) French fried onions Salt and pepper to taste Directions: In a pot of salt water, blanch the green beans for 6 minutes until fork tender. Once done, take these out and rinse them ...