Queijadas de Sintra #IsabelsBirthdayBash

Queijadas de Sintra are sweet cheese tarts with a hint of cinnamon, a traditional dessert from a town high in the hills outside of Lisbon. In Portugal they are made with fresh cheese or queijo fresco. This version is made with ricotta. 

[Shhhhh! Get behind the sofa! I can't stop giggling!!! Is she here yet?!! Any minute now...]

Surprise, Isabel! Happy Birthday! 

Today I’m sharing this sweet treat from Portugal to celebrate the birthday of someone very special, my friend, Isabel, otherwise known as Family Foodie, founder of the Sunday Supper Movement. Back in December of 2012, when Isabel sent me a private message on Twitter inviting me to join Sunday Supper, I emailed her right away to accept. I had heard such great things about the supportive community and was delighted to become a part of it. Her mission, the goal of Sunday Supper, is to encourage families, one home at a time, to gather again around the family table for mealtime. Under her passionate leadership and with a great team of willing workers, the movement is spreading around the world.

One thing for certain is that our online Sunday Supper family also comes together every week, each bringing a dish or drink to share. Isabel's recipes are often favorites from her early childhood in Portugal or recreated memories from summers spent there as she grew up, as well as family traditions learned from her mother. In fact, if you search her blog for the word Portuguese, 12 pages of recipes show up and, boy, does she love her chorizo! I couldn't resist trying to create a Portuguese dessert in her honor.

Today many of her Sunday Supper family members are gathering again on this rare Tuesday, dishes in hand to wish Isabel a very happy birthday, so make sure to scroll down to the bottom to see the whole list of deliciousness we are bringing to the surprise party.

Many thanks to Terri from Love and Confections for organizing this great celebration!

Ingredients
For the pastry crust: (Best made one day ahead, if possible.)
1 cup or 125g flour
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup or 60ml cold water – or as needed. I added about one teaspoon more.
Good pinch salt

For the filling:
1 cup or 250g ricotta
2 egg yolks (preferably from large eggs)
3/4 cup or 150g sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 level tablespoons plain flour
Good pinch salt

Method
Cut your butter into the flour with the pinch of salt, until you have sandy crumbles.

Add in the cold water and mix it in with a fork until it just starts hanging together. Mine still had quite a bit of dry flour so I added one teaspoon of water more and then it was perfect.

Knead the dough for a couple of minutes and then wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of several hours or preferably overnight.

When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and grease six holes in your non-stick muffin pan. I also cut six small circles of parchment to cover the bottom, as more insurance that the tarts will release.

Roll your dough out very thinly, on a sheet of cling film, covered with another sheet of cling film. This helps make sure it won’t stick to your work surface.

For a normal sized muffin pan, your circles of dough needs to be about 4 3/4 in or 12cm across. Make a template or find something round in your kitchen that’s about that size. As you can see, I used the top of a plastic container.

Cut around the template and remove the dough in between the circles.

Ease each circle into a greased muffin pan hole. Pop the pan in the refrigerator while you get on with the filling.

To make sure there are no lumps whatsoever, push the ricotta through a metal sieve.

Add in the sugar, the two egg yolks, the cinnamon, the flour and the good pinch of salt.

Whisk well to combine. Spoon the filling into the pastry cases.

Bake in your preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the tarts are just cooked, perhaps still just a little jiggly. They’ll firm up further when they start to cool.

Remove them from the muffin pan and cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Parabéns, Isabel! Desejo-te tudo de melhor hoje e todos os dias! Obrigada por criar um grupo que se tornou como uma segunda família para mim. Nós te amamos!

Join us in celebrating Isabel's Birthday with all the delicious food and drinks her #SundaySupper family prepared!

Birthday Drinks

• Birthday Cake Cocktails by Daily Dish Recipes
• Blueberry Lavender Mojitos by Amee's Savory Dish
• Caipirinha Colada by A Kitchen Hoor's Adventure
• Fig-Bourbon Fizz by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Mocha Martini by Desserts Required
• Mocha Mudslide by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Plum and Thyme Champagne Cocktail by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Summer Fizzies by Momma's Meals

Birthday Appetizers

• 2-Ingredient Deviled Eggs by Shockingly Delicious
• Apple and Chorizo Crostini with Shallots and Basil by Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Buffalo Chicken Wontons by Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• Burrata Caprese Crostini with Proscuitto by The Crumby Cupcake
• Chorizo and Kimchi Potato Pancakes from kimchi MOM
• Cotija and Roasted Corn Guacamole by Simply Healthy Family
• Gluten Free Basil Tomato Flatbread by Gluten Free Crumbley
• Salt Cod Fritters by Recipes Food and Cooking

Birthday Main Courses

• Chai Sweet Chili Chicken Flatbread by Lifestyle Food Artistry
• Chorizo Eggs Salad by Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Espetada (Portuguese Beef Skewers) by Curious Cuisiniere
• Grilled Salmon Rice Salad by Magnolia Days
• Sofrito Marinated Beef Skewers by Nik Snacks
• Steak with Red Wine Reduction and Blue Cheese by The Weekend Gourmet

Birthday Desserts

• Angel Food Cake by Feeding Big
• Birthday Blondies by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake with Buttercream Icing by Whole Food | Real Families
• Chocolate Doughnuts with White and Chocolate Glaze by Grumpy's Honeybunch
• French Vanilla Eclair Cake by Love and Confections
• Homemade No-Churn Nutella Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Cheesecake by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Italian Cream Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Japanese Cherry Blossom Brownies and 10 Tips on How-To Get Drunk With Happiness by NinjaBaker
• Mint Chocolate Cream Pie by gotta get baked
• Pink Lemonade Cookies by Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Queijadas de Sintra by Food Lust People Love
• Red Currant Cheesecake Ice Cream by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Summer Peach Cake by The Wimpy Vegetarian

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Cheese Shallot Potato Pie #FridayPieDay

Modeled on a Lancashire cheese and onion pie, this Cheese Shallot Potato Pie has a decidedly French accent with the substitution of Cantal for the Lancashire cheese and shallots for the onions. I sliced in some waxy potatoes to make the pie a little heartier and added cheese to the shortcrust for even more flavor, both good decisions.

Last week I was staying with dear friends in the Lot-et-Garonne region of France. Daily trips to the markets were de rigueur as was a bunch of cooking and baking in their gorgeous big kitchen. Boy, did we eat well! The first night we arrived, there was a special meal of confit de canard accompanied by golden crispy potatoes roasted in duck fat. 

The next evening it was a vivid paella with chorizo, merguez, chicken and prawns. Yet another dinner boasted a festival of sausages (lamb, duck, horse, horse, pig, pig and pig – of different styles and spices) with lentil salad and a Champagne tasting.

Of particular note, on the last night, we finished with Caroline’s Nectarine Crumble, a baked delight of sweet nectarines lavished with rum, topped with crispy crumble and served with ridiculously thick Normandy cream.

Lunches were myriad cheeses, fresh bread, fabulous salads, the most amazing summer tomatoes and fruit. And, because I had thumbed my way through The Good Cook* by Simon Hopkinson, two tarts. The first one, this one, was named My Mother’s Lancashire Onion Pie so I should properly call this Not Simon Hopkinson’s Mother’s Lancashire Onion Pie. But I thank him kindly for the inspiration. 

The second one already started out with a French bent - Roquefort cheese and leeks – to which I added some thinly sliced cauliflower. You can find that recipe here: Cauliflower Leek Roquefort Tart.  

Cheese Shallot Potato Pie

This recipe is adapted from one in Simon Hopkinson's The Good Cook. See links above. The friends I was staying with owned it but there were so many great recipes that I do now as well. Highly recommend! 

Ingredients
For the pastry crust:
2 1/2 cups or 315g self-rising flour  (or the same amount of all-purpose flour with 3 teaspoons of baking powder added)
3 1/2 oz or 100g strong semi-hard cheese, grated (I used Cantal Entre Deux.)
3⁄4 cup or 140g unsalted butter, cold
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:
4-5 whole large shallots
2 medium potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fine sea salt
Black pepper
12 1/3 oz or 350g strong semi-hard cheese, grated (See link above for my cheese of choice.)

Method
First we’ll make the pastry for the crust and leave it to chill. Put flour, grated cheese and salt in a big bowl. Mix well.

Cut the cold butter in chunks and add to the flour/cheese mixture.

Use a pastry blender or two knives to cut the butter into the flour. You are looking for a soft sandy crumble but you can leave some larger pieces.

Add cold water a tablespoon at a time, mixing well in between with the tines of a fork, until the dough just comes together. Tip it out on a clean work surface and press it together.

Knead briefly then cut the dough into two pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap them both in cling film and refrigerate while you get on with the filling.

Peel and finely chop your shallots. Peel and finely slice your potatoes.

Add the butter and olive oil to skillet and sauté the shallots and potatoes for a few minutes. Add a small splash of water and cover the pan and simmer for about 5-7 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked.  Season with a sprinkle of fine sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.

Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and put a flat baking pan big enough to hold your pie plate in to preheat as well.

Cover your clean work surface with cling film and sprinkle lightly with flour.

Remove the larger piece of dough from the refrigerator and press it into a flat disk on your prepared work surface. Flour it lightly and cover it with another sheet of cling film. Use a rolling pin to roll the pastry into circle 1⁄8 inch thick and about 2 inches larger all around than your large pie plate.

Use the cling film base to lift the pastry circle and ease it into your pie plate, leaving the edges hanging off. Prick the pie crust with a fork all over the bottom and sides.

Add the grated filling cheese to the cooled skillet and gently mix it together with the shallots and potatoes, trying not to break the potatoes up.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and spread it around evenly.

Recover your work surface with cling film, sprinkle on some flour and repeat the process of rolling out the top crust.

Cover the filling with the top crust, fold any excess under with the bottom crust, and crimp the edges to hold them together. Cut three or four long slits in the top crust to let the steam out.

Bake in your preheated oven, on top of the flat pan, for about 50-55 minutes or until you see the filling bubbling up a little through the slits and the crust is lovely and golden.

Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

FridayPieDay is the brilliant invention of Heather from girlichef and I am pleased to join her on the last Friday of each month for pie and crust recipes, techniques, tools of the trade, and other inspiration.

Today we’ve both gone savory. Follow this link to see her wonderful Zucchini and Tomato Pie.

For more information and recipes, please check out her #FridayPieDay page!

*Amazon affiliate link - If you buy the book by following my link, I earn a little small change from the sale, at no extra cost to you.

Spicy Tahini Palmiers @NeighborFoodie

Ready rolled puff pastry spread with tahini, chilies and garlic and baked till crispy make great nibbles, perfect for a shower, birthday or even a cocktail party.

Today we are celebrating our fellow blogger and sweet friend Courtney of NeighborFood who will shortly be welcoming her ”little mister.” Since we can’t actually get together, Nancy from gotta get baked has organized a virtual baby shower, which doesn’t have gifts but certainly has a lot of good food to welcome the sweet baby boy and send best wishes to his eager parents. Make sure to scroll down to see the link list to all the party food! And if you want to follow Courtney for delicious dishes and upcoming baby news, do like her blog Facebook page or follow her on Instagram.

These puff pastry palmiers are so easy to make, and so delicious. I could have eaten the whole plate!

Ingredients
1/4 cup or 60g tahini
1 fresh red chili pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 sheet ready rolled puff pastry, thawed.

Method
Chop chili finely. You can deseed first if you’d like to reduce the amount of spiciness. Put tahini, chopped chili, garlic, paprika and salt in a small bowl. Stir well.

Unroll your thawed puff pastry on top of a large piece of cling film.

Spread your paste evenly over the pastry, making sure to go all the way to edges.

Use the cling film underneath to help you fold the bottom in to the middle.

Now fold the top in to the middle.

Now fold the bottom over the top side as if you are closing a long book.

Use the cling film under the roll to tightly cover it and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Unwrap the roll and cut it in half. Rewrap one half and put it back in the refrigerator. Cut the other half in half inch or 1 cm slices with a sharp knife.

Lay the slices on a baking pan lined with parchment or a non-stick silicone mat. Leave room between them for puffing and spreading.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in your preheated oven on one side and then flip and bake 5-6 minutes more on the other, or until golden and crispy. Cool on a wire rack.

Repeat the process with the second half of the roll. This makes about 20 spicy tahini palmiers.

Enjoy!

Check out all the divine food we are bringing along to Courtney's virtual baby shower!

• Button Cookies from The Redhead Baker
• Coconut Peach Slush from Heather’s Dish
• Cream Soda Peach Floats from Jelly Toast
• Easy Apple Tart from gotta get baked
• Mango Pineapple Agua Fresca from Pineapple and Coconut
• Mocha Coconut Frappuccino Pie from Melanie Makes
• No Churn Peanut Butter Ice Cream from A Cookie Named Desire
• Spicy Tahini Palmiers from Food Lust People Love
• Strawberry Cheesecake Bars from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Twix Millionaire Bars from Wallflour Girl
• Vegan Cheesy Pull-Apart Bread from Namely Marly
• Watermelon Lime Mocktail from The Live-In Kitchen

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