BBQ sauce

 I like making my own barbecue sauce. Ever since I found this recipe from the excellent book, Great Food Fast by Martha Stewart's Everyday Food department, I haven't bought the bottled stuff, though I still have a soft spot for Sonny's. Martha Stewart's is particularly good for shredded pork, beef, or chicken sandwiches, as it isn't too thick. Sweet, but not too sweet. A little mustard, but not a mustard base. Vinegar and hot sauce for a little kick, but not overpowering (and you can always adjust the hot sauce to taste).

But it calls for molasses, which is hard to come by here in Brazil. I know it exists, but I have yet to see it in a conventional grocery store. Last night I had a leftover (and slightly overdone) beef roast that didn't sound good as a repeat but sounded great as a BBQ beef sandwich. I needed a sauce without molasses and a minimum of brown sugar, as that doesn't exist at all here and I guard it like it's gold. I dug around online and found this little gem.

It calls for apple cider vinegar, which I couldn't find, but I used Brazilian apple vinegar, which is close. Other substitutes for apple cider vinegar include diluted red wine, sherry, or champagne vinegars. I also didn't use as much hot sauce or salt as it called for. Result: Good vinegar-based thin sauce, if you like that kind. If you like a sweeter or thicker sauce, or if you balk at the tang of the vinegar (and it's pretty strong), the Martha Stewart one is a safer bet. It made our meat a lot tastier, and even my two-year-old liked it. I might try it again after getting back to the states, as I think real apple cider vinegar would really help. If you try it, let me know how it went.

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Brazilian Recipes: Torta

Torta is delicious. It reminds me a little bit of a shepherd's pie, but with a bready layer instead of mashed potatoes. I found this recipe on the excellent blog, Eating Like a Brazilian and decided to give it a whirl shortly after moving to São Paulo. Happily, it doesn't require any particularly Brazilian ingredients, so my friends in the US should have no problems adapting it.

I followed the recipe pretty much as written the first time around. The more I've made it (another 4 or 5 times), the more I've played around with it. Leave out the green olives. Always. I really don't understand the Brazilian obsession with them. The blogger recommends thoroughly cooking the meat so there's very little juice left in the pan; I disagree. Because this is going in the oven too, I'd leave the meat a little underdone so it's not overdone when you serve. I'd also leave some of the juices (you could still drain off some of the fat if you want) so you have a more gravy-ish filling.

I threw in lots of green peppers, onions, and carrots this time around.

Mmmmm. Meat.

Shredded carrots are great (and a fantastic way to sneak in some more vegetables) in the meat filling. Corn from the US would be great, but Brazilian canned corn is tough and kind of gross. The mayo in the breading is wholly unnecessary, as is about half the oil. Definitely add the Parmesan cheese to the breading. You will not be sorry. Also, the whipped egg white isn't totally necessary, but your torta will look far more appetizing if you spread it over the top; it gives it a nice brown crustiness.

Before baking

After baking. So good.

 I like the mozzarella, but I'd love to try a more flavorful cheese sometime too. Extra sharp cheddar would be awesome, as would Swiss.

Variations:

• Add veggies to your filling: green or red peppers, mushrooms, hearts of palm (called palmitos here), shredded sweet potatoes, onions, or anything else that will hold up during baking
• Add brown gravy either to the filling or on top to serve
• Try different cheeses or even a mixture of various shredded cheeses. If you change the sliced cheese to cheddar, your torta will be a little more like a hamburger, especially if you add ketchup or mustard to serve.
• Your spices can change the whole meal. Try seasoning with basil, oregano, and a little rosemary and then serve with a spaghetti sauce for an Italian torta. Or use cumin and chili powder for a taco torta. Curry might be interesting too.
• Add some pepperoni for flavor and top with pizza sauce to serve
• Who says you have to use beef? Try it with chicken or sausage.

The world is your oyster here. What else could you do with this recipe?

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