Brasilian Turkey recipe for Thanksgiving

The turkey
This recipe serves 8 people with plenty of leftovers. You will need to marinate it for at least 24 hours before you start preparing it for roasting. For the marinade you will need.
1 bottle of champagne
2 large onions, sliced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp of Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp of a good quality mustard
1/2 cup of vinegar
1 cup of a good quality olive oil
2 large bay leaves
juice of one lime
2 cups of water
1/2 cup of chopped scallions
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
salt and black pepper to taste
8-10 strips of bacon to decorate turkey for roasting
Rub the turkey inside and out with a paste made with the sal, garlic, mustard, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Place the turkey in a non-reactive pan or very large pyrex, and add olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, champagne and water. Add bay leaves, sliced onions, scallions and parsley. Cover loosely with a large piece of plastic and leave in refrigerator for 24 hours, periodically dousing turkey with the liquid.

The dressing
Besides the giblets and farinha de mandioca, you will need:
1 can of peaches in light syrup
4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 lb of pitted prunes, chopped into small pieces
1/4 lb of seedless raisins
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp of chopped scallions
1 Tbsp of chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste
4 Tbsp of butter

Cook the giblets well in water, with salt, black pepper and a bay leave. Remove from liquid. Chop into small pieces and reserve. Remove peaches from liquid and drain well for a few minutes. Chop into small pieces.
In a large frying pan or saucepan, saute onions in butter until golden brown, add chopped giblets and raisins, stir well, add peaches and prunes. Add farinha de mandioca, enough to form a wet farofa. Add salt and pepper, chopped eggs, scallions and parsley. Remove from heat and reserve.

Preparing the turkey
Remove turkey from marinade and rub it well inside and out with butter or tub margarine, fill with dressing and close opening well. Reserve marinade for basting. Reserve leftover dressing. Place turkey on roasting pan. Crisscross bacon strips on top of breast for decoration. Pour some of the marinade over the turkey. Cover turkey with aluminum foil and roast it at 325° F basting it at regular intervals with the remaining marinade. Turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the thigh reads 185° F. About 20 minutes before it's ready, remove foil and let it become a beautiful golden color.
It's ready...now you need to garnish it!
For the garnish you will need:
1 can of peaches, halved, in light syrup, well drained
1/2 lb of pitted prunes
Serve white meats surrounded by peaches and prunes and dark meats on a separate tray with the dressing. Serve with white rice.
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Honey-Thyme Butternut Squash For Thanksgiving
Pure de Abobrinha
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (about 5 pounds), peeled and cubed
1/4 cup butter, cubed
3 tablespoons half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
Bom apetite and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Fish Pirão (Pirão de Peixe)

This traditional recipe from the coastal state of Espírito Santo is pirão at its most basic. A flavorful broth made using fish heads combined with manioc flour to thicken it and give it the proper consistency, and you've got a dish that goes back to prehistoric times. These kinds of pirão were the basic dietary item of the native indigenous populations of Brazil and today accompany fish stews everywhere in the country. Every family has its own recipe, and everyone thinks that their mother is the only person in the world capable of making a proper pirão, but as is the case with turkey stuffings, almost every pirão is delicious.
Manioc flour is available in Brazilian and Latin American markets in North America and Europe. Just look for farinha de mandioca or even just plain farinha written on the package. Farinha comes in white and yellow varieties and either is suitable for making pirão.

RECIPE - Sarapatel

Sarapatel is an ancient dish from the Alentejo region of Portugal, and was carried with Portuguese colonists and settlers to the New World. Interestingly, these same Portuguese carried the recipe for sarapatel when heading for colonies in the opposite direction from Brazil, and today sarapatel is considered a traditional dish in the parts of India that were formerly Portuguese - most famously Goa.

RECIPE -
1 set pork viscera as follows: lungs, liver, heart
2 cups solidified pork blood, cut into 1 inch cubes**
2 cups water
lime juice to taste
fresh limes
2 large red onions, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
4 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 serrano chiles
4 Tbsp. lard

** If the pork blood is liquid, pour it into a boilable Zip-Loc bag, and cook in simmering water for approximately 15 minutes. Let cool, and remove from bag, then cube.
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In a large pan or stockpot, combine the water, the pork innards, a good amount of lime juice, and some halved limes. Bring the water to a boil, drain the innards, and then repeat the process with fresh water and lime juice. Remove the innards from the water, let drain, then cool,. Chop the innards into bite sized pieces and return them to the water with all the other ingredients except the lard and the blood. Cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.

The next day, remove all the solid ingredients from the pan or stockpot. Drain them well. Heat the lard in a heavy duty frying pan, and fry all the ingredients, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding. Once they are golden, place in a fresh pan, cover with fresh water and lime juice, and cook for 2 to 3 hours, or until the pork is tender. Carefully add the cubed blood, let simmer for a few minutes for the sauce to thicken, then

Beef in Beer with Pine Nuts (Carne ao Molho de Cerveja com Pinhão)_______________________________________________

2 medium onions, quartered
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. neutral vegetable oil
2 lb (1 kg) chuck steak (acem), cut into 2" (4 cm) cubes
2 tsp. annatto powder (can substitute sweet paprika)
1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
3 bay leaves
2 tsp. dried oregano
6 oz. pilsner or lager beer
1 cup (250 ml) water
salt to taste
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1/4 cup (50 ml) water
1/2 lb (250 gr) pine nuts
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Put the onion, garlic and vegetable oil in a blender or food processor and blend completely. Heat a heavy saucepan with cover over medium-high heat, add the blended onion and garlic and cook, stirring constantly just until it begins to brown. Add the chunks of beef, and continue cooking until the meat is browned on all sides.

Add the annatto or paprika, mustard, bay leaves, oregano, the beer and 1 cup of water to the browned meat, plus salt to taste. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, reduce heat and simmer until the meat is tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Add additional water if needed to prevent drying out.

Dilute the corn starch in 1/2 cup cold water. Uncover pan, add the corn starch and pine nuts. Continue to simmer with the pan uncovered for about 10 minutes or until the liquid thickens and the pine nuts are heated through.

Serve immediately with potatoes or noodles.

Cashew Tree Shrimp (Camarão Cajueiro)

This recipe for a first course or light lunch comes from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Norte, which is one of the largest shrimp-producing states in Brazil as well as an important source of cashew nuts (castanha de caju). When buying cashews for this dish, don't pay extra for whole cashews - most bulk food stores and health food stores sell broken cashews for a significantly lower price than whole ones. It's also best not to buy ground cashews, as they are too finely ground for this dish. To get the proper grind for this recipe, simply briefly process the nuts in a food processor until they are in small chunks. Be sure to stop processing long before they become pulverized or begin to form a paste.

The sauce in the recipe - a passion fruit (maracujá)-flavored mayonnaise - might be difficult to make in areas where fresh passion fruits are not available. A delicious substitute is mayonnaise flavored with fresh lime juice.
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For the shrimp:
3/4 lb (380 gr) medium-sized shrimp, cleaned, headless, and peeled with only tails left attached
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 free-range eggs
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely-chopped, roasted, unsalted cashew nuts (see above)
Neutral vegetable oil

For the sauce:
1 medium fresh passion fruit
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup whole-fat, unflavored yogurt
1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
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Make the sauce: Cut the passion fruit in half. Place a fine sieve over a small bowl, and empty fruit pulp into the sieve. Reserve fruit halves. Let drain, then lightly squeeze the seed to extract more juice. Reserve the juice and the seeds. In another small bowl add the mayonnaise,yogurt and sugar, then stir to combine thoroughly. Add the passion fruit juice, and stir again. If desired, return the sauce to one of the fruit halves, or put in small serving bowl. Add a few of the reserved seeds and a dash of the juice to top of sauce to decorate.

Make the shrimp: Season the shrimp with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the flour on a large deep plate. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl. In another bowl, mix the bread crumbs and chopped cashew nuts. Dredge the shrimps, one by one, in the flour, then dip them in the beaten eggs. Let excess egg drain away, the roll the shrimps in the bread crumb-cashew nut mixture. In a deep, heavy saucepan or deep fryer fry the shrimp until the are golden. Drain on paper towel.

Place the sauce in the middle of a serving platter. Surround with the shrimp, and serve immediately.

Chicken Cabidela

1 large roasting chicken - 3.5 lbs. (1.5 kgs) - cut into serving pieces
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. annatto powder (or substitute sweet paprika)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup neutral vegetable oil
2 chopped large tomatoes
1 chopped and seeded green bell pepper
2 chopped medium onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped green onion, green portion only
1 cup chicken blood (with 2 Tbsp. vinegar added to prevent coagulation)
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
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Season the chicken pieces with the salt, annatto (or paprika) and pepper to taste. Place chicken in large heavy saucepan, add just enough water to cover, bring to boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is just tender but not falling off the bone. Remove from heat and reserve.

Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan, add the tomatoes, green pepper, onions, cilantro, green onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Do not let the onions and garlic brown.

In the large sauce pan, combine the sauteed vegetables with the reserved chicken and broth. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and let cook for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces from the broth and reserve. Continue to cook the broth over medium high heat for approximately 10 minutes, or until it slightly reduces and thickens into a sauce.

Reduce heat to low, add the chicken blood to the sauce, and cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the cornstarch with the egg yolk, lightly beaten. Off heat, slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce to prevent lumps, stirring constantly. Return the sauce to heat briefly to thicken and to remove starchy taste. Then add the reserved chicken pieces, heat thoroughly and serve immediately.

Chicken Risotto (Risoto de Frango)

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For the broth:
5 quarts water (5 litres)
1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs. (2 kgs.), chopped into 8 to 10 pieces
1 whole tomato
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 celery stick
2 or 3 whole fresh sage leaves

For the risotto:
1 lb. (500 gr.) chicken gizzards, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
salt to taste
3 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
additional grated parmesan cheese, to taste
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Make the broth: In a large deep pan or stockpot, combine the water and all ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat, and when the water begins to boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 50 minutes, loosely covered. Remove from heat, and let cool. When cool, remove chicken, discard skin and all bones, and then shred the meat. Reserve. Pass the broth through a sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth, Reserve.

Make the risotto: Season the gizzards with salt, then fry them with the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the onions and continue to saute until the onions become lightly browned. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir. Add 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth and cook over medium-low heat for 40 minutes, or until the gizzards are soft. Meanwhile, bring the remaining broth to a simmer in another pot.

When gizzards are cooked, add the rice to the pan, stir and bring the mixture to the boil over medium-high heat. As it begins to dry out, add more broth by the cupful, allowing each to be absorbed before adding another. When the rice is almost cooked, stir in the reserved shredded chicken. Continue adding broth until all the broth is absorbed, or until the rice is tender. At this point, remove the risotto from the heat, stir in the 1/2 cup parmesan and the parsley and mix lightly. Correct the seasoning. Put into a serving dish, sprinkle additional parmesan on top and serve immediately.