Portuguese Sweet Bread

I'd like to start a new or return to an old tradition in our family.  I suppose it could be the hormones causing me to have a craving, but nothing says Easter or Christmas better than Portuguese Sweet Bread!  Growing up, someone in my family would supply these yummy loaves of bread (we HAD to have more than one loaf!!).  Sometimes it was my dad's responsibility to sell some for the Lion's Club and so we would buy some that way.  Other times, they'd come from my aunt who lives closer to Providence and swears by this one place that you should always get it.  (Forgive me for not remembering the name!)  Sometimes it would come from my brother's wife (girlfriend at the time).  And I think there have been a few occasions in which one of my aunts has made it herself.  It is certainly sold at every bakesale you can find around these holidays, and they are usually the first to go.  We do venture home, but lately it hasn't been around these two holidays.  That's not to say you can't get it at other times, but it's just tradition!  We've lived away from home for so long that I've wanted to start making it myself.  I had acquired my aunt's recipe, but was a bit confused by her directions.  (Likely an old family recipe that she tried writing down from memory one day.)  Recently, I was looking to find a recipe similar to hers on the internet and found not only a similar recipe, but a video that shows how to do it!  YAY!!  I wanted to keep it here for future use...  Note:  I might just play it over and over just for the sound of the RI/MA accent we miss every once in a while.... HMMM we traded a RI accent for a TX one... that's a whole other story!   With the help of these lovely ladies, I might just be able to pull it off!   I'll let you know!  First, it looks like I'll need a large stockpot!

 

Update- 4/13/10

I wanted to let you all know that I did it!  I finally made this wonderful sweet bread!  Though it wasn't hard, there were a few tips I learned along the way.  1. There is a definite reason why traditionally this bread is only made for Christmas and Easter.  It is a labor of love... not because it's hard, but because the dough does take a bit of finessing when it's time to put it into pans.  (It is NOT a typical dough, as it is very sticky and very difficult to work with.) 2. Because of tip number 1, there is a reason why it was typically done when kids were asleep or not around.  A mommy with messy hands makes it difficult to be a referee while making this bread.  3. If you watch the video, you'll see that the dough is made in a rather large stockpot.  This is necessary as the dough rises to GREAT heights.  I purchased a 22 quart stockpot, specifically for this endeavor.  Though I saw it as an investment for the very near future filled with teenage boys!

The above video was a definite help, since this was my first experience making the dough.  However, there was some confusion in the directions.  I ended up using a combination of the video, my aunt's recipe, and a recipe found on the food network.  The majority of the 3 recipes were similar, with a few minor differences.  So I was able to fill in the blanks from my aunts recipe and the one confusion on the video.  I ended up with 8 "loaves" (half of which were made in a pie plate-- the loaves are typically round anyway, and I ran out of loaf pans!)  Since the round loaves were bigger, I'm guessing the recipe would have yielded closer to 10-12 loaves if they were all done in a loaf pan.

This is what I did:

 (The above photo shows half of my yield)

Ingredients

3 C heated milk

1 t salt

3 packages of dry yeast 

15 eggs

5 lbs all purpose flour 

1/2 lb butter 

4 C sugar 

3 T lemon juice (next year, I'll try 1 1/2 T vanilla to see if there is a difference)

Directions:

1. Scald milk and cool to lukewarm 

2. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C warm water.

3. Melt butter. 

4. Mix flour and salt in a very large pot (stockpot). 

5. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, sugar, and flavoring (lemon or vanilla).  Add melted and cooled butter. 

6. Make a well in the flour and add the egg mixture to it.  Then add the yeast and cooled, scalded milk. 

7. Mix well for about 10-15 minutes, or until dough is "airy in consistency" 

8. Cover with towels/blanket/jacket to insulate and let dough rise for about 6 hours (until about double in size

9. Punch down the dough, cover, and let rise again until double (about 4 hours)

10. On a floured surface, divide the dough into loaves.  Knead and get the air bubbles out and continue to knead until it feels light and airy.  Place dough into pans and let rise (it doesn't say anywhere, but I believe they should be uncovered for this rising?) again 3-4 hours. 

11. Brush loaves with one beaten egg mixed with 1 T water.  (This was all I needed for all loaves) 

12. Bake small loaves for 45 minutes at 300 degrees.  The bigger loaves should be baked at 300 degrees for an hour. 

13. Take out of oven and brush with butter to give it a nice glaze.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Sometimes, I'll get a question as to why our kids names are so Irish in origin, while our last name, is so clearly not!  Well, the answer is that I myself am a very proud American mutt (as my dad would call us).  Our ancestors hail from many places, but our name (my maiden name) just happens to be Irish.  Our kids names help to preserve some of this aspect of my own history, which is now also theirs.  While we don't have too many authentic Irish customs, my family will get together in some way for St. Patrick's Day for some good ol' corned beef and cabbage.  This is my Aunt Jan's recipe, as she is normally the preparer of the meal.  Once again, when I asked for this recipe from her, it was totally off the cuff.  It sounds a bit like my husband's family's boiled dinner (coming soon!).  No measuring involved and only approximate instructions.  If memory serves me, the last time I made it, it made enough to feed our neighborhood!  But oh so yummy!  I'm hoping to start this tradition in our own home, since our extended family is so far away.  So, along with this recipe, I'll be trying a few others.  If they work out, I'll be sure to post them!

• Corned Beef Round (this year, mine is 2 lbs--I'm guessing hers was at least 5?)
• whole cloves
• 3 bottles of beer (I will cut this back to 1 bottle, since that is all I have.  No specifics here.  Whatever you drink will do, though I'm fairly certain that she uses either Sam Adams or Guinness.)
• 2 cabbage heads (again, this makes a lot, I'm only using one this year)
• carrots
• small white potatoes

1. Push cloves into meat.
2. Fill deep pan with water and boil.  Add meat and 2 bottles of beer and simmer for about an hour (or 20-30 minutes/ lb).
3. Take half of liquid into another pan for vegetables (cabbage, carrots, potatoes).  If needed, add more water to cover vegetables.  (If your pot is big enough, I'm guessing you could cook it all in one pot.)
4. Add 1 bottle of beer and simmer for about an hour.  Keep it on simmer until you are ready to eat!

Mom's Meatloaf

Have you ever wondered why it is that when you cook meatloaf (or anything else for that matter) it never comes out like Mom's?  Well, besides all of the tender loving care that only Mom can put into your meals, I'm sure that the other reason is that she cooked some meals so often because everyone liked them that she no longer used a recipe.  This was true of my grandmother's cooking, and it's becoming true of my mother's cooking.  Whenever I ask for a recipe, it's off the top of her head, and everything is an estimate.  I can relate, as meatloaf is one of my favorite dishes to make, since there is very little you can do to mess it up.  But sometimes, I just want Mom's meatloaf.  And this is it!  (At least, it's how she remembered it the day I asked her!)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/2 C Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 C Bread Crumbs
• 1/2 C Oatmeal
• 1/2 C Ketchup OR 1 small can tomato sauce OR some leftover spaghetti sauce (my addition!)
• Salt and Pepper (I skip the salt, as I think there is enough in the previous ingredient)
• Oregano (dried)
• Parsley (dried)

Mix all ingredients well. Place in an 8x8 or (9x9) square glass baking dish.  Bake at 350 for approximately 1 hour.

Mad Hatter Meatballs

This is a recipe that comes from Aunt Donna.  She's a fantastic cook, as most of my family is!  I'm not sure where she found this recipe, but it is great comfort food.  It is also a great recipe to use if you have leftover mashed potatoes you want to re-purpose somehow.  I used to make it quite often, but my kids have grown tired of it.  Nevertheless, it needs to be preserved in my recipe bank!  Thanks Aunt Donna!  Because this one uses lots of soup, the sodium level is quite high.  I always used Healthy Request, or a low sodium option to help alleviate some of this.

• 1 T butter/margarine
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 (10 1/2 oz) can chicken with rice soup
• 1 (10 1/2 oz) can tomato soup
• 1 C water
• Mashed Potatoes

(For Meatballs)

• 1 egg
• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 slices torn bread (small pieces)
• 1/4 C evaporated milk (or just plain milk)
• 1 t salt

1. Melt butter/margarine in a large saucepan.  Add and saute pepper and onion until tender.
2. Stir in both soups and the water.  Heat to boiling, then simmer, stirring occasionally as the rice will stick.
3. While the sauce is simmering beat the egg slightly in a bowl.  Add beef, torn bread pieces, milk, and salt.  Mix well.
4. Shape into small balls (ping pong size).  Drop into simmering sauce and cook slowly (uncovered) for about 1 hour or until sauce has thickened like gravy.
5. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Mom's Chicken Legs Recipe

This is a recipe that I think my mom would make and still makes for every family picnic.  It is so good, but as a kid, I think I stopped eating it because I simply had had my fill of them.  Now with my own kids, we are re-discovering them!  This is a great summer recipe, but it is salty.  I haven't played with it at all to offer any alterations, yet.  I'll have to edit this if I figure that out!  In the meantime, if you have any suggestions for improvement on sodium, please feel free to comment!  Otherwise, enjoy the yumminess!

Robusto Italian Dressing
Celery Salt
Paprika
Chicken legs

1. Coat chicken with dressing and celery salt.  (Mom, really coats well-- no measuring involved here!)
2. Sprinkle with paprika
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

*Note: for our family picnics, I vaguely remember a crockpot being used.  Was this just to keep them hot?  I'll get back to you on that... Mom, feel free to comment!