Great basic cake recipe, very popular in Portugal. Can be served alone or with fruit.  There are many recipes out there for this sponge cake but all have the same basic ingredients. This particular recipe came from “Uma Casa Portuguesa” by Carla Azevedo.

Ingredients

• 9 eggs at room temperature
• pinch of salt
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp baking powder

Instructions

Beat eggs in electric mixer with salt until light, gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating for about 20 minutes, mixture will be very thick.

Mix flour and baking powder together in a bowl and add to egg mixture one spoonful at a time, have your mixer on the lowest setting while doing this. Blend well after each addition.

Pour batter into a 10 inch tube pan that has been greased and lined with parchment paper or wax paper.

Bake in 350º oven for 40 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove and peel off wax paper.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs chicken wings, halved at joints, wingtips discarded
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 250º. 
2. Set wire rack in aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and spray rack with non stick spray.  Pat wings dry with paper towels and transfer to a  large bowl.  Combine baking powder and salt, add to wings, and toss to evenly coat.
3. Arrange wings, skin side up, in single layer on prepared wire rack.  Bake wings on lower-middle oven rack for 30 minutes. 
4. Move wings to upper-middle rack, increase oven temperature to 425º, and roast until wings are golden  brown and crisp, 40-50 minutes longer, rotating sheet halfway through baking. 
5. Remove sheet from oven and let stand for 5 minutes.  Transfer wings to bowl with wing sauce of your choice, toss to coat, and serve.

Back story

The only prep for these guys is to dust them with a mix of baking powder and salt and then place them on a rack that’s been placed over a foil-lined cookie sheet.  How’s that for quick and easy?

They cook for a little bit in a barely-warm oven (there’s lots of science there too, but let’s skip that and just follow the instructions, ok?)  and then the pan gets moved to the top rack and the heat is cranked up to 425.

When they come out, they even look fried with their beautifully golden brown crispy skin.  They have a nice crunch on the outside and tender juicy chicken on the inside.  And in case you were wondering (because it was one of my first questions) there is absolutely no lingering taste of baking powder.

Yield – Makes nine 6-Inch pancakes

Want to know the secret to fluffy buttermilk pancakes? Do not overmix your batter. The batter for your buttermilk pancakes should not be beaten smooth; it should have small to medium lumps. And in the end, your pancakes will be light and fluffy and have lots of flavor!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• 3 cups buttermilk 
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus ½ teaspoon for griddle 
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps. 

2. Heat oven to 175 degrees. Test griddle by sprinkling a few drops of water on it. If water bounces and spatters off griddle, it is hot enough. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining ½ teaspoon of butter or reserved bacon fat onto griddle. Wipe off excess. 

3. Using a 4-ounce ladle, about ½ cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. Scatter with berries, if using. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 ½ minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute. 

4. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups or 375g (13 ¼ oz) butter, softened (2)
• 1 ½ cups (260g/9 oz) brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups (300g/10 ½ oz) plain (all-purpose) flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2/3 cup (80g/3 oz) cocoa, double sifted
• ¾ cup (185ml/6 fl oz) milk
• 1 quantity chocolate glaze (recipe, page 14)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).
2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8-10 minutes or until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Fold through the flour, baking powder and cocoa and stir in the milk.
3. Spoon the mixture into a 22cm (8 1/2 in) round cake tin lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.
4. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack.

Ice with chocolate glaze. Serves 8-10.

Prep – 36 hr 25 min | Cook – 40 min | Total Time – 37 hr 5 min 
Yield – 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds 1 ½ pounds salt cod
• ½ cup plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced yellow onions
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds waxy potatoes, sliced ¼-inch thick and cooked until tender
• 4 hard boiled eggs
• 8 black olives
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Soak the cod in cold water to cover for 24 to 36 hours, changing the water occasionally, drain. Flake the cod into small pieces, removing any bones. Set aside. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, add ¼ cup of the oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions and the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute until slightly golden, about 6 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
3. Grease a medium ovenproof casserole dish with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper. Spread half of the potatoes over the bottom of the prepared dish. Sprinkle half of the salt cod over the potatoes. Place half of the onion mixture over the salt cod. Top the onion mixture with more salt cod. Place another layer of potatoes over the top of the cod. Drizzle the entire pan with the remaining ¼ cup of oil.
4. Place in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. Place on a serving platter. Garnish with the sliced eggs, olives, and parsley.

Ingredients

• 1 lb salt cod fillets, preferably skinless and boneless
• ¾ to 1 cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil
• Milk (optional)
• 2 large yellow or sweet Vidalia onions, sliced
• 2 lbs waxy potatoes (Yukon gold work great), peeled
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced
• About 40 pitted black olives (I used Kalamata olives, can also use green olives)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Salt cod typically comes either in dry fillets, already boned and skinned, or it comes whole. The fillets need to be rinsed, then soaked in water, and kept chilled, for 24 hours, with one or two changings of the water. If you are using a whole fish, not prepared fillets, it needs to be soaked in water for up to 48 hours, also with several changings of water, and the bones and the skin removed and discarded after soaking.
2. Put salt cod in a saucepan. Add enough milk, water, or a mixture of milk and water to just cover. Bring mixture to a simmer. Let simmer for a couple minutes. Remove the fish and set aside.
3. Parboil the potatoes for 20 minutes (you can cook them in the water you used to cook the fish if you want). Slice potatoes into ¼-inch thick rounds.
   

    

4. In a large pyrex casserole or Dutch oven (use Dutch oven if making on stove-top), generously coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. Place a layer of onion rings over the bottom of the pan. Place a layer of sliced potatoes over the onions. Breaking up the salt cod with your fingers, place pieces of salt cod in a layer over the potatoes. Taste the fish for saltiness. After a day of soaking and further cooking, there should be just a hint of saltiness in the fish. If most of the salt was soaked out of the fish, and the fish doesn’t taste at all salty, you may need to sprinkle some salt back on to the fish as you place the layers down.
   Generously pour some olive oil over the fish. Sprinkle with freshly grated black pepper.
   Repeat with another layer of onions, potatoes, fish, olive oil, pepper (and more salt if needed). Then finish with layers of onions, potatoes, more olive oil, sliced hard boiled eggs, and olives.
5. Place on stove top on medium heat, and cook, covered, for 30 minutes. Or heat an oven to 350°F and cook, covered, for 30-40 minutes, or until everything is completely through.Serve with sides of rice and salad.

Yield – 4 medium pancakes

Ingredients

• ¾ cup milk or 1 cup of buttermilk 
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar (not needed if using buttermilk)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• cooking spray

Instructions

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to “sour”.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into “soured” milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and coat with cooking spray. Pour ¼ cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Ingredients

• ½ pound pork or beef with bone
• 2 medium potatoes
• 1 small head of cabbage or savoy cabbage (chopped into pieces)
• 2 large carrots
• 1 large onion
• 1 small rutabaga 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 beef or chicken bouillon cube
• 8 cups water or more

Instructions

1. In a large soup pan, place half of the olive oil, and all vegetables except the cabbage and pork. Let come to a boil and add the meat. Cover and let cook on medium for 45 minutes.
2. Remove meat and 1 carrot. Chop the carrot and reserve for later. Puree the remaining vegetables with an immersion blender to your desired consistency. If you prefer the vegetables chunky you don’t have to puree them.
3. Add the meat bone and the cabbage to the soup, cover and cook for another 20 minutes.  Remove the meat from the bone and add it along with the reserved carrot back into the soup. Stir, taste and add the remaining olive oil and more salt if desired.

Serve with crusty bread for a complete meal! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 2 tablespoons shredded ginger
• 5 large (mild) red chillies, seeded and shredded
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
• 300g (1 0 oz) peeled small green (raw) prawns
• 4 spring (green) onions, shredded
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, shredded
• ⅓ cup shredded fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce*
• 12 medium rice paper wrappers*

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the ginger and chilli and cook for 3 minutes or until crisp. Add the kaffir lime leaves and prawns and cook for a further 3 minutes or until the prawns are cooked through. 
2. Set aside to cool. When cool, combine with the spring onions, cucumber, mint, lime juice and fish sauce.
3. Place a rice paper wrapper in a bowl of warm water for 30 seconds or until soft and pliable. Remove and pat dry.
4. Place a little of the chilli salad down the centre of the rice paper wrapper and fold over one end to make a base.
5. Roll over one side and then the other to enclose the filling.
6. Serve the rice paper rolls with soy sauce or sweet chilli sauce in small bowls for dipping.

   Serves 4 as a starter.