Amy Brian, a Cultural Care Au Pair LCC in Delaware, invited her group of au pairs over to her house to participate in an early Thanksgiving celebration this past weekend. She says: “The au pairs all chose a recipe that reminded them of home—it could be a traditional ethnic dish, but it could just be anything that they would typically eat back home with their families and friends.
They all shared some delicious starters, main dishes and desserts including Ground Beef Pie and Chicken Fricassee from a Brazilian au pair and Schupfnudeln (potato noodles) from a German au pair.
The recipes are included below. We suggest bringing a little international flair to your Thanksgiving table this season!
Ground Beef Pie from Brazil
INGREDIENTS:
Dough
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup olive oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ glass of milk
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Salt
- 50 gr grated cheese
Put everything in the blender, first the liquids, flour bit by bit, and at last baking powder. Add more milk if necessary. The dough has to be almost liquid.
Stuffing
- ground beef
- 2 tomatoes cut into dices
- onion cut into very small pieces
- oregano
- peas
- corn
- salt
- pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a pot, cook the ground beef, put salt, pepper, oregano, let it cool. Mix the onions, tomatoes, peas and corn. In a greased baking pan, pour half of the dough, place all the stuffing over the dough carefully and cover it with the rest of the half dogh left. Put in the oven for about 45-60 min.
Schupfnudeln from Germany
This dish is typical of the southwest region of Germany and this particular version comes from an old family recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
- 400g flour
- 400g potatoes
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
You have to cook the potatoes and let them cool. When they’re cool you can grate/shape them.Mix everything together. You have to do it with your hands till it’s a good dough. Put flour in your hands and form these noodles.
After you formed them you can put them in boiling water with salt. They will sink and later they will come to the top of the water. Let them stay there for 5 more minutes and then you can take them out of the water. Put it into cold water. After you can roast it gently in a pan.
And you need white cabbage. You cut it very small up. Put it in a bowl and put salt on it. You have to knead it till it’s softer. Then you put it in a pot and let it cook. You have to keep an eye on it, so that it won’t get black. And after you cooked it, you can put the noodles together with the cabbage.
Chicken Fricassee from Brazil
Although this is not traditionally Brazilian, it is a common dish that is prepared there.
INGREDIENTS:
- 12 chicken thighs
- 2 (12 ounce) packages andouille sausage, sliced
- 5 green onions, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 8 cups water
- 5 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
DIRECTIONS:
Saute chicken and sausage in a large skillet for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove meat from skillet, add green onions and onion and saute until soft. Set aside.
To make roux: In a small saucepan stir together oil and flour over low heat; cook until color is caramel and mixture is reduced to 1 cup of roux. Set aside.
Put water in a large pot. Add the chicken, sausage, onion mixture, celery, seasoning, cayenne pepper, salt, ground black pepper and garlic. Bring all to a boil and cook for 20 minutes. Add 1/2 cup roux and stir together; the mixture should have the consistency of chowder. If necessary, add the remaining 1/2 cup roux.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve hot over rice, if desired.