Brazilian Dessert
PE DE MOLEQUE
(peanut brittle)
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup light corn syrup
2⅓ cups raw, unsalted peanuts
1¾ cup sugar
SPECIAL INGREDIENT
baking pan
big, badass knife
Makes 25 squares. Takes 20 minutes.
PREPARATION
Grease baking sheet with butter. Add corn syrup, peanuts, and sugar to pot. Cook using medium-high heat for 5-to-15 minutes or until the mixture has turned dark brown and carmelized. Stir frequently. Remove from heat. Pour caramelized sugar/peanuts into baking pan.
Let peanut brittle in pan cool. When peanut brittle has almost set, mark squares with thin cuts from a knife. This will make breaking the brittle apart easier. At least, that’s the theory. After the brittle has set, you might have to push down on those thin cuts with a big, badass kinfe.
If the brittle shatters into irregular shapes, shrug and say to your guests, “Look at the nice peanut brittle I made for you.” If people fuss, shake your big, badass knife at them. You don’t need that negativity in your life. And after they’ve fled, there’s even more yummy peanut brittle for you.
TIDBITS
1) Road construction was much simpler in early 19th-century Brazil. Workers poured sand where they wanted the road. The specialists took over from there and strew stones over the sand. Adults did not press the stones in the ground. Stones on the ground were beneath them. Literally, hee hee.
Ahem! So, kids, called were hired to walk up and down the road stomping stones into the sand. Kids everywhere, to this day, are excellent stompers. However, the stomping skills of Brazil’s kids during the early 1800s have never been rivaled. Brazil’s smooth roads were the envy of the entire world. Indeed, while people in America have the phrase, “As smooth as a baby’s bottom,” South Americans still say, “As smooth as a Brazilian road.”
2) These roads came to be called pé de moleque or kid’s feet. Similarly, hot dogs are named after the chihuahuas of 18th-century Mexico who tracked down banditos, while the word succotash derives from the not-so-good vacuum cleaners sold by Tash Appliances from 1923 to 1924.
– Chef Paul
My cookbook, Eat Me: 169 Fun Recipes From All Over the World, and novels are available in paperpack or Kindle on amazon.com
As an e-book on Nook
or on my website-where you can get a signed copy at: www.lordsoffun.com
Oh Comic Chef, I love how you handle your unappreciative guests
Dear Chef Paul,
I’ve often heard how good marijuana brownies are, so I was excited to follow your direction to “add corn syrup, peanuts, and sugar to pot.” However, the brittle never set, and now my nuts are a sticky mess. What did I do wrong?
Sincerely,
Disappointed & Uncomfortable
I left out the rolling paper bit. You really need a big square of rolling paper if you want to make a peanut-brittle joint. Sorry, I just thought that could be assumed. Oh, and good lighter. It can be frustrating to light up marijuana peanut brittle with a regular match. Again, my apologies.