[1] Feijoada at Sushi Samba, a Brazilian-Japanese restaurant with locations in New York City, Florida, Las Vegas and London. [2] A lighter version of feijoada from SimplyRecipes.com.

A hearty, smoky stew of beans and salted, smoked and fresh meats, it is served with white rice and sautéed collard greens are served, along with a set of garnishes that including orange slices and farofa, a toasted cassava flour mixture (think of cornmeal made from cassava and see photo #5 below).

It’s a one-bowl dish of comfort food, and is the traditionally Sunday dinner in Brazil (as roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is in England).
 
WHAT IS A NATIONAL FOOD

A national food is a popular dish made from local ingredients prepared in a particular way. It’s part of the country’s sense of identity, like Austria’s wiener schnitzel and Hungary’s goulash, Korea’s bulgogi (hibachi-grilled beef wrapped in lettuce leaves) and the U.K.’s roast beef with yorkshire pudding.

According to Wikipedia, during the age of European empire-building, nations would develop an entire national cuisine to distinguish themselves from their rivals.

The U.S. has no declared national food; nor do countries such as India. There are too many diverse ethnic groups with specialized cuisines to choose a single national dish.

In Latin America, however, dishes may be designated as a “plato nacional” (national dish).

 
Whatever the national dish, there are as many versions as there are cooks.

Feijoada, for example, can be spicy for mild, eaten with a spoon or so thick, you can eat it with a fork.

RECIPE: FEIJOADA, BLACK BEAN STEW

This recipe was developed for American cooks buy Hank Shaw of SimplyRecipes.com.

(It’s hard to find fresh pig ears, tails and preserved malagueta chiles in many American supermarkets, but if you want a truly authentic recipe, here it is from the Centro Cultural Brasil USA. Not to mention, the traditional recipe is a two-day preparation.)

You can make it for own; for example, top the greens with bacon, or lighten the meats and smokiness by substituting chicken sausage and/or thighs.

Pair it with iced tea, beer, red wine, or red sangria.

Ingredients

 
Sides & Condiments

[3] Feijoada is served family-style, scooped from a pot with passed garnishes (photo courtesy CookDiary.net). [4] Feijoada and its traditional accompaniments (photo courtesy Centro Cultural Brasil USA). [5] Farofa, a dish of toasted cassava flour, can be layered with ingredients from herbs and olives to peas and raisins. In feijoada, however, it is served plain (photo courtesy Blog Da Mimis).

1. COVER the beans with boiling water and set aside.

2. HEAT the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and brown the pork shoulder. When browned, remove the meat from the pot and set aside.

3. PLACE the onions in the pot and brown, stirring occasionally. Be sure to scrape up the fond (the tasty browned bits on the bottom). Sprinkle with a bit of salt and add the garlic. Stir to combine and sauté for two minutes more.

4. RETURN the pork shoulder to the pot, along with the other meats, bay leaves and enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.

5. DRAIN the beans and add them to the stew pot. Simmer covered, until the beans are tender, about 90 minutes.

6. ADD the tomatoes, stir well and taste. Add salt as desired. Simmer uncovered, until the ham begins to fall off the hock, 2-3 hours.

7. SERVE with sides and condiments.

[2] An ice cream sandwich sundae (photo courtesy Tony Roma’s).

[3] Ice cream sandwich on a donut (photo courtesy Elegant Affairs Caterers).

[4] Ice cream sandwich on French palmier cookies (photo courtesy Sugar Bowl Bakery).

[5] Go Mexican: Ice cream sandwich on churros, with dulce de ledche, from Boqueria | Brooklyn.

Time to celebrate: August 2nd is National Ice Cream Sandwich Day.
 
 
ICE CREAM SANDWICH HISTORY

According to an article in the July 1900 issue of The New York Herald Tribune, the ice cream sandwich was created in 1899 by a pushcart peddler in the Bowery area of the Lower East Side.

The first ice cream sandwiches were a slice of vanilla ice cream pressed between two thin graham wafers. The slice was cut from a larger slab.

In July 1900, The New York Tribune published an article about the pushcart vendor who was selling the sandwiches.

 
 
MODERN ICE CREAM SANDWICHES

The modern version with the rectangular chocolate wafers was allegedly created in 1945 by Jerry Newberg, an ice cream vendor at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh; although Wikipedia gives credit to partners Jack Delaney, Tim Jones, John Defilippis, and Sam West whom it says originally created and patented the chocolate wafer sandwich in 1963. The thin wafers gain moisture in the freezer, which gives them a cake-like quality.

In actuality, versions of that iconic sandwich can be seen in photos from Atlantic City in the early 1900s.

The next step, the Chipwich, was ice cream sandwiched between chocolate chip cookies. It was created in 1981 by Richard LaMotta of New York City and sold from a pushcart like the Bowery originals (the brand was subsequently bought by Dreyer’s, and is now owned by Retrobrands USA).

Today the ice cream sandwich is enjoyed worldwide, in forms that include the Vietnamese bánh mì kep kem, a baguette stuffed with scoops of ice cream topped with crushed peanuts, instead of conventional sandwich fixings; to Iranian “bread ice cream” which sandwiches rosewater, saffron, or vanilla ice cream between thin, round, crunchy wafers.

In Scotland, vanilla ice cream sandwiched is between one wafer and one block of chocolate-covered nougat (a “single nougat”) or between two blocks of nougat (a “double nougat”).

We’ve seen macaron ice cream sandwiches and churro ice cream sandwiches. What would you like for your perfect ice cream sandwich?
 
 
MODERN ICE CREAM SANDWICH RECIPES

Since the Chipwich, making ice cream sandwiches other cookies and bars (blondies, brownies, oatmeal, etc.) have come to the fore. But creativity doesn’t stop there. Here are other delicious variations of ice cream sandwiches:

 
We celebrated today with ice cream sandwiches on black and white cookies!

But alas, so many options, so few excuses for eating them all.

If you’ve ever drunk more than a few glasses of red wine; eaten lots of beets, berries or carrot purée; you know that food can stain teeth, as well as the hands used to prepare it and the clothes worn to make or eat it.

Even white wine can stain: It has both acid and some tannins that make teeth susceptible to pigments in other foods.

According to Web MD, tooth stains are caused by:

 
Red wine is a triple threat, with all three.

Tea stains teeth more than coffee: In addition to the acid they both share, tea also contains tannins.

Fortunately, there are remedies.
 
TO REMOVE FOOD STAINS ON TEETH

Except for the uncommon white beets, beets stain (photo #1 courtesy Burpee, photo #2 courtesy Good Eggs | SF).

 
TO REMOVE STAINS ON FABRIC

Use a fabric-appropriate bleach: Chlorine bleach is preferable if it is safe for the fabric.

 
MORE HELP

[1] A chocolate cream pie with a raspberry cream top (recipe below, photo © Driscoll’s).

[2] This is the right month to find well-priced raspberries (photo © MorgueFile).

[3] Chocolate wafer cookies are crushed for the crust (photo © Nabisco).

[4] A raspberry tart with a coconut crust. Here’s the recipe (photo © Lottie And Doof).

[5] A Linzertort is a shortbread crust filled with raspberry preserves (photo © Mackenzie Ltd).

[6] Raspberry pie with a flower crust. Here’s the recipe from Driscoll’s (photo © Driscoll’s).

For a previous year’s Raspberry Cream Pie celebration, we published a classic French raspberry tart (see Pie Vs. Tart, below): a shortbread crust filled with creme patisserie and topped with raspberries. Here’s the recipe.

 
> In addition to Chocolate Raspberry Pie, check out five more raspberry pie recipes below.

 
 
RECIPE: CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CREAM PIE

This recipe one-ups a simple raspberry cream pie: It’s a chocolate cream pie topped with raspberry cream (photo #1).

Prep time is 25 minutes plus chilling.

Ingredients For The Crust

 
For The Filling

 
For The Raspberry Purée

 
For The Topping

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl and stir in the butter until evenly blended. Press the crumb mixture firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-1/2-inch pie plate. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.

2. MAKE the filling. Whisk together 1/2 cup milk and the cornstarch. Set aside.

3. BRING the remaining 1-1/2 cups milk, sugar, cocoa and salt just to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Stir the cornstarch mixture then add to the milk mixture in saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Once mixture is at a boil and quite thick, cook 1 additional minute. Remove from the heat.

4. MELT the chocolate and stir it into the melted chocolate and vanilla.

5. SPOON the filling into the cooled crust. Cover the surface directly with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming (personally, we like the skin!). Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

6. MAKE the raspberry purée. Purée 1/2 package of raspberries in the food processor fitted with metal blade (the other half is used for garnish). Strain through a fine mesh strainer. Discard the seeds. Stir the sugar into the purée until dissolved.

7. BEAT the heavy cream and sugar until stiff peaks just form. Stir in the vanilla. Spread the whipped cream topping on chilled pie. With a small spoon (an espresso spoon is great) drop small amounts of raspberry purée onto the whipped cream. Use a toothpick or sharp knife to swirl the purée into the whipped cream (see the 4th photo). Garnish with the remaining raspberries.
 
 
MORE RASPBERRY PIE RECIPES

What’s the difference between cream and creme? Just the spelling.

Creme is an Americanization of the French word for cream, crème (pronounced KREHM), most likely adopted to make a dish sound more special.

But why mispronounce another language’s word for cream? Unless it’s a French recipe, such as Coeur à la Crème or Crème Brûlée, stick to cream.
 
PIE VS. TART

We made a raspberry cream tart instead of a pie? What’s the difference between a pie and a tart? It’s interesting enough that we created an article about it. Check it out!

For a quick visual, compare the first two photos at the top of the page.
 
 

What more crunch in your summer salads? Toasted croutons and chow mein noodles have long served that purpose. But in recent times, tortilla chip strips have become the modern touch. We have a recipe to make your own, below.
 
 
OTHER CRUNCHY OPTIONS

You can also add slices of bell pepper, bok choy, carrot, celery, fennel, kohlrabi, radish or water chestnut; florets, and stalks* of broccoli, and cauliflower; and even nuts (try cashews).

Romaine is the crunchiest lettuce; you can substitute or add shredded cabbage.

But one ingredient we’ve been enjoying lately is fried tortilla strips.

It had not been top-of-mind for us until the lightbulb turned on as we were crunching on the Skinnylicious Mexican Tortilla Salad at The Cheesecake Factory. These strips are more flavorful than chow mein noodles and most packaged croutons.

We asked ourselves: Why don’t we use them on every salad?

We headed to the supermarket and found bags of fried tortilla strips, from Fresh Gourmet’s slender Tri-Color Tortilla Strips to Mission’s standard strips that are wide enough for dipping.

But you can easily make your own, simply by cutting corn tortillas into strips and frying or baking. The only difference is that yours will be fresh, warm, and all-natural. Bonus: You can control the amount of salt.

There’s nothing better than homemade tortilla strips, warm and fragrant from cooking. They’re made the same way as tortilla chips; just in a different shape.
 
 
RECIPE: FRIED TORTILLA STRIPS

Ingredients

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. STACK the tortillas. Cut them in half, then crosswise into thin strips (you can use a pizza cutter). Line a baking sheet with a double thickness of paper towels, for draining.

2. POUR 3 inches of oil into a 4-5 quart pot. Clip the thermometer to the pot and heat the oil over medium-high to 350°F. Test the oil with a drop of water from the tap. If it sizzles, it’s ready; if it splatters, it’s too hot. Turn off the heat for a few minutes.

3. ADD half of the tortillas to the oil carefully—that oil is hot!—and use a wire skimmer or slotted spoon to stir often so they don’t burn. The strips should be submerged in the oil until golden brown (about 3 minutes).

4. REMOVE the tortillas with the skimmer or a slotted spoon, allowing the excess oil to drain back into the pot. Spread the strips on the paper towels to drain, and sprinkle with salt. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

[2] You can make your strips long as in the first photo, or short like these (photo © Heather H. | Food.com).

[3] Add pizzazz with beautiful colored tortilla chips (photo © Ramiro Valencia Fotografía).

This option brushes the tortillas with seasoned oil, before stacking and cutting.

 
COMBINE the oil and spices; brush one side of each tortilla with the mixture and proceed with steps above.
 
Oven Variation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 400°F.

2. SPRAY a baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the strips, trying not to let them overlap. Sprinkle with salt.

3. BAKE for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
 
 
USES FOR TORTILLA STRIPS

In addition to a salad garnish, try them on:

 
__________________

*There’s no reason to toss the bottom stalks of broccoli and cauliflower. The reason people do is because we’re accustomed to eating the “pretty” florets. The stalks are just as delicious—and they’re the parts used to make fancy purées. We cut them into coins and steam or roast them.