My Brazilian Feast

photo by Katie Kay

My family moved to Brazil when I was 11.  I'll never forget the year, because it's about the only thing I still remember how to say in Portuguese.  1992: mil novecentos noventa e dois.  I may be spelling it wrong, but I know I'm close.  That's about the extent of what I remember of Portuguese, especially because Spanish is so much more common here, and now I get the 2 confused.  
Being 11-12 years old in a foreign country is tough on a shy girl with no social skills, so I have this weird mental block about so much of the year we spent there.  It's amazing the things my toddler sister retained, and I think my parents still speak the language fairly well!  Impressive.  I think the only thing that wasn't repressed in my mind was the food.  Oh my...the food.  My entire family looks back with fondness so recently I invited my parents over for a Brazilian feast.  I did my best to replicate some of my most memorable Brazilian dishes.  I think most were wildly successful with the exception of 1.  
Sadly. this entire day was filled with so much work that picture-taking was almost out of the question.  Besides, when you've slaved in the kitchen for 10 hours and you're serving a 5-course meal, you worry more about the timing of the food being ready than stopping everything to snap a photo while trying to find good lighting.  So I only have photos of 2 recipes, although I'll share them all with you today.

Our first course was Moqueca de Camaroes, a Brazilian shrimp soup from Food.com.  It was spicy and creamy, and this is one I would definitely make again and again.  It was super fast and easy to prepare!

photo by Katie Kay

Next I served Pasteis.  I made 2 kinds, chicken and beef.  The recipe for chicken and the pastry shell can be found here.  I remember these being sold by street vendors, and the chicken was always my favorite.  The batch of pastel dough that I made would have been enough for the chicken filling, however I wanted to make beef as well, so I ended up with a large ziplock bag in my freezer full of chicken filling.  I might make something a little easier with the extra filling.  Maybe crescent roll dough rolled out and filled with chicken?  Or Phyllo dough?  We'll see.

photo by Katie Kay

The beef was pretty fantastic as well, and the recipe for the beef filling can be found here.  Don't be scared by the chopped egg.  It's traditional!  Give it a try and if you hate it (you won't) then you can skip the egg next time you make it!  I think between the 6 of us tasters, it was a tie between which was better, the chicken or the beef.
Next I tried this recipe for Coxinhas, another street vendor snack.  In Brazil these were even more awesome than Pasteis.  Wait--no they weren't.  Yes they were.  Okay, I can't decide.  However this recipe was a ton of work and I failed miserably!  Maybe because I cooked my Pasteis first and my oil got too dirty, but my Coxinhas got really dark very quickly so they looked burned, but the inside wasn't cooked all the way through.  Plus, I couldn't get the pear shape right when I was forming them.  I also had difficulty stuffing the chicken inside, then getting the batter outside to close around it.  Overall, it was a miserable catastrophe.  Afterwards, my sister texted me a picture of her attempt, and it was so much better than mine.  But I have no desire to try this mess again.  If you want to, recipe is here.
The main dish, and my absolutely 100% favorite of them all, was Feijoada:  Brazilian Black Beans and Rice.  From what I remember, this was one of the most common and well-known dishes in Brazil.  It was very common for poor people to come knock on our door multiple times per day asking if we have "anything to give."  (That was the translation, but I can't quite remember how it was said.)  My parents kept uncooked rice and black beans in the pantry and they would hand them out to anyone who came to the door.  I think part of the appeal of this dish to most Brazilians was that it didn't take expensive ingredients.  You could throw pretty much any part of any animal in it, and that's what I attempted to do!
I wish SO badly that I had taken a picture, because this dish was beyond delicious.  In fast, next time I make it I will take a picture and update this post.  This is the recipe I used from SimplyRecipes.com, with some adaptations:
Feijoada
1lb dry black beans, soaked overnight in water 2 onions, chopped 1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and chopped 1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped 1lb ham hocks/shanks 1lb pork spare ribs (I think I used beef) Ox tail (however much comes in a package) 1lb smoked bacon, cut into chunks 1lb carne seca, soaked in water overnight, drained, and cubed 1lb pork shoulder 1lb smoked sausage, sliced 4 bay leaves 1 bunch green onions sliced, use whites and light green parts only 1 14.5oz can crushed tomatoes 10 cups beef broth 1 Tbsp salt Cooked white rice (for serving over)
In a heavy stockpot, heat oil and saute onions, garlic, and jalapeno until softened.  Add all of the meats and beans, then add beef broth until meats are covered.  Add salt, green onions, tomatoes and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, and cover.  Simmer for about 2 hours.  I cooked mine longer because of my timeline, and I added a little bit of beef broth as needed.
When meat is tender enough to fall off the bones, use a slotted serving spoon to remove big chunks and pull the bones out of the stew.  This took some effort to find all of the bone pieces, but at least they're all large bones and easy to find!  Pick off any remaining meat from the bones and add it back to the stew.  Simmer until ready to eat, then serve over white rice.
(future picture here...)
One of the most delicious, staple Brazilian desserts is a type of chocolate truffle, although it's creamier and softer than truffles you might get here in the U.S.  Plus, it's so much easier to make!  My mom made these for my birthday party, and they are such a fabulous delicate treat!  The photo is at the beginning of this post.  Enjoy!
Brigadeiros from AllRecipes.com
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk 1 Tbsp butter Chocolate jimmies
Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.  You will know it is finished when the bottom of the pan still shows when you stir with a spatula.  Pour mixture into a lightly greased dish and set aside to cool to room temperature.  Grease your hands lightly, or spray them with Pam, and roll teaspoon-sized balls in your palms.  Roll balls in jimmies to coat, and place on platter or dish.  Refrigerate to store, and bring close to room temperature before serving.