Monica & Maria are 2 good friends of mine that put together a Brazilian Feast for all of our families to enjoy. Monica is from Brazil and Maria is from Uruguay. Monica whipped up Brazilian cuisine and Maria assisted while pulling together an outdoor dining area with lights throughout the trees for a festive backdrop.
The Menu
Appetizer: Cassava & Drinks
Main dish: Feijoada over rice and topped with farofa (manioc meal) with a side of garlicky & bitter Couve (Collard Greens)
Drinks: Caipirinhas (lime drink made from muddled lime and sugar and cachaça)
Dessert: Passion fruit mousse, Ice cream, and Fruit
For Appetizers We Treasured The Cassava
Cassava is also known as yuca or manioc. It was cut into wedges and fried in Canola oil
The Main Dish Was Feijoada
Feijoada (image 4) is a black bean stew that’s cooked for days with carne seca (beef jerky) and pork parts. It is seasoned with onions, garlic, bay leaves, and rock salt. The Feijoada was bursting with savory goodness and was served over white rice. We topped (sprinkled) the Feijoada with farofa (manioc meal) for texture.
Cuove for the Side
Cuove is a garlicky and bitter collard greens that was great for contrast. The dish was also garnished with an orange to help with your digestion.
Desserts for the evening
For dessert there was the passion fruit mousse (amazing)!, fruit ice creams, and of course fresh fruit.
The evening was filled with fun and festivity the children ran around in the backyard playing all kinds of games. We all lounged around in our open air dining room with strung lights throughout the trees. After the desert we ended the night with a round of Limoncello just to make sure all was digested!
More about Monica:
Monica is from Brazil and was born and raised in Sao Paulo. She graduated from the University of Sao Paulo as a translator/interpreter of Portuguese to Italiano. After graduation she traveled to Venice, Italy where she continued her post graduation as a (gastronomy translator) at the University Ca’Fuscari.
For two years she occupied her free time by taking short courses in cooking and a tour in every restaurant and couldn’t resist the delicious smell of garlic and basil. In 2000 she returned to Brazil, and moved to Florianopolis. She worked at a translator-interpreter for the University of Gastronomy in Florianopolis. She enjoys cooking and culture and brining friends together under a starlit night.
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