Best of Brazil

Although I’m not a fan of the traditional lime caipirinha, Jules adopted the national Brazilian cocktail as her own.  After much trial and error, I finally fell in love with the frutas vermelhas (red fruits, i.e. strawberries, raspberries, etc) version…

These are super easy to make and this simple recipe can be varied with any fruit you want for a caipifruta, substitute vodka for a caipiroska or even sake for a light caipisake.  The choices are endless, just be sure to use fine or powdered sugar so it dissolves well or a sugar substitute.

When you talk about steak in Brazil, you’re talking about picanha.  I’ve done a little research and although people say it is top sirloin or rump steak or tri-tip- I think it’s just a Brazilian cut of deliciousness.  Outside of the amazing picanha M made us in Sao Paulo, the best we had was at the  famous Garota de Ipanema.

I’ll admit we didn’t’ even know it was famous until we had been there like 4 times.  I kept seeing the song lyric t-shirts people were buying and had even thought “Is this place called Girl from Ipanema or something?” only to find out it used to be the site of the café where the songwriters used to hang out watch the now famous girl walking by each day.

I was obviously too focused on cooking and enjoying my picanha…

For those who know me, I’m sure you could guess I’m planning on getting one of these little table top grills when we get home.  It’s so great to have everyone cook their own steak to their preferred temp. 

And no, I don’t plan on eating another steak for a good 6 months.