Brazilian Day Festival 2005

Pão de queixo (cheese roll)

Instead of my cooking adventures, I'd like to write about my eating adventures that took place last Sunday, September 4.

Every year, during the first week of September in New York City, a Brazilian Day Festival is held to celebrate Brazil's independence.

A few of my friends and I have started what has become an annual tradition, where we get together and attend the festival. Each year, we have more and more fun. It is said to be the biggest Brazilian celebration outside of Brazil. All kinds of people attend the festival – young, old, babies, Brazilians, and non Brazilians (although I believe that everyone becomes Brazilian for the day). It’s a true multicultural event.

The air is charged with excitement, perfumed with the cooking street foods, and filled with the voices of the celebrants. Everywhere I look, I see a sea of yellow and green – the Brazilian colors.

This year, by the time I arrived at the meeting place to join my friends, it was very crowded. As we walked down the street to look at the displays of food, music, books, jewelry and other items, at times, we could barely walk down the street in some spots.

We bought Brazilian-related mementos and tasted some of the different Brazilian food.

First we passed by a stand that sold the traditional Brazilian dish, feijodao. The closest translation for this Portuguese word is “a mixture of beans.” This is a black bean and pork stew. I’m interested in learning how to prepare it someday. At the moment, the recipe is intimidating-looking for me to make. Prominently displayed, a large sign advertised the food and let the public know the feijodao ingredients – pork, jerk beef, smoked chorizo, and black beans – and the foods served with it – rice, farofa (a seasoned manioc flour, which is used as a condiment), hot sauce, kale, and an orange slice.

Complete Feijoada list with all the trimmings

Serving feijoada, the traditional Brazilian dish

We tried some churro recheado com doce de leite, which tastes like a long donut topped with milk caramel.

Churro recheado com doce de leite

We also nibbled on pão de queixo, a cheese roll/bread (see the top photo). Both were very good.

Some of us had a grilled shrimp served on a stick.

Camarão (shrimp)

One food stand sold pastels – deep-fried pastries – with different fillings, like beef, shrimp, bananas, Hearts of Palm, and cheese. I’d also like to learn how to make this. When I got to the stand there was only one left and that was soon sold to a customer luckier than me (the person in front of me). I could have waited for the vendor to pull more out and heat them, but I changed my mind and moved along. There were more things to see and eat down the street.

Pastels (deep-fried pastries)

We tasted some brigadeiro, which means Brigadier in English and is named after Eduardo Gomes, a dark-haired, blue-eyed, handsome Brazilian Air Force commander and politician. The brigadeiro is a chocolate fudge-type candy, topped with chocolate sprinkles.

Brigadeiro (Chocolate fudge sweet)

As we continued to walk, we passed different stands preparing churrasco, the traditional Brazilian barbeque. The difference between American barbeque and Brazilian barbeque is that Americans grill the meat with sauce, while Brazilians grill with salt and water (and sometimes with garlic and lime.). Churrasco is normally served with white rice, Brazilian salsa vinaigrette, and the condiment farofa.

Preparing Churrasco (Brazilian BBQ)

More Churrasco preparation

We passed other food vendors preparing Brazilian style kabobs on a grill. We didn’t stop to buy any of the meat dishes, but they looked impressive as the men turned them over on the fire and the smoke billowed out on us. We were sure by the time we got home, we’d smell like meat and smoke. I did for sure. My dogs will verify this as they sniffed me properly.

Brazilian-style kabobs

We ended our food tasting by sipping Caipirinha, a traditional Brazilian drink that tastes cool, sweet, and tart at the same time. Translated into English to mean “little country girl,” the main ingredients include sugar, lime and cachaça (a Brazilian sugarcane liquor) served over ice. After walking in the sun, among an intense crowd, it was most refreshing.

Caipirinha (the traditional Brazilian drink)

I returned home exhausted with sore feet, but happy and satiated. Despite the heavy crowd in attendance, it was a good and fun, lively, musical and food-filled day.

Here are two recipes. One for Caipirinha from the Food Network channel and the second for Brigadeiros, from Cook Brazil. They’re both good for any kind of occasions and worth tasting at least once.

CAIPIRINHA

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
1 lime, cut into wedges
Ice cubes
2 shots Cachaça or white rum
Club soda

Crush sugar and lime wedges in bottom of glass. Add ice cubes then top off with cachaça and a dash of club soda.

BRIGADEIRO

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon margarine

3 tablespoon cocoa powder

COOK:

Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, margarine and cocoa powder.

Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring.

Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch balls.

Roll the balls over chocolate jimmies [chocolate sprinkles] to decorate.

Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the balls easily. If the balls don't hold the shape and flat down like coins, it means that you did not cook enough. Cook additional five minutes, take a small sample and dip it in a glass with cold water. If you cooked enough, this sample should hold the shape after cooling down in the water.

SERVE:

Place the balls in candy cups to serve.

They are great for birthday parties.

SERVING SIZE: 40 candies.