Churrasco

Brazilians know soccer. They know samba. They know the beach. And they know barbecue. Man, do they know barbecue. Imagine a large sword skewered with bacon wrapped filet mignon, grilling over an open flame. Next to it are more swords, each skewered with cognac marinated chicken, tiger prawns, chili lime rubbed pork, flank steak, and more. As each sword is ready, a traditionally dressed waiter slices a piece of carnivorous delight onto your plate. This is how Brazilians do churrasco (shoe-hahz-koo).


I can't remember what this was, but it was good!

Gratefully, we don’t have to go all the way to Brazil to have churrasco -- a churrascaria (shoe-hahz-kah-ree-ah) opened up here in Portland a few years ago, much to our delight. So when it came time to celebrate Xang’s “my middle name is carnivore” birthday last month, Brazil Grill was a no brainer.


The birthday boy with his plate. Can you see his eyes glazing over?

We sat down and anxiously turned our disc to the green side, indicating to the waiters that we were ready to gorge. And they pounced. Much like the waiters at dim sum, they swarmed until our plates were nearly overflowing. And that was just the first round. We ate until our stomachs were content, and our eyes glazed over as much from the cognac-soaked chicken as from the dizzying array of meats that were offered to us. And then we ate some more. It’s funny how you can be stuffed, and I mean stuffed, then a waiter walks up to you with a sword full of juicy pineapple covered in a cinnamon sugar glaze that’s hot off the bbq and suddenly, oilah! There’s room in your stomach!


Cinnamon-glazed Pineapple is a specialty of the house. We try to re-create it at home sometimes, and it's never the same!

Since it was Xang’s birthday, we got dessert, compliments of the house. So…apple cinnamon empanada it was. Yum! Apples flavored with cinnamon and baked into a flaky pastry…it’s actually making my mouth water again!?

Burgerville

So...I'm not always a huge fan of fast food. But, on occasion, I confess to giving in to a hankering for a Filet-O-Fish from the Golden Arches. Since moving to the Portland area though, I've discovered Burgerville. They're Oregon-owned, and promote healthy, sustainable business practices (local ingredients, used only when in season, recycling and composting, using local vendors and farmers, hormone-free eggs, and they even offer affordable healthcare for employees, just to name a few).

So in keeping with their seasonal ingredients, every season brings a new item to their menu. At various times during the year, you can find chocolate hazelnut milkshakes (Oregon being known for its hazelnuts), Walla Walla Onion Rings, pumpkin milkshakes, strawberry shortcake, and more.

Currently, rosemary is the featured ingredient at Burgerville. If I didn't keep a check on their Rosemary Shoestring Potatoes, they would quickly become an addiction. It's a good thing they're seasonal! "...fried crispy, tossed in rosemary and garlic infused olive oil, then dusted with rosemary seasoning," as their website describes them. Yum-o! (excuse me, as I channel Rachel Ray).


Today, I had their chicken strips and fries, and substituted the rosemary shoestring potatoes. And let me tell you, these are not your ordinary chicken strips. They're juicy, white meat and lightly breaded. They're so good, I usually bring them home to eat with rice and tonkatsu sauce.

I was so anxious to start eating, I forgot to take a picture until Sydney and I had eaten a few of the chicken strips =D

Mini Cupcakes

*I posted last night/early this morning, but when I went back to edit a paragraph, I ended up deleting my whole post! Aaagh! All that writing! Oh well. I'm going to try again.*

As you probably guessed, I have a slight obsession with cupcakes. It's been a lot of fun trying to find the best, the sweetest, the cutest ones around, and I've just gotten started!

For Emi-chan's birthday, I decided to do mini cupcakes. First ones were for her Parent and Me class. Since I was the snack mom a couple days after her birthday, I decided to make some special ones. The normal thing is probably to go to a supermarket and buy a box of cupcakes for $6, but no, not for my precious baby. Only the best for the little princess. I had to make these beach going teddy bears I saw on Bakerella and My Little Mochi.

I found that these mini cupcakes were both easier than I thought it would be, and also harder than I thought it would be. The easy part: I decided I wouldn't make the cupcakes from scratch, but used a mix and canned frosting, for sanity and health reasons (my sanity and the kids' heathy. I'm not the best baker). Drawing the faces and bathing suits on the bears was easier than I thought it would be, thanks to edible marking pens. The hard part: finding decent bears to draw on (I ate most of the rejects...I don't want to look at another Teddy Graham for awhile), and frosting the cupcakes. I decided to use the easy-peasy frosting technique I saw on a Food Network show, where you take a plastic ziplock bag and load it up with frosting, push the frosting into a corner of the bag, snip the corner, and then pile your cake with fluffy frosting. When I tried it, it 1) got all over me and 2) looked like I had piles of white dog poo on the cupcakes. Not very appetizing. So, I had to refrost them before sprinkling them with blue sprinkles. In the end, I'm pretty happy with the results (the kids were, too, except for Emi-chan, who hates cake). What do you think?


For Satuday, we had a family birthday party. I had ordered 2 dozen mini cupcakes from Sibby's in San Mateo. My brother Jeff tagged along to help me pick them up. At first, I wasn't sure if I had the right directions. The address took me to a one way street behind a row of retail stores. All we saw were auto body shops. No bakery. I had Jeff re-read the directions to me. Then I saw it. Sibby's. A little pink oasis among dirt and grime. Once I saw the cupcakes, I was very happy I chose them.


Rick thought the cupcakes were too sweet. Emi-chan rejected them because they were cake. I liked them very much. Yes, the cupcakes were sweet, but you could taste the distinct flavors. I had ordered the variety pack, and we got (I think): Dulce de Leche, Carrot Cinnamon, Red Velvet, Grandma's Tea Cake, Choco Choco, and Butter Cup. I'm starting to get hungry again. Maybe I'll go and get a leftover cupcake :)