One of the fun things we did recently on vacation in Aruba was having dinner in a Brazilian steakhouse, a churrascaria, featuring amazing grilled meats that are brought table-side in skewers, sliced to order. It's an endless parade of succulent barbecued meats you enjoy with a generous buffet of side dishes.
Throughout the years, the idea of going to a churrascaria had popped up but we never actually found the occasion to go. My husband and I thought our meat-loving "little" guy (who is almost a teenager now!) would enjoy it so we took advantage of going to one when we were in Aruba. We were right about the young one enjoying it; in fact, we all loved it.
I could go on and on about the delectable meat - the juicy and succulent picanha (top sirloin) cut and such - but what I wanted to focus on here today is something that was served in a little bread basket at our table at the steakhouse. They turned out to be Brazilian cheese bread, or small cheese rolls or puffs, called pão de queijo.
My husband fell hard for these little rounds of cheese bread! I thought they were good (I mean, it's cheesy bread so what's not to like) but I have to admit I was more focused on eating Brazilian black beans, rice, and sampling all the meat. But I do remember the rolls - particularly not only for their great cheesy flavor but the uniquely chewy texture that made them so interesting.
They are not your typical fluffy, soft breads rolls but more like French gougeres but with a very different interior texture. Brazilian cheese bread is soft and slightly crisp on the outside but dense and incredibly chewy inside. The key is they're made with tapioca flour, which give it its distinctly chewy, stretchy texture.
My husband was really smitten by the little Brazilian cheese bread and kept talking about it. So naturally, I came home and read up on it a little bit and decided to try making them after finding a recipe. It was a fun project and they turned out very well! My husband swears they're just like the ones we had at the restaurant. I say they're close enough and more importantly, we had a lot of fun talking about and tasting these at home. It's always fun to relive vacation memories and make them last by recreating it in some way.
I could go on and on about the delectable meat - the juicy and succulent picanha (top sirloin) cut and such - but what I wanted to focus on here today is something that was served in a little bread basket at our table at the steakhouse. They turned out to be Brazilian cheese bread, or small cheese rolls or puffs, called pão de queijo.
They are not your typical fluffy, soft breads rolls but more like French gougeres but with a very different interior texture. Brazilian cheese bread is soft and slightly crisp on the outside but dense and incredibly chewy inside. The key is they're made with tapioca flour, which give it its distinctly chewy, stretchy texture.
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| Weekend dinner! This meal featured Jacque Pepin's recipe for crispy chicken thighs and of course, the Brazilian cheese bread |
