"I went about those days with a new rapier my godfather had given me on Saint Anthony’s Day and, quite frankly, I was more interested in the rapier than in Bonaparte’s fall. I’ve never forgotten that. I’ve never stopped thinking to myself that my rapier has always been greater than Napoleon’s sword."
Book: The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas by Joaquim Maria
Recipes: The Brazilian Table by Roberts and Roberts
The Brazilian Kitchen by Leticia Moreinos Shwartz
Marinated Hangar Steak
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tsp corriander
1 tbsp honey
1/4 cup Cachaça
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lb hangar steak
Salt and Pepper to taste
Marinate the steak for 1 to 2 days. Grill for to preferred doneness.
Manioc with Sauteed Onions
2 lbs Manioc (Yucca)
6 tbsp butter
2 cups julienned onion
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley for garnish (optional)
Peel the manioc and cut into cubes. Boil in salted water until tender. While the manioc is boiling, saute the onions in butter over medium low heat, do not let them brown. Remove the manioc from the pan and drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Mix the manioc with the onions to coat with butter. Add the reserved liquid a little at a time until the mixture is moist. Salt and pepper to taste.
Here are some things that I learned about steak. The Pathmark sometimes has hangar steaks, but not this time, so I picked the steak that looked closest to it, a "London Broil." I bypassed the skirt steak thinking I would "do what the recipe says." According to Wikipedia, London Broil is not a "cut" of meat. It's a method of cooking the meat. Apparently, Pathmark isn't aware of this, or they are aware, and they are trying to get rid of some crappier cut of meat under the disguise of "London Broil." Whatever cut I got, it was terribly tough. And that after marinating it overnight (in rum, not Cachaca - still haven't found any - local liquor store man - "we're still out, but keep checking back!). And there is no way that red, juicy meat was overcooked. The lesson: Always buy a skirt steak.
At least the manioc was good, probably because kitchen helper Mindy made it. And can you ever really go wrong with asparagus? It's been on sale a lot around here, that's why it makes so many appearances.
I also made some Pao de Queijo, but I didn't get the right flour so they didn't come out that great. Didn't stop us from devouring them, but I'm not going to include the recipe here until I've perfected it.
About the book:
Just when you thought "she's finished War and Peace! At least we won't have to hear about Napoleon any more..." And yet, here he is cropping up again as a symbol of class conflict. A seven year old Bras Cubas is not impressed with Napoleon. But his family is surely celebrating the great man's downfall (his first one). Of course in a colonial city where the wealthy are profiting off the poor, the rich Cubas family would have to throw a grand affair of a dinner to celebrate Napoleon's defeat. And of course, our young rapscallion is more interested in his rapier and his dessert than he is in politics.
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