This is my second Food
with Thought themed lunch to highlight an area of the world … and as is my
wont give a little extra detail i.e. history …
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| Brazil and our Apperitif fizz |
- Navigation – and the colonisation of Brazil
- The Borgia Pope
- How and why South, middle and North America are mainly Spanish speaking
It was with the advances of navigation and a greater
understanding of the seas, that the Portuguese became the great explorers of
the 1400s …
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| Lines dividing the non-Christian world between Castile (modern Spain) and Portugal. The 1494 Tordesillas meridien (purple) and the 1529 Zaragosa antimeridien (green) |
… sailing down the west side of Africa, round the Cape of Good
Hope and on to India … thus bypassing the controlling Turks of the Ottoman
Empire in the Middle East.
Henry the Navigator, (1394 – 1460), the Portuguese Prince,
initiated the exploration down the west coast of Africa and the development of
useful tools, such as charts to expedite this desire for knowledge during the
15th Century (1400s).
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| Tordesillas Treaty |
The Spanish from 1492 went west and found land in the
Caribbean Islands, before setting foot on the North American continent … Brazil
was found at much the same time in 1500 but by Pedro Alvares Cabral …
Surprisingly to me anyway! … a Papal Treaty (Treaty of
Tordesillas) of 1494 had already divided the world into two … the Spanish Pope,
Alexander VI, (1431 – 1503) instigated this bull
…
… the purpose was to divide trading and colonizing rights for
all newly discovered lands in the world between Portugal and Spain to the
exclusion of other European nations.
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| The attractive charismatic Pope: Alexander VI ... |
The Portuguese being given control over Africa, Asia and the
Eastern part of Brazil, while the Spanish received everything west of that line
… only later realising their good fortune …
This is complicated and involves the Borgia Pope mentioned
above … he is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, because
he broke the priestly vow of celibacy and had several legitimately acknowledged
children.
Therefore his italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a
byword for libertinism and nepotism …
Anyway – enough of history … shall we eat? Come share with me an aperitif to set us on
our way to that lunch table …
Our sparkling aperitif was “Coco Nova Brut” – a blend from the hot area north-east of Rio: the
Sao Francisco Valley. A drier style made
from blending Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin and Verdejo grapes – the Verdejo are
generally harvested at night – when less oxidation is likely to occur.
Cue in the clues: This
dry sparkling wine fizzes with fresh melon juice, white nectarine flavours,
hints of almond, giving an aromatic, often soft, but richer texture of taste.
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| Salmon and Sea Bass Ceviche |
F o o d … we needed food!
This time as our starters we had Salmon
and Sea Bass Ceviche with seasoned leaves, decorated with delicate avocado
pieces and pickled vegetables … this was positively delicious!
Now I need to go to the left-hand side of the menu to check out
the wine … an un-oaked 50:50 blend of Chenin Blanc and Viognier … a good
acidity: excellent to serve with fish.
Cue in the clues: This light in colour, with a greenish tinge,
wine – had a hint of white flowers on the nose, fresh aromas too of pears and
pineapples … soft and supple in the mouth … ‘twas good and tasty!
Where do they get these descriptions?!
Our main course was ‘Chimichurri
Chicken en Croute’ – adapted to our English palates … the chicken was
served en croute … while we had a choice of a lighter, simpler chicken sauce or
the Chimichurri – that’s what I had!
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| Chimchurri sauce |
Chimichurri, originally from Argentina, is a green sauce used
for grilled meat … it is based on finely-chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive
oil, oregano and red or white wine vinegar.
This is my style of sauce …
To go with the main course we had a blend from …
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| Brazil shown within South America |
Cue in the clues: ruby
dark grapes with a hint of white pepper … which should (?) leave us with a
clean aftertaste … I cannot remember that part … but …
Rio Sol
Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz … comes from the Sertão … the semi-arid
region in Northeastern Brazil … a Brazilian historian once referred to colonial
life in Brazil as a “civilisation of
crabs”, as most settlers clung to the shoreline …
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| The Sertao ... the semi-arid north-east |
The director of the Portuguese wine company Dao Sul just adds
to this picture … as he advises his workers to “watch out for alligators” as they sometimes come up from the river
and nip the workers’ ankles as they harvest the grapes.
As introductions go, this advice is a little
unusual, even by the standards of eccentric vineyard owners.
Thinking about this I need another drink before I enjoy the
dessert!
A Rosé – to go with the dessert – but this has a very
descriptive hue … Rio Sol Touriga
Nacional Shiraz Rosé evokes an intense fruity flavour …
Cue in more clues: predominantly cherry, strawberry, blueberry
and raspberry … giving us a playful after-taste to enjoy our German-Brazilian
dessert.
Pudding! Torta Alemã is
a Brazilian dessert, though its name in Portuguese means “German Pie”. Many Germans settled in Brazil … so various
recipes became absorbed into Brazilian food lore.
This was particularly delicious … the chocolate “ganache” in
this pie is called brigadeiro de colher, and
is a spreadable version of the very popular Brazilian chocolate fudge truffles
called ‘brigadiero’ …
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| Brigaderios |
We had Columbian blend filter coffee and brigaderios to follow
… I might say we had one older chap on our table who ate all of these – without
offering them round … he was remarkably selfish and his conversation was all
about himself!! We were polite and I
knew one other lady on the table … so we laughed a lot …
Linda fortunately knew the wine merchant’s representative –
her daughters had gone to school and socialised with him and other friends …
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| Representation of the landing by Petro Cabal in 1500 |
… he was the worse for wear, poor chap, as his wife had
recently had a difficult birth … but all was well with their daughter … he
looked somewhat drained! But I think was
grateful he was sharing the table with us … and ‘felt at home’ with Linda
around … and not a load of fuddy duddies!!
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| Gathered grapes in Brazil |
We had this lunch on 21st October and I see I noted
that our weather was much the same as in Brazil 19 deg C (66 deg F): cloudy
with rain!
I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving, questionable Black
Friday … and I’m sparing a thought for Denise in Brisbane after the major
vortex storm that ripped their coastline apart on Thanksgiving Day …
Oh by the way .. this was held at the same seafront hotel as the South African lunch ...
And out of interest our temperature is still so warm ... yesterday the day of posting we had 13.8 deg C - which is 55.84 deg F .. today it's slightly warmer ...
Oh by the way .. this was held at the same seafront hotel as the South African lunch ...
And out of interest our temperature is still so warm ... yesterday the day of posting we had 13.8 deg C - which is 55.84 deg F .. today it's slightly warmer ...
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
45 comments:
What a great afternoon, with a delightful selection of food and wine
Oh, it all sounds delish! I especially want to taste that chicken and sauce you had...sounds wonderful!
You are so lucky - but I think you know that!
I've always wanted to visit Brazil. I would love to sample the wine, too!
Your post made me hungry! Chimichurri, I love just second best to wine. And we should not forget dessert.
I was fascinated with the Borgias many centuries ago. So much intrigue around them. Dragon Hugs!
What a great way to write a post, Hilary. I want a glass of wine before I go to bed.
Love,
Janie
When in Portugal, doing the touristy thing, we saw lots about Henry the Navigator and his inspirations. Depicted in tiles too, blue and white. Sounds a fabulous meal Hilary and the wines are pretty good sounding too. Had chimichurri sauce in Portugal too, good and hot (spicy). Actually quite a lot of the Popes were married in the past, I checked this out a while ago. I would have had a hissy fit if I hadn't got a look in on the brigadeiros. They look delicious. Another excellent post Hils, thanks.
Hi Hilary. I'm salivating now and I feel like going downstairs for a huge breakfast! I've never been to Brazil but have been to Portugal a lot.
I'm a bit confused about this post - where did this meal take place? There seems to be characters mentioned that I feel I should - but don't.... CLICK HERE for Bazza’s fabulous Blog ‘To Discover Ice’
@ OOTP - thanks it was another very good lunch ...
@ Betsy - the chicken was very good, especially the sauce ...
@ Sandie - yes I am: you're right - thank you.
@ Paula - I've never been to Brazil either and I'd love to visit .. sometime perhaps ...
@ Al - how lovely to see you ... Chimichurri is obviously a good selection for you ... I'd eat more of that .. and not do the dessert too much .. but always need a glass of vino ...
Glad you remember the Borgias - mind you they're not easy to forget ..
@ Janie - thanks so much ... it was a good meal ...
@ Jo - I haven't been down to Lisbon and we were staying inland from Porto ... so didn't see as much of the coast as I'd like, or see too much touristy stuff ...
Yes .. but Alexander VI, Borgia the first, was particularly fickle and manipulative of all things ...
Brigadeiros - they did look delicious .. the creamy filling for the Torta Alema was very tasty ...
@ Bazza - sorry forgot to mention this is a local hotel on the seafront that puts these on and a variety of other talks/events/lunches ... I go to a few. Linda is a friend from down here ... and we go to a few things together - when her husband doesn't want to come along, or it's something we both want to do ..
Sorry about hurrying you up downstairs for a Saturday breakfast: hope you enjoyed it? I'm waiting to go to Brazil sometime ....sometime!
Cheers to you all - thanks for your visits ... have good weekends - Hilary
What a magnificent feast you had, Hilary! Sorry the selfish man at your table had to bore you with his stories while inhaling all of the Brigaderios!
Julie
Hilary, you made us all want to go out and do the same... enjoy good food with friends and learn things. Great post.
I learned so much from this post. Thanks. And thank you for having voted for my blog :-D
your poor friend in brisbane.
i don't do any black friday shopping. but it shows quite the difference in our world since the days of the early explorers setting out on ships to find trade over seas!
I'm not really into wines but I really love Chimichurri! There are a few Argentinian restaurants near my house and I just love to order meat with a dollop of Chimichurri...perhaps a cup full. Thanks for the history. I was just recently talking with my son about why some of Central and South America spoke Portuguese and why other countries spoke Spanish.
Loved your post. It included some of my favoruite topics: history, culture and food. It was the Portuguese actually that kicked off the slave trade in West Africa, in Sao Jorge da Mina, as far back as 1472.
Greetings from London.
Enjoyable post! My great grandfather used to say, most emphatically, "Nunca voltar para Portugal. Passamos fome lá!"
I am glad things have improved.
Forgot to mention - did you ever read the book Shogun. One of the best books ever written in my opinion. Anyway, it's about the English pilot who ended up in Japan and he tells the Japanese about the religious line dividing the world by Papal decree. It's a novel but based on fact. There was an English pilot (Will Adams) from Chatham Who did end up in Japan. There is even a memorial to him in the area.
I went to see the nuns on Black Friday, to shop in their little gift shop. Other than that, my head is spinning after reading this wonderful post. And I'm getting hungry too, we're having stuffed Portobello mushrooms that my friend gave us yesterday. Should be yummy!
I don't know about wines, but I knew all about the Papal division of the New World and how Brazil ended up speaking Portuguese while the rest of South and Central America spoke Spanish. The Age of Exploration was one of my favorite units to teach in 5th grade. One of things I miss, now that I am retired.
But I do hope you enjoyed your wines!
This sounds like an amazing lunch and the picture of the Brazilian grapes reminded me of my stay there over fifteen years ago!
Aloha Hilary:)
That was a bloody great food, wine and history lesson... thanks :)
I am *definitely* keeping my eyes out for that Rio Sol Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz (especially because I love smaller, unique vineyards :)
Am hungry now... must go eat :)
@ Julie - yes the chap was unfortunate .. his poor wife wasn't too happy either .. still we enjoyed ourselves!
@ Beste - thanks so much .. it's good to know the post is encouraging you to enjoy some good food with friends and learn at the same time ..
@ Vanessa - it was a pleasure to vote for you and I hope you win. Good to see you here ..
@ TWG - I know I haven't heard from Denise ... her last post was surviving the G20 summit ... I know there were no major casualties .. just an awful lot of property damage
Black Friday was not good over here and we don't even celebrate Thanksgiving! But looking at 'the thens' and 'the nows' is an interesting thought - setting sail to explore for all these trades we think of as normal ...
@ Clarissa - I'm not really into wines either .. but the descriptions make me smile. I hadn't come across Chimichurri ... and yes, I'd have had more Chimichurri sauce than we were given ...
Fascinating that one of my posts has again tied in with something you were discussing with your son - it's great he's learning so much ...
@ ACinL ... thanks so much .. the subjects are a good mix aren't they.
re the West African Slave Trade - I'm sure you're right ... Henry stopped the pillaging in Portugal from the Barbary pirates - who even came to the Cornish/English coasts to grab locals for their slave trade ... It's another area of history that's so complicated ...
@ Geo - I unfortunately didn't understand your phrase here - but can guess (vaguely!). However delighted you enjoyed the post - that's the important thing ...
@ Jo - I have read Shogun but years ago .. but obviously I need to read it again ... it would educate me! Thanks for adding that.
@ Inger - so pleased you got up to see the Nuns on Friday ... and am glad you enjoyed the read through of this post. Portobello mushrooms sound delicious ... I love them too ...
@ Dianne - I enjoy wine .. but the differences I'm not too good with - but enjoy those descriptions.
I expect you do miss your teaching more than you realise - the paperwork and bureaucracy headaches I'm sure you don't miss! I love the Age of Exploration ... such a fascinating time ...
The wines with the meal were good - the South African wines, from my first post, though so far have been my favourite!
@ Joshua - delighted to meet you and thanks for visiting here. Well that's great that I managed to find some typical Brazilian black grape containers to remind you of your stay over there - it's good when someone's memory is triggered after I've written a post ...
Thanks everyone .. it's probably good I don't do many more of these lunches - but they're fun to write about ..
Happy end of NaNo ... cheers Hilary
Pretty sure alligators amongst us would cause my resignation.
Your 'clueless' boxes were making me laugh, Hilary. :)
And a pope who had children! I haven't heard of it, but I bet that did create quite the controversy.
I'm glad you had a nice meal out. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.
It's always struck me as interesting that Brazil is the only non-Spanish speaking nation in the entire South American continent.
You've made me very hungry and thirsty! Glad you had a good time.
It all sounds a bit rich for my delicate tum, especially the sauce, but I can see that an excellent time was had by all :-)
Brazil has been one of my husband's "want to go" places for years. Unfortunately it is far down on my list. But not anymore. I am sold. I won't tell him yet though. Firstly, I must check out the injections I will need to suffer :) I did make some kind of compromise though and visited a fantastic Brazilian restaurant in Cologne. Fabulicious!
Hello Hilary
What an excellent idea to have a theme dinner and how it leads to exploring and researching.It all sounds so delicious and memorable
Helen xx
The food looks delicious! A nice bit of history there, too!
I really want to travel to south america… Only a few more years and then I can go myself!
Oh so delicious looking food! Yum! Thanks (I think? hehe) for sharing and making me salivate with those enticing food pictures.
The whole exploration thing is so fascinating to me - imagine the sense of adventure they must have had, setting out to find unknown (to them) lands. Of course it also comes with the dark side of conquering existing peoples, and so on. Never happy outcomes when that's involved.
@ Rosie .. I too laughed at the alligators and the crab scenes; the cue in the clues was just something I came up with for the South African lunch; while the Popes and children - it seems a few of them had children disguised as nephews and nieces - such is life if you're a Pope!
@ Milo - it was only recently I'd really taken this fact on board .. about Brazil speaking Portuguese .. so finding out about this Treaty (or both treaties) really intrigued me too
@ Patsy - well you came on at the right time .. nearly supper time here - 6.00 last night ... it was a fun lunch out ..
@ Ros - it was fairly rich but very good! They did an alternative sauce/gravy for delicate tums!
@ Nicola - good to meet you ... and I'm delighted my post is going to make your hubby happy in due course (I won't tell him either yet!!). We do have to suffer if we travel don't we .. protecting ourselves.
Your Brazilian restaurant in Cologne sounds as you say Fabulicious!
@ Helen - lovely to see you back .. and I enjoy the extra research I get to do .. love food and love history -so am very happy! It's memorable as it's here!
@ Sherry - good food and some history to look into - suits me fine!
@ Sarah - got your parent's itchy feet I see ... I've never been - I might get there at some stage .. but the world is your oyster with your life ahead ... get those studies done first.
@ Trisha - writing about food is always difficult ... as I just want to get up and go and find another Brazilian restaurant and have another tasting session: but it's not to be! For now.
I agree - that era, when the world was being opened up by exploration and then the new trades that were found ... so interesting and how their tastes changed even then ... the 'conquering' aspect was cruel but a necessary part, I suppose in those dark days.
Thanks so much for your visits ... cheers Hilary
The Borgia Pope looks like Diego Rievera and they both seem to be cut from the same cloth. Ha
Wonderful post. Yum. I was lost at the desserts. Is ten in the morning too early for chocolate? Have a lovely week. :)
The puddin looks so delicious. Did I ever tell you how much I love pudding? In fact, after reading your post, I've decided to make gluten free bread pudding. That's because gluten free bread has to be good for something, right?
Cheers for that Borgia Pope. He had the right idea about what Popes should be like... well, except for that nepotism thing.
Now that you've whetted my appetite for good food and wine, I'll have to go the grocery store. I have nothing of quality in the house to eat.
Great to be back and reading your posts.
That lunch you had sounded pretty good. Especially the dessert. Those chocolate fudge truffles would definitely be something I'd want to try. Too bad the older chap didn't share them. : (
There are many actors out there to choose from and I'm glad they chose such talented people to really bring out their roles.
Yum, melon in my wine? Sign me up!!
This post is brimming with delicious information and images as always. Hungry now!
Food and wine, one of my favorite topics. You lost me with the ceviche, but I got back on track with the chimichurri. Never had it with chicken, but it sounds yummy. Going back to check out the rest...Cheers!
@ Manzanita - the Borgia Pope does look a little like Frida Kahlo's husband doesn't he .. and I don't know his background but believe you ..
@ Christine - yes desserts always attract don't they - I guess 10.00 is a little early for chocolate dessert!
@ Joylene - nope I don't think I realised you were ultra-fond of pudding. Gluten free bread pudding sounds good ... bet it was delicious.
@ Lee - yes he loosened his Papal cloth didn't he .. except protecting his family and ensuring their future wealth.
Home again - and always a need to stock up with some goodies again .. food and wine. Thanks so much - it's a pleasure having you here to read ..
@ Susznne - yes the lunch was good - I just preferred the South African one! Still I learnt lots. That older chap was a pain .. boring and selfish by eating all the truffles.
@ Elsie - you're referring to the Turner film - they are good British actors!
The descriptions for the wines always amaze me ... I've signed you up!
@ Madeleine - yes enticing is food and wine and photos to remember the tastes by .. good to see you again.
@ Linda - yes well I've written about one of your wines haven't I .. I love Ceviche - that was so so good ...
The Chimichurri I'll have again with some other meat ... glad you're going to have another look ...
Cheers - food is always good to write about, and slurp as I do! Take care - Hilary
Interesting info about the Borgia Pope...
Lovely assortment of delicious-looking food and wines!
When it comes to wine, I like a sweet rose'...
Yes, let's eat! I'm always up for a good meal :) My husband and I recently finished watching a Borgia series on Netflix. This history is amazing. Borgia not only had legitimate children, he also had a concubine and illegitimate children too.
hi grandblogmom!
another interesting post. you sure know how to make everyone hungry and that includes me. for sure i like chimichurri. i didn't know it originated in argentina. in his world travels, my brother said he had a 12, or maybe more, course meal when he was staying in Montemarcello Italy and every course was served with a different wine. he said it started at 8 or 9 and didn't get done til in the morning. it sounds like a lot of food but he said the servings are small for each course and there's a lot of socializing between courses. for sure that would take wearing expando pants. lol
...love you!
@ Michelle - I was just interested about the history - and that Borgia Pope ... the Popes were fascinating characters in Medieval days. Oh just coming over to read the post again - reminds me of our meal ... it was good.
@ MJ - oh yes let's eat! How interesting you watched the Borgia series on Netflix and as you say their history is quite extraordinary. Children, wives, and various sorts of them!! Power rules ...
@ Lenny - thank you for telling me you'd posted - I'd not have known. Yes I was interested to read Chimichurri originated in Argentina ...
Your brother's travels took him to a wonderful region of Italy and the National Park (Montemarcello is in) must have been very beautiful. That dinner sounds amazing ... those sorts of 'events' are very special ... and actually are a brilliant way of trying all sorts of regional foods ... I've been to a few similar ones. I wonder what all his courses were - interesting to know. Plenty of time to chat too ... and yes those expando pants would come to the fore.
Sorry Michelle and MJ for taking over 2 years to get here ... and thanks Lenny if you hadn't of commented - I'd have never known to answer their comments ...
Cheers to you all - Hilary
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