FoodBuzz 24×24: Brazilian Carnival Dinner!

Last night was a special dinner for family. They have always been extremely supportive of my culinary adventures and often enjoy listening about my dinner parties as well as drooling over pictures of food I’ve served. I figured it was about time to have a party made especially for them and their friends because they are what inspired me to love being in the kitchen after all. Since Mardi Gras recently passed, I thought it was only fitting to throw a dinner party inspired by this festive celebration. Aside from New Orleans and the annual Mardi Gras parties that take place here in the United States, other countries around the world are celebrating too. My dinner party last night highlighted the food and fun of Brazil with a Brazilian Carnival Dinner in celebration of Mardi Gras!

To make my dinner even more special, FoodBuzz is featuring our Brazilian Carnival Dinner for their February 24×24 Food Event. The FoodBuzz’s 24×24 Food Event showcases food blog posts from 24 Foodbuzz Featured Publisher bloggers of 24 unique meals occurring around the globe during a 24-hour period. I was thrilled to be featured this month!

 

This Brazilian Carnival Dinner is a unique meal because we’re highlighting the food and festivities of other countries during this time. Brazil is known for their annual Carnival celebrations and although we’re far from Brazil, we can still enjoy their delicious culture from afar. For our table setting, I had a large bowl of fresh tropical fruit as the centerpiece. Pineapple, mangoes, avocados, bananas, oranges and grapes were just the perfect fruit to have on the table. The addition of a sequined mask and colorful beads gave a bit of sparkle too.

Scattered on the table were also shiny coins for more sparkle. Each table setting had a feathered mask for each guest to wear along with more colorful beads. Not only did these add a touch of Carnival, but they doubled as get party favors as well!

For the menu, I wanted to feature some Brazilian dishes that were a bit different from the traditional Brazilian favorites that I’ve done in the past. For this dinner, I prepared the following menu all served with Rice & Beans (unpictured):

Cheese Arepas

Shrimp & Mango Salad

Linguica Sausage

Carne Asada with Chimichurri (on the side)

Roast Chicken with Chimichurri

Baked Caramelized Sweet Plantains

Individual Papaya Cream Cups

Brazilian Guarana Soda

After dinner, we ended the night with dancing. With rhythmic Samba music playing the background throughout dinner, we were ready to dance off our meal! It was a wonderful time for my parents to enjoy the evening and experience a special dinner party just for them and their friends. Everything from the samba music, the colorful tablescape of vivid colors, festive masks and beads we all wore, to the delicious spread of Brazilian fare we enjoyed gave us a little taste of Brazil in our little Midwest corner of the world. Stay tuned for the recipes of the dishes I prepared all this week!