Brazilian

Inspired by Brazil's national drink, these boozy popsicles are made with cachaça, lime juice, and mint.

Inspired by Brazil’s national cocktail.

Eben Freeman, bartender of Tailor Restaurant in New York City, developed this version of a classic Brazilian cocktail made with cachaca (sugarcane rum). Freeman's adaptations include substituting kumquats for the usual limes and sweetening the drink with turbinado sugar, whose rough crystals help break up the kumquats. He also adds a soy-caramel sauce—which gives the drink a salty-sweet depth—but it can be omitted. If you do opt to make the sauce, note that you'll end up with more than you need for the drink, but it keeps in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Collards are normally associated with long, slow cooking, but cutting them into thin strips reduces cooking time dramatically. The result is a bright, lively flavor that will make you realize these greens are more versatile than most people think.

Cornstarch is one of the secret ingredients behind this traditional crumbly Brazilian cookie. Ground cashews are the other, contributing their distinct brand of richness and nutty sweetness.

Pirão You'll almost always find this savory, polenta-like side dish nestled underneath Espírito Santo's moqueca. Pirão has the ideal creaminess to soak up the stew's juices but also contributes plenty of character to the dish — made of manioc flour (coarse yuca meal) cooked in a stock made from fish and vegetables, including green and yellow bell peppers, it subtly suggests the tropics.

We usually encounter only one version of Brazil's signature dish in this country — the one from Bahia, rich and almost currylike with coconut milk and dendê oil. This lighter one, from Espírito Santo, reflects that state's long coastline: Its bright broth results from the fish, tomatoes, lime juice, and vegetables, which meld beautifully. And it couldn't be easier. You simply layer the marinated seafood with the other ingredients in a cold pan and turn up the heat, simmering for just 20 minutes.

The Caipirinha is Brazil's most popular cocktail. The drink is traditionally made with limes, but Amber uses tangerines instead.

Bobó de Camarão Though folding the shrimp into the purée is traditional in Brazil, we placed it on top for a prettier presentation.

Xinxim de Galinha We debated whether to simmer or boil the coconut milk for this dish, fearing flavor loss or curdling. We ended up adding it at room temperature, with great results.

This traditional Brazilian drink gets an extra dose of tropical flavor from passion-fruit juice.

These skewers are traditionally made with Brazilian queijo de coalho, a dense, salty white cheese very similar in taste and texture to the Haloumi we use here. Soaking the cheese on the skewers removes some of the salt and prevents the skewers from burning.

Cachaça, a spirit made from sugarcane, gives these drinks their distinctive flavor. In Brazil it is traditional to make caipirinhas one or two at a time, as we do here. For ease of entertaining, however, you can simply combine all the ingredients in a pitcher.

If you're making this entire menu in a single oven, we recommend baking the yuca gratin ahead; while it cooks, brown the lamb and coat with the sauce and farofa. When the gratin comes out of the oven, the lamb can go in. (The gratin will stay warm while the lamb bakes and stands.)

Now considered the national drink of Brazil, the Caipirinha was not always so respectable. In fact, the name comes from a somewhat derogatory word roughly equivalent to "hillbilly." The cocktail's main ingredient, cachaça, is an aguardiente that, like rum, is made from sugarcane. But cachaça has a bite and flavor more characteristic of a rough-edged tequila than of its more refined cousin. In fact, bartenders who run out of cachaça have been known to substitute equal parts white rum and white tequila in its place.A Caipirinha is usually made by muddling pieces of lime with sugar; we chose, for simplicity's sake, to juice the limes instead. For a more authentic flavor, you can mash a piece of lime rind in the bottom of the glass before serving.

Add corn biscuits (you can find them in the supermarket refrigerator case) and a romaine, arugula, and radicchio salad with goat cheese. Coffee ice cream drizzled with Kahlúa is a nice dessert.

Adobo means spice rub or marinade, and this particular recipe was introduced by African slaves and brought to Bahía in Brazil in the 17th century. I think that it gives tuna a new and exciting dimension. There is spiciness in the dish, as would be expected from an adobo. To provide the American palate a little relief from the heat, the tuna is served on a bed of lightly pickled cucumbers.

"I've always taken a scientific, as well as an artistic, approach to food," writes Mark Van Wye of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "My family dined out a lot when I was young, and I became an adventurous eater. I would try anything and everything, and eventually I'd attempt to re-create those restaurant dishes at home. I never asked for recipes; I liked the detective work and the sense of discovery as I experimented with ingredients, just as a novice painter learns by copying the masters." Look for green peppercorns where capers and pickles are sold in the supermarket. (They're also good in salad dressings.)