Holiday Party Appetizer

Are you hosting or going to a Holiday Party this season? Whether you are in charge of the whole meal or bringing a side dish, it's is a great time to try new things.

We're excited to share our latest recipe creation inspired by this Holiday Season. Here it goes: BraziBites Original cut in half, stuffed with salami and topped with parsley and green olives served as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

- a bag of BraziBites Original

- 1 handful of flat-leaf parsley

- salami

- green olives

1) Pre-heat your oven to 400F and bake BraziBites as instructed on package. Bake as many as you wish to serve.

2) Wash parsley and cut off stems. Set aside leaves.

3) Cut salami in thin slices. Anywhere between 1/8" and 1/4" is good but go as thick as you like.

4) After baked cut BraziBites in half, stuff with salami and top with parsley and olive

It's ready to serve. Share and enjoy!

Now available at Sprouts Farmers Market!

We're beyond excited to announce our launch at Sprouts Farmers Market today. All locations will carry BraziBites Original & Jalapeño in the freezer section starting this week. You'll be able to find our products in many new cities and states!

Sprouts has over 167 stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas & Utah with more coming soon.

In many ways the journey to reach new markets started over a year ago at the National Gluten-Free Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was the first time we introduced BraziBites to people outside the Northwest - it's a very large expo so people from all over the country attended. The response was overwhelming. We baked samples non-stop for 8 hours, the crowd couldn't get enough and we were thrilled!

The only problem was that we were only available in the Northwest at that time so our new fans couldn't find us after the Expo. The emails and social media posts came pouring and we have been flooded with requests ever since.

Our distribution growth with Sprouts means a lot to us and to those that have waited patiently for BB to be available at their local stores. Now, time to spread the word and eat some cheese bread!

Post by: Junea

BraziBites launching at Fred Meyer!!

We're excited to announce BraziBites is now available at 20 Fred Meyer locations throughout Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.

Starting this month, our products can be found in the gluten-free section of the natural freezer set. We're thrilled to be reaching the state of Alaska, Newport in Oregon, Twin Falls in Idaho as well as growing distribution in the Portland and Seattle metro areas.

The complete list is below.

Fred Meyer locations where BraziBites is available:

OREGON

Burlingame 

Gateway

Hillsboro 

Newport

Oregon City 

Raleigh Hills

Tualatin 

Wilsonville 

Hollywood West 

WASHINGTON

Bellingham 

Greenwood

Lynnwood

Wandermere 

Kirkland 

Ballard 

Maple Valley 

IDAHO

Twin Falls

ALASKA

Anchorage

Wasilla

Southeast Anchor 

Find all locations where BraziBites is available here http://www.brazibites.com/where-to-find/

Remember to look for us in the freezer section!

Visiting the Central Market in my hometown Belo Horizonte, Brazil

A few weeks ago I visited my hometown of Belo Horizonte, Brazil and got to spend time with family and friends and enjoy some of my favorite foods. Nothing brings back memories like tasting something delicious you grew up eating, right? 

One of my favorite places to visit this time was the local Central Market. It's a hub for artisanal food that has been located in the heart of the city since 1929. It's evolved over time but stayed true to fresh, local foods with nothing highly processed in sight - which I love. The freshest cheeses, nuts, sweets and spices in the region can be found there. 

Not only did I love tasting many of these items but the vibrant colors all around inspired me and reminded me why we set out to start Brazi Bites and share the Brazilian cheese bread (pão de queijo) with the U.S. 

Here are a few of my favorite things from that day. I hope they inspire you too!

Cinnamon, honey, garlic and spices hanging from the ceiling. Had to buy a set to bring back to Portland. 

If you have a sweet tooth you can get dulce de leche and fruit spreads by the Kg. 

Peppers available in all colors, shapes and sizes

Nuts!

More peppers.

Love the yellow on this vintage coffee grinder, reminds of the Brazi Bites yellow. 

Minas cheese is the cheese used to make pão de queijo there. It's soft and salty, with a mild delicious flavor.

Post by: Junea 

Martha Stewart American Made Award

We're so excited to have been nominated for the Martha Stewart American Made Award. Several of our fans nominated us which gave us the opportunity to create a profile and tell our story through the contest.

American Made spotlights the maker, supports the local and celebrates the handmade. The journey culminates in an event this October in New York City. We're proud to make Brazi Bites in our hometown of Portland, OR and be a part of the American Made movement.

Click on the badge below to see our profile and vote for us!

Thank you so much for all the love and support,

Junea & Cameron

Brazilian Cheese Bread with Pork Tenderloin

We posted this pairing idea on our Facebook page last week so we wanted to break it down for you here in the blog. This is a delicious, gluten-free, meaty and fulfilling snack. One of our favorites and very popular in Brazil.

It's easy to make and guaranteed to be a hit at a party or the dinner table. Here is a step-by-step guide.

Step 1: Pick your Brazi Bites flavor. Jalapeño goes great with pork tenderloin but if spicy is not your thing, Original is a nice option too.

Step 2: Cook the pork tenderloin and bake the cheese bread (at the same time)

The bread and pork bake at the same temperature - 400°F - so you can bake them together. It'll be easier and the bread will taste just as delicious. Brazi Bites takes about 20 minutes while the pork takes 12. You can place the bread in the oven first and add the pork after 7 minutes. Both will come out together and should rest for a few minutes before slicing. 

For tips on how to bake Brazi Bites like a pro check our previous post.

Balsamic-glazed pork tenderloin recipe 

Ingredients
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/4-pound pork tenderloin









Directions
1. Heat oven to 400° F. 
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season the pork with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook, turning occasionally, until browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Transfer the pork to oven. Roast until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes, basting with the glaze twice during the last 5 minutes. Let rest before slicing.

Step 3: Cut Brazi Bites in half and stuff with a slice of pork.

Step 4: Serve and enjoy!

Post by: Junea

Pork recipe from Real Simple

Bite of Seattle Recap

Cameron and I had a wild 3 day weekend at the Bite of Seattle. It was the biggest event we've done so far since we launched Brazi Bites, 12 hours a day for 3 days with near 500,000 people coming through the Seattle Center. The sun was shining, music was playing and we made many new friends.

We had a great time meeting people from all over the country. Also met many fellow Brazilians living in Seattle - they always spot Brazi Bites from a mile away.  Here is a recap in photos.


We left Portland for Seattle Thursday at 5AM. Got coffee/happy at Dutch Bros half way there. It was early but we were ordered to "Dig Life" so we did.

 Got to the Seattle Center on time. Phew! Booth all set up, ready to go.

Gotta love some sunshine and the Space Needle as a backdrop!

These two read about us online and were way excited to try our cheese bread. They were some of our very first customers at the Bite on Thursday. Thanks girls, you're awesome!

Got to walk around for a few minutes during a lunch break and check out the huge crowd on Saturday. Ate Indian food from Chutneys Queen Anne - delicious! I wish I had taken a photo of my plate but I was starving and it was too good to wait.

We baked our cheese bread fresh non-stop. Countless trays coming out of the oven every hour.

Sunday, this stylish family was excited to spot our booth and find healthy, gluten-free snacks at the Bite. They were having a blast. This is one of my favorite pics from the weeekend.

We left the Seattle Center Sunday at 8PM and drove straight back to Portland. Work awaited Monday morning... no rest for entrepreneurs right? As we say, cheese bread never sleeps!!

The Bite of Seattle by the numbers:

3 days, 36 hours, 4,500 pieces of Brazi Bites baked!

Post by: Junea

Happy 4th! Stay cool with spicy foods

Temperatures are high in Portland and most of western states these days and everyone is looking for a way to beat the heat. Did you know eating spicy foods can actually cool you off?

It sounds counter intuitive but apparently spicy foods may actually make you feel warmer at first, and then make you feel cooler. This is also one of the reasons why spicy foods are so popular in tropical countries.

To celebrate 4th of July we'll be pairing Jalapeño Brazi Bites with an awesome Summer Corn Chowder recipe from Food52. Check out the full recipe below and some tips on how to bake Brazi Bites Jalapeño like a pro.

Happy 4th of July!!

Tip - Pre-heat oven to 400F before you take the Brazi Bites bag out of the freezer. Pre-heating the oven gives the bites the crispy crust and round shape they're suppose to have. If the oven is cool the bites might end up mushy.

Summer Corn Crowder Recipe

Source: Food 52

Serves 6

• 6medium ears of corn
• 6strips of bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1small onion
• 1medium poblano, finely chopped
• 1jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1small celery rib, finely chopped
• 3medium tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
• 2medium boiling potatoes (about 1 pound), peeled and cubed
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1/8teaspoon ground allspice
• Pinch of sugar
• 1small bay leaf
• 2cups light cream, at room temperature
• 1cup milk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Chopped parsley, for garnish

1. Working over a bowl, cut the corn kernels from the cobs at about half their depth. Then, using the back of the knife, scrape the cobs over the bowl to release all the "milk"; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan, fry the bacon over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Crumble and reserve.
3. Discard all but 3 tablespoons of the bacon drippings from the pan. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the poblano pepper, jalapeño and celery and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, potatoes, salt, allspice, sugar, bay leaf and the reserved corn kernels and their "milk" and stir well. Cook over moderate heat until mixture begins to sizzle.
4. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 35 to 45 minutes. Stir in the cream and milk and bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and season with black pepper to taste. Ladle the chowder into bowls and garnish with the crumbled bacon and parsley.