About Denise Browning

I was born and raised in Pernambuco, Brazil, a place where passion for food runs in our veins!!!

I was a happy lawyer and foodie there, who got married to an American and immigrated to USA in 2002. I lived for 5 years in California, where I attended California Culinary Academy, graduating in Culinary Arts – Le Cordon Bleu program. As part of my training, I carried out an externship at Elegant Events Catering, Inc., under the supervision of its Executive Chef/owner Jacques Hayes, who worked for Tri Star Motion Pictures as well as for “Epicurean Magazine” and “Food and Beverage Journal”, among others.

In 2007, I moved with my family to Texas. Since then, I have dedicated my time to raising 2 wonderful girls and keeping doing what I do best: cooking! – and now teaching others how to cook.

Because I couldn’t live without sharing with others the one-of-a-kind food of my beloved country, which I miss every single day, I decided to create this blog. That is why it’s called FROM BRAZIL TO YOU.

In this blog, you’ll find trustworthy Brazilian recipes (from both classic and modern Brazilian cuisine), fusions, and other dishes for the home cook as well as gorgeous images of Brazil,  news, and cultural information. Thank you for stopping by!

About Photography and Food Styling

As a trained Chef, the kitchen is really where I feel most at home.

Yet I do love food styling and collecting props. What can I say?  I am a shopper at heart!

However, food photography is a new horizon for me.  I started learning about it as of February, 2012, beginning with the debut of my food blog.

From then until now, I have been using essentially two cameras: a Nikon D7000 with a 90 mm F/2.8 macro lens for most of the photos, and a Panasonic Lumix for some of the photos shown in the recipe directions.

All of the pictures are taken by me, except where otherwise noted.  In the very beginning, when I did not have yet a professional camera, Victoria L. Perez took a few pictures, under the name ‘Lasting Memories Photography.’ These pictures can be found in 3 or 4 of my initial posts.

Since my house does not have an abundance of natural light, photography has been even more challenging for me.  But I hope to continue improving my technique though, so I have been using the following very useful sources:

• Xiaolu’s article on food photography & styling tips.
• Food Photography: From Snap Shots to Great Shots by Nicole S. Young
• Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling by Helene Dujardin
• The Food Stylist’s Handbook by Denise Vivaldo

I am basically taking it one day at a time.  Hopefully I’ll get there!

About Brazilian Ingredients/Recipes

Most of the Brazilian ingredients used in my recipes are available both in Latin supermarkets and online.  Here are a few online sources:

http://www.amazon.com 

http://www.supermercadobrasileiroonline.com

www.brazilexplore.com

www.amigofoods.com

www.sendexnet.com

http://www.mylatinfood.com/

If you have any question about any ingredient/recipe, please email me at frombraziltoyou@hotmail.com under the subject “About an Ingredient/Recipe” or leave a comment below the post.  I’ll try to respond as quick as possible. Thanks!

About Measurements

My recipes use the U.S. measuring system, in which 1 cup is equivalent to 240ml instead of the Brazilian measuring cup (1 cup = 250ml), 1 Tablespoon is 15 ml, and 1 teaspoon is 5 ml.

If you have any questions about measurements, please consult the the cooking weight and measures by country charts.

About Blogging Guidelines

Just like everything else in life, this blog also follows a few rules.  Here are a few things that it’s important for you to know:

1- I do not expect that you will always agree with me. What I expect from you is that you treat me with the same respect with which I treat you.  This is a family blog, so I won’t accept any insults or any foul language.  Any mean comments will be deleted.

2- You are welcome to share my recipes as well as use my photos on your blog as long as you give me the appropriate credit.  Please, mention my name (Denise Browning) and link back to my site/post.  This is a matter of ethics.  I myself follow this rule and I expect the same from others. Thank you! 

3- I do not accept requests for exchanging links nor for game nominations.  First, because what I like, I like!  Second, because every blogger knows how much work is involved in blogging.  My focus is on providing the best for my audience and spending quality time with my family. Thanks for understanding!

4- I also do not accept requests to place a product link on my blog (just because someone asks me nicely).  Any product link or advertisement eventually seen here will have been previously approved by me.  In order to approve something, I will test the product first and if I like it, it will appear here.  I will not deceive anyone — especially my audience, which I respect so much. Thanks!