One of our family's favorite traditions is making Brazilian dinner together. The coxinhas are the most labor intensive -- Jordan preps the filling and the outer layer, then all the kids help roll, shape and dip them, and Landon cooks them in the fryer. We make beans and rice, and I help (along with whoever doesn't have a job at the moment) with all the odds and ends -- pineapple (lately I've been loving roasted + chilled like I tried at Whole Foods recently - yum!), pão de queijo, and Brazilian limonada (with plenty of ice).
If I ever ask the kids for dinner recommendations or requests, Brazilian dinner is always on the list. If we ask the kids for 'fun things to do' recommendations, Brazilian dinner is almost always on the list too. :)
Yesterday, Jordan got started early and had all the coxinhas ready to roll by the time the kids were all home from school. Then he turned on How to Train your Dragon, and everybody watched while they worked away, and it was a happy afternoon and evening.
(And a funny thing: one of the kids asked (with some level of silliness) something like this yesterday -- "What if for my next birthday, we just had a Brazilian dinner? And instead of cake or cupcakes, we had coxinhas!")
