Welcome to my Kitchen

Brazilian-ish & California-esque.

A WORD

I lean into the deeply nourishing plate composition of a Brazilian “Prato Feito,” with farmer’s-market driven seasonal ingredients. I’ve come to call this style Carioca-California.

Food has always been my family’s love language, and the dinner table is where we traded stories, advice, and affection. When thinking of how to bring my culture to my American home, it had to come back to food. And someone had to do something about my Grandmother’s mysterious recipe books, lacking ingredient lists, oven temperatures, and cook times.

My addiction to cookbooks and twenty years of experience creating in my own kitchen has been put to work to translate, document and adapt classic recipes from my childhood in Rio. I’m not a trained chef, but neither were the people who cooked some of the best meals I’ve ever had.

With American kitchens in mind, recipes are written using readily available grocery store ingredients, and in standard US measurements.

Recent Recipes

Camille Morgenstern 3/13/26 Camille Morgenstern 3/13/26

Brazilian Cheesy Shrimp (Camarão com Requeijão)

Inspired by the creamy Brazilian dishes I grew up loving, this Camarão com Requeijão comes together in about 15 minutes.

Camille Morgenstern 2/14/26 Camille Morgenstern 2/14/26

Mac & Blue Cheese

He would have likely not approved of the name I gave to this pasta, but I think he would have enjoyed the dish itself. My husband (who he also did not approve of for a long time), certainly did.

Camille Morgenstern 12/16/25 Camille Morgenstern 12/16/25

Brazilian Lentils for New Year’s (Lucky Lentil Recipe)

Lentils for good luck on New Years.

Camille Morgenstern 12/12/25 Camille Morgenstern 12/12/25

Palha Italiana

A recipe thirty years in the making.

Camille Morgenstern 11/17/25 Camille Morgenstern 11/17/25

Pasta e Fagioli

A recipe with a story about cultural belonging.

Camille Morgenstern 10/17/25 Camille Morgenstern 10/17/25

Quibebe: Roasted Butternut Squash Mash

"Oh how I miss Quibebe" said no Brazilian ever. But this version with roasted ingredients just might make it something you long for.

Camille Morgenstern 9/18/25 Camille Morgenstern 9/18/25

Vegan Fall Feijoada

I know what you all are going to say. But I promise you won't miss the meat in this smoky bean stew with butternut squash that is perfect for fall days ahead.