MY RIO DE JANEIRO taps into the rich cuisine of the wildly popular tourist destination, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Cooking teacher and author Leticia Moreinos Schwartz is a Carioca (a person born in Rio) living in the US, and she’s eager to share her passion for her native hometown cooking, bringing you face to face with the dynamic flavors and passionate culinary personalities of Rio de Janeiro.

Rio’s cuisine is known for its casual settings and reflects various aspects of Brazilian culture. Leticia Moreino Schwartz highlights approximately 90 of Rio’s best recipes, including unforgettable petiscos (finger food), Carioca (native) home cooking, Portuguese inspired foods, and contemporary urban dishes. Organized by neighborhood, recipes include Risole de Camarão com Catupiry (Shrimp and Catupiry Cheese Turnovers) from a botequim just steps from Leticia’s family home in Leblon, Bicoito O Globo (Beach Yucca Crackers) from the beaches of Ipanema, Farfale with Salmon and Caipirinha Sauce made with fresh-caught salmon from the fish market in Buzios, Filet Oswaldo Aranha (Steak with Fried Garlic) from a restaurant near the Jardim Botanico, and Bolo de Chocolate, Castanhas e Coco (Chocolate, Brazil nut, and Coconut Cake) inspired by the nuts found in a specialty grocery store in Copacabana.

Also interspersed throughout the book are feature spreads on Leticia’s favorite places, people, recipes, and ingredients of Rio. Beautifully illustrated with colorful photography from Rio, as well as mouth-watering food photography, My Rio de Janeiro is a new, ripe territory for kitchen tourists.

Teacher and cookbook author Leticia Moreinos Schwartz is the author of The Brazilian Kitchen, which won the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Paris for Best Latin Cookbook. She has made numerous TV and radio appearances including The Today Show, Martha Stewart Living Radio Program, Better Homes and Gardens Better TV, and NBC’s LX TV. She is a regular guest chef on WTNH-TV, and her work has been featured in many web and print media outlets such as The New York Times, Saveur, Fine Cooking Magazine, and CT Cottages and Gardens. To see her appearances, go to www.chefleticia.com. Her articles have been featured on popular web sites such as TheDailyMeal.com and CTbites.com. Her essay It all Ends in Samba is part of a book project called Creating a Meal You’ll Love, featuring other acclaimed chefs and food writers such as Mimi Sheraton, Nick Malgieri, and Marcus Samuelsson. A student of her craft, Leticia often attends culinary conferences, workshops, and seminars, including Food Journalism with Alan Richman and Food Blogging with Steven Shaw, both at the French Culinary Institute. She is a proud and active member of IACP and NYWCA.