September 20, 2009
Karl and Christian have been battling ants all week. Every year there is some pestilence that presents itself. First it was crickets. They crawled into the house by the dozens. They were annoying mostly because of the noise they make. They just disappeared and were replaced the following year by little black earwigs. They disappeared and were replaced the following year by moths. Our ceilings were dotted by moths. You couldn’t walk into a room without a flutter somewhere. The moths were easy to kill but always left dust smudges on the ceilings and walls.
This year it is ants. They started in the kitchen but have now found their way into both upstairs bathrooms feasting on Lori’s bath products. We have now found these little pests in every room of the house except Christian’s room and Vayden’s room. We would rather have crickets, earwigs or moths over ants. These little buggers bite. The good news is that although the war has waged for over a week now, Karl and Christian are now winning
Karl’s birthday was yesterday. For his birthday, his long
time friend Mark and his wife Julie took him to a restaurant they knew he would love. Karl is a long time supporter of the cattle industry. He is a walking me at lover’s poster boy. When Karl orders breakfast as Denny’s he gets the Meat Lover’s Scramble. When he gets a pizza it is the Meat-Lovers Special. When Karl goes to barbeque place he is always
happy to see Just Meat by the Pound on the menu. Karl has been taken to many a restaurant by co-workers and former bosses just to see him eat a 64 ounce Prime Rib or a 72 ounce steak. Karlhas extensive conversations with butchers. When Karl is purchasing meat, Karl must look at every single cut before he selects the perfect one. Are you getting the picture? Karl especially loves beef.
Karl served his mission in Brazil where he was introduced and immediately fell in love with the Churrascaria. A Churrascaria is a Brazilian Steakhouse. You pay one All-You-Can-Eat price and several waiters bring a multitude of different cuts of meat hot off the flames to your table on wooden handled spits and carve desired pieces of the cut onto your plate. 
You may request certain cuts, pass on cuts and point to the section of the cut you would like. There many, many, many different cuts of beef sometimes seasoned with things like pepper, garlic or parmesan. Most of the time however, the cuts are just rubbed in rock salt and thrown into the fire. There is also Linguica (sausage) Frango (chicken) Peru (turkey – usually wrapped in bacon), Lombo (pork loin) Cordeiro (lamb) etc. 
There are many side dishes always available also. Lori is a big fan of the fried bananas. Both Karl and Lori love Pao de Quejo (Cheese Bread) These little hot balls of bread are so good. They are absolutely a marriage made in heaven when it comes to sopping up meat juice on your plate. Lori also loves pao de quejo. This next picture is for you Lori.
So if you like meat, a Churrascaria is pretty close to heaven. Whether you want it or not this edition will provide you with a brief education on Brazilian Churrasco and the most common meats served at a Churrascaria along with their Portuguese names and their English pronunciations. 
1.Cupim4. Lombo
5. Filet Mignon
6. Picanha
7. Alcatra
15. Faraldinha
16. Costela
Ancho - Pronounced AN-cho (Rib Eye) Anyone who knows Karl very well knows of his love for this particular cut. He even joined a fan club on Facebook for Ribeye. Ancho is cut from the prime part of the rib eye. This cut has extensive marbling that provides it with superb flavor, texture and juiciness. The fat in a good cut of this meat is unparalleled. Although some find it disgusting, Karl will eat large bites of just fat from this cut of meat.
Filet Mignon - Pronounced fil-AY min-YON (same name in English – well actually both languages use French) Filet mignon is cut from the tenderloin and is the tenderest of all cuts. This meat is so tender and tasty it is considered an international crime to cook it past medium rare. A crime often perpetrated by Americans. Karl cringes when he hears people order filet well done or butterflyed. Why even order filet if you are going to do that to it? There are actually chefs who refuse to do that. This is equivalent to giving someone a dozen roses with the flower portion cut off. It is no longer a dozen roses! It is stems and thorns! At a Churrascaria Filet Mignon often comes in a wrapped in bacon version also.
Picanha - Pronounced pea-CAN-ya (Top Sirloin) This is what people think of when they think of a Churrascaria. While this cut is not one of Karl’s favorites normally, the Brazilians somehow cook this just right and it jumps out in front in rank at a Churrascaria. This cut is Lori’s favorite when she visits a Churrascaria. Picanha is a prime cut of top sirloin specially carved just as the gauchos (Brazilian cowboys) have done for hundreds of years.
Alcatra - Pronounced al-CAT-ra (Top Sirloin) Alcatra is a special cut of top sirloin originating in the steakhouses of Southern Brazil. Like picanha, alcatra is a popular cut in Brazil. It is a soft cut particularly good with extra salt in Karl’s opinion.
Fraldinha - fral-DIN-ya (Bottom Sirloin) This cut has strong marbling characteristics and a distinct robust flavor. It is a delicious change of pace in the Churrascaria’s line-up. That is the beauty of a Churrascaria. You never get tired of eating the same piece of meat. You get to float between different cuts with all their wonderful different flavors keeping your taste buds alive with pleasure.
Costela - co-STELL-a (Beef Ribs) The ribs are grilled for several hours to capture their rich natural flavor. They are really good with no barbeque sauce and taste like prime rib.
Costela de Porco - co-STELL-a gee POer-co (Pork Ribs) Also called Costelinha, co-STELL-leen-ya which means little ribs, these are pork baby back pork ribs skillfully roasted with a blend of wet and dry rubs that keep the ribs tender and enhance their natural flavor. They are very good. Karl still prefers these with good old Western-American barbeque sauce.
Cordeiro - cor-DAY-roo (Lamb) These are fire roasted lamb chops. Karl & Lori both do not care for lamb this way. Karl likes it in a stew or something.
Coracao de Galinha - cor-A-sown gee Ga-LEE-na (Chicken Hearts) Don’t knock them until you try them. Karl had many an American companion who resisted the idea and ended up with these salty little guys as their absolute favorites.
Cupim - coo-PEE-ing (not sure what we call this in English) Karl was always told that in Brazil that this was part of the fatty hump on the Brahma bulls. But it seems too meaty to be a hump. It is really good. Very fatty and tasty. Similar to prime rib.Completely Christian
Christian had an away game this week against the Buckhorns. Christian and his Badgers were victorious 31 to 12. Christian's team has played more teams and has the best winning record in his division. Christian also gave a talk in church. He did a great job.
Family Stories
Churrasco and the ChurchWhile on his mission in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Karl visited many churrascarias. He was originally trained in the art of eating churrasco by Elder Penman (a hunter from Alaska) and Elder Shultz (the son of a cattle farmer from Oregon) While assigned to the southern-most part of Karl’s mission in Volta Redonda, Karl and his trainers often frequented an authentic gaucho churrascaria. Karl continued to visit various churracarias during the years he spent in Brazil. He became well known for both his love and knowledge of these wonderful restaurants. In fact Karl was once invited to an invitation only churrascaria in Ipanema. Karl came to the rescue of a Brazilin waiter who was being verbally abused by an ignorant American Texas tycoon type at Mario’s in Copacabana. Karl defended the waiter and his Brazilian culture and told the Texas ignoramous that he was being rude and ignorant. The manger was so thankful that he gave Karl the special invitation. That churrascaria will live in Karl’s dreams for the rest of his life.
Towards the end of Karl’s mission, Karl’s received a telegram to contact his Mission President about churrascarias. Karl thought he was going in big trouble. He thought the mission President had found out he had visited churrascarias out of his assigned area. Just for the record Karl only did that on the way to or from a mission meeting or transfer. A very nervous Elder Mueller made the trek to find a pay phone and called the Mission President. As it turned out, the Mission President had heard about Karl’s churracaria expertise and wanted some advice. Three apostles of the church, Neal A. Maxwell, former President of the Church Gordon B. Hinkley and current President Thomas S. Monson were scheduled to visit the Rio de Janeiro mission and the Mission President wanted Karl’s recommendation on where to take them to eat Churrasco. Karl later had the privilege of meeting all three.
