I can already tell you this meal is making me work
outside of my comfort zone. I started picking things that sounded good, but not
realizing what I was getting into. Definitely not the first time that’s
happened. But it usually takes the form of buying “fancy” alcoholic drinks at
restaurants, the kind where you get to keep the glass, but didn’t realize each
drink was $10 apiece until you got the bill.
This might be really good with ice cream. I'll have to test this. |
So the first thing I started with is the Portuguese
Sweet Bread. In a saucepan, I heated up ½ c milk, ¼ c of butter, 1/3 c sugar
and 1 ¼ tsp salt just enough until the butter melted; then I took it off the
heat. In a large bowl, I mixed together 3 ¼ c of all-purpose flour, 1 packet of
yeast, and the zest of 1 lemon. Then I poured my milk mixture into the flour
mixture and stirred everything together. I added in 2 eggs plus the yolk of
another egg (keeping the egg white for later) along with 2 tsps of vanilla
extract (ok, I used 2 ½ tsp because I love vanilla). I stirred and kneaded the
dough until it became a smooth bread dough. I lightly oiled the bottom of a
bowl and put my dough ball in it, covered it, and let it rest for about an hour
and a half. After punching it down, I transferred it to a lightly greased 9”
round cake pan and covered it loosely in plastic wrap that I rubbed with a
little bit of oil (to keep from sticking to the dough). I let it sit for
another hour. Toward the end of this time, I take my egg white that I reserved
and mixed it with 1 Tbsp of water and brushed the top of the bread. I baked it
for 15 minutes and then lightly covered it with aluminum foil. Then I put it back
in the oven for another 25 minutes until it looked golden brown on top. This
was really good. You can definitely smell the lemon zest in there. It kind of
reminded me of lemon cake, but I wouldn’t put any icing or frosting on top—it
was sweet enough. The kids absolutely loved this.
This turned out way better than I thought. And I thought they were pretty good. Not as "fishy" as I thought they'd be. |
So now, it’s the dish that makes me nervous:
Amêijoas à Bulhão Pato, or clams with lemon and garlic. I bought clams still in
their shells, something I’ve never done. It just seems like one of those dishes
that’s really easy to get food poisoning from if you screw this up. Anyway, I
found them at Kroger for $2.99/lb and bought 3 lbs (I got 8 clams, so each of
us could have two). I have never done this before, and I really didn’t know
what I was getting into. Then the lady added a bunch of ice on top of them and
said, “This is so they don’t die of dehydration. They’re still alive, you know.”
Um, no I didn’t fully put that all together in my head yet. But now I know. Of
course, then the kids wanted to “babysit” the clams on the ride home, talking
to them, and being generally creepy (“Hi, clams. We’re gonna eat you tomorrow.
Enjoy your last night with your friends in our fridge.”). Anyway, I digress.
When I was ready, I soaked the clams in a large bowl for about 2 hours in
salted water before cooking them. I did rinse them off first. In a skillet, I
heated some olive oil and sautéed some minced garlic for a few minutes. Then I
added in my clams and covered the skillet, shaking the skillet every now and
then until the clams open up. I imagine that’s them screaming from being cooked
alive. It took about 10 minutes or so. Once the clams have all opened up, I
turned off the heat and seasoned it with pepper, lemon juice (from the lemon I
used the zest for), and chopped cilantro. I actually really liked this and was
amazed they turned out really good. I’m still checking myself for signs of food
poisoning, but as I write this, so far so good. I did have to tell my daughter
not to eat the part of the foot that attaches the meat to the shell. She says,
“Oh. Well, it was still good.”
I liked this dish, but next time, not with the olives. I just learned that olives and fish are not one of my favorite food combinations. |
This was one of those weird days where I made two
main dishes. The other one I made today is Portuguese Traditional Cod. I washed
some small potatoes (they were literally the smallest potatoes I have ever
found) and boiled them for about 20 minutes. No need to peel them. When they
were done, I drained my water and set them to the side. I took my cod filets
and cut them into large pieces (I roughly cut each filet into 3”x3” squares).
In my skillet, I heated my olive oil and sautéed some diced onions, sliced red
bell pepper, and some minced garlic for a few minutes, until the onion looked
translucent. Then I added my cod and seasoned it with pepper and paprika and
cooked it on both sides for 10 minutes. After the cod is cooked through and
flaky, I added the potatoes into the skillet as well and cooked for 3-4 more
minutes. Then I took it off the heat and garnished with chopped cilantro and
sliced black olives. I actually liked this pretty well, although it probably
needed a tad bit more salt.
The best veggies are fried. It's thought that the Portuguese introduced tempura to the Japanese when they were exploring Asia. |
Finally, to go with this, I made Peixinhos da Horta,
or fried green beans. I bought some fresh green beans and snapped the ends off
of them. In a saucepan filled with salted water, I boiled my green beans for
10-15 minutes. When they were done, I drained the water. In a small bowl, I
mixed about ¾ c flour, 3 eggs, pepper, parsley, and a little salt and whisked
with a fork until it’s a creamy consistency. I had to add in a little water
because it was too thick. When my oil was heated in my skillet, I dipped my
green beans in the batter and fried them until the sides are golden brown. Then
I placed them on a plate with a paper towel. I liked these, but the kids
weren’t really fans of them. Maybe if I had a sauce or something to go with
them, they might’ve liked them better.
Definitely a half-glass, after-dinner, sipping kind of wine. |
I also bought a bottle of Madeira wine and a bottle
of Port wine. However, both bottles of what I bought are American versions of
its Portuguese counterpart. Madeira wine is from the Madeira Islands, which are
off the coast of Africa while Port wine is exclusively made in the Douro Valley
in northern Portugal. I definitely like the Port more than the Madeira because
it’s a little sweeter. I do like dry wines, but these are fortified wines that
have brandy added to them, and I’m not so much of a fan of brandy. Brandy
tastes musty to me; it’s the same reason I don’t like raisins. (I’ve always
said raisins and prunes are the farts of the fruit world.) But the upside is
that both of these come in at 18% alcohol by volume, and I’ll be damned if I
waste some high-alcohol wine.
Overall, I'd give his a thumbs up. Now to get over there for real. |
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