Azoresgal~Life on an Island

So you are probably wondering what a "bolo lêvedo" is? All I can say is, think english muffin , but a million times better! They are an Azorean bread, typical of the island São Miguel (a 20 minute plane ride, from my island). They are larger in size than an english muffin, have a lighter crumb, are sweeter, and have no nooks and crannies like it´s english cousin. They are not baked, but instead cooked on a hot iron griddle. Straight off the griddle, smothered in butter and jam, they are out of this world, but they can also be toasted. This sweet muffin, is not just for breakfast, it's perfect for making great sandwiches, and amazing burger buns too! With only a few simple ingredients, flour, sugar, eggs, butter, milk, and yeast, they are super easy to make at home. The hardest part...two rising times, but trust me, it´s so worth the wait! I made mini-bolo levedo, so stinkin' cute ! 500 grams flour (+ 100 grams extra) / 4 cups plus 1 extra 125 gram...

Portuguese people have been enjoying fava beans ( broad beans ) for a very long time, way before Hannibal Lecter was having them with Chianti. There are many ways to prepare favas, stewed, baked, in salads, in soup, even fried as a chip. These favas escoadas ( broad beans that are drained ), are served as a petisico (snack ), usually alongside other petisicos, fried linguiça, fried morcela, boiled eggs, and washed down with a nice cold beer or wine. Like every other Portuguese recipe, there are a billion different ways of making these. The first part consists of boiling the fava beans, the second part is adding them to a sauce. The sauce is made up most commonly of onions, garlic, parsley, massa malagueta, olive oil and sometimes vinegar. These are all mixed together, and then added to the fava beans, the sauce is a raw one, not cooked, giving the dish a big bite! So here is where these are different, I like to cook the sauce, I just like how it mellows out the flavors, and  this w...

Coscorões, fried crispy-sweet rounds of dough, that are sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon are an Azorean dessert traditionally served at Carnaval time. Today being shrove Tuesday, I decided to make mine, one last sweet treat before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.  But feel free to make them all year round, they are a wonderful little dessert. 2 cups flour ¼ teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons sugar 1 tablespoon lard/shortening 1 egg 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup milk Vegetable oil for deep frying Combine dry ingredients.  Using fingertips, cut-in the lard until the flour is crumbly.  Mix-in the egg, water and milk.Mixing till combined, dough will be sticky. Lightly flour counter, and  knead until you have a smooth ball of dough. Allow the dough to rest for a minimum of 40 minutes. After resting time, divide the dough into about 22 parts. With a rolling pin and on a flat surface dusted with flour, roll out very thin 8 inch circles. I like to roll them ...

 Filhós are a traditional Azorean/Portuguese dessert, a yeast dough that is deep fried and coated with sugar....sooo delicious! They are crunchy and sweet on the outside, and soft and warm in the inside. It is like biting into a sugary cloud! There are many versions and  recipes for Filhós, even the name changes, on the island of S.Miguel they are called Malasadas! A few years ago, I asked my Tia (aunt) Eva if she would share her recipe with me. She did, and they are perfect, I make them every year for Carnaval/Mardi Gras, it is one of my favorite family recipes. 1 kilo all purpose flour 4 tablespoons sugar salt to taste ( 1/2teaspoon) 1 packet of instant yeast (11g) 2 tablespoon melted butter 6 eggs, beaten 2 cups very warm milk oil for frying small dish with oil for stretching dough sugar for coating -In a large bowl, mix everything together, YES, mix everything together, use a wooden spoon, or your hands (use a stand mixer if you wish)...

"When a child gives you a gift, even if it is a rock they just picked up, exude gratitude. It might be the only thing they have to give, and they have chosen to give it to you."  -- Dean Jackson

Dining with one's friends and beloved family is certainly one of life's primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal.~~ Julia Child

“Alcatra” is a traditional dish from Terceira, the island I live on. It is a pot roast that is cooked in large unglazed red clay pots. The pots are seasoned, and with each use get darker, and darker.  The simple spices, combined with onions, bacon and wine are what make this dish  flavorfull and so good. "Alcatra" is the Arabic word for "piece", and  it is  made with pieces of beef (round, shank, chuck). The additon of meat with bone in, makes all the difference, as the bones will give it more flavor. Every village, and everybodies grandmother has a different recipe for Alcatra, this one happens to be my grandmother's version. Shortly after I married, I took all of my ingredients, a notebook and pen over to my maternal grandmother's house. Where, while she put everything together, I wrote down her words of wisdom. Now I must say, she may or may not have forgotten something, but I follow this recipe as is, I don't mess arond with it, it's her recipe, ...

It's Carnaval time, here on the island, and that means four fun-filled days of eating ,drinking and living it up before, Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. There are several, traditional desserts made at this time of the year, all of which, are very rich,in eggs and sugar. One of these desserts, is the "Filhós do Forno", a pastry baked in the oven, and then filled with a rich lemony pastry filling. I have for some reason avoided making these, because I had convinced myself they where difficult to make. This year I decided to give them a try....I was pleasantly surprised, when I realized, they are in fact like cream puffs. The dough is made in the exact same manner, the only thing that changes, is they are not baked free form, but instead in little muffin tins. These were wonderful, I only regret not taking, the usually step by step photos, but you see, I really was trying them for the first time, and was convinced they would "flop". My family loved them, and I ha...

Imagine  how over the moon I was, when my friend Lindsey invited me to bake something for her blog   http://newlydependent.com/recipes/   !! I said yes right away, and asked if I could bake something Portuguese. Lindsey thought it was a great idea, so I decided we would bake "Donas Amelias", a traditional tea cake, baked on the island. The Dona Amelia, is named after Queen Amelia, who in 1901 visited the island, with her husband King Carlos, when Portugal was a monarchy. Historically, these tea cakes appear in older cookbooks, way before this royal visit, under the name of "Indianos", the name was changed in honour of  Queen Amelia.  Lindsey was over this morning, we had a wonderful time, truth be told , we talked for nearly 2 hours over a pot of coffee, before we even began baking. We finally got to the baking part, which ran smoothly. We than of course had to enjoy the fruit's of our labor, over another pot of coffee, and more talking....