Azoresgal~Life on an Island

 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)...

Well here it is another Christmas day ! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful day with your families where ever it is you may be ! We are all still in our pyjamas, watching movies, enjoying new gifts, and just relaxing. I do not know about you , but I am really exhausted, I feel like I was hit by a truck. I gave it my all this week, really just trying to do and make or bake all of my kids favorite things. It's what I love most about Christmas, getting everything ready for them, in the hopes that many, many years from now, they may stop and remember, "that´s how mom used to make it". Find myself a bit overwhelmed, I admit that baking gingerbread cookies this year, was something I had crossed off the to do list. Somehow I thought it was something the kids would not miss, boy was I wrong, yesterday mid afternoon, Simon asked, "when are we baking the gingerbread cookies?" I told him "we already have so many other things on the dessert table, we can leave them ou...

“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, ...