Lunch 2021

BonVivant · December 22, 2021

Garlic butter filled flatbread from a market snack shop, eating standing at the counter. On an excursion to inland Madeira, Santo Antonio de Serra town's Sunday market. The bread is size of a dinner plate. But in a restaurant it's much smaller as it's a starter or side.

Bolo de caco cooking rig. In the old days the bread used to be cooked on a big slab of basalt stone. The bread can be filled with anything savoury or sweet but the most common filling is garlic butter. Gas pipes under the iron surface can be controlled individually.

Bolo the caco is the most popular snack on Madeira and it can be found absolutely everywhere. So far I only see male bakers.

The baker can't make the bolo fast enough. Not many people order the Pão com Chouriço, which is also sliced open and filled with garlic butter.

Tried some chestnut pastries in a village known for its chestnut specialities.

I liked this one the best. Contained big chunks of chestnut and tasted the most chestnut-y.

Chestnut flour is used in this cake. The chestnut flavour is too mild to detect.

Had to try the most popular drink on the island. Poncha (pon-SHA) is a sailors'/fishermen's kind of drink but now everyone else drinks it, too. In the most traditional recipe poncha has mostly local rum, a pinch of sugar and tangerine. Nowadays other fruits are also used.

Not for me as I don't like any mixed drinks, but glad I gave it a go.

Had not planned on doing any cooking then I saw perceves...

Madeiran watercress looks a bit different from what I get at home but tastes exactly the same. I abhor cooked watercress and rucola/rocket.

This time the clams cost even more than the perceves.

Shingle beach

Madeira is a tourist magnet, especially popular with northern Europeans, and of course also the pensioners (who have moved here for the good weather all year round).

The pebbles used on the roof are from the beach.

On 12/20/2021 at 4:39 PM, KennethT said:

Fascinating. I hope to see much more of your trip! I love Madeira's fortified wines but know very little about the place or its food in general.

FYI, the first direct flight from New York landed here at the end of November.

Do your research and make plans soon!

BonVivant · December 24, 2021

Salt cod fritters (and potatoes)

Big cubes are "milho frito" (Madeiran fried cornmeal). A side for almost every meat or fish dish round these parts.

Nice tender pork

Octopus

Madeira is a geologist's/seismologist's dream. A photo from my beautiful walk today.

KennethT · December 24, 2021

46 minutes ago, BonVivant said:

Salt cod fritters (and potatoes)

Big cubes are "milho frito" (Madeiran fried cornmeal). A side for almost every meat or fish dish round these parts.

Nice tender pork

Octopus

Madeira is a geologist's/seismologist's dream. A photo from my beautiful walk today.

That's gorgeous. I definitely have to look into this for the future. Have you had any Madeiras (the wines) yet? There are a ton of excellent small producers who don't really get exported. My wife loves the sercial while I have a bit more a sweet tooth and go for the bual... although I wouldn't turn down a nice old malmsey either!

BonVivant · December 25, 2021

Ken, I have tried a "dry" tasting set so far. Will check out 2 more sets before I leave the island. One, I'm not (_yet_) into Madeira wines (but like port and sherry). And two, I'm on a walking holiday. Every morning I get picked up and taken to the mountains on walking excursions, coming back at 5pm. Have to return another time just to eat and drink. To experience Madeira one must go to the mountains.

Blandy's wine lodge and tasting room is around the corner from where I'm staying.

Wines have always been important to Portuguese. Henry the Navigator gave orders for vineyards to be planted. The vines were sent from the Cretan capital. Madeira wines as we know today were discovered quite by accident and the rest is as they say, history.

What the (ancient) Greeks and Portuguese did for us...

Repurposed barrels. They let me see a printed menu. I'm not a phone user.

Fruit monster in fruit paradise. Every morning I eat a big plate of Madeiran fruits.

From this morning: there's passion fruit and there's Madeiran passion fruit. There are 2 types on the island (one is not shown). Madeiran passion fruit, both types, are sweeter and milder. Not to mention HUGE, like most plants, flowers, leaves and trees here. Huge. Early settlers imported bananas from Macau. They are small and sweet. Madeira exports its bananas mostly to mainland Portugal. If there's a suitable surface, no matter how small, they will plant banana trees. Every.where. pretty much.

Oval shaped fruit on left are "tomate inglês" in Portuguese.

Also from this morning: Madeiran sugar cane molasses cake. Not "Madeira cake", which Madeirans called "English cake".

Raamo · December 25, 2021

Today being a holiday and all.. and canceling our planned trip (4th revision thanks omicron)

It's American Wagyu ribeye cooked 130f sous vide and then quickly seared. mashed Potatoes, beets, and not pictured a 2008 single vintage Cab from Whitehall Lanes.

Also not pictured is some Peruvian salt. Bigger crystals that go well with the steak. I was amazed at how well the beets paired with the wine.

BonVivant · December 26, 2021

A typical Madeiran salad, half an onion is hidden on the other side of the lettuce. I have to say "sim cebola, por favor" every day. Raw onions are in everything.

The most common fish in the archipelago. They like the deep waters round these parts. I got the belly section, very rich and fatty like salmon belly.

Sea bass, also simply pan-fried.

The menu is on the wall. Left is fish/seafood, right is meat. Carne de porco vinho d'alhos is the Christmas dish on Madeira.

A simple local eatery, not western kind of "snack bar", frequented by locals and some (brave) tourists. We watched some lost tourists who stopped to look but it's not their style so they kept on walking.

What it's like holidaying in a warm place at this time of year. There's no such thing as seasonal decoration overkill (Madeirans can't get enough of festive decos) and lots of greenery which seems out of place (me arriving from cold, miserable food/hell).

A small park round the corner from my lodging

btbyrd · December 26, 2021

Some prime rib sliders for Christmas with my family. With horseradish sauce and arugula.

Broke the 8.6lb roast down a couple days ago. Ended up with a pint of rendered tallow, a few pounds of bones and scraps to make stock, and three lovely cuts of beef. I’m saving the rib cap for myself.

Salted the ribeye and put it on a rack in the fridge for 36 hours. Then seared it super hard in my Darto 27.

The core temp was still ice cold after all that searing. Then into a low oven for an hour and a half. The core hit 131F after testing. Here it is before carving.

Finally, sandwich time. Red and green for the holiday!

KennethT · December 27, 2021

It's nice to have a few days off from work, even if I can't travel. Sockeye salmon (from Wild Alaskan) with black bean sauce. Somehow I managed not to overcook the last bit of sockeye we got from them. I'm going to try some of the fish from Wild Fork - so far I've been very happy with their mahi mahi. If I like the rest then I'll discontinue my membership with Wild Alaskan.

Kim Shook · December 27, 2021

Last Monday Jessica surprised us with tamales that she bought from a home kitchen in Southside Richmond:

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They were pork and delicious. The masa was tender and flavorful. They were not spicy at all, which I appreciated.

Boxing day lunch:

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Classic – white bread, Dukes, turkey, lettuce and heavy S&P.

Katie Meadow · December 27, 2021

Speaking of Boxing Day, @Kim Shook, we had a couple of friends over for lunch that skewed southern. My daughter sent me a made-in-Georgia care package, including some kind of spicy beer pretzels and pickled okra, so that became apps. We had tomato soup with chives, creamy mac n cheese and a green salad for a main meal and gingerbread with hot orange sauce and vanilla ice cream for dessert. Also in the care package: seeded cheese straws and peanut brittle, both of which I'm looking forward to tonight.

P.S. The gingerbread, as always, was Laurie Colwin's Damp Gingerbread, which is no-fail.