COOKING IN LISBON

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There was only one real thing on the itinerary for today and that was the cooking class. We were thinking about a museum but after a 5-hour cooking glass with lots of wine, that didn’t happen.

We started the day with a light breakfast and the hotel and headed out. The cooking class started at 10 and was in a different section of the city that we had previously been. It was a more residential area and near the Anjou stop on the green line. We found the place without any trouble. There were 6 people including us in the class, the other four were woman from London, well one was from London via Vancouver BC. The instructor for the day was Thomas one of the owners of the school was also involved and his name was Luis. Just informed that the neighborhood we were in was the Estefania area.

Our class started with a trip to the market to buy the ingredients for the day’s meal. It was a good walk but we were all chatting away about where we were from our connection to food, etc. The market was similar to the markets in Dijon or Barcelona, but nothing like what you experience in Paris. Everything was under one roof and there were several vendors for cheese, fish, meats, vegetables, bread (I have to say I am so looking forward to Paris, to get some good bread, the bread in Portugal and Spain have been just so so.) The market trip is always one of my favorite parts of a cooking class, not only for the sights and smells, but it is really where you learn about the food.

The group was a fun group and we all got in and did our share of chopping and slicing, etc. It could have had a bit more hands on, but I am spoiled from my last cooking class in Provence when I was the only student. We had a great conversation during cooking and the meal everything from the upcoming Dream Girls production in London to how Jerry and I produced our own wedding. Two of the four women were engaged with upcoming weddings and kept saying “so this is what 10 years of marriage looks like” referring to Jerry and myself. The of course will all mostly under 35 one was even in her twenties. There was only a brief discussion of the upcoming election and we made it very clear if Hillary didn’t win, we were moving, they all invited us to move to London.

The class was fun and I did learn a few things. Mainly, that Portuguese cooking is pretty simple and they are not very heavy on any spicing. They use a lot of coriander and something called pennyroyal, which I haven’t even figured out what it is. They do use garlic and onion, but it isn’t that strong. Other than the salt cod, the salt and pepper factor is almost non-existent. It isn’t that the food lacks flavor, but it does lack some complexity and depth. That however doesn’t not apply to the chorizo that has a very intense flavor and some heat.

I did buy a new cooking dish, I wanted to buy another but was told no by Jerry, however, I make look in Paris to see if they have the same dish in copper, I am already allotted one copper cooking piece in France. I also purchased an apron for my collection, the special chorizo roaster and a cook book, so you all come to New York, I have a great Portuguese meal already planned for the next dinner party.

It was really a fun class, probably one of the most fun classes I have had. While I learn a great deal in the Paris classes I have had, the participants are very uptight and not fun. This group was relaxed and having a good time, much more enjoyable. We exchanged email, but not ours to them, so tomorrow I need to e-mail them some pictures and then they will have ours.

I don’t really have much more to say, I hope the pictures speak for themselves

Tavares Rico

We had dinner at Tavares Rico, the oldest restaurant in Portugal and on the list of the 10 oldest restaurants in the world. We have now eaten at half of them. The inside was very ornate, liking eating at Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors. The staff was good, spoke English, but they seemed to not be very well coordinated. There was one main waiter and two support staff. We started with a glass of champagne and then waited about 15 minutes before anything else happened, we did have the menus, but not much else was explained to start. First a selection of butters and tapenades were brought to the table, but no bread. So we just looked at them. The waiter did come to take our order and Jerry asked if we could have some bread. The waiter was a bit surly, and with a tone said “you want bread or order then bread.” We didn’t want to piss him off so we ordered the 5 course prix fixe with wine pairing. Later, when we were walking back to the hotel, Jerry commented that he thought we were going to be in for a bad experience at first, but in the end it all turned out fine.

The nice thing about this restaurant, is that the tables were nice and big, in fact, maybe two big for a two top, it seemed like we were a mile apart but still at the same table. The chairs were also very comfortable. Since we both had the prix fix everything was the same for both of us, so no sharing of bites.

We started with Crème de Camarao (Shrimp cream), I have no idea why the dish is called this, there is zero cream or dairy in the dish. It is actually a very intense fish broth, with a prawn.

Next was a celery cream (this was a substitution because they were out of the ingredients for the wild mushroom salad, that is why there is not Portuguese for this dish). This was not exactly a cream either but more of a puree, with celery root, it was nice and the rose wine paired well with it.

The fish course was, what else but Bacolhau do Bras (baked codfish) it was cooked perfectly and no bones, well one did manage to find Jerry.

The last savory course was Porco Iberico, beterraba a maca (Iberian pork with a beetroot and apple puree) yes I ate the beetroot and it didn’t kill me. Again the pork was cooked perfectly and very tender. This was served with an excellent red wine from Dao, which is just below Durro.

Dessert was Pao-de-lo, citrinas e amendoa (Almond sponge cake with citrus ice cream), the wine was a muscatel.

It was an overall pleasant experience, I don’t remember the names of most of the wines, but they good ones, Jerry did take a picture of the bottle. I paid with the debit card, always bring a moment of abject terror because I never know if that will be the moment that Bank of America will decide to protect me. It went through so there didn’t appear to be a problem, but the real test is when I go to use it again. We strolled down the hill back to the hotel, taking pictures alone the way. I was too tired to blog when we got back home, so we just had a nightcap and crashed.

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Photos

Grilling Chorizo
Yes I bought one of these dishes

The climb from Baxia-Chiado to Bairro Alta
We took the escalator

Comments

[Andrea]

Mmmmm
Enjoying your photos and wondering what you are using to capture all the yummy food, what fun!!! Carry on! Xo

[Connie]

Looked like fun
The cooking class looked fun. Sounds like you are having a good time. I am enjoying reading your blog.