The Grand Repast of Jorge Carvalho!!

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Saturday night and we're off to dinner at the home of Maria's cousin Jorge and his wife Olga. They live in a suburb called Carregado, which can properly be called one of the new urban villages of Lisboa, designed to house the workers in the various factory operations that surround the city. To look at Carregado, it is utilitarian and ordinary and you would never know that it houses the likes of a man like Jorge. I say this because Jorge is a big, life-loving fellow who swings through his existence with unsupressed joy. Within minutes of meeting him, I could see that we speak the same language.

Jorge drove out to Cammarat to pick us up, and on a whim, decided to give us a driving tour of the newer parts of downtown Lisboa. At one time this area was an industrial wasteland, but then Expo 98 came along and the whole deal was laid flat. In its place sprang up new architectural wonders that showcase the most contemporary of designs. Broad avenues at least fifty feet wide offer a park on every block, each containing impressive statues and lush gardens that give evidence of exacting care and planning. Lisboa is a great city of monuments, with every roundabout hosting valiant characters perched on horses or otherwise engaged in heroic efforts of national consequence. Around these zip a mad carousel of cars. We were in the thick of it, with Jorge happy to try out his English on me and me only too happy to listen.

But the highlight of the evening was yet to come. Jorge spends his days making ice cream for the Ola food group. Amidst the noise and tedium of the factory, Jorge sets his mind to planning elaborate menus that become the foundation for epic dinners. He is a gourmet in the truest sense of the word, not simply an assembler of recipes, but an individual who considers the sequence of tastes involved and the resulting journey that a good cook can create. Jorge is in the good habit of serving a meal via numerous courses. He has the unique perspective of moving from the richer dishes towards the milder, an approach that I have never known until this time. Here is his philosophy of food and its role in our lives:

"See, Kev, it's a matter of how you come home. Maybe you start out angry, and the first courses let you put that away. Then, as your humour lightens, you can appreciate the lighter flavours and end at peace."

It's pretty hard to imagine Jorge getting too upset about anything. But trouble does visit every life.It is a brave and loving thing to fashion a sanctuary within the home where its members can find refreshment. So, without further ado, I offer you the menu of the Grand Repast of Jorge Carvalho.

appetizer: seafood pate served with craquelins.
1st course: kidneys sauteed in port, reduced, and then served with a cream gravy and fresh bread. Earthy, deep and delicious.
2nd course: traditional balchalau. A casserole, with more cream, potatoes, copious amounts of onions and salt cod.
3rd course: an indescribably light pork roulade, the meat ground to a cut-with-a-fork consistency and rolled so that it nearly souffles with cooking. The meat itself is marinated in beer and the resulting gravy is basted upon the dish, creating the thinnest of glazes and introducing a hint of sweetness into the direction of the meal.
4th course: strawberries served unadorned. Now the palate is cleansed.
5th course: a platter of two local cheeses, one being a sheep's milk variety that is paired with red wine and the other being a goat's milk variety enjoyed by itself. (I see now that serving cheese WITH fruit can complicate the appreciation of the subtle work of the lactose in the cheese.)
dessert: an array of light-as-air Portuguese puddings served with coffee and tea.

Throughout the meal, breaks were taken to allow the flavours to linger, discussion to be enjoyed and an appreciation of the photo collection taken by the family from their extensive travels in Western Europe. The Carvalho's are great travellers, and, like his meals, Jorge seems to plan his family's vacations with the same attention to surprise and collective experience.

Need I say that it was a wonderful evening? We didn't get home until 2am.
Hospitality of this calibre simply cannot be rushed.

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