It goes without saying that Portugal has a national love affair with pork. Just look through their cookbooks or at a restaurant menu and you can’t help but see the devotion to this particular meat. There are hundreds of recipe variations: roasted, fried, grilled or broiled. Dishes are reinvented over and over again with lemons, dates, apples, oranges, fresh herbs, mushrooms, chestnuts and of course pineapple.
The Azorean pineapple is special. It owes its quality and unique taste to the way it is produced. The Azores archipelago is an autonomous region of Portugal located in the North Atlantic ocean. Since the sub-tropical islands don’t benefit from hot equatorial sun, the small crowned fruits are grown in glass greenhouses, which are intentionally filled with smoke to help catalyze simultaneous flowering. Each pineapple takes two years to mature. Sweeter and more succulent than their larger, tropical grown siblings. Nowhere else in the world is pineapple grown in this manner, making it completely unique to the Azores.
This is one of those kind of recipes that is very basic but tasty.
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Portuguese Pineapple Short Ribs & Rice
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Rating: 5
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Instructions
In a resealable, large plastic bag, combine garlic, rosemary, bay leaf & vinegar. Season ribs with salt & pepper & add to marinade. Allow ribs to marinate in refrigerator for about an hour.
Preheat oven to 300 F. Pour ribs & marinade into a baking dish; top with onion slices & drizzle with oil. Roast slowly for about an hour or until VERY tender. Remove ribs from oven & add pineapple pieces. Return to oven for another 5 minutes or so, ribs should be slightly golden brown. Serve with some steamed rice to which some peas have been added.
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Being one who appreciates both roasted vegetables and the origins of things, I was curious as to when roasting vegetables became a ‘thing’.
The presence of a platter of blistered carrots and parsnips on our dinner table is happily commonplace these days. However, this was not always the case.
Restaurant chefs have forever roasted vegetables for certain preparations, especially classics like roasted plum tomato sauce and charred red peppers for antipasto.
Dry-heat cooking in an oven has traditionally been associated with meat, poultry and game. Roasting other foods like fish, vegetables and fruit seals in and intensifies flavors, imparts an attractive burnish and often uses less ‘fat’ than other cooking methods. The use of ‘professional’ quality sheet pans, roasting pans and ovenproof skillets is best for such roasting.
This roasting technique came into vogue in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Clearly, roasting is the only way to treat vegetables. The taste is legitimately superior to older techniques in almost all cases as it concentrates and enhances via caramelization. So, it begs the question, why did it take so long to become the default vegetable cooking technique? A lingering preference for boiled, steamed and sauteed veggies seems to be the main reason. Although technology has not changed that much in several decades, sensibilities regarding how certain foods should be prepared have shifted greatly. The days of limp, tasteless, boiled vegetables are gone!
This simple recipe is one Brion and I enjoy often.
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Oven Roasted Squash with Apples & Onions
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Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix dressing, sugar & rosemary. Toss apples, squash & onions in dressing mixture. Spread on baking sheet. Bake about 20-30 minutes until tender & caramelized.
Today, December 21st, a very special member of our family is having his 13th birthday. He is ‘our’ little mini German Dachshund with the Mexican name. My sister Loretta, adopted Amigo when he was only two months old, so needless to say, they are inseparable.
Amigo is everything you could want in a pet. I’m pretty sure he feels his mission in life is to play ball. He has never been one to like being left alone or to play by himself. Being so incredibly smart, it only takes a few minutes for him to understand what you are doing, playing or even thinking!
On occasion, Loretta has put him in our care. He accepts Brion and I like going to stay with your aunt and uncle and very quickly adapts to our routine. Curious, charming, brave, stubborn and comical are all words generally used to describe Dachshunds and certainly they describe our ‘Miggy’. He has probably done more airplane travel than a lot of people. Although travelling in any mode is not his thing, if Loretta is going somewhere, no question, he’s going to.
Since this is supposed to be a ‘story and food‘ blog I guess I should get to the food part. Since Amigo loves chicken I decided to post STUFFED BREAST of CHICKEN with APPLES, WALNUTS & BRIE today. Now that’s not to say he’ll be eating any but it kind of fits the occasion.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO AMIGO!
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Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Apples, Walnuts & Brie
That magic of combining sweet & savory makes these chicken breasts just a bit more special.
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Rating: 5
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Votes: 1
Rating: 5
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Instructions
In a large skillet, saute onion in 1 Tbsp. butter about 1 minute. Add apple; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until apple is golden brown. Remove from heat; add walnuts, rosemary & a dash of salt & pepper.
Flatten chicken breasts to 1/4" thickness; sprinkle with garlic powder & remaining salt & pepper. Place apple mixture & Brie on half of each chicken breast; fold over. Secure with toothpicks if necessary.
In same skillet, brown chicken in remaining butter. Stir in cider vinegar & 1/4 cup apple juice. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover & cook for 15-20 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 170 F.
Remove chicken to serving platter; discard toothpicks. Combine cornstarch & remaining apple juice; add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook & stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with chicken.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe is another one of my favorites I acquired from the tasteofhome.com site.
