the place !

I wish...

Photo by Christopher Gilbert
I wish that 2007 makes us all know, around this planet, that we are all made with the same water and now in small ice cubes we stand. And after we all melt, the pond will be made from all of us, so I wish that we start behaving as we do know it for sure.
Wake up!

coffee !

Photo by Christopher Gilbert
Coffee is a must for us, Portuguese, on the expresso form, we need it to start our day.
Queues at cafes before they open is quite common, mainly in the big cities.
Our coffee mix is arabica and robusta, it has to be strong, not mild as the americans, the english or german versions ( ... dish washing water).
'Bica'; 'Abatanado'; 'Cortado'; 'Pingado'; 'Curto'; 'Italiana'; 'Garoto'; 'Cimbalino'; 'com cheirinho' just to name a few forms of asking for one expresso.
Delta cafés is one of our best ones.
Our 'Pastéis de nata' go so well with our coffee !

Merry Christmas

I have been very lazy about my writings here. The reason is that I am on holidays.
Thus, I wish All readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Kids in Portugal do not have proper Breakfasts

I believe that our children should have better breakfasts before they go to schooll, and the idea that i get from my sons is that their collegues have little or no breakfast at all, and then, at lunch, they eat as much as they can.
This makes the morning classes very poor, because I believe that no one is paying attention.

• Why can't the polititians initiate educational events regarding this subject?
• And why not make the breakfast for children in schools, to make sure that they all eat well?
• If a child does not have a full proper breakfast , how can he or she learn properly?

Comments on this please!...

Fruit Buffet display

I would like to change the classical appearance of the breakfast fruit buffet that we have, so, I am asking all of you if you, please, could give me a hand here, with fresher ideas, with pictures, technics, descriptions, or whatever you think that could be good for this matter.

No príncipio

Foi no principio que trabalhei na Vila Joya com o Chef Miguel e o Chef Mateo, que trabalha agora no Hangar 7 , restaurante prestigiado Europeu.
Aui estamos os 3 numa foto na zona de Garde Manget, chamado de Cozinha 'fria', onde então eu trabalhava.

Vila Joya meets Egon Schiele

In Hotel Vila Joya you can see, from October 6th 2006, sixty four rare reproductions of Austria´s expressionist artist Egon Schiele from Prof. Leopold Collection in Vienna Austria.

Visiting Quinta do Crasto

Well, not that one should drink wine for breakfast, thow, in early years, we did have the habit of eating 'Sopas de cavalo cansado' (Tired Horse soups) , made with country side bread bits and red wine, before going to work in the fields.
Those days are mostly gone, nowadays, breakfast means something else for the hard working ones. But wine still remains a beverage to be had at the main meals, at least in Portugal, where wine is considered, more and more, a exceptional beverage.
Quinta do Crasto, where world renown wines are produced and considered amongst the best in this wineyard Planet.
I am fortunate enough to be paying a visit to this Quinta do Crasto and to take a glimpse of how and where quality is produced in my beloved Portugal.
know more in Rei Vinho, my newest blog

Mimolette Cheese

From Wikipedia:

Mimolette is a cheese traditionally produced around the city of Lille in northern France (where it is also known as Boule de Lille), and also in some areas of Belgium and the Netherlands (where it is also known as vieux Hollande).

A cow's-milk cheese, it normally weighs about 2 kg (approximately 4.5 pounds). Its name comes from "mollet". When young its crust is supple, but with age it becomes harder. It has a grey crust and orangish flesh. The orange color comes from the natural colorant Achiote.

The greyish crust of aged Mimolette is the result of cheese mites intentionally introduced to add flavor by their action on the surface of the cheese.

Mimolette can be consumed at different stages of ageing. Most cheese-lovers appreciate it most when "extra-old" (extra-vieille). At that point, it can become rather hard to chew, and the flesh takes a delicious hazelnut-like flavour.

Pastéis de nata, info

(the picture above is not from 'Pasteis de Belém' , but only from normal 'Pastéis de Nata')

From the site pasteis de belem :

"The Taste of Tradition

At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, in Belém, next to the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (the Heironymite Monastery) there was a sugar cane refinery linked to a small general store.
As a result of the liberal revolution of 1820, all convents and monasteries in Portugal were shut down in 1834, the clergy and labourers expelled.

In an attempt at survival, someone from the monastery offered sweet pastries for sale in the shop; pastries that rapidly became known as 'Pasteis de Belém'.

At that period the area of Belém was still far from the city of Lisbon and could be reached by steam-boats. At the same time, the grandeur of the monastery and the Torre de Belém (the Belém Tower) attracted visitors who soon grew used to savouring the delicious pastries originated in the monastery.

In 1837, the baking of the 'Pasteis de Belém' was begun in buildings joined to the refinery, following the ancient 'secret recipe' from the monastery. Passed on and known exclusively to the master confectioners who hand-crafted the pastries in the 'secrets room', this recipe remained unchanged to the present day.
In fact, the only true 'Pasteis de Belém' contrive, by means of a scrupulous selection of ingredients, to offer even today the flavour of the ancient portuguese confectionary industry."

Recipe for Pastéis de Nata will be released soon, when I perfect the one I have now.
I know that it can be done better. Maybe almost as good as the famous Pastéis de Belém

Queijo da Serra

from the wikipedia:

Serra da Estrela is a cheese from the region of Serra da Estrela, in Portugal. It is one of the most famous, not only in Portugal but also among appraiser all over the world. Its production has very rigorous rules and its delimited region is in the subdivision of the municipalities of Nelas, Mangualde, Celorico da Beira, Tondela, Gouveia, Penalva do Castelo, Fornos de Algodres, Carregal do Sal, etc. It is made of sheep milk, mostly during the months of November to March. Its maturation period has specific norms and must last thirty days at least. According to its maturation it becomes creamy pouring out or thicker. It is a cured cheese from artisan work with half-soft paste, creamy, white or slightly yellow, uniform (without holes or just a few) obtained from slow draining of curdled-milk, after raw sheep milk coagulation, with Cynara cadunculus thistle. The shape is a low cylinder with side camber and a little in the upper face, not having precise tacks. It shows a soft well formed rind, smooth and thin, with an uniform straw-yellow colour. Its scent is intense and the savour reveals a soft, clean "bouquet" lightly acidulous.

Saloio Cheese

from the wikipedia:

Saloio is a Portuguese cheese manufactured in the region between Lisbon and Sintra.

It is made from sheep's milk with no salt. It is a firm cheese usually served in small cylinders that are 5 cm wide and 6 cm high.

Another meaning of saloio is of a non-urban person, i.e. a person living outside the large city on the countryside whose behaviour is regarded somewhat uncivilized and foolish and thereby often being patronized by the hip urban sprawlers.

Roquefort Cheese

From the Wikipedia:

Legend has it that the cheese was discovered when a young shepherd, eating his lunch of curds, saw a beautiful girl in the distance. Abandoning his meal in a nearby cave, he ran to meet her. When he failed to catch her, he returned to his now moldy lunch and ate it out of pure hunger.

Roquefort, or similar style cheese, is mentioned in literature as far back as 79 AD, when Pliny the Elder remarked upon its rich flavor. Cheesemaking colanders have been discovered amongst the region's prehistoric relics.

Roquefort is a pungent ewe's-milk blue cheese from the south of France, and one of the most famous of all French cheeses. Though similar cheeses are produced elsewhere, European law dictates that only those cheeses aged in the natural Cambalou caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon may bear the name Roquefort, as it has a protected designation of origin. Roquefort is sometimes known as the "King of Cheeses", a distinction that is also used for the Italian Parmigiano Reggiano, the French Brie de Meaux and the English Stilton.

The cheese is white, crumbly and slightly moist, with distinctive veins of blue mold. It has characteristic odor and flavor with a notable taste of butyric acid; the blue veins provide a sharp tang. The overall flavor sensation begins slightly mild, then waxing sweet, then smokey, and fading to a salty finish. It has no rind; the exterior is edible and slightly salty. A typical wheel of Roquefort weighs between 2.5 and 3 kilograms, and is about 10 cm thick. As each kilogram of finished cheese requires about 4.5 litres of milk, Roquefort is high in fat, protein and minerals such as calcium.

Gouda Cheese

From the Wikipedia:

Gouda is a yellowish Dutch cheese named after the city of Gouda. The cheese is made from cow's milk that is cultured and heated until the curds separate from the whey. About ten percent of the mixture is curds which are pressed into circular moulds for a couple of hours. The moulds give the cheese its traditional shape. Next, the cheese is soaked in a brine solution which gives the cheese its rind and improves the taste. After the salt soaks in, the cheese is then dried for a couple of days before being coated to prevent it from drying out. It is aged for at least a couple of weeks before it is ready to be eaten. The term "Gouda" is now a generic name, and not restricted to cheese of Dutch origin. The term "Noord-Hollandse Gouda" is registered in the EU as a Protected Designation of Origin. The peculiar thing about this is that the city Gouda is located in the Dutch province Zuid-Holland. However, Gouda-type cheeses from Noord-Holland have a better reputation for their quality.

Exported Gouda is usually the young variety (aged between 1 and 6 months, rich yellow in colour and with a red or yellow paraffin wax coating). This cheese is easily sliced on bread with a cheese slicer. Exported Gouda has a pungent underlying bitterness, yet is still considerably creamier than other common cheeses, such as cheddar cheese, edam cheese. Locally, old Gouda (aged between 12 and 18 months, orange-yellow in colour and sometimes discernible by a black paraffin wax coating) can be obtained. This strong tasting cheese is hard and often too brittle to cut using a slicer, but it can be sliced by knife or served cut in cubes with drinks. Smoked Gouda is also a common find in many cheese markets and mega-marts.

Breakfast Cheese bits !

Doesn't it look so good as a morning treat !
Yummie !
More to come about cheese !

New products and services in your blog

ReiJam, Amazing Chefs At Home and Secret Recipes, will be available during the year 2007 for the general public.

Stay tuned to this blog for more newsflashes!

From Bi-lingual, we go to Tri-lingual

Now we may read in this blog in 3 different languages: Portuguese, English and French.
It is a international blog !

Bonjour

Bonjour

Je suis heureux de repondre à votre invitation à m'exprimer sur ce blog de passionnés de la cuisine.Je susi heureux que les restaurateurs fussent ils décorés ou non s'intéressent à ma conception de la cuisine. En effet je "milite" pour une ouverture la plus large de la cuisine, sans distinction entre les différents secteurs qu'is soient amateurs, professionnels, ou passionnés. Que la cuisine dépasse les barrières des cultures.

L'amour de la cuisine lopasse aussi par le regard qu'on porte sur les autres qui pratiquent aussi. Chacun a sa personnalité, mais tous nous nous nourrissons de celle de sautres !

Bonne continuation

cordialement

Chef Simon

http://chefsimon.com

Welcome Chef Simon !

Chef Simon, from chefsimon.com, a phantastic site about cooking, as accepted my invitation of being a writer in this blog.
He will be sending his writings by mail to me and I will post them, and they will be in french, so get your french sharp, because there will be very good articles about the breakfast theme in here.

Merci Chef !

Chef Koschina Special Breakfast

One early morning, I found Chef Koschina at the kitchen after a busy night. He asked me to give him a hand and prepare a nice breakfast for a special couple of guests, this is the story...

At first I prepared a dish with house made smoked salmon and another one with 'pata negra' smoked ham (presunto), nicely decorated and with toasted bagette slices on the side.

Then he prepared some scrambled eggs with salicornia, tomato, shives, mimolette cheese, cream, salt and pepper from the mill, while I grilled tomato slices and placed them on top of nicely toasted bread.
On top of the toasts and grilled tomato slices, I placed a triangular leaf, ladlle like, of Iceberg lettuce.
Inside the lettuce, Chef Koschina placed the egg mix and topped it with a lump of Sevruga caviar and Perigord truffle slices.

After this, we prepared the desert !

'Rahmschmarren' (?), a kind of oversized fluffy oven pancake, made with sour cream, self-raising flour, eggs and sugar, mixed with puff pastry bitts, on top of a smudge of raspberry jam, topped with vanilla ice cream.

He himself took the dishes to the guests and had breakfast with them.
He said to me that I was a good help and thanked me, (that's good, I presume).

And that's the story of one Chef Koschina's special breakfast...
(I hope that it is ok to use your pic here Chef...)

Orange 'Marmalade', the way I like it

Just for you to know, the term "Marmelada" (marmalade), reffers to jam made with a fruit called "Marmelo". This fruit is no less than quince, and Marmelada is a thick jam that we make with it and sugar.

The orange marmalade was invented by a Scotish, James Keiller, and it consists of a orange sweet/ bitter jam.
I like this version, the one I usually make, my recipe, if there is such a notion any longer, no one invents nothing new any more, but I made it from reading and listening a lot and experimenting, so I guess it is a bit mine as well (be sure that all fruit is from biological agriculture):

3 kg of bitter oranges, Seville kind; 6 small lemmons; 3 kg of 1:1 gellifying sugar; 1 vanilla pod; 1 tb spoon of coriander seeds; 2 tb spoons of Apple pectine; mineral water;70 ml Gran Marnier liquer;35 ml Licor Beirão.

Extract the juices by hand, reserve all the pips.
Into the juices, pour mineral water so that you have a total of 7,5 litters of liquid.
With a fine vegetable knive, finelly slice the fruit chars and place them in the liquid. (hard work involved here!)
Keep in the fridge for 24 hours
Gently cook, inside a wide copper pan preferably, the fruit mix and liquid, with a split vanilla pod and the pips in a closed musselin bag, until it reduces to half of the amount.
Use a laddle to remove the scumm, from time to time.
Add the coriander seeds, after being a bit toasted and crushed, not burned!
Make sure to mix well with a spoon.
Using a big bowl, mix well the sugar and the extra apple pectine.
Add this mix to the pan and gently mix with a spoon or laddle, making sure that is it well dissolved.
When the temperature reaches 104ºC., remove from the heat source.
Wait 5 or 10 minutes to cool down a bit and add the liquers, mixing well and gently.
Remnove the vanilla pod if you want, but leave the coriander seeds. (It would be very difficult to remove them now, and they go very soft, with a citrus taste, its a curious tastefull effect.)
Pot the marmelade in sterilized air tight containers and take them to boilling water for 30 minutes to pasteurize. Lasts for 2 years in a dark, fresh place.

Terribly good with cheese, pancakes, baggette and butter or croissants and the morning coffee or tea!

If made with love then it tastes divinely... 0;-)

I here by declare

I here by declare that I will not reveal any recipes from my friend Chefs, unless they allow me to. Only my own recipes and experiments, as I always have done so far.

Well deserved pause

I am on a well deserved pause until I go to work again. I am so happy.

Eat fresh fruit for breakfast

Fruit is the very best thing that you can start your breakfast with.
Simple orange juice, freshly hand squeezed, does wonders to your day, for example.
One simple apple, eaten fresh, is a nature's miracle.
Make a red fruits fruit salad, and add some cold sweet jasmin scented green tea.
A tropical fruits salad and add orange peckoe water and honey, that's wonderfull...
Grapes, pinneapple, sweet mangoes, strawberries, raspberries and yoguhrt.
Use lime juice drops on top of your mangoes and ripe papayas.
Just before eating a piece of juicy melon, press with your fork on a lemon rind, just the yellow bit, and then using the same fork, pick a bit of melon and eat... it takes you to a new dimension... my grandmather's Bia trick, she was a wonderfull cook and grandmother too.
And fresh figgs.... fresh from the tree, picked up early morning still wet and fresh...
Sweet peaches, water mellon sliced bits, dark sweet plums and so many others.
Cook your breakfast, be happy all day...

Tribute to Claudia in Vila Joya, 2007

This is the callendar for the outstanding week when 7 amazing chefs will be preparing very special dinners in Vila Joya Hotel.

• 14 January - 1 star Michelin - Chef Nigel Haworth
• 15 January - 2 stars Michelin - Chef Eric Chavot
• 16 January - 2 stars Michelin - Chef Gerhard Schwaiger
• 17 January - 1 star Michelin - Chef Hubert Niederkofler
• 18 January - 2 stars Michelin - Chef Eckart Witzigmann
• 19 January - Surprise !
• 20 January - 3 stars Michelin - Chef Marc Meneau

Book now ! Only a few seats left !

Welcome Jamie !

It is a honour and a previledge to have you writing on my Breakfast blog.

Jamie has the BreakfastBlog which has lots of very good and sound info on the breakfasts served around the world on several places.

Welcome here on my humble blog.

Welcome Chef Murat !

As of today, we have a new contributor to this blog, and he is no less than one of the best Chefs working in Portugal at the moment: Chef Murat Karaduman. He signs as goodfood52.

I wish that he presents us with the best breakfast recipes or technics, that he knows so well.
He has been my mentor and one of my best teachers. He is one of the two sous-Chefs working in Vila Joya Hotel at the moment, toghether with Chef Marcus, and led by Chef Dieter Koschina.

I have invited as well, Chef Vitor Sobral, Jamie from the breakfast places blog, Chef Simon from the site chefsimon.com and Chef Ferran Adriá from elBulli. All very highly respected by me.

Welcome Chef !

Star Chefs from Europe in Vila Joya next January !

Stay tuned to the news, we will have several huge Chef legends from Europe, cooking in our Hotel Vila Joya, next January 2007, for one or two weeks.

It is a must !

Book now !

Chefs on pause

My good friends and collegues, Michael, from Austria and Ziggy, from Italy, took a well deserved pause from work.
I wish all the best for them and hope to work with them soon.

mushroom "crackers"

Hey, these I tried and use every day, to go with my eggs.

Use very good and soft white bread.
Finely (5 mm) slice the bread, remove the crust.
Cut in circles with a cutter (5 cm diameter).
Get some Paris Mushrooms and slice them finelly (2 mm).

Butter (use clarified butter), or Virgin Olive oil, each one side only, of each bread circle.
Use a frying pan.
Place the mushroom slice on the warm pan and add a bread circle on top.
Using a espatula, press down each piece, but just gently.
Alow to light brown and turn over so that it browns as well.

Remove from the frying pan and let to rest on absorbant paper for a while.

Grind some salt and spice on top. So gooooood...

P.S. Use Shallot slices instead of the mushrooms and it's still great...

Recipes posted here tested by me

All recipes that I post here were teste personaly by me. Please give me your comments and variations on each one. Thanks

Receitas sempre testadas por mim, comentem p.f.

Todas as receitas que eu escrevo aqui foram testadas por mim, pessoalmente. Como é evidente, gostava de saber das vossas variações conforme os vossos gostos. Comentem por favor. Obrigado

Molho Holandês

No site gourmetsleuth.com encontrei isto : quote " Alan Davidson states one of the earliest recorded versions of the sauce dates back to 1758 "sauce a la hollandoise" from Marin's Dons de Comus. This recipe included butter, flour, bouillon, and herbs; no egg yolks. Davidson also quotes from MeGee (1990) who explains eggs are not needed at all and proper emulsification which can simply be done with butter. He also states that if one does wish to use eggs they are not needed in quantities normally called for in traditional recipes." end quote.

utilizar nos Ovos bennedict, Espargos cozidos no vapôr e onde quer que lhe apeteça ...

• 150 grs de manteiga clarificada
  
• 3 gemas de ovos
  
• 4 colheres de sopa de vinagre de vinho
  
• grãos de pimenta preta
  
• 1 folha de louro
  
• 1 raminho de estragão fresco
  
• 2 colheres de sopa de água
  
• sal e pimenta preta do moinho
  

Colocar o vinagre de vinho, a pimenta em grão, a folha de louro, o raminho de estragão e reduza devagarinho até resta só 1/3 do líquido original. Deixa esfriar.
Em Banho -maria, bata as gemas de ovos com a metade da mistura preparada de vinagre e água até que fique espessa, mas com cuidado para não coagular, cozer, os ovos, somente emulsionando a mistura.
Em fio, junta 2/3 da menteiga, batendo sempre, se acrescentar muita manteiga de uma vez pode talhar e tens de juntar um cubo de gelo e reiniciar até ligar.
Junta o resto do vinagre e bate com o resto da manteiga do mesmo modo, Só o suficiente para o vinagre cortar o sabor gordo da manteiga, mais não.
Tempera a gosto com sal e pimenta do moinho.
Mantém morno, não quente, cobre com película para não ganhar 'nata' e tá na boa para usares, batendo suavemente com varas de cada vez que uses...

Ovos Bennedict

Soube desta estória através da internet, sobre esta receita dos ovos Bennedict.
O Sr. Bennedict era , na altura um hóspede num Hotel de Nova Iorque, quando em determinada manhã, pediu ao Chef de serviço aos pequeno-almoços que lhe confeccionasse uns ovos esclafados e os colocasse sobre umas fatias salteadas de bacon e um muffin inglês aberto ao meio e tostado, tudo cobertinho com molho Holandês. O Chef gostou tanto da ideia que deu o nome do hóspede ao prato, Ovos Bennedict.
È de facto delicioso.

Eggs Bennedict Lighter

This version is much lighter:
Just replace the clarified butter with a neutral polinsaturated oil.
Replace Panccetta with normal good quality ham.
Replace english muffin with toasted whole cereal bread slice.
It is not the same taste, but at least it can be eaten without major sacrifices to your diet.

Cellery salt, asparagus and eggs

Today I made my own cellery salt.
On my garden, I had some cellery which produced thousands of seeds, which I kept in a Jam jar. Today, I got some fine salt and in a food processor, I mixed both the salt and seeds.
Now, I have cellery salt and it tastes and smells divinely.
Use it with gently boiled asparagus, placing a small amount on the side of the dish, to use at will, and top the veggies with some hollandaise sauce. It goes finelly with a 3,5 minute boiled egg.
It is a great breakfast starter !

Sauce Hollandaise

At the site gourmetsleuth.com I found this : quote " Alan Davidson states one of the earliest recorded versions of the sauce dates back to 1758 "sauce a la hollandoise" from Marin's Dons de Comus. This recipe included butter, flour, bouillon, and herbs; no egg yolks. Davidson also quotes from MeGee (1990) who explains eggs are not needed at all and proper emulsification which can simply be done with butter. He also states that if one does wish to use eggs they are not needed in quantities normally called for in traditional recipes." end quote.
Use on eggs bennedict, gently boiled Asparagus and where ever you think it is good...

• 150 grs of clarified butter
  
• 3 egg yolks
• 4 spoons of white wine vinegar
• black pepper corns
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of fresh tarragon
• 2 spoons of water
• salt & pepper from the mill

Place the white wine vinegar, the black pepper corns, bay leaf and fresh tarragon on a pan and reduce to 1/3. Let it get cold.
On Bain-marie whisk the egg yolks with half the prepared vinegar and water until it thickens, but be carefull not to cook the egg mix, only emulsify it.
Little by little, add 2/3 of the butter, slowly and whisking. If you add too much butter at once, than it looses the emulsification and you have to add 1 ice cube and whisk until it goes well.
Add the rest of the vinegar mix and the rest of the butter, the way I explained before. Should have just enough vinegar taste to cut trough the buttery fat, nothing more.
Season to taste with salt and pepper from the mill.
Keep warm, not hot, and cover with cling film at the surface to avoid drying the top layer.
It's ready to use.

Eggs Bennedict

Well, the story behind this recipe is, according to what I have read, about a american guy called Mr. Bennedict who was staying at a New York Hotel and on a given morning, asked the breakfast chef to have poached eggs, on top of grilled bacon slices on a muffin, all topped with Hollandaise sauce.

Basically this is it: a toasted english muffin, 2 slices of grilled panccetta, 2 poached eggs, hollandaise sauce on top, a olive or slice of truffle to garnish.
Nothing could be more simple and satisfying for a wake-up breakfast.

Now, what you really have to do is: find the best possible ingredients, cook them right, with lots of love and care.
Follow my links for the good recipes and some tricks.

Molho de aneto para acompanhar salmão fumado

Começo com o molho, porque podem ir a qualquer loja gourmet ou supermercado e comprar salmão fumado. Em breve, colocarei aqui a receita de como fumar salmão (gandas malucos, não é isso...). O salmão é um super peixe, muito fixe para comer ao pequeno almoço, com umas tostinhas e molho deste, claro...
A receita básica para este molho foi-me dada pelo meu grande amigo Chef Murat e não sei onde a foi ele buscar, provavelmente inventou-a ele, o gajo é esperto...., gajo, não, senhor gajo, assim é que é !
O que fiz foi adaptá-la mais ao meu gosto, adicionando-lhe creme fraiche e natas ácidas e um pouco mais de Gin do que o costume... ;-)

Atão, aqui vai:

4 colheres a abarrotar de Mayonnaise; 2 colheres a abarrotar de creme fraiche; 2 colheres a abarrotar de natas ácidas; 2 colheres a abarrotar de pommery mustard, com grãos de mostarda; 4 colheres a abarrotar de Gin de qualidade; 6 colheres a abarrotar de folhas de aneto finamente picado ; umas gotas de sumo de limão espremido à mão, Sal fino, pimenta preta do moinho e molho Worcesteshire a gosto

Misturar tudo, deixando o aneto e os temperos para final.
Esperem 1 a 2 horas e já 'tá ! Guardar sempre no frigorífico.
Quando utilizarem, juntem algum caviar de salmão, uma folhinha de aneto em cima e uma fatia de limão de lado.
E tá-se ! É só bumbar com o salmão e as tostas !
Também acompanha bem uns panadinhos de febras ou douradinhos...

Dill Sauce to go with the Smoked Salmon

I start with the sauce, because you can get the smoked salmon in a fine gourmet shop, or even at your local supermarket. Soon, I will post the smoking salmon recipe for you. Salmon is a great fish to have for breakfast, with some toast and this sauce ...
The basic recipe for this sauce was provided to me by my good friend Chef Murat, and I don't know where he got it from, I might think that that's his own recipe... he is a clever Chef !
What I did, over the times I did it, was to alter it to my taste, adding a bit of creme fraiche and sour creme as well and a bit more Gin than normal... ;-)
So, here goes:

4 spoons heaped with Mayonnaise; 2 spoons heaped with creme fraiche; 2 spoons heaped with sour creme;, 2 spoons heaped with pommery mustard, the grainy one; 4 spoons good quality Gin; 6 spoons heaped with finely chopped dill leaves; some drops of hand pressed lemmon juice and some Salt, pepper from the mill and Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Mix all but leave the chopped dill to the end, toghether with the seasonings.
Wait 1 or 2 hours and that's it. Refrigerate allways.
When using it, add some salmon roe, a tiny leaf of dill on top and a lemmon slice on the side.
Ravishing.
(it goes super with fish fingers as well)

Chef Simon Site

Hey, did you visit Chef Simon's site today? It is one of the best sites for cooks I have seen... visit today and be amazed.

Boa sorte Alex ! Estou a ver...

Vai-nos deixar para latitudes mais frias e com salero, a minha querida amiga, penso que nos podemos chamar assim, depois de um ano de tantas turras e ovos mexidos com bacon à pala, ela só me ofereceu dois cafés e um estava frio... amiga... Estou a brincar, pá!
O melhor do Mundo para ela na casa do Santa Maria, o tal chef espanhuélé de 3 estrelas Michellin (gente finíssima...).
Se ela cá já era tu cá tu lá com o nosso Presidente (ouve-se o HinoNacional em fundo) imagino o que não será na Capital dos vizinhos com o El Juan Carlos!
Y viva la Alexandrina !
haa, e há festa no Pão Quente no Dmingo Às 23,30 hrs, colegas estão convidados, pois ela deixou um bilhete na porta do frigorífico a avisar, acho que é tudo à borla, paga a boa da Alexandrina...
Inté Urubú !......;)

folga abençoada

Cheguei ao fim de semana, Domingo e Segunda, para mim...
Tenho uma hora de bónus por causa da mudança de hora.
Gosto muito de fazer o que faço, mas o descanso é imprescindível.
Na 3ª feira lá estaremos todos a perguntar como foi a folga uns dos outros...
Coisas de quem trabalha....

Cooks dinner

Hey, Chefs ! What do you want for Friday and Saturday dinners? I am doin'n the cooki'n folks, just order... not lobster , please...

I am waiting for your coments on this, just click on comments ( duh !)

Emily, FKA Emília

I threw a raisin at Emily today, and she threw another one at me, so that you all know it....

porridge?

Porridge ?
Just look at this...

Nice ?...

2 spoon full, heaped of Quacker brand oatmeal flakes, 125 ml milk, 1 spoon sugar, a bit of lemon skin but only the yellow, not the white!

All get in the pot and heat up.

Let boil gently for 2 minutes, pour into the plate. add some raisins and some honey depending on your taste. Add some ground cinammon on top.

Eat while its warm. It's food for the intire morning.

In summer time, just place it on the fridge until it is cold and eat it with fresh raspberry pureé on top.

so goooood.....

The world's best ! And Europe's too...

I should brag and brag about this, but just visit this blogg and know who is the 2006 World's Leading Boutique Resort.

Flapjacks with Pancetta

Remember the Flapjacks ?

Make that recipe and add some crispy Pancetta Affumicata on the side...

Then, to burn away these callories, you will have to run a marathon...

But its so gooooooooood.....

FlapJacks

These flapjacks are so good that I could make them my breakfast starter everyday. (starter!? If you eat 2, you are full!)

They are like Pancakes, but have corn flour and buttermilk or creme fraiche, as well.

For a 2 stack, two portions, of flapjacks (4 pieces):

• Get 2 biological farm eggs, 2 spoons of self-raising normal flour, 1 spoon of corn flour, 1 coffee spoon of baking powder and 2 spoons of creme fraiche, or Buttermilk , but I prefer the creme fraiche . Make sure that they are heaped spoons... (well, for the butter milk just add a third spoon full)
• Mix all in the mixer, but not too much, or else they get tough, and add a pinch of salt.
• Use a buttered, non-sticky, pancake pan, or as it should be done, a hot plate, and make the pancake, letting it raise a bit, until the bubbles come to the surface and flapping it, then put it on the serving dish.
• Make another one and stack it.
• Top with some fine butter and some super good old canadian mounties maple syrup.
  
  Eat hot. Delicious...

here I am

Finnally, my photo is on the blog. So that's me in Vila Joyas terrace. I wanted to take a picture where my Chef Koschina took his , just for fun! I would have to be reborn again to match his cooking magic... (a shoe shine once and a while is of no embaracement for me, folks ;-)

Be good

great genius idea for breakfast desert !

Take a look at this idea for a post breakfast desert: Green tea Tiramisú.
I am going to do it next week for the cooks breakfast.

I came across this recipe when I was surfing the web for breakfast news.

This site is great starchefs.com , it sure is well worth a visit.

Did you visit Vila Joya today?

What a day today, rain, rain, rain, it just feels like cooking for your friends all day long, and calling it breakfast...

Receitas vossas, daquelas super !

Gostaria de receber receitas vossas de pequenos almoços supimpas !
Podem enviar para o meu mail .

Including photos

I will start includind Photos in my recipes, even the ones that I already posted.

José Cortes
Vila Joya

Bilingual

Hi everyone !

This is my Blog and it is all about Breakfasts, the King's meal, as they say...
So that's why the title is 'comida de rei' which is portuguese for 'King's food'.
As of today, it will be bi-lingual, both portuguese and english writing folks may join in the fun.

And we have a sponsor as well : Hotel Vila Joya !
Aren't we posh?!.... Indeed. That's where I work, by the way. Please, visit the Vila Joya Site and Welcome to Paradise!

Clicking on the Goooooogle Ad will help as well....

More news in the days to come ! Make sure you keep coming here and, please post your coments, you are free to do it.

'Bom apetite' !

José Cortes

Crepes doces simples

Para muitos crepes !:

• 6 ovos, de preferencia , biológicos
• 125 grs creme fraiche
• 250 grs farinha
• 125 grs mel rosmaninho
• 7 cl licor grand marnier
• 2 cl licor beirão
• sementes de uma vagem de baunilha
• 30 grs manteiga clarificada
• leite meio gordo q.b.

Juntar todos os ingredientes excepto o leite e a manteiga. Misturar bem com uma varinha mágica.

Acrescentar a manteiga e misturar bem novamente.

Juntar leite para ficar com a consistencia desejada (mais liquido, crepes mais finos e mais grosso, crepes ,mais grossos). Deixar repousar no frio pelo menos 1 hora.

Ao utilizar , mexer novamente a massa.

Pincelar uma frigideira anti-aderente pequena com manteiga clarificada. Deixar aquecer.

Colocar uma quantidade de massa na frigideira e distribuir com movimento de pulso homogeneamente, pela frigideira, descartando o que estiver em demasia para o frasco.

Quando se começam a formar bolhas no fundo, tendo o crepe alguma cor tostada, não muito, dobrar o crepe duas vezes e colocar no prato.

Repetir até terminar toda a massa.

Em cada prato, com 4 crepes, peneirar um pouco de açúcar em pó e guarnecer com uma framboesa no centro.

Em cada crepe poderá colocar um ou dois pinhões.

Poderá, em alternativa, colocar um fio de molho de chocolate, compota favorita, ou simplesmente sumo de laranja ou limão, não esquecendo de polvilhar com açucar em pó.

Bom apetite.

J.C.

Ovos Mexidos Simples

Para 2 pessoas:

• 4 ovos frescos e de preferência, biológicos.
• 1 colher sopa de creme fraiche
• manteiga clarificada
• macis em pó
• 2 rodelas fininhas de pão de forma tostado
• flor de sal q.b.
• sal q.b.
• pimenta preta para moer q.b.
• folhinhas de cerefólio

Misture bem os ovos com o creme e metade do sal que crê ser necessário.

Numa frigideira anti-aderente, pincelada com manteiga clarificada, junte uma pitada de macis e deixe uns segundos até que lhe acrescenta a mistura de ovos.

Utilizando uma espátula de silicone, mexa os ovos sem parar, não deixando que fiquem granulosos e secos, mas húmidos e firmes.

Rápidamente, transfira os ovos para os pratos aquecidos, de preferência utilizando aros de metal lá colocados, para lhes dar forma.

Se preferir, poderá utilizar uma rodelinha fininha de pão de fôrma tostado por baixo de cada porção, para evitar que algum líquido saia do sítio onde os ovos estão colocados.

Por cima de cada porção, deite uma pitada, a gosto de flôr de sal e pimenta preta do moínho.

Acabe com uma folhinha de cerefólio no topo de cada porção.

Bom apetite. Sempre achei que os ovos mexidos deveriam ser cozinhados com algum segredo escondido, por serem tão simples e tão do conhecimento geral. No inicio, eu fazia os ovos como toda a gente: - mexer com um garfo, acrescentar sal, margarina ou azeite na frigideira e vá, tudo lá para dentro, mexendo de vez em quando e tudo no prato para comer. Nada pode ser mais simples e ainda assim, funciona ! Mas , ao juntar algum carinho e cuidado , faço um prato que, quem come, não esquece, embora simples, nota-se amor nele. São ovos mexidos na mesma, mas com uma nota de aquecimento de coração. E é isto que quero sempre quando faço os meus pratos. Nem sempre consigo, mas façam este prato para vocês os dois naquela manhã especial, ou para todos comerem quando acordarem numa manhã preguiçosa de Domingo. Vais ver que o dia corre melhor...

Vila Joya, o melhor do Mundo, por pessoas normais como nós.

Vila Joya fica na praia da Galé e , pessoas normais como nós, que lá trabalhamos, conseguimos, com muito amor, arte e dedicação, tornar este sítio como o melhor do Mundo este ano de 2006.

Não menciono o esforço, por este estar diluído nas horas e nos dias e nos anos dedicados a este projecto por todos aqueles que, ao longo de tantos anos, fizeram deste refúgio aquele a que os seus pares e clientes consideraram como sendo o supremo local de acolhimento e bem-estar em Todo o Mundo, turisticamente falando, obviamente.

É com este principio que pretendo construir, convosco, por favor, este Blog.
Dedicar-me-ei, com amor, ao prazer de compilar receitas e coisas que aprendo todos os dias aqui nesta casa ou noutra que me possa vir a encontrar.

Como sou o chef responsável pelos pequeno-almoços na Vila Joya, dei a este blog o nome de comida de rei, por ser esta refeição, a do pequeno-almoço, aquela onde deveremos comer melhor, como reis! (Ao almoço:- como principes e ao jantar:- como pobres. É uma boa regra geral de alimentação, se não nos esquecermos de beber liquidos entre refeições, tipo água ou sumo de frutos, etc).

Posto isto, o que me vai sair daqui são ementas e receitas para os pequenos almoços que, espero, sejam os vossos no futuro.

Nunca esqueçam, cozinhem sempre as refeições com um ingrediente indispensável : Amor. Sem ele não sai nada como deveria sair, acreditem, eu sei!

Vá, tudo para a cozinha !

Zé Cortes