Ameriguese Cuisine

There is something so special and almost intimate about food. When you break bread with others, you connect with them. You open up and they do, too. I love cooking and connecting with people over food. Any food. Sweet, savory, drive through, high end... It doesn't matter, I love it all. Not just for the delicious flavors, but for the connection.

My mother's family moved to California from Terceira, one of the Azorean islands off the coast of Portugal, back in the 50s. I was raised in Washington, so I wasn't brought up within the Portuguese culture, and when I moved to California in my teens I was way too cool to try to talk to my grandpa about his life, my heritage, especially with the language barrier. I never even really considered it until I was 22 and my grandpa passed and I had a new baby and a toddler at home. I realized I had wasted such a beautiful opportunity to connect with my roots and now I don't have that to pass to my children. After that realization I started researching where my family is from, what their life was like, their language, their food, and the culture and traditions on their island and Portugal as a whole

I have always enjoyed cooking, but, for me, cooking Portuguese food is cooking with a purpose. I cook Portuguese food to connect with family that is no longer here, to connect with my roots, to share my heritage with my family, and most importantly, to show respect for my family that is no longer here. With all of those emotional connections regarding Portuguese cooking, it's a huge blessing that the food is so good!! Super Bowl Sunday is almost here, and I am always looked at to bring food. My in-laws love the different flavors and aromas I present, and this year I don't plan to let them down.

The bifana is the national sandwich of Portugal, and for good reason. It's freakin' amazing. There are different ways to prepare the pork. I've seen it with very thinly sliced pork tenderloin (my favorite way to make it) and I've seen it done with thin pork chops or cutlets. No way is wrong, but today I'm doing MY bifanas, which have the same flavor profile, but with some American twists to it.

I start pulling ingredients out of the fridge to prepare my marinade for the pork. I like to thinly slice the pork for my sandwiches, but since I'm preparing for a crowd tonight, I'm going to do it the way the kids like it; slow cooked and shredded, barbecue style. I roughly cut my pork up and stab the cuts all over with a fork to help the marinade really penetrate the meat. I set the pork aside and pull out a clean bowl and add some red wine, a couple cloves of minced garlic, salt, smoked paprika, vinegar, a couple of bay leaves, and a generous dollop of piri-piri sauce. I mix it well with a wire whisk and add in the pork cuts. I toss the pork around a bit to make sure it's all well coated and then cover it with cellophane and put it in the fridge. I'll probably stir it again before bed and then again in the morning to really make sure that marinade is getting to every single inch of pork.

Now it's time to make the buns. I normally serve bifanas on a papo seco, which is a Portuguese white roll formed by folding a circle of dough in half and then pinching the ends. They have a very distinct look and you can spot on a mile away, but again, today I'm making them my style. I love how quickly this bread comes together. Massa sovada (Portuguese sweet bread) is an all day project, where the papo secos come together in a matter of hours. I start by dissolving 2 1/4 teaspoons of active, room temperature yeast in 1/2 cup of warm water with a couple of teaspoons of white sugar in the bowl of my stand mixer. After about 5 minutes or so, once the yeast is fully dissolved, I add about 4 cups of flour and mix with my paddle attachment. Once all the flour is incorporated, I add more, half a cup at a time, until I have a dough that is still soft and moist, but pulls away from the bowl. I cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise for about 15 minutes, then I mix again. I cover again and this time I let it sit until it's doubled in size. This usually takes about an hour or two, but this time I'm just going to let it sit over night. I live in a pretty mild climate, so I don't have to worry about the dough getting too warm and rising over the edge of the bowl.

When I wake up the next morning I check the dough and it has risen beautifully. I then punch the dough down and form it into 2 inch balls placed about 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet. I once again cover the dough with a clean towel and let them double again while I make the family breakfast. The second rise should only take 30-60 minutes. Once they've risen again, I bake the rolls at 350* until golden brown.

I then take the marinated pork cuts out of the fridge and dump the entire bowl into the pressure cooker, marinade and all. I cook it in there for about an hour. It could do less, but it makes it super easy to shred and I like to give the flavors time to really permeate. Once it's done, I take the cuts out and shred them with a fork. I also cut the rolls in half. I made them small enough so that I can make sliders today. I line a casserole dish with the bottom of the papo seco sliders and, using a pastry brush, I brush them with a yellow mustard, then I pile the shredded pork on top. I pour the liquid from the pot into a saucepan and reduce it down to about half of the original volume. While that is reducing, I take a large sweet onion and cut it into strips and sauté it over medium to medium high heat with butter and olive oil. Once the onions are nice and caramelized and the sauce has reduced down and thickened, I pile the onions on top of the pork and drizzle the sauce all over the sliders. Half of the sliders get cheese (that's for the kids) and the other half gets more mustard and a liberal slathering of peri-peri sauce. I place the top of the rolls on top, brush it with some butter and bake until hot, golden brown, and the cheese is melted.

There you have it. The perfect Portuguese sandwich adapted to an American slider, perfect for Game Day. It's American and it's Portuguese and it beautifully represents the blending of my Portuguese roots and my American life. It's me on a plate.

Make sure to set aside a few for yourself, they'll go quickly!!