- 2 pounds boneless pork, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 1/2 cups dry white wine
- 2 tablespoons fresh red crushed pepper "Pimento Moida" or 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup Portuguese or Spanish olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground Assafroa spice
- 1 tablespoon ground Temperos Portugueses spice
- 1/2 stick of salted butter
- 10 little neck clams, scrubbed well
My hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts was naturally my very first stop on my national book tour for YOU NEVER COOK ALONE. Hard to believe that what started out as a dream is now so much fun for our entire family –both immediate and extended.
My two sons, Nathaniel and Alexander, and Nathaniel’s girlfriend, Amanda, joined me for the trip to Massachusetts. During the ride we enjoyed playing car games, listening to the mix cds my son, Alex, put together for the trip, listening to Garrison Keillor from the Prairie Home Companion (which you know I just adore) and the stops at all of our favorite restaurants. My oldest son, Nathaniel, was an excellent, very helpful and appreciated co-pilot as well. Between the two of us, the trip went pretty quickly and thankfully uneventful (besides all the fun we had). Amanda and I did have to restrain ourselves however at the Cracker Barrel Gift Shop!
I love this picture of Alex with his sunglasses on. The song we were listening to went somethin’ like … “highway to the danger zone…” from the movie Top Gun…we all knew the words and sang as loudly as we could. Alex fit the bill!
Oh, and my favorite part of the trip to Fall River (besides stopping at all the great restaurants : – ) was listening to the song YMCA by the Village People. We not only sang the song together, but made the letters Y, M, C, A with our hands. Of course I had to improvise because I naturally had one hand on the wheel! You should have seen the funny looks we got from folks as we drove down the highway!
Several hours later (thirteen to be exact), we arrived in Massachusetts safely. Keeping with family tradition, Mom had two of our favorite sandwiches waiting for us –her Portuguese Chourico Sandwiches and Chicken Salad Sandwiches!
Welcoming the press to Vavo’s kitchen…
During my visit to Fall River, Phil Devitt from the Fall River Spirit and Melissa Costa from O’Jornal (an international Portuguese newspaper) interviewed me in what was my grandmother’s tiny basement kitchen –the place where it all began. Phil’s article can be read here. Melissa’s is here.
There, in Vavo’ s tiny basement kitchen on Coral Street, we sat enjoying hot cups of coffee, my best brownies (which I made with my sister, April, in her home one morning over a cup of tea) and of course Massa, or Portuguese Sweet Bread talking about my grandmother, family, and the importance of building legacies by cooking and eating together. This place had been my refuge. It was here in this tiny kitchen I felt secure and loved. I wondered what my grandmother was thinking above. I knew she was smiling from ear to ear, most likely calling all of her friends and relatives over to the cloud above us to watch the interview take place around the table we spent so much time around. The Fall River Spirit was kind enough to place our family on the front of the newspaper. Both journalists wrote beautiful articles that brought me to tears.
REWIND: Vavo’s kitchen remains untouched after all these years…
You can view pictures and read the story behind my first trip back to Vo’s kitchen last summer after twenty years here. It was then that I realized my uncle had left the entire house as it was before her passing– like a museum.
In between interviews we made time to visit some of our favorite stops in Fall River with Amanda!
Like…
The Lizzie Borden Gift Shop, and yes, that’s an axe-shaped cookie cutter…and, of course I bought it for Halloween –could you resist?
I did not have any trouble resisting one item however…
I’ve always wondered what type of individual would purchase the Lizzie Borden House and turn it into a bed and breakfast/museum.
Old friends, New Friends and an amazing turnout
While in Fall River, I had the pleasure of meeting Fall River’s mayor, Will Flanagan, Friday afternoon before the book signing at my old grammar school, Sts. Peter and Paul. Mayor Flanagan received my book, YOU NEVER COOK ALONE, and my letter. He invited my family and me to his office and then joined us later that evening for the book signing/ceremony. What a delightful man!
We enjoyed visiting some of our friends at our favorite Portuguese grocery stores like Acoreana and Mellos
Sts. Peter and Paul School, my old alma-mater, invited me to their end-of-the-year award ceremony. They also hosted a book signing for me during the ceremony. The line was out the door, the parking lot filled and one gentleman told us he’d waited one hour and fifteen minutes in line. How warmed was my heart!
I was also honored to share the evening with distinguished alumnus Steven Cobery, who has been performing lifesaving surgeries on combat victims while serving as an Army neurosurgeon in Afghanistan. What a hero! Many thanks to Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan and the Herald News for coming out for the book signing! You can read more about the evening here.
My cousin Greta and I got chocked up as she remarked, “This feels just like Christmas Eve at Vavo’s house.” That will be a moment I will not soon forget…the reason for writing the book was to build legacies and I felt like I had done just that.
The Big Mamie
We also visited one of our favorite spots, the Big Mamie,or Battleship Massachusetts at Battleship Cove. I actually worked in the restaurant on the ship as a teenager. I loved that job!
Battleship Massachusetts was built in Quincy, Massachusetts at the Fore River Shipyard of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. The ship was launched on September 23, 1941 and holds the record as the heaviest ship ever launched in Quincy. “Big Mamie”, as her crew knew her, was delivered to the Boston Navy Yard in April 1942 and commissioned the following month.
Following her shakedown period Battleship Massachusetts went into action on November 8, 1942 as part of Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. While cruising off the city of Casablanca, Morocco, the Battleship engaged in a gun duelwith the unfinished French battleship Jean Bart, moored at a Casablanca pier. In this battle, Massachusetts fired the first American 16″ projectile in anger of World War II. Five hits from Big Mamie silenced the enemy battleship, and other 16″ shells from Battleship Massachusetts helped sink two destroyers, two merchant ships, a floating dry-dock, and heavily damaged buildings and docks in Casablanca.
I love this picture of Alex looking off into the distance and my mom and dad enjoying the beautiful view of the city they grew pup in.
While visiting Fall River we ate Portuguese sweet bread, stuffed quahogs, Chow Mein Sandwiches at Mee Sums, and my father, who also loves to cook, made Portuguese marinated pork, also known as Alentejana and in a word — it was outstanding! A little bit of this, and a little bit of that plus a lot of love made the perfect comfort food.
While visiting the Portuguese markets in Fall River, I picked up two Portuguese spices –both the Acoreana and Mellos grocers carry and ship these spices.
Assafroa is pure safflower, adds a wonderful color and flavor to egg and rice dishes and works great in marinades for Portuguese meat, pork, fish and poultry recipes. This spice worked beautifully in this recipe!
Another spice that I found added so many flavor and color to this dish was Temperos Portugueses is also great for meat marinades.
I found both of these spices at the Acoreana Market in Fall River for 50% less than other grocers or online sites costing only $1.59. What a great price!
Portuguese Pork and Littleneck Clams
In a plastic storage bowl, add pork, white wine, red crushed pepper, olive oil, Assafroa and Temperos Portugueses. Close the bag tightly, place in bowl and move the mixture around with your hands. Place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but overnight is best for maximum flavor.
Heat a skillet and melt your butter. Add pork and marinade, cover and simmer for approximately 40 minutes or until the pork is tender. Add the clams, cover and simmer five minutes more or until all clams open up.
Be sure to add salt to taste if you are not using fresh red pepper. Enjoy!
Elise,
Glad to see you enjoying and blogging about Portuguese food. I grew up in the Alentejo province in Portugal, and carne de porco Alentejana is one of my faves!
Just one small correction: there is no “a” in vovo. There are 2 versions, vóvó means grandma, and vôvô means grandpa.
Thanks for the recipes and videos!
Hi, Tony! Thanks for visiting! We always called my grandmother Vavo and it comes from Avo. Have a great day!
Thanks for explaining Elise, now it makes more sense. Actually, vóvó and vôvô are the affectionate, yound child versions of the adult version and literal translation, avó and avô, kinda like mama and papa instead of Mae and Pai. It’s all good.
Btw, I found your site after you got mentioned on Chowhound for your Chop Mein sandwich. Go figure, small world.
Link if you’d like to see it, the guy who posted it is a semi-famous local Boston food writer: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/856273
You got mentioned in the same post as Emeril, good company!
Hi, Tony!
Thanks so much for your email! I didn’t see that on Chowhound so thanks for sharing! : – ) I admire Emeril so much and hope we meet someday in person! I keep getting a little closer! : – )