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Bacalhau - Portugese fishcakes (My uncle is from Portugal, so we eat a lot of Portugese food around Christmas time to remind him of home)
Technically,
bacalhau is just the Portuguese name for the fish (the good old codfish,
Gadus morhua, quite plentiful at the North Atlantic shores). If your
bacalhau fishcakes are anything like ours (
bolinhos de bacalhau in Brazil,
pastéis de bacalhau in Portugal), they're deep-fried balls of potato and codfish, ideally with a crunchy exterior and a soft interior, usually served with olive oil (that's right, we throw
more oil after it's been
deep-fried).
Bolinhos de bacalhau are a staple of junk food here in Brazil, and not just during Christmas, typically washed down with copious amounts of draft beer (
chopp) or, if youre at a Portuguese restaurant, a nice Portuguese wine. Codfish-based main courses are also very, very popular for Christmas supper, but even more so as a hearty Good Friday lunch.
I've had my share of
bolinhos de bacalhau this Christmas, but mostly it was turkey, and chestnut purée, and potatoes, and pork loin. In fact, I am proud to report that the latter was the first time I cooked something for Christmas, and the success of that endeavor is attested by the complete lack of leftovers, despite it being a fairly big (2.4kg, or about 5lb) piece of pork.
Oh, we also had chocolate and nut cake, and apple pie, and of course
rabanadas (French toast, sort of; which for some reason we only eat this time of the year).
I know this has got nothing to do with gaming, but I can't resist food talk. Though truth be told, I have in the past considered throwing a gaming dinner party (inspired in no small measure by Benoist's classic "gaming banquet" photo), but I'm not sure some (maybe most) of the people I'm currently gaming with would be quite appreciative... I can't even persuade them to chip in for pizza half of the time, they just bring up those disgusting snacks and soda and that's it. Cheap fucks. :mad: