Pasta a la Mamma

Home-made pasta, there is nothing better. Soft wheat semolina is the magic word. I was in a small shop for Italian food. At checkout the older grumbled something grouchy, (which must be resulting from living in Northern Germany…) owner: “Pasta? You don’t figure it out anyway.” On the question of whether he was this opinion because I’m not Italian, he replied unmoved: “My wife tried for 40 years, so you will not get out even there.” Allora! Per favore!

Venison steak with chilli and blackberry sauce

After collecting blueberries and mushrooms on my hikes over the past few weeks, now the blackberries are ripe. They’re plentiful this year, and they’re sun-kissed and sugar-sweet. I processed my harvest into a very fine sauce for the venison steak. Chilli, ginger, red and port wine and the fruity sweetness of blackberries – the sauce is really phantastic…

Carne de vinha d’alho (pork in wine-garlic sauce)

We remember this dish as a very special Christmas dinner on Madeira island. It is already a few years back, we had booked very spontaneously. Arriving on the 24th of December, without any restaurant reservation for the holidays. Just following our noses at Christmas day we ended up in a small fisherman bar near to Maddalena do Mar. The tiny bar was packed. We were the only tourists. There was no menu, and apparently only one single dish. “Christmas dinner”, they told us.