Well, it’s finally here! After 5 years of blogging with you all, my first cookbook, “Easy Portuguese Cookbook: Recipes to Bring Home the Flavors of Portugal” is being published! Writing a cookbook has been a trip! I was first contacted by my publisher in November of 2019 with interest in turning what they see here into a book focused on Portuguese cuisine for those who have traveled to Portugal or would love to! It didn’t take me long to decide to meet the challenge!
As soon as the contracts were signed, I was off and running! Outlines and deadlines were set out for the coming months and lots of long nights and recipe testing all over the place! It has been so much fun delving into not only the recipes, but stories from my family, some long told and some newly discovered from my parents. My grandparents all passed away long before I started this site and holding on to them is something I do each time I reach back for a traditional recipe. The ability to pass on those traditions to my children in book form is something I will be forever grateful for.
The first chapter is filled with information about Portugal itself and where certain dishes are derived from. And throughout the book, readers can learn how my family uses certain recipes or when or how I learned them. I talk about my first trip to my grandmother’s village, Povoacao in St. Michael, Azores and how much the island has changed in the decades since. Sharing my culture with my American husband has been fun and that’s in there too!
Not everything in the book is traditional though, I do add some Stacy spin to some of the recipes and update a few of the classics to make them a little easier to make in today’s modern American kitchen. Recipes are easy to follow and execute. I also am well aware that not everywhere across this country has access to all the wonderful Portuguese shops that stock so many fantastic supplies, so in the book I highlight some of my favorite places to order from! If you need to make something quickly, I offer substitution solutions too!
This week the book has gone into pre-order and I couldn’t be more excited! It will be available in major book stores throughout the U.S. and Canada and can be pre-ordered now on Barnes&Noble and Amazon! So, order your copy today and visit my family’s homeland, Portugal through my eyes!
