@mig & I were discussing homemade pasta in another thread and this is the end result. Spinach Pasta wrapped sausage links in a homemade bechamel sauce, topped with melted cheddar cheese and carrots on the side. I know it sounds a little strange, but it was really good!!
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Thank you, dear. Update is here for thems that care.
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That looks and sounds absolutely delicious. I really can’t wait to be back in my own kitchen again.
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We moved to our next place - Manteigas. Portugal winter sport place but also a great place in the summer for hiking etc. The hotel has a great location up a steep and winding road about 500m directly above the town with an unbelievable view (and the two pics don’t do enough justice for that view.)
The hotel also has a restaurant https://casadesaolourenco.pt/en/ focusing on local produce, meats and cheeses. You can pick a few prix-fixe menus or go a la carte. Overall excellent food and service
View by day and night
To start - some bread, ham, olives, olive oil, mushroom “jam” and raw cod
Amuse bouche - mushroom tempura
Between Mountains Menu:
Beetroot Salad, fresh green asparagus, pine nuts, wild mint
Roasted pumpkin cream, chives, croutons, heather honey
Wild boletus tagliatelle with mountain herbs, regional goat cheese, egg yolk, truffle
Traditional sweet rice, “ovos moles”, crunchy rice, heather honey
Menu Tradition:
Mountain goat pie, wild mint, pickled carrots
Oven made atlantic fish soup, coriander, fleur de sel
“Lagareiro Algarve” octopus, caramelized onions puree, roasted garlic, seasonal kale, parsley
Bowl meat, “migas de pingo”, green asparagus, reserved ham, pickled carrots, orange
Almond and “cova da beira” apple tarte, lemon, yoghurt
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No pictures, but BF wanted bar type food (wings, etc.) and I wanted something somewhat healthier, so while he got a bunch of fried stuff, I got broiled salmon, roasted potatoes, and broccoli. Hit the spot.
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Leftover grilled lamb kebabs with the works: pita, raita, hummus, Greek salad, marinated olives and feta.
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I can hardly wait to try to replicate that dinner, it looks so delicious!!
I would eat it every week if I could! 
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I made tofu meatballs loosely based on this Bon Appetit recipe (amped up the seasoning and herbs, of course) served with marinara sauce and high-protein pasta. Side of sauteed crimini mushrooms and spinach. Hit the spot.
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Stonefire flat bread pizza. Marinara sauce, Italian sausage, onion, garlic, peppers, rpf, burrata and basil. Corn salad, red onion, parsley, cider vinegar & oo dressing. Pizza was meh, salad was good.
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Leftover halibut nuggets, witholives and wilted cherry tomatoes, over TJ’s cacio e pepe ravioli. Shredded myzithra .
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Oooh. I’m inspired by your tofu meatballs. I went to the Bon Appetit link you included but I need to sign up to view the recipe even when I tried via ‘incognito’. But I think I’ve found a reasonably similar recipe online which I can riff off. I end up with too much tofu as I’m the only one who will eat it at home. Maybe these 'meat’balls will win over the others!
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We finally made it to Kramer restaurant we’d planned to check out last week, but my GD summer cold had us cancel.
Due to a severe storm with 85mph winds* forecast for roughly around dinner time, we changed the rez to 9pm, hoping the worst of it would have passed by then.
The storm was intense, but very short-lived. By 7pm it was all over, and you wouldn’t have known it had ever happened: blue skies and sun were back. Just a lot of branches everywhere. Typical Berlin 
Since the weather had calmed down we decided to take my Vespa into the epicenter of hipsterdom, Neukölln/NewBrooklyn.
Service was very American, with lots of young & enthusiastic servers, and fun 90s music playing in the background. I had a pisco punch with pineapple and lime that was refreshing & not too sweet, while my dude started off with a local pilsner, then moved on to a very nice rosé.
The amuse was a blood-red beet ‘elixier’ with a touch of sea salt & chili oil. Very refreshing, very beety, and served in bowls one of the kitchen staff makes himself!
We shared grilled baby romaine with pomegranate dressing,
white asparagus with a cashew-miso sauce,
and the main attraction I’d been salivating over since I saw their IG pics: the picanha w/chimichurri, which we ordered med-rare. Everything came together. The picanha was medium, so we flagged down a server to have it remade.
The server said we could keep it and “snack on it while waiting for the next steak,” but we weren’t interested in spoiling our appetite.
The salad with pom dressing was a-ok, probz coulda used a bit more char from the fire, and the dressing needed salt.
The asparagus my PIC did absolutely not want to share initially was the most interesting and delicious dish of the night, with a rich, creamy & deeply flavorful miso-cashew (!) sauce & yeast sprinkled on top.
The second round of picanha was cooked perfectly & appropriately beefy. Our chimi is better, tho 
Overall, a very nice meal, but not something to add to my master list. We’re glad we tried it — even the NYT did a write-up in 2023,
which we discovered posted outside the door on our way out. Since I was driving, the speakeasy visit as per @medgirl’s recommendation had to wait for another time.
*Not to be one of those folks, but I could swear we didn’t have winds like that when I was growing up in the last century. Not as strong, and not nearly as often.
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I’ll PM you the recipe.
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Thanks 
Our hotel in Manteigas has a sister hotel relatively close by with another very good restaurant, Nubbin https://casadaspenhasdouradas.pt/en/ - even a little bit higher up in the mountains. Our positive streak of great food in Portugal continued with another very enjoyable night.
Couvert - regional bread selection, butter, regional fresh cheese
Amouse bouche - octopus salad
Duck and mushroom “escabeche”, low temperature egg, rye croutons, chives
Sauteed fresh mushrooms, truffle, cashew cream, tawny port wine, rye bread, leaves
Cauliflower cream soup, wild prawns, asian vegetables, cilantro
Seared beef steak, potato mille-feuille, truffle mayonnaise, fresh mushrooms, beef jus
Traditional cured cod “bras”, olive “tapenade”, fresh parsley, onion pickles
“Serrano” IGP lamb pithivier, spices crumble, roasted potatoes, chives cream, pickled mushrooms
Peanut and caramel brownie, madagascar vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate sauce, stout
“Cova de beira” apple cream, spices crumble, yoghurt ice cream, lemon, ginger
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Your photos are great as always, and I’m also struck by how many shades of brown there are in Portuguese cooking. 
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Voting time for Cookbooks of the Quarter – come join in if you would like to cook along with the group.
The first selection (by popular nomination) was Julia Turshen.
We are voting for the second selection, for which there was a tie between Maangchi and Meera Sodha.
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Our buddy’s bride arrived this morning from somewhere in Asia (I can’t keep track — she was in HK, Okinawa, Penang, Singapore….) & entertained herself by visiting a mediocre Cambodian place near her hotel, then bopping around the hood until she could finally check into her room. We’d offered up our place to hang, but she preferred to explore the surroundings instead. She grew up in Tsing Tao & said some of the architecture reminded her of home (!).
Our buddy wasn’t nearly as lucky. His flight out was delayed, he missed his connection in IAD, and had to rebook through ORD. That flight was also 2 hours delayed, which made him miss his connection in Munich. He finally got in around 6:45pm. Poor guy 
We met them in the lobby and took them to the street festival that’s taking place this weekend literally on our street (6min from their hotel) so they could grab a bite to eat to take back to the room. They were beat, understandably, and just grabbed a spinach & cheese gözleme to share, with possible K-dog chaser 
My PIC and I decided to finally hit up our other favorite Turkish restaurant that we hadn’t been to this entire time. WTF! Their house special kebab is the main draw for us, which is made with chopped lamb (vs. ground, like Adana or other kebabs), cheese, and pistachios, with more pistachios strewn atop. Be still, my heart 
We shared 10 of their fantastic midye (I could make a meal of those alone) & haydari as our apps, both of which were as good as ever.
The kebab was orgasmic. Ain’t no other way to put it.
Freshly made ayran for me, Coke for the Mister.
Nice to have a highly satisfying dinner after the recent string of disappointing meals 
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