Fado & Petiscos — a perfect Portuguese house party
We hosted the most magical dinner party. Friends/coworkers were up visiting from Lisbon and our Porto Airbnb had a lovely deck so we decided to make the most of it and go all out.
It’s not easy cooking and entertaining in someone else’s home, especially with a small kitchen, but we planned it meticulously so that we would have enough dishes.
We pulled it off with:
Private Fado musicians
Heat lamps we rented
Lots of candles from Ikea
The weekend before I made an Ikea run to puck up some extra wine glasses, water glasses, espresso cups, and candle holders. It was a bit of a splurge to spend €100 on things we won’t be keeping long term, but decided we’d bring them to our next Airbnb (where we also be hosting a party) and then see if our local friends want to take them off our hands.
Private Fado musicians — a singer, a melody guitarist, and a rhythmic guitarist arrived at our place. We poured them wine and after a bit they played for us. Our neighbors opened their windows and stepped out onto their patios to listen in. Sadly they had another gig at a restaurant so they couldn’t stay to eat with us.
The Menu
Snacks
Bread
olive oil
roasted garlic
olives
Charcuterie:
cheeses
meats
nuts and dried fruit.
Warm plates:
Roasted potatoes with garlic and herb aioli
Cherry tomato and garlic shrimp
Scrambled eggs with asparagus and parmesan
Roasted broccolini
Roasted mushrooms
Dessert:
Ginja (cherry liquer drunk out of minichocolate cups)
Strawberries, cherries and grapes
Nutella
Dark chocolate
