tuguese Table," season two has been provided by Rhode Island PBS Foundation.

Rhode Island PBS, engaging viewers of all ages since 1967.

"Maria's Portuguese Table" is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Bay Coast Bank, providing services and financial solutions for the people and businesses of Southern New England since 1851.

(upbeat music) Underwriting for "Maria's Portuguese Table," season two, has been provided by... (upbeat music continues) On this episode of "Maria's Portuguese Table," we explore a Provincetown on Cape Cod, Massachusetts where the Portuguese immigrant experience in America began.

We will witness the famed blessing of the fleet and eat our way through some of the oldest Portuguese eating establishments in New England.

Oh my God, Mike, this is awesome.

Plus, I put my creative talents to the test today on "Maria's Portuguese Table."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (gentle music) To understand the history of the Portuguese immigrant experience in America, one must turn their attention to an area known from the very beginning as the landing spot of the European migration to North America, specifically the part of Massachusetts known as Cape Cod.

When the pilgrims on the Mayflower first landed on American shores, it wasn't at Plymouth Rock.

It was the sandy shores of Provincetown.

And as the European migration continued into the 1800s, the first Portuguese immigrants were sailors drawn to this area to fish in these waters.

Within decades, the Portuguese sailors and their families came to dominate the fishing industry here, and their presence and influence can still be felt today, especially during the Provincetown Portuguese Festival.

(upbeat folk music) The festival is four days of live music, dancing, delicious foods, all honoring our Portuguese traditions and capped with the blessing of the fleet.

(upbeat folk music continues) Before the crowds descend on the heart of Provincetown, I get the chance to meet up with the owner of one of the oldest family owned restaurants on the Cape.

(upbeat music) Mike.

- Maria.

- Hey, how are you?

- It's wonderful to see you.

- [Both] Muah, muah.

(Maria groans) - [Maria] The Mayflower Cafe has been a fixture in Provincetown since Mike's grandfather built it in 1929, and it's their Portuguese recipes that have really stood the test of time.

- Well, welcome to the kitchen of the Mayflower, Maria.

- Beautiful.

- Come on in.

We're gonna do our- - Beautiful kitchen.

- Thank you.

- All right.

- It's not bad from being since 1929.

- Is that how long it's been?

- Yeah.

My grandfather and great-uncle built this restaurant in 1929, and now my two cousins and I are the third generation here.

Cape Cod Times, local newspaper, called and said that we were the oldest restaurant on Cape Cod still in the same family.

- [Maria] The Mayflower Restaurant is living history, and so is this recipe we're going to be cooking, a Portuguese baked scrod, which has been in Mike's family for as long as he can remember.

The central ingredient is locally caught haddock.

- Here he is.

- Oh, he's beautiful.

What a beautiful- - That's a haddock.

- How do you pick a good fish?

- A good fish should have clear eyes.

The eyes should be clear.

If the eyes are all sunken in and dried out, you know it's old.

We're gonna make a first cut behind the head.

Then we're gonna make a little cut right along the bone in the back.

You wanna just follow the bone There we go.

Okay, that's one.

- Beautiful.

Now, your mom and dad, you said you were Portuguese and Greek.

- My dad is half Greek, half Portuguese.

His father was from Greece.

His mother is of Portuguese.

On my other side, my mother's father came in 1932 and started the Portuguese Bakery across the street.

So, my mother worked across the street at the bakery.

My father worked here at the restaurant, and that's how they met.

- Oh, so from your dad on this door here, looking at the- - My mother on the other side across the street.

- And here you are.

- And here I am now, the product of that.

(Maria laughs) - The product of that.

(upbeat music) - Okay, so in here, we have a mixture of white flour, corn flour, dried egg, dried milk, and a little bit of black pepper.

.

We call this clam fry, but if you notice, I don't put this in water 'cause you put this in water, you get a lot of that sticking to it.

- And it becomes lumpy.

- [Mike] You don't want a lot of bread.

You want the fish to shine through.

So we just wanna lightly coat it.

(upbeat music) - [Maria] With the filets breaded and ready to go, it's time to start the sauce.

- So we're gonna start out with a little bit of extra virgin Portuguese olive oil, of course, and then we're gonna saute in a little bit of garlic.

Stir it up a bit.

- Yep, I'll start cooking.

- So we got olive oil.

We're gonna add red and green peppers, onions.

Now we're gonna put in a little bit of black pepper.

- Beautiful.

- Bit of salt.

We have some ground cumin.

- Oh, okay.

- There's a good amount of ground cumin in this.

- Nice.

(upbeat music continues) - Some apple cider vinegar.

There's a lot of apple cider vinegar.

That gives a nice tang.

Now we're gonna add some crushed tomatoes.

I can tell you've done this before.

(Mike laughs) - A few times.

Just a few times, Mike.

- We're gonna add a little bit of water just, oh, quarter of a cup just to thin it out a bit, and then we're gonna add some chopped tomatoes.

- [Maria] Yep.

- The last ingredient is pimenta moida.

- Perfect.

- Fermented Portuguese chilies.

- Yes.

- Add that in there.

We don't wanna make it too spicy 'cause want a little bit of tingling in the back of your throat.

- It is very little, and then it's gone.

- Right, it's done.

- It doesn't linger.

It's not like, (sighs) - No, doesn't burn your mouth.

- I gotta, whoo.

No, no, not at all.

You can use the sauce right away, but it gets extra flavorful if you let it sit in the fridge for a day.

So Mike has a pre-made batch we will use to top the fish once it's fried.

(oil sizzles) Oh, that's beautiful.

- Yep, we're getting there.

(upbeat music) - There's hardly any batter on it.

Look at that.

You can actually see the fish You can, you can see it.

- Through the batter.

- You can see through it.

- Yep.

(upbeat music continues) Some of these fish filets in the bottom of the pan.

I'm gonna top it with some of the sauce.

- Oh, wow, look at that, Mike, that's gorgeous.

- Now we're gonna put it in an oven.

Everything's already cooked.

You basically want to let a little bit of that fish soak in the sauce.

- Perfect.

(calm music) Mike's passion for food is matched with his pride of his Portuguese heritage.

And to him, the weekend festival is extra special.

- For me, the best thing about Portuguese Festival is I see people that I don't see the whole rest of the year - It's a homecoming.

- Because it's a homecoming.

Portuguese Festival means family, sharing your Portuguese heritage.

- It's a party.

- I think it's gonna be a big party.

- It's a party.

Cooking with Mike is an absolute pleasure.

And after about 15 minutes in the oven, the dish is ready to taste.

Mhm, delicious.

And I'm gonna do that.

And then- - Cheers.

- Cheers.

- The fish should be nice and flaky.

- Ooh, I can smell.

I can smell all the seasonings.

- Yep, and the vinegar.

The vinegar is pronounced and the cumin.

- Oh, definitely cumin.

(relaxed music) - Mm.

- Delicious.

Oh my God, Mike, this is awesome.

- Reminds me of eating dinner at home with my mother.

- Yeah, it really is.

The Mayflower Cafe and the Portuguese baked scrod, a quintessential Provincetown, and they were the perfect way to kick off the festival weekend.

Now it was time to get out and experience P-Town.

(relaxed music continues) Hey!

Hello.

- How are you?

- I'm doing well, how are you?

- I'm good, I'm good.

- Good, good, good.

I have some friends coming.

This is Paul Silva.

He's the original Portuguese Festival person.

- He is.

(speaks Portuguese).

So now, all of you are responsible for this.

- If you're enjoying yourself, yes.

(all laugh) - Yeah.

(laughs) There are Portuguese festivals throughout the United States, and they all shine in one way or another, but there is something next level about the experience here in Provincetown.

The people, the atmosphere, the location, it makes for many feel good moments and definitely many great tasting moments.

(upbeat music) Oh, that looks really good.

So it's marinated.

- It's marinated pork.

- I think I'll try that.

- Can I get a pork roll, please?

- [Maria] And just as Mike predicted, I kept running into old friends at every turn.

- Maria.

- Yes, hi, Char.

How are you, honey?

(laughs) - That'll be nice.

- Salute.

(upbeat music continues) - Maria.

- Yes, it is.

- It's Teresa.

- Hello.

- How are you?

(Teresa laughs) How is everything?

- Good, good.

I didn't believe I was gonna find you here.

Do you know... - She already went and left.

- No, do you know how many... You know, you put a whole bunch of Portuguese people together, and we'll find each other somewhere.

- We smell the (speaks Portuguese).

- Yeah.

(laughs) - We're there.

- We're there, honey.

We're there.

- Cheers.

(Maria laughs) - How great is it to meet up with friends you haven't seen in a while?

And in the perfect spot no less to watch the parade, which was about to start on Commercial Street.

(gentle folk music) (gentle folk music continues) (spectators cheer) (upbeat folk music) Perhaps nothing bridges the generation gap quite like experiencing your shared heritage and reviving traditions that go back centuries.

(upbeat folk music continues) If you wanna see the pageantry of our culture and all its wondrous colors and sounds, there is no better setting than right here in P-Town.

(singers chant) Ooh, oh, the dancing.

(singers chant) (spectators cheer) But the Provincetown experience is not just about its Portuguese culture.

And after the parade, I took some time to explore the thriving art community here.

Provincetown is one of the oldest artist colonies in America dating back to 1899, the year Charles W. Hawthorne opened the doors to his Cape Cod School of Painting.

(gentle music) Commercial Street is populated with numerous art galleries.

And wouldn't you know it that I'd find one that features a local Portuguese artist.

Hello?

- Hello.

- Hello.

Are you Brenda?

- Welcome, I am.

- Hi, hon, how are you?

Thank you for having me here.

- Yes, yes, welcome.

- What a beautiful gallery.

- Thank you, thank you.

- Now, Brenda, I see your name on there.

- Yes.

- Or two of them?

- Two.

- They're beautiful.

- Would you like to see the rest of the gallery?

- I would love to.

(gentle music) Brenda's paintings are deeply inspired by Provincetown and the Cape.

Her family history, like so many others here, is in fishing, and this provides the underlying emotion in her paintings.

Oh my goodness, and I see you again.

Oh my God, Brenda, this is amazing.

- I showed this to my dad and he said, "Oh no," (laughs) "I feel like I'm coming home from a fishing trip," (laughs) 'cause he was a fisherman as well, and it just brought back all those memories.

- Yeah, and there's a darkness in it as well.

- Yes, it was a hard life.

I mean, it's emotional for me because at the time, I was the organist at St. Peter's Catholic Church where the service will be tomorrow, and we had some boats go down with friends, of course, because everybody knew each other, and one of the boats was red.

And I always put a red boat in my paintings just because it's always in my mind.

And playing those masses with the fishermen walking into the church, one after the other, very quiet, and it just never left my mind.

- And now it's here for all of us to see and experience.

This is beautiful.

- So hopefully my art tells a story.

- It does, it truly does.

Brenda's paintings were a great reminder that this weekend's festival is about much more than just music and dancing and food.

There's a depth and meaning to it.

And originally, it was solely about blessing the fleet of fishing boats in the hopes that no lives would be lost that year.

I think Brenda sensed that I've been quite inspired by her work because she sent me to meet up with a friend of hers, another Portuguese American artist, to get a painting lesson so I could express myself as well.

(gentle music) Derek is the fourth generation Portuguese American.

And when he's not teaching me, he's busy making true art in his studio.

He's an established painter in his own right, getting that creative bug at an early age.

His work reflects the Cape and his use of light in his paintings is something to behold.

So do you ever paint down here too?

- I do.

- You've got the lily pads.

You've got the fresh, the woods.

- It's like a Monet painting.

- [Maria] It is Monet.

- That's right.

- Oh my goodness.

So, what are we doing here?

- I think today we're just gonna start with the sky and the clouds, show you how to do that.

- Okay.

- [Derek] First we're gonna start with white.

- Wonderful.

- More than that.

- More than that.

- Even more.

- Even more.

- Even more.

(both laugh) And just a little bit of the Cerulean blue.

(upbeat music) - It's just like dough.

- Yeah, it's like baking.

- It is baking.

(Derek laughs) - Get the brush a little wet.

Get some paint on your brush, and then just go for it.

Going back and forth.

- Oh, nice!

(gasps) I like this.

With this going back and forth, it is like frosting, you know?

It really is.

And we're just going in.

- Yep.

(upbeat music continues) Perfect.

- Derek makes painting fun and easy.

I'm trying to give it motion.

Is that good?

- Yeah, it looks great.

- [Maria] And it's not long before we're making happy little clouds in a way I certainly did not expect.

- [Derek] Sometimes I actually use my fingers.

- Do you really?

- Yeah.

Do you wanna do some finger painting?

(laughs) - I will do finger painting.

I will gladly do it.

We're gonna do it together?

- Yeah.

- Oh, okay.

- Little paint on your fingers.

- Just a little bit?

- Yeah.

- Both fingers or one?

- Yeah, whatever you want.

- Oh, I wanna do both.

- There's no rules.

- Oh, there's no rules.

(Derek laughs) Okay, I love this.

- [Derek] And then just kind of in a swirling motion.

- Oh I like that.

That's a beautiful cloud.

- Kinda looks like a cloud.

- It looks like a cloud to me.

All right, I'm gonna try.

(upbeat music) - [Derek] And let's try to keep 'em all like going in that direction.

- Going this way?

- Yeah.

- Oh, okay.

I was feeling like I found my groove, finger painting these clouds, but then when I went back to the brush to paint the grass, I think I lost it.

(upbeat music continues) Yeah?

Eh, yeah?

- Perfect, no, that's great.

- [Maria] You're the artist.

I don't know.

Yeah.

- All right.

Let me try.

- Yeah, I'm like... - [Derek] Here, let's just fill the whole bottom in.

(both laugh) - Let's erase what you did.

- No, we're adding to it.

- You stink, Maria.

(laughs) - I never said that.

- (laughs) Yes.

- I think it's implied.

I think this is implied.

So, Picasso I am not, but the great thing about painting is that really there are no rules.

At least for me, it was all about having fun.

I see it.

- Looks like a photograph.

- Oh my God, completely.

(upbeat music continues) Thank you.

Thank you so much.

As dawn breaks over the Cape the next morning, I realize I had some time before the blessing of the fleet was to begin.

So I decided to kick off my day by visiting another fixture in the P-Town community, the Portuguese Bakery.

This establishment has been a bakery since 1900.

And through the generations, it passed through several Portuguese families.

Now, it's run by Chuck and George, who still use the original recipes that have been passed down over the years.

(relaxed folk music) The Portuguese Bakery has an assortment of delicious pastries, breads, coffees, and the like, but I'm here for one thing and one thing only, the malassadas.

- Portuguese fried dough.

Unbelievable.

Can't go through P-Town without getting it.

- All right, George, we're making malassadas.

- Malassadas.

- We're gonna start with putting salt in a bowl.

- So a handful of salt.

True Portuguese recipe, a handful of this, a pinch of that.

No measuring cups.

- A double handful of sugar.

- [Maria] A double handful of sugar.

Now, where did you get this recipe?

- It was passed down from the previous owners, was passed down to them from the previous.

We're only the fourth owners of the business in 96 years.

- Wow, so we can't go wrong with 100 year old recipe, can we?

- Exactly.

- All right, we have roughly about three cups of milk.

- Okay.

- 12 or so ounces of butter.

All right, we have nine whole eggs.

(upbeat music) - Okay, and then the (indistinct), what is that?

- Yeast, we've got about a third of a cup.

We want to try to dissolve it best we can, break it up.

Play with your food.

- Yes.

(laughs) There's nothing wrong with that, is there?

- No.

- No.

Oh.

Just like the mixer at home, except it's huge.

- Probably a lot noisier.

(mixer sputters) We're gonna take our yeast we dissolved.

- Yep.

And you just add it to the egg, the butter, the milk.

- [George] As it's mixing.

- Oh, and then the flour, okay.

- [George] And this is one of those touchy feely things.

- [Maria] Some things in a bakery are just simply a matter of feel, while other things are a matter of trust in modern machinery.

- Once you start to see it come together, - Yep, which it is.

- I will up the speed a little bit.

This mixture does not like number four.

(upbeat music) And that just whips until it pulls together.

- It's whipping.

- It's whipping it all together really fast.

(mixer whirls) (upbeat music continues) - I don't know if this is gonna go through the floor or walk out the back door.

- I know, I know, I know.

- I'm not sure.

(laughs) (upbeat folk music) - As we let this monster of a mixing machine do its work for 15 minutes, I was reminded of how my mother and aunts would make malassadas much differently when I was growing up.

Growing up, you know, we did not have a machine to do this.

We did this all by hand.

So it was a lot of arm muscle work and getting that and having that feel.

So how does that feel now.

- Between a batter and a dough.

It's not as runny as a batter, but it's definitely not as thick as a bread dough.

- We're gonna let this one rest.

- We'll let that one rest.

We have one ready to go, and we're gonna grab that from the cooler.

- Look how beautiful that is.

- Pretty much doubles.

- It doubles in size.

We're gonna fry these babies.

- Take this up to the fryer.

- All right, let me up here.

As if there isn't enough excitement in front of the bakery, the malassadas actually get fried in the front window of the store.

(upbeat folk music) - Just take a pinch.

- Oh, okay.

- Rough, stretch.

And drop.

- [Maria] Oh, you do that, and you press it down, and you're pulling at the same time.

- If you don't do the pull, it contracts.

- Our hands are going in oil 'cause the dough is very sticky.

I'm going in.

- Sure, then switch.

- And then like that?

- Perfect.

- Okay, perfect.

(upbeat folk music continues) Oh, I don't think I stretched this one good enough.

Is that okay?

And then this one.

- No, it looks good.

- Ooh, we got one.

- Yes.

- Awesome, okay.

And then I think this one too.

This is a well-oiled machine really, truly.

Okay, so, I'll make this.

I'm doing a lousy job here.

I'm going as fast as I can.

We have a line of people wanting this now.

- [George] The customers are gonna be thrilled 'cause that's huge.

- They're gonna be...

Okay, I'm gonna back up here.

I'm gonna have you 'cause I know you can go much faster than I can.

(George laughs) The final step in the process is dipping the fried dough in what they call dirty snow, mainly granulated sugar with a touch of cinnamon.

There you go, honey.

Enjoy, all right.

They're nice and warm.

- Just one.

- Just one.

Oh, I'll get you the nicest one.

(customer laughs) (relaxed jazz music) It is hot.

It is really hot.

Enjoy.

- Thank you, have a nice day.

(relaxed jazz music continues) - Oh, how cute.

- Oh, cute.

- Hi.

Hi, sweetheart.

(Maria laughs) (relaxed jazz music continues) I think I'm getting the hang of it, George.

(George laughs) I think I'm doing it.

(relaxed jazz music continues) After helping George get the line of people down, I finally earned my time to try a malassada myself.

Aw, George, thank you, honey.

Come on, have a seat with me.

I've been waiting.

I've been waiting.

I've been waiting for that malassada.

Do you enjoy this too?

- Very much.

- Very much so.

Okay, I'm gonna have one.

I'm gonna go in, folks.

(relaxed jazz music continues) Oh, it's delicious.

It's light.

It's not greasy.

I can even taste a little bit of the cinnamon.

It's a hint.

It's a nice little hint.

It's delicious, folks.

You're gonna have to come down to P-Town.

You're gonna have to come to the Portuguese Bakery here on Commercial Street, and you're gonna have to try this yourself 'cause let me tell you, it'll be worth it.

Later on that day, after enjoying my malassada, I head over to MacMillan Pier to check out the time-honored tradition of the blessing of the fleet.

(bells ring) (gentle music) - Aw, yay!

It is my honor to announce the culmination of the Annual Provincetown Portuguese Festival to continue with the 75th annual blessing of the fleet.

- It's a tradition that's been running basically the same for the last 75 years, and it marks the start of the local fishing season.

(gentle music continues) (bells ring) The slow moving procession starts at the church and makes its way to the end of MacMillan Pier.

It's a much more somber tone than the party that there was yesterday, but it's beautiful nonetheless.

(gentle music continues) The bishop doing the blessing is originally from Brazil, and wouldn't you know it, once in the boat, I got to meet him.

(both speak Portuguese) (Maria laughs) Thank you so much.

Thank you, it was wonderful meeting you.

- My pleasure, thank you.

- And I'll try to get those Brazilian dishes going as fast as I can.

All right, thank you.

- Thanks.

(relaxed music) When the ceremony begins, the bishop blesses each of the boats one by one with holy water.

- [Announcer] One for the Donna Marie and the King family.

(relaxed music continues) (Maria cheers) (spectators cheer) (relaxed music continues) - You know, this is my first time being here to do this.

And I have to tell you, it's really beautiful.

It's a beautiful experience.

There is an absolute feeling of how important our fishermen are and the blessing of the fleet in making sure that they have a safe year, no lives are lost 'cause it's a dangerous, dangerous job.

It's really beautiful.

The blessing of the fleet and the Portuguese Festival in Provincetown was everything I hoped it would be and more, a weekend to celebrate traditions, heritage, art, and food.

- Cheers.

- Cheers.

And one that has to be experienced firsthand, and I am so glad that I did.

I'll see you next time for yet another adventure for food and fun on "Maria's Portuguese Table."

(upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) Underwriting for "Maria's Portuguese Table," season two has been provided by Rhode Island PBS Foundation.

Rhode Island PBS, engaging viewers of all ages since 1967.

"Maria's Portuguese Table" is made possible by the generous sponsorship of Bay Coast Bank, providing services and financial solutions for the people and businesses of Southern New England since 1851.

(upbeat music) Underwriting for "Maria's Portuguese Table," season two has been provided by... (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music)