Customer of the Month: Antonio Camelo

Christmas is one of the most celebrated holidays all throughout the world. It's a time of joy, reviving older traditions and celebrating new family traditions, a magical time for children, and a time of love and generosity. 

In Portugal, Christmas is the most beloved holiday. Christmas Day is a day of rest while Christmas Eve is the main day of celebration where families and friends get together to enjoy dinner and celebrate until late enjoying Port wine and coffee while socializing, laughing, and playing games.

If Christmas means one thing in Portugal, it's family. For decades, Authentic Pizza Ovens have carried forward the essence of simplicity and old-world cooking, uniting families and communities, fostering togetherness and the creation of enduring memories through the authentic practice of wood-fired cooking. 

We are proud to offer some of the most distinguished authentic ovens in the world handmade and crafted with quality natural materials by some of the most talented artisans in a local town just north of Lisbon, Portugal. 

In honor of Portugal and our timeless Portuguese ovens, we are excited to feature one of our very own Portuguese natives and his family, Antonio Camelo. 

Where are you from and a little background information on you?

My name is Antonio Camelo, and I live with my wife, Lina, and my two boys; Adrian, 18, and Ozzie, 15. I was born in Sao Miguel Azores, Portugal, and came to America in 1977 when I was seven years old.

My wife was also born in Portugal, in Lisbon, and she came to the states when she was just a baby. I was a former chef at a popular restaurant in Massachussetts, and my wife and I met at Houlihan's restaurant in Boston.

I told her that I wasn't interested in dating a Portuguese girl because I had 5 sisters and 3 brothers and that was enough, haha, but she was such a beautiful person and I couldn't resist!

Today, I am a sales coordinator at a food distribution company and my wife is a school teacher. My hobbies are gardening, I especially love growing figs, and I enjoy playing soccer. Nothing brings me as much joy as spending time with my family, and cooking as much as I can! 

Some of my fondest memories are when my mother was alive. We used to spend all the holidays together and it was always so special to me. I especially could not wait till Christmas! We grew up poor so there were not a lot of gifts, but as we got older and my sisters had children of their own, our family became bigger with many more gifts.

We celebrated on Christmas Eve and opened gifts when the clock struck midnight. However, we had to wait until our mother came home from midnight mass, so you can imagine how anxious we got!

I remember while in Portugal, we had to leave a shoe by the fireplace and in exchange, Santa Clause or (Pai Natal in Portuguese) would leave us a gift!

Which oven did you choose and why did you choose an Authentic Pizza Oven?

I chose the Maximus Larger Portable oven in red. I loved its unique modern design, lighter weight, and versatility. Especially, its larger internal cooking space of all the oven options, so I could cook 8 to 10 8" pizzas a time which is perfect when cooking for our large family and friends' gatherings.

Being Portuguese, it was not a difficult choice for me to choose Authentic Pizza Ovens, as I appreciated the fact the ovens are all made in Portugal so I knew I would genuinely be getting a quality authentic wood-fired oven.

Also, their customer service team was amazing throughout the process, further solidifying my choice to purchase from their company. 

Did you build a set up or have someone else do it? 

I built my own wooden stand and set it up near my garden. I enjoy gardening and I have it set up near my basil where I can easily pluck fresh basil for my pizzas while cooking. 

Related: All About Your Authentic Pizza Oven

What is your favorite thing to cook in your oven? And have you tried other foods besides pizza?

Because I’m Portuguese I love cooking Portuguese food and one of my favorite things to make in my pizza oven is Ameijoas Abulhao Pato (Clams in a garlicky white wine sauce with lemon and cilantro) and Bacalho Com Batatas (A salty dried cod with potatoes). 

Of course, I also like to make pizza and create different styles and types of pizza when entertaining friends. Shrimp pesto with caramelized onions topped with pistachio with a splash of truffle oil is a must-try!

My son's favorite pizzas are Pasta Bolognese and Margarita pizza, and figs from my fig plants and Gorgonzola with balsamic glaze are a family favorite! 

My mother would always cook Portuguese food. Octopus, Bacalhau (salted cod), Portuguese sausage called Linguica, blood sausage and all different types of fish.

There are 3 dishes that we eat today that are rumored to be introduced to the states. Many people from the azores moved to Hawaii and started growing their own fruits, one of those being pineapple.

We grew so many pineapples that they ran out of ideas on what to do with them, so we invented the dreaded pineapple pizza!! We introduced tempura and there is also a rumor we invented chowder.

When fishermen went out to sea for long periods of time, they started getting tired of eating the same stuff over and over again.

One day a fisherman told the cook to make him something different, so the cook made a cream based soup with fish and potatoes. And when the man ate it, he told the cook that it was so good that it made him chorar! Chorar means cry in Portuguese. See the similarities chorar-chowder.

We went on vacation to the Azores last year with a few of our friends. We rented a house and I cooked Portuguese meals 3 different nights and still to this day my friends can’t stop talking about how amazing the island was and how much fun we had cooking and spending time together, it was magical!

We went to visit my house where I was born and visited many of the farms and pineapple fields that my father used to work at when we lived there.

Related: Beyond Italy: Unveiling the Hidden Gems of International Pizza Styles

Salted Cod Fish “Bacalhau a gomes de sa“

Ingredients

• 2lbs salted cod fish soaked in water for 48 hours( be sure to change water once a day)
• 2lbs potatoes
• 2 large spanish onions
• 3 bay leaves
• 4 garlic cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 8-10 blacks olives
• 1/4 cup portuguese oile oil

Directions:

1. Heat your wood-fired oven to approximately 395 degrees Fahrenheit/ 200 degrees celsius. 
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into thick slices. 
3. Add water to your Portuguese Terra Cotta dish and add your cut potatoes, 3 bay leaves, and 2 garlic cloves and bring it to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked half-way. *Do not cook the potatoes all the way through*
4. Remove your potatoes from the water and save the water in the dish. 
5. Slice the onions into thin strips and saute with 3 tbsp of olive oil until it turns slightly brown, then add 2 garlic cloves and cook until the onions are golden brown. 
6. Get your water pot and add the fish along with the eggs into the potato water and cook for about 10 minutes.
7. Once the fish and eggs are finished, remove them, and now it is time to start layering! 
8. Add 2 tbsp of olive oil to the bottom of the dish. Then add a layer of potatoes first then add your fish to the top of the potatoes and spread your onions on top of the fish. Repeat the process until you've layered with all the ingredients. 
9. Add your dish back into your oven and cook for another 10 minutes.

Once cooked, cut the eggs into wedges and place on top of the dish with olives. ENJOY! 

Portuguese Clams

First, soak 2 lbs. of little necks in salt water for about 3 hours, and then repeat until you get rid of the sand. 

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive 
• 1 whole garlic sliced or chopped 
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/4 stick unsalted butter
• 1 lemon 
• Cilantro

Directions

1. Heat your wood-fired oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit / 149 degrees Celsius 
2. In a saute pan, add your olive oil and garlic and cook for about 1 minute, then add the clams and white wine and cook until the clams open. 
3. Remove from the oven and incorporate butter into the pan until the butter melts. Then squeeze half a lemon and add cilantro.
4. Mix everything together until the juice is mixed well with the claims. 

* Best eater with toasted baguette to soak up the delicious juice!*  

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN BEING FEATURED AS CUSTOMER OF THE MONTH - please email Amber@authenticpizzaovens.com

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