We're starting off autumn with a delicious September edition of 'My Portugal,' our newsletter series celebrating Portuguese culture through conversations with friends of Portugalia Marketplace.

Dan Pelosi is the Italian meatball making meatballs behind GrossyPelosi, the popular Instagram favorite for all things comfort and food. Approachable and tasty, Dan's recipes are meant to be shared and celebrated with the ones you love.

Dan's first cookbook, Let's Eat, was an instant New York Times bestseller, and his Big Italian Sandwich Puzzle is the first-ever deli sandwich jigsaw puzzle (as far as he knows!). Dan is a contributor to New York Times Cooking and appears regularly on Good Morning America. He splits his time between Brookyln and upstate New York, but you can always find him online at @grossypelosi.

Portugalia Marketplace: GrossyPelosi has become a beloved destination for home cooks who crave nostalgic, comforting meals. What’s the story behind how it all started? What inspired you to begin sharing your recipes?

Dan Pelosi: Food has always felt like home to me. I grew up cooking alongside my mom, dad, grandparents, aunts and uncles in my home and theirs. Thus, I associate cooking with family. When we were quarantined in 2020, I started sharing what I was cooking, how I was stocking my pantry, and sharing recipes all day long on my Instagram. I had no idea knowledge of how to stay home and cook would be needed by so many people overnight. Immediately, I started gaining followers and I started to build an incredible new family with people through food during an intensely scary and unknown time. I just wanted to help others feel a sense of home and comfort and it grew into something I couldn't have ever dreamed of!

PM: Your Italian roots are well known, but you also have Portuguese heritage on your mother’s side. You describe the Portuguese feasts with that side of the family as unparalleled. How have these Portuguese roots shaped your approach to food and family traditions? Are there particular dishes that instantly bring you back to childhood or family gatherings?

DP: I have so many memories of eating linguica, lol. I remember family gatherings on my Portuguese side were always larger and more spirited than any others. They taught me that food tasted better when we were having fun. We had family picnics where the Tias would be turning out Filhoses and telling jokes,and holiday breakfasts where eggs and linguica on Portuguese rolls were in the hands of everyone. In Let’s Party I wrote a recipe called Chicken Thighs with Peas and Mom's Rice that is my ode to my Mom’s famous Portuguese Rice that I grew up eating. It's rich with paprika, just like the rice from my childhood. I also like to think the way I clean my kitchen before, after and during a party is inherited from my Portuguese side…my mom is unstoppable once she starts cleaning, and so am I, proudly! 

PM: In your recipes for Portuguese Rice and Filhoses, you talk about cooking alongside your mom. How has cooking with and learning from your mom influenced who you are as a cook?

DP: My mom taught me that cooking is a time to connect; not just with your food but with the people you are cooking with. She and my Dad always made sure we sat down at the table to eat together as a family. Meals were sacred. When I was young I was constantly in the kitchen watching my mom cook and learning, too, because she didn’t let me watch for long before she had me working. Today, we still cook side by side in the kitchen (I teach her a few things here and there now!) and it's our favorite way to spend time together. 

PM: Your first cookbook, Let’s Eat, is packed with recipes that feel like home, including recipes for a Bean, Kale, and Linguiça skillet, Piri Piri Roast Chicken, and Pastéis de Nata. What is it about Portuguese cooking and cuisine that excites you?

DP: I love all the storytelling in Portuguese cooking. Like the story of the nuns using leftover egg yolks to bake what then became Pastéis. All my mom's own family stories revolve around why certain things are omitted or added to a recipe, because that is how her family made a mark on a particular recipe. Whether the stories are entirely true or not, they infuse the cooking process with laughter and love, and you can always taste that.

PM: GrossyPelosi has evolved into more than just a place for recipes—it’s a community. You aim to be peoples’ best friend in the kitchen with your approachable and comforting recipes. What has been the most rewarding part of building this platform, and what do you think the importance is in building community around food?

DP: Food is essential. Unlike other art forms, we need it to stay alive. So while it's a universal connector, it's also weighted with personal experiences, likes, dislikes, traditions and history. I think the most rewarding part of all this is watching food just be the launching pad for a bigger conversation with people about their families, their traditions and… their boundaries! We build community when we share parts of ourselves and listen and learn from others. Food is so deeply personal that when we start sharing recipes and techniques, it inevitably brings us into deeper topics that connect us.

PM: Congratulations on the release of your new cookbook, Let’s Party! Can you tell us about this project, and are there any stand-out favorite new recipes?

DP: Thank you!! It's been an honor to bring this project to life. I love getting a chance to widen people's imagination about what a party can be. To me, the best kind of party is one where I am sitting around a table with people I love, serving them food I love! People leave my house after dinners and say “wow, that was a great party”, and I think to myself “that wasn’t a party, that’s just what I do!”. Turns out - throwing a party without knowing you are doing it is sort of the goal of this book and what I am trying to get people to do in their own lives. It’s filled with recipes, menus and guides that help you get there! My hope is that the book empowers people to feel like they can host at any stage in their life, and be proud of it. 

Stand out favorite new recipes? I love all my children…but yes: Don't Tell Your Nonna About This Lasagna is a fabulous Fall lasagna that deserves a prime spot on your Thanksgiving table, Leek & Lemon Roast Chicken is the easiest and most delicious way to roast a chicken I can think of, and the Caramelized Banana Pudding…that speaks for itself, I hope! 

PM: Let’s Party is all about celebrating the everyday by bringing people together to enjoy good food. In your opinion, what’s the key to being a great host?

DP: Number one: Embrace yourself, your space, and your cooking! Bringing people into your home is a way for them to get to know you, so lean in to your strengths and ask for help with your weaknesses! We are all family!

Saloio Extra Virgin Olive Oil - My mom and I drive to Portugalia to stock up on this olive oil! She buys SO MUCH because it's the oil she grew up on. Of course, now I am in love with it, too. 

Valsa Charlotte Hand-Painted Dinner Plate - I have a huge collection of serveware and love to pick which plates I will serve my food on. On my first trip to Portugalia I spent so much time browsing their vast collection of Portuguese ceramics and home goods and became interested in ceramics made in Portugal as a way to connect deeper with my heritage. 

At My Portuguese Table: Azorean Cooking and More - Maria Lawton - Maria is a friend who I met through Instagram early into the pandemic. I love her and her television show, but when she sent me this book, I instantly knew she was family. I sent my mom and my Tias copies immediately, and we all cherish the recipes inside of it! 

Papa Anzóis Sardines in Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - My mom got me hooked on tinned fish at a young age, and now I throw a sardine on pretty much everything! Delicious, nutritious and very sustainable!