The Great Chef

Everything that might suggest that I am on "stew mode" is pure coincidence. I am not even a fan of mediterranean style stews where all the ingredients are cooked together. In fact, I cannot stand such stews because since the meat or fish are cooked along with all sorts of vegetables, the pleasure of enjoying different flavors in one dish is lost. Almost invariably, everything tastes like the meat or fish, depending on what is being used. And that is one of the worst things I have ever tasted. It doesn't pleases me at all. But I must admit that there are some types of meat that I really like and that only make sense cooking in a stew. One of those types of meat is ox tail. Properly cooked, it rewards any foodie with a flavorful and melting meat course. Plus, it is really cheap! So, yesterday, I decided to cook ox tail for dinner. It is not a fast dish to cook. If you want to try cooking it and you work late, I suggest that you choose the weekend to do it because you will h...

Among many other things, Portuguese cuisine is known by its ability of reduce the waste to the minimum, meaning "Portuguese eat almost every part of the animals included into their diet". In case of pork, actually, we eat everything. And when I say everything, I mean... everything! With chicken, it happens almost the same thing. We eat legs, thighs, wings, breast, neck, claws, liver, heart, gizzard (or the stomach) and we use the bones either to make stock or soup. In this process of making a less common animal part edible, the inners are probably the biggest challenge. But as all big challenges, when successfully accomplished, it turns into a tasty victory. One of the Portuguese's favorite snack is chicken gizzards' stew. Going to a neighborhood small restaurant/bar/cafe - aka "tasquinha" - and have a serving of gizzards and a cold beer is one of those classics one cannot skip while in Portugal. It is a must have! Hey, I can hear you: "Eww! That is SO ...