So, I was messing around in the kitchen the other day, and I decided to whip up some Portuguese food appetizers. It was quite the adventure, let me tell you!
First, I dug up some recipes online. I found out there are like, 8 main types of appetizers in Portugal. Who knew? I picked a couple that sounded tasty and not too crazy to make. One was a clam dish called “Amijoas à Bulhão Pato.” Sounded fancy, right?
Getting the Ingredients
I went to the grocery store and grabbed a bunch of stuff. Getting fresh clams was a bit of a challenge, but I managed. I also picked up some Portuguese sausage, ’cause why not? It’s called “chouriço” there, I found out. You learn something new every day.
Cooking the Appetizers
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Clam Dish (Amijoas à Bulhão Pato):
This was the star of the show. I started by cleaning the clams, which took longer than I thought it would. Then, I cooked them up with some garlic, white wine, cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon. The smell was amazing! It was a bit of work, but totally worth it.
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Chouriço Assado: I also made this flamed chorizo dish. You basically set it on fire with some alcohol. It looked pretty cool, and tasted even better.
After all the cooking, I laid out the appetizers. They looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. I had a few friends over to try them out. They were a hit! We polished off everything, and everyone wanted seconds. They even asked for the recipes, which was a nice little ego boost, I’m not gonna lie.
I also did a little research to see what cities in Portugal are known for food. Lisbon, Porto, and Faro came up a lot. I guess they have a bunch of tapas places and cool food markets. I need to go there someday. According to an online article, if you’re in Lisbon, you gotta try “bacalhau à brás” which is some kind of cod dish. Sounds interesting.
Someone online named Joao Ferreira mentioned a restaurant where you can get a bunch of appetizers and black pork ribs. Another person, Claire Zhang, said it was one of the best restaurants in Lisbon. I made a note of that, just in case I ever make it to Portugal.
All in all, it was a fun day of cooking and eating. I might try making some other Portuguese dishes soon. Maybe I’ll even throw a little Portuguese-themed party. Who knows!
