Your Dreams Coming True In The Kitchen

T he following explanation is verbatim from Wikipedia quote: A ham hock is the joint between the tibia/fibula and the metatarsals of the foot, where the foot was attached to the hog 's leg. It is the portion of the leg – also known as pork knuckle – that is neither part of the ham proper nor the foot or ankle, but rather the extreme shank end of the leg bone and the associated skin, fat, tendons, and muscle.....

P izza is Italian. It also became American when the first Italians started emigrating to the United States and in my opinion these American pizzas have become better that the Italian basically by the addition of the famous "Pepperoni" sausage and Jalapeño pepper slices.  Unfortunately the Greeks use yellow cheeses which are very heavy and nauseating. Greek modern cuisine has evolved using other ingredients such as pastries (special phyllos). An example of nouvelle Greek cuisine is the Greek type pizza using a different kind of pastry and different cheeses.

 One Whole Cylindrical Peace Of Beef T he French, the British and the Americans cut their beef differently. Different names for different cuts. And different names for the same cut. Couldn't find the exact translation in the Internet so my only solution is to show you the peace of veal / beef I have cooked. In Greek and in French  is " Noix " which comes in one piece and varies in size depending on age of the animal it comes from. You can buy a whole or half when it is too big. It can weigh up to 3 - 4 kg.It basicaslly looks like a whole filet but this cut needs to be cooked in little water in a pressure cooker (to lower the consumption of gas or electricity)for a long time...

T here are ducks and there are ducks. The Landes area of South West France has just about the finest foie-gras of duck in France and by concsequence the best breast (magret) and leg (confit). Real eaters of foie gras prefer the duck's liver to that of the goose (although goose liver is more expensive). These ducks, because they undergo a special way of feeding which I would rather not mention, fortunately or unfortunately someday this method will stop, have a lot of fat. This fat must be treated with respect because when properly collected and kept, renders other foods such as potatoes very tasty.

F or Valentine's dinner we decided to stay home and I offered to prepare dinner from A to Z for my wife to show her how much I appreciate her and...love her.  I didn't really have to twist her arm or anything : Maria  gladly and very quickly accepted!!

A s I was cleaning up my desk from the pieces of paper I had with phone numbers, names, recipes, etc, I came across an interesting recipe but I honestly cannot remember who gave it to me, or where I got it from.  I would like to share with you today something which looks like a quiche but it is not. The base pastry is much thinner than the actual one used for the quiche, and the fixings on top are not as elaborate...

G inger / Garlic Paste is a very useful ingredient to add to many preparations and marinades because not only they give a beautiful aroma and taste,