dog meat off Olympic menu in Beijing

Breaking news. If you visit Beijing for the Olympic Games, which commence at 8pm on the 8th day of the 8th month of this year, you will be sad to learn that you most likely won't be able to order dog meat at any of the Olympic capital's restaurants. City officials have urged hotels and restaurants to temporarily take off man's best friend off their menus. For more on this, check out an article from the Financial Times.

my very own fresh pizza dough

Fresh out of the oven.

Topping up with ingredients: mozarella, Dutch salami, bacon, sliced red onion, diced red pepper, garlic, and fresh Greek basil (with a dash of salt).

The dough base with olive oil organic tomato sauce with freshly ground pepper and a touch of salt.

I called my mother to ask her about her pizza dough recipe, and the first thing she told me was 'Honey, it will just be easier to buy pizza dough'. I was shocked! She's so Americanised. Mama Hodges actually gave me an important tip when it comes time to rolling out fresh dough. Corn flour. Sprinkling a tad bit of it over your dough ball allows for a smoother rolling of the dough itself.

I will post my very own recipes from last night, including the fabulous New Haven inspired white pizza with mashed potatoes, bacon, and garlic!

you like my balls? (as in meatballs)

A very interesting article on Greek meatballs by NY Times' Elaine Louie cites Diane Kochilas, a cookbook author and the consulting chef at Pylos in New York's East Village, who says something which I agree with 110% - 'the most aromatic Greek cooking is the food of Greeks who were refugees from Turkey'.

My father would agree on this one. His side of the family is originally from Asia Minor and settled in Thessaloniki in the earlier part of the 20th century.