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What kind of meat (or cheese) is it?

Started by scarface, October 11, 2015, 07:02 PM

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Guliver

Quote from: scarface on April 07, 2023, 07:55 PMTonight, I'm going to present a new recipe that I prepared for my 40th birthday.

Look carefully at the photo below.


Vasudev, Guliver and humbert may have never seen this before.
Here you can is a duck gizzards confit and a delicious ratatouille.
If you like this recipe, I'm waiting for your comments and suggestions.

Happy belated birthday, scarface! Wish you all the best, I hope you had a nice time even if you didn't have anyone to celebrate with. And you're right, I've never seen a dish like that, especially the duck gizzard confit. I had to look up what exactly that was :D Is it tasty? I bet the muscle on the gizzard is very fine and tender.

Guliver

Quote from: Shadow.97 on April 12, 2023, 11:25 PMHappy late birthday!! Hope your day managed to be good still. I'm planning to spend mine alone as well. I start my work one day before my birthday, so will be at work the entire day and dead tired.

Happy birthday to you too Shadow (whenever exactly it is), hope your new job will be to your liking!

Guliver

Quote from: humbert on August 11, 2022, 05:34 AMGuliver: regarding you seeing that movie, may I ask: do you speak French? What languages do you speak other than Czech and English?

Hey humbert, I know it's been ages but I haven't forgotten about your question :) Now that I finally got around to posting some more, I'd like to answer it. I don't speak french, or, to be exact, I know the basics because I studied french in school for one year, many years ago. So I know a little bit but not enough for me to say I speak it. I watched the movie "The Wing or the Thigh" in czech, because here almost every movie is dubbed into czech. Nowadays when I watch films on the internet I always try to watch the original dub.

Regarding other languages, I do speak Spanish, hola compañero ;) I also know a little bit of german and italian, which, speaking spanish helps with understanding most romance languages at least to some extent. Aaand I know some russian and can read cyrillic, which together with the fact that most slavic languages are at least somewhat similar means I can kinda sorta understand languages like polish, ukrainian, croatian, etc. What about you?

humbert

Hey Guliver,

I'm truly surprised that as a Czech citizen you speak Spanish? How did you learn it? Since Germany is right on your border it would make sense if you spoke it, but Spanish? Either way it's great! Spanish is world's 3rd language in terms of speakers and one of the 6 major languages at the United Nations. Being originally from Cuba it's my first language.

English and Spanish are the only languages I'm fluent in. I've been to Brazil twice and manage to learn some Portuguese. In fact I can read Portuguese but not write it.

As you're aware, Europe is tiny compared the centire land are of the Western Hemisphere and every country has its own language with the exception of (off the top of my head) Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and the tiny countries (Luxembourg, Monaco, etc). It is therefore normal for Europeans to speak multiple languages.

Look at the map of this hemisphere and locate the Rio Grande (US, Mexico border). To the south there is Spanish all the way to Cape Horn, Portuguese in Brazil, English, French, and Dutch in the Guyanas (not counting many small indigenous languages). North of the Rio Grande there is English all the way to the North Pole except for French in the Canadian province of Québec. That's just 5 languages in an entire hemisphere many times larger than Europe. No wonder there aren't that many multilingual people here.

I might add that in Canada outside Québec, many people don't speak French and have no interest in learning. Not so in Québec - there the majority of people are bilingual. My lady lived a few years in Québec city and reports that it's no place to learn French -- you're learning French and try practicing with them, they respond in English. In my opinion these anglo-Canadians who don't speak French do themselves a disservice, especially when classes in French are free (paid by the government). If I were one of them I'd kill myself to learn French.

Guliver

Quote from: humbert on April 14, 2023, 05:38 AMI'm truly surprised that as a Czech citizen you speak Spanish? How did you learn it?

I learned Spanish in high school. Here in the Czech rep. English is obligatory since elementary school and most schools offer some other language (or languages) on top. There's actually a plan by the ministry of education that eventually every citizen should know at least two foreign languages, but I don't think it's quite implemented yet.

I wanted to ask you something about Cuban Spanish: I speak the Castellano Spanish, which uses the form "tú tienes", while in Argentina and other Latin American countries they use "vos tenés". Is the vos form also used in Cuba? And are there any other significant differences?

humbert

Quote from: Guliver on April 15, 2023, 12:38 PMI learned Spanish in high school. Here in the Czech rep. English is obligatory since elementary school and most schools offer some other language (or languages) on top. There's actually a plan by the ministry of education that eventually every citizen should know at least two foreign languages, but I don't think it's quite implemented yet.

You learned Spanish in high school, but are you fluent? Could you to travel any of the 20+ where Spanish is official and be able to converse with the local population? Can you read and write it? Spanish isn't hard to learn because it's very phonetic -- you write it exactly how you say it. Vowels have no other sound except their own name.

When you say English is mandatory, may I ask: is fluency required? Shadow told me this is the case in Sweden. I'm assuming it is because both he and you (and others on the forum) write English better than most Americans.

Quote from: Guliver on April 15, 2023, 12:38 PMI wanted to ask you something about Cuban Spanish: I speak the Castellano Spanish, which uses the form "tú tienes", while in Argentina and other Latin American countries they use "vos tenés". Is the vos form also used in Cuba? And are there any other significant differences?

In Cuba and elsewhere near the Caribbean there is no "vos tenés". It is "tú tienes". I've heard "vos" in Nicaragua and some other parts of Central America, but not Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, nor the Caribbean coast of Colombia. We all speak the same language but with slightly different accents. Years ago I made a trip to Buenos Aires. The inspector asked me some simple questions. Then, without looking at my passport, he asks "when are we getting rid of Fidel Castro"? One time in Uruguay, an Argentine guy tells the girl at the booth "this guy is Cuban". She responded "I know".

Guliver

Quote from: humbert on April 16, 2023, 06:39 AMYou learned Spanish in high school, but are you fluent? Could you to travel any of the 20+ where Spanish is official and be able to converse with the local population? Can you read and write it?

I think I can say I am fluent. Granted, my Spanish was significantly better when I graduated, because since then I didn't get too many chances to practice it. But yeah, I can still read and write it, and I think I can converse too. Yes, Spanish being very phonetic is a great thing, makes it easier to learn. Slavic languages are very phonetic too, as you yourself have noted, and Czech especially is quite close to Spanish in this aspect.

Quote from: humbert on April 16, 2023, 06:39 AMWhen you say English is mandatory, may I ask: is fluency required? Shadow told me this is the case in Sweden. I'm assuming it is because both he and you (and others on the forum) write English better than most Americans.

To be honest I don't really know, it's kinda hard to say because the threshold for what's considered fluent can differ from person to person. It might be required on paper, but my guess is in reality better schools do require it while schools that are not so good are happy enough if their students know basic english.

Quote from: humbert on April 16, 2023, 06:39 AMIn Cuba and elsewhere near the Caribbean there is no "vos tenés". It is "tú tienes". I've heard "vos" in Nicaragua and some other parts of Central America, but not Mexico, Panama, Venezuela, nor the Caribbean coast of Colombia. We all speak the same language but with slightly different accents. Years ago I made a trip to Buenos Aires. The inspector asked me some simple questions. Then, without looking at my passport, he asks "when are we getting rid of Fidel Castro"? One time in Uruguay, an Argentine guy tells the girl at the booth "this guy is Cuban". She responded "I know".

Ha, that's pretty cool that they can tell where you're from based just on your accent. But it does make sense that given how big latin america is, different regions would have differences in accent, use some different words, dialects... What happened to me once is that a tourist couple stopped me on the street to ask for directions (in English), and just from their accent I could tell their first language was Spanish, so I asked if they spoke Spanish and their answer was "Sí", so I responded in Spanish :D Spanish speakers often do have a very recognizable accent though... as do many Slavs :D

humbert

Quote from: Guliver on April 17, 2023, 11:58 PMTo be honest I don't really know, it's kinda hard to say because the threshold for what's considered fluent can differ from person to person. It might be required on paper, but my guess is in reality better schools do require it while schools that are not so good are happy enough if their students know basic english.

I define fluency as the ability to carry on a conversation with the speaker of a certainly language, be able to read the language and write it (albeit not perfectly). Let's take the tourist couple you met. If they had asked you (in Spanish) to give them a good idea of what's to see in Prague, places to go, places to avoid, etc., would you be able to respond clearly and in detail? If so, in my opinion you're fluent. If you took a trip to [for example] Mexico or Colombia, could you communicate with the locals perfectly and not struggle with the language? If so, you're fluent? Do you think you meet these criteria? BTW: Don't concern yourself with local slang or word differences, they're not different enough to cause a problem and can be learned quickly.

Quote from: Guliver on April 17, 2023, 11:58 PMHa, that's pretty cool that they can tell where you're from based just on your accent. But it does make sense that given how big latin america is, different regions would have differences in accent, use some different words, dialects.

You're absolutely right. In Cuba we have words other Spanish speaker don't use, and vice versa. Every country has its slang and its own words. In fact, that situation exists even within a country. Colombia is my favorite example. Take 3 Colombians, one from Bogotá, another from Medellín, and a third from Barranquilla. Have them read me the same small paragraph from a local newspaper and I'll immediately tell you who's from where. Fortunately, picking up the local words isn't difficult and it sticks to you. My lady is Mexican and I've been there many times. Today I use more Mexican slang than Cuban slang. What I can't hide is my unmistakeable accent. A few weeks ago I went to a supermarket here. The cashiers were of Mexican heritage. I lost a bag and went back to the store for it. She says a co-worker told her about it, saying "the bag belongs to that guy with the funny accent".

Also, I don't know anything about the Czech language, but I'm noticing it has a lot of accents, hooks, and other similar letter differences. This is good. Usually these characters tell you how to pronounce it, define it, use it in a sentence, etc. English has nothing like that. That's one of the primary reasons it's hard to learn.

scarface

#368
Tonight, I'm going to present another dish.

Look carefully at the photo below.



Guliver and Daniil probably know what the pink stuff is: this is Pork brawn in jelly ("Tête de porc en gelée" in French). I'm going to savor this jelly with a piece of bread.
Unless I am mistaken, I don't think this is the kind of dish humbert would offer his guests in Texas. As for Maher and Vasudev, they are certainly wondering how I can swallow something like this. Well, I'm trying not to imagine the beast. If I was told that the beast was a good and friendly pig and that his name was Maurice, it might be harder to eat this. Fortunately I'm not the one who prepared this, so I didn't see the head either.
With this, there is a little beer.
At the end of the meal, the dessert will consist of the wild strawberries that you can see on the top left corner of the photo. In fact, I never buy strawberries because I don't like them when they come from strawberry farms (they are often tasteless).
Actually, It's a friend who gave me these wild strawberries when I left his house today.
I met this friend on Saturday and I had a favor to ask him. Since he didn't want to get paid, in exchange I offered him a bottle of côte rôtie and we drank this wine with a few guests. This is probably one of the best wines I have ever drunk, even if I think that the taste of the best vintages of Saint-Émilion is even more profound (The Côte Rôtie vineyard is one of the oldest and most famous vineyards in the entire Rhône Valley: The Côte-Rôtie appellation is produced in the Rhône, in three villages on the right bank of the river, opposite Vienne. As prestigious as it is vertiginous, the AOC Côte-Rôtie surprises as much by its high quality red wines as by its steep slopes).


scarface

#369
Tonight, I'm going to present another dish.

Look carefully at the photos below.





I guess Vasudev and aa1234779 must be looking at the piece of meat with concern: if this is pork meat, it looks way underdone.
Actually, what you see here is a dish of salad and rice with an ostrich fillet.

Instead of being similar to poultry, ostrich is red meat and tastes like beef. Ostrich meat has great versatility and can be bought ground, cut into steaks, and even hot dogs.
Most of the meat is found on the thigh and hindquarter of the ostrich, with lesser amounts on the forequarter. As it is very lean meat, it can be tough if cooked too long. Because of the limited quantity in production as compared to beef, poultry, and pork, it is relatively expensive.
Ostrich meat is leaner than most meat you'll cook. It's healthier than beef meat because it contains a lot less fat and you'll see less shrinkage during cooking, so you won't have to drain away fat after cooking ground ostrich. Be sure not to overcook ostrich meat and use marinades for steaks to hold in the moisture when it cooks. Ostrich meat absorbs flavors more quickly than beef so you might want to reduce marinating times and limit the number of spices you use.
The cooking times for an  ostrich fillet is about the same as beef, roughly 4 minutes per side, but keep a close eye on it.
Ostrich is usually described as tasting like beef, but not as robust in flavor. Thus, it is generally well-liked by picky eaters who normally shun game meat. Some even think it is bland, so it benefits from marinades and seasonings.