Thank you for considering adding this book to your culinary reference library lineup. This book delivers a collection of proven Americanized European recipes and by Americanized, I mean to say that the recipes tone down the fats/sugars where they don't hinder holding onto the original flavors. If you like sitting down to a wonderfully delicious meal it's probably reason enough to purchase this book, however I've taken the time to also provide you with content that other cookbooks annoyingly omit. Every recipe in this book is accompanied by a full color photo so you will know what your dish is going to look like before you start. Yes, the appearance of what is being served in the culinary arts is a rather important factor. I don't know how many times I have ordered things at restaurants or followed a recipe in my kitchen for the first time where my imagination conjured up an amazing delicacy, but the reality that appeared before me treated me to disappointment instead. Consequently, I say to a degree, it's acceptable to judge a dish by its looks. Go ahead, give yourself permission and save yourself both time and frustration if something just does not appear appetizing.Every recipe in this book is accompanied by a nutrition label so you will know what the per serving nutritional values are. In the days of old where terms like carbs, sodium and cholesterol were rarely used in daily speech, per serving nutritional labels for recipes were also clearly deemed unimportant or even ridiculous. Thankfully we no longer live in those times as we have become better educated about the impacts of nutrition. We find ourselves in a more health-conscious world that has made us sensitive to the nutritional content and the proper portion sizing of what we consume. This book will help you to know what you are serving your household and guests, having this information at hand is rather practical.Every recipe in this book has a verified time to make measurement, giving you that critical edge to know if you have enough time to make the dish before the family rebels, or at least give you the heads up on when you should start on your dish if you are expecting guests. With time being our most valued commodity, not knowing how long it's going to take you to make the meal will leave you with a frown. This book respects your time, by telling you up-front how long each recipe takes to make. Considering that we need daily sustenance to maintain our strength, learning how to cook is clearly a practical and worthwhile endeavor. This book not only provides recipes but also valuable cooking tips, a how to equip your kitchen check-list, a measurements and conversations chart and a protein temperature guide to encourage and strengthen you to become a better cook. If you are looking to save money, cooking is great way to avoiding the material and service wrap rates bundled in at restaurants. In addition, learning how to cook allows a bond to be formed between shared meals to strengthen family and allows you the cook to control what you and your family eat so you can stay on target with your health. Most importantly, this book provides the very best recipes that I find myself repeatedly crafting as either daily meals or holiday specials. Sure, there are thousands of recipes out there in the wild, but what you find in this book is limited to our proven and very best family success dishes. Imagine having a book 100% full of worthwhile recipes to make, I believe this is it. Enjoy your time in the kitchen!
About the Author: King Solomon shared his wisdom on the practical use of hunger saying that the appetite of laborers works for them; their hunger drives them on. This resonates well with how and why this book has come about. Aside from having a hunger for delicious meals and spending time in fellowship over shared meals, Mr. Kornel is hopeful that by codifying the treasure-trove of family favorite recipes, this book will inspire his daughters to be creative and accomplished in their own kitchens. In the long run, having labored over this book... will hopefully result in other members of the family starting to re-produce these gems for the dinner table. Having more than one chef, improves the odds of having a great meal at dinner time for years to come. Mr. Kornel Gyalokay was born in 1974 in the small town of Dombóvár, but enjoyed most of his youth in Pécs, Hungary. When he was eight years of age, his family set out in 1982 to escape the communist control blanketing Hungary, whereby he spent a part of his youth in Dublin, Ireland and then Vienna, Austria before immigrating to the United States in 1986. Although he left Europe behind at an early age, his taste for European cuisine has not diminished. Mr. Kornel attended Middle School and Highschool in Northern Virginia and has obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems (CIS) from Strayer University and a Master of Arts degree in Practical Theology from Regent University. You may be asking, what do these degrees have to do with this cookbook? Other than contributing to a systematic way of thinking and an improved tolerance/capacity to write, probably not much. Learning how to make delicious meals and hosting for friends and family has been more of a passion for Mr. Kornel than a result of formal culinary training. Family dinners and get togethers over the past two decades have helped with the continual improvement process to refine the codified recipes. The credibility of this book is therefore established not so much on the merits of formal education or years of in the field restaurant chef experience, as it is based on the taste bud test of the consumers and the practical usability of the book itself. Mr. Kornel does have a long list of goals, one of which is to build on what is found in this book and one day open a European Restaurant named The Ize Restaurant in the Northern Virginia area. Mr. Kornel and his wife Ms. Thitiya are already familiar with running a business, they are the owners of Lead IT Solutions LLC since 2012, providing Information Technology consulting services to the US Department of Defense. Part of the week and on the weekends, Mr. Kornel is also on the pastoral staff of Pathway Vineyard Church in Woodbridge VA since 2017, giving hope to the idea that if people can be shepherded toward the promise of who they were made to be in Christ, then Godly desires placed in the heart can also be shepherded and called into reality. Their daughters Ms. Leana and Ms. Miriya speak frequently about The Ize Restaurant, impatiently expecting to be able to start eating their favorite dishes there on-demand.