Tag: beginners

Yoga: tips and useful positions for beginners – Italian Cuisine

Yoga is a discipline that promotes psychophysical balance. It makes you more centered, aware and satisfied with life. Here's how to start practicing it

Read yoga and immediately think of the mat unrolled on the ground and the different positions to do with the body. "Actually, doing yoga does not mean exercising, but it is definitely much more", explains Francesca Senette, journalist and yoga teacher, author of the book The little book of Yoga (Probe), a useful guide for anyone who wants to learn more about this millennial discipline. «Yoga is above all a meditative practice. It teaches awareness, gratitude, concentration, harmony, balance ", explains Francesca Senette. The asanas, on the other hand, «are nothing more than a preparation for concentration and a meditative state in which body, mind and soul reach a condition of harmony between them. In fact, Yoga really means uniting, union: between mind and body, soul and spirit . Another aspect that differentiates an asana from a simple gymnastic exercise is attention to breathing. "In yoga, the long, deep breath with the nose guides the practice."

How to choose the right yoga course

There are many "styles" of yoga. "In choosing, it can be useful to look for a practice tailored to your character," says Francesca Senette. "For example, for those who are a person who loves discipline and rigor and is always looking for certainties, the Asthanga could be fine, in which an unchanging series of asanas are repeated. Who is a dynamic person, for example, could try Hatha yoga or Vinyasa flow. The advice is to experiment with the different styles and practice what makes you "feel at home" . A mistake to avoid? «Forcing the different positions. In yoga it is essential to have respect for your body. "

Two positions to start

The position of the forceps (Paschimottanasana) is ideal for relaxing body and mind. "To perform it you have to sit on the ground with your legs together and grab your knees with your hands and, if you can, your ankles and toes, trying to relax your whole body." Another asana to try is the position of the corpse (Shavasana). «To perform it you need to lie on the ground with your chin closed towards your sternum. The arms and legs are stretched out on the mat, the palms of the hands are facing upwards and the feet outward. While in this position, you must listen to the beating of the heart and the belly that rises and falls with the flow of breath, "says Francesca Senette.

Fish for beginners: from purchase to cooking, until it is served – Italian Cuisine

We love eating fish and its light and delicate meat tells us a lot about the sea and the lakes to which we are heading to spend the holidays. But the fish also represents one of the most difficult preparations since many people do not know the basic techniques to choose it, clean it and prepare it and find themselves in trouble right from the store. Here are two interesting articles that we recommend you read to understand if the fish is fresh:

Cooking school: how to recognize if the fish is fresh. Buying Guide

Ten clues to see if the fish is fresh

Once the fish is chosen, it is necessary wash it and clean it before starting to cook it. In the case of shellfish for example: grasp the head of the Norway lobster (or shrimp) with the left hand and with the right hand remove the abdominal part. To shell the tails, open them by cutting them with scissors in the center or along the sides. Pull gently to detach the tails in one piece. For some recipes, however, it leaves itself attached. To remove the black gut along the tail, once shelled, pull it with a small knife or tweezers.

Generally proceed as follows:
– release the fish from fins and bowels as soon as possible, to prevent the entrails from transmitting a bad taste to the meat.
– evisceration through the gills should be done only if you intend to stuff the fish, otherwise, proceed with a cut with a sharp knife, or with a pair of sharp scissors, along the ventral line, from the cavity anal up to the gills.
– spreading well with your hands, remove all the entrails and then, with a teaspoon, scrape well to remove any remaining blood.
– this operation can also be done by rubbing the inside of the fish with coarse salt.
– to remove the gills, cut with the knife along the cartilages to which they are anchored, and then cut them with a decisive gesture.
– Finally, wash the fish carefully under cold running water and dry it, dabbing it with kitchen paper.
– this point is necessary scale the fish (unless you want to cook it in a crust of salt): grasp the fish by the tail and vigorously grate with a large knife or with the special scaler in the direction of the head. Rinse and dry with a cloth.

These articles instead show how to clean anchovies and scallops:

How to clean anchovies

How to clean scallops

In some cases it is necessary to prepare the fish by filleting its meat, here is how:

Cooking school: fish filleting

Then there are some fish and shellfish that deserve special attention. Here they are in these articles:

Cooking school: the octopus, get to know it and prepare it

Cooking school: the use of mackerel

What is the difference between lobster and lobster (and how to cook them!)

As for cooking or preparing raw fish, just follow some basic techniques to get good results. Here are some cooking methods to experiment:

The naked and raw fish: the secrets to prepare the tartare

Cooking school: steamed fish, how to prepare it artfully

Cooking school: seared fish, how to prepare it

Cooking school: braised fish, discover the technique

Cooking school: roast fish, all the secrets to prepare it

Cooking school: 5 precious tips for an excellent sea bream with seasonal vegetables

Sea bass with salt

What is the difference between lobster and lobster (and how to cook them!)

And after exploring some techniques related to the preparation of fish, you just have to experiment with 15 simple recipes

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Mixed fried fish

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Sea bream in foil

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Sea bass in salt crust

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Traditional fish soup

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Sole alla mugnaia

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Scallops with fennel and pistachios

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Calamari garlic, oil and chilli

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Shrimp in spicy salt

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Octopus with garlic

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Grilled anchovies

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Small fish stew with potatoes

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Skewered mussels stuffed

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Monkfish, onion and dried tomatoes

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Pickled anchovies

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Grilled salmon with poppy seeds

Easy Christmas recipes: Christmas recipes for beginners – Italian Cuisine

Gratinated lobster with pistachio and lemon bread

Struffoli with maple syrup and red fruits

Christmas is also a desire to do something different than usual. More beautiful, bigger, more generous and bright. And the December 25th lunch is just the symbol of this feeling that invests us when it comes to share with whom we love an important party, which carries with it symbols, traditions and expectations. But in the midst of all these positive feelings, fears are also placed. Will they all come? Will it be a nice day? Will I have thought of the right gifts? And especially: will I be able to prepare lunch for all the guests?

We can help you with the last question, in some ways the most thorny. Even if you are an inexperienced chef, we have available a nice collection of easy Christmas recipes that will assure you a good result and some tricks to avoid being deceived by anxiety.

We program

If we are not expert cooks, we can not afford the luxury of improvising at the last minute for many people. Rather. Playing in advance will help us to organize ourselves in the best possible way, reserving the pleasure of welcoming guests for the last moments before lunch. Very different from the panic of those who have many pots on the fire.
For this same reason, when you choose the menu, try to write it reporting the times of each dish and the cooking methods. The baked preparations are clever because they allow us to play in advance, while working on the fires allows more aggressive and fast cooking. The perfect menu will be a manageable mix of these different preparations.

Let's practice

We chose the menu and everything seems ok. But it is precisely here that our organizational capacity must come into play. We cook each dish at least twice, distributing them in the weekly menus that precede December 25th. The easy Christmas recipes we have selected in fact they could still hide some pitfalls that we must be prepared to face. The result of each recipe, then, is better if we are trained to prepare it.

We focus on the details

The simplest recipes can be turned into Christmas dishes with some little cunning. A risotto with cheese will gain many points with some pomegranate grain or a slice of caramelized pear. The same is true for the classic roast that can wear the party dress if enriched with creams based on dried fruit or a cage made with puff pastry. As for vegetables, however, great classics of the season such as cabbage and broccoli can be baked and baked in simple dishes, but of great effect.

Our easy Christmas recipes

And now the most beautiful moment has arrived! That is to choose, experiment and be inspired. In the gallery below there are over 35 recipes dedicated to beginners cooks who want to impress everyone at Christmas.