Tag: Christmas

The Christmas cocktail with Milanese Gin: the recipe to try – Italian Cuisine

The Gin mania conquers even the most traditional toasts. Try and you can not do without it!

At Christmas we are all focused on thinking about how many starters to prepare, to choose between the capon and the stuffed turkey, to discuss whether it is better to serve the Russian salad or the capricious. And in the glasses, for the initial toast, rivers and rivers of bubbles. But if you have a restless soul and the idea of experiencing tickles you, surprise everyone with a Christmas cocktail light and fragrant, based on Gin.

An unstoppable gin mania

It is a phenomenon of recent years the gin mania, or the discovery and consequent dependence on this drink made by distilling cereals and mixing herbs and berries including the inevitable juniper. As evidence of this trend, also the fact that there are more and more Italian gin labels available on the market. And it is always about handicraft products, where a precision in distillation is accompanied by an almost maniacal research of botanicals (herbs, spices, berries and roots) that combine to make the scent and taste of gin unique.

Giass, the first London Dry Gin 100% Milanese

Among all the references, one could not miss one born under the spiers of the Duomo: it is giass (which in Milan dialect means just ice), a Gin that for father has five ambitious friends who have been able to transform their passion for the ritual of the aperitif into a project dedicated to their city. Andrea and Simone Romiti, Richard D'Annunzio, Francesco Niutta and Francesco Braggiotti worked on the project for six months, in an improvised workshop in a home cooking and distilling in a dishwasher, before finding the mix that overwhelmed them.

Eighteen botanicals for a fresh and fruity Gin

At that point they bought a 3-liter alembic and the speech became serious. Giass is an alchemy made of 18 botanicals select that, mixing, give off an unusual mix of aromas and flavors. The base is classic, with juniper berries, coriander seeds and angelica root which, blending with the botanicals, give life to different notes, all perceivable in the tasting: the fruity taste of the golden apple and the orange peel naturally dried at low temperature , the floral one given by the rose petals, the flowers of camomile, violet and orange that give off a bouquet with a preponderant character, embellished by karkadè. And then those minerals, thanks to mint, fennel and ground almond, those citrate given by the leaves of verbena citrus, cardamom seeds and leaves of lemon balm, and, finally, the woody ones thanks to cassia and thyme. The eclectic character of GIASS is completed in the nineteenth essence, the unstable and always different element, lMeeting with the taste of those who sip it.

The Christmas-Giass Tonic recipe, the Christmas cocktail

Ingredients: 40 ml giass, 30 ml of Cordial with orange and elderflower, 20 ml pomegranate shrub, a splash of tonic water and cedar wood vaporization

Method: shake all the ingredients, except the tonic, and then pour them directly into a highball with ice. Sprinkle with the tonic and steam with cedar wood essence. Serve with orange zest to decorate. You will have a scented cocktail of wood embers that burn in the fireplace but fresh and light. Prosit!

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Tea and herbal teas that smell like Christmas: here's what to choose – Italian Cuisine

The typical scents of winter become a delicious infusion for the holidays: here are many ideas for delicious teas and Christmas teas (also detox)

The tree is also full of the latest decorations, those bought last minute because those last year no longer convinced us – and a bit 'are broken – those exchanged with friends at the Secret Santa, those unearthed at the market of Christmas. The last presents are still missing, but for those we have now made peace with the fact that as every year we will reduce if not 24, December 23. The snow is missing, but everything else is there. Family, candles, cookies, panettone (or pandoro?).

There is above all that atmosphere that is impossible to replicate at other times of the year, to be breathed deeply in front of a more or less romantic film, under a warm blanket, and with a Cup of tea hot in hand from which all the winter spices are made, all the scents of Christmas.

Types of tea

The first thing to know when we get closer to choosing a tea is that all the teas proper (white, green, oolong and black) derive from the same plant and that the aromatic difference derives rather from the treatment (withering, oxidation, fermentation and drying) that the leaves receive after harvesting. The addition of flowers, fruit, spices and essential oils then, leads to further diversify flavors and aromas. Red tea, better known as Rooibos, is not exactly a tea but it is prepared with the same treatment and grows exclusively on the plateaus of South Africa, where it is considered a national drink.

Tea and herbal teas: what is the difference?

The teas are mixtures of fruit, herbs and spices, generally of exotic origin, which combine with gluttony (this is where we can find, for example, chocolate) and flavor, a component of phytotherapeutic well-being. The only limit in this case is the taste, combined with the imagination: herbal teas in fact in herbal medicine (or at home, if you prefer do-it-yourself) can be prepared letting yourself be inspired by personal taste and the sought after benefit.

Tea and Christmas teas, which to choose

We have said it and perhaps it is one of the few truths on which we can all tend to agree. At Christmas we want to relax, have fun, rest, feel good. And it is in the name of this that we will choose from which infusion to let us warm up. Hibiscus, currant, cinnamon, licorice and cardamom will keep us company until Christmas morning, for all the evenings that separate us from the awakening of 25, for all books to be held with one hand because the other holds the hot cup, for all movies and cartoons that we will manage to look, making us dream with their aromas a wonderful and snowy Nordic Christmas. On Christmas morning, before a lunch that will surely be important, the best choice could be that of a healthy green tea flavored with bergamot, allOrange or to cinnamon. Or, if you prefer oriental flavors to Nordic notes, you can choose to add the mint or the rosein bud maybe, because even the eye wants its part. And even this year it is already time of the detox, in which these drinks are perfect allies. If you prefer a tea, opt for a fragrant green base with lemon and lemongrass, dandelion or pineapple. If instead you want to opt for a herbal tea, they will be perfect fennel, the lemon and lo ginger. All strictly biological.

For the Christmas dinner, prepare an explosive shrimp cocktail – Italian Cuisine

It is the most classic of party starters, but with this spicy touch it will seem like you have never tasted a prawn cocktail!

The shrimp cocktail It is an evergreen that never disappoints and makes the Christmas table very vintage. Soft and sweet, the prawns as an appetizer are a delicate proposal and appreciated by everyone. We offer them in a more "explosive" version, with a slightly spicy homemade chili sauce.

The handmade chili sauce

For a chili sauce fast and super easy, get 350 g of tomato sauce, a stalk of celery, a pinch of cinnamon, a pinch of spicy chilli powder, a carrot, half an onion, some cumin powder, a pinch of pepper, salt, water and extra-virgin olive oil. First clean and chop the carrot, the celery stalk, the onion and fry everything in a saucepan with a drizzle of oil for 6-7 minutes; stir in the tomato sauce, add 150 g of water, a pinch of salt, one of pepper and one of pepper, half a teaspoon of cumin and a half of cinnamon. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

The recipe for explosive shrimp cocktail

Ingredients
Obtain 500 g of medium-sized shrimp, two tablespoons of sugar, two tablespoons of salt, two lemons. For the dressing take the chili sauce previously prepared, the grated rind of a lemon, two tablespoons of lemon juice, a tablespoon of grated horseradish, a pinch of black pepper, a lemon cut into slices.

Method
Put the water, the salt, the sugar, the juice of the two lemons and the squeezed lemons in a large pot. Boil the water and then, out of the fire, throw in the shrimp with their shell. Leave them for 3 minutes, then pour all the ice into the pot. Let the prawns rest for about ten minutes. At this point, take them, remove their head and the shell until the tail, which you will hold to facilitate the grip. Meanwhile add the grated rind and lemon juice, the horseradish and pepper to the chili sauce and mix well. Serve the prawns with the chilled chili sauce and the lemon served as a garnish.

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