Tag: drinks

Gabriele Stillitani's drinks – Italian Cuisine

The bartender of Roman origins transfers the taste of seasonal ingredients and the great classics of our local culinary tradition into his creations. To toast truly out of the ordinary

A toast with a beautiful cheese and pepper or, why not, with a drink with a sinuous scent of generous grated truffle. Madness of an excessively alcoholic end of year night? No, don't worry, it is much more simply the creations born from the inspiration of the "social bartender" of the La Dispensa restaurant in Lugano Gabriele Stillitani, in art or, better, on social networks @mint_drink. Definitely out of the ordinary cocktails that manage to transfer the taste – and charm – of the great traditional recipes or the most refined ingredients of the season into the glass. Let's find out together.

Cin-cin with truffles

We are used to seeing it as the absolute protagonist on eggs, tagliatelle and risotto, of course, but the truffle can also prove to be a great ingredient in terms of mixology, above all thanks to its unmistakable scent. Gabriele Stillitani is fully convinced of this and explains how to use it best: more suitable for basically dry mixes, in order not to be cloying in combination with sweet ingredients, it can be used in flakes as a cocktail garnish or in drops to enhance everything with its essence. From these considerations, the Truffle Silk was born, a drink that exploits the aroma of truffles, used in the form of foam, to harmonize and soften the hints of vodka and white vermouth.

Truffle Silk

40 ml vodka
20 ml white vermouth
15 ml lemon juice
15 ml red fruit tea syrup
Truffle top foam

Take a shaker and pour the ingredients inside, mix well with a barspoon. Fill the shaker with ice and shake. Filter the contents with a double strain into an iced cup. Take the siphon with the truffle foam inside and make the top of the drink by filling the cup slowly, starting from the edges until it is completely filled.

Cacio e pepe also to drink

The most avid fans of cacio e pepe will finally be able to find their favorite dish even in the glass. Or at least this seems to be the mission of Martini In & Out, a curious cocktail that celebrates the Roman origins by bartender Gabriele Stillitani: it is precisely a preparation that enhances the botanicals of gin through the taste of cheese and pepper, using the technique of fat washing which allows you to transfer the taste of the cheese inside the distillate. The result is a drink in which gin and vermouth meet pecorino romano and pepper from Valle Maggia, creating an experiment with a strong aromatic character.

Martini In & Out

60 ml gin infused with cheese and pepper
10 ml extra dry vermouth infused with Valle Maggia pepper

Make a gin flavored with cheese and pepper using the fat washing technique. At this point, pour some ice into a mixing glass so that it cools down to the right point. Add the vermouth, of which the aromatic potential has been exploited, and mix everything with a bar spoon, using the strain technique. Now, remove the vermouth that has already flavored the ice. Then pour the ice into a well-cooled cup, add the gin to the cheese and pepper and close the drink by placing a small wafer of cheese on top of the glass to decorate.

Cool and non-alcoholic drinks to cool off the summer – Italian Cuisine

From flavored water to smoothies, summer drinks are colorful and beautiful to serve, ready in a minute, sipping all day

When it is hot you have to keep your body light and hydrated. The rule is: drink a lot.
In the desert the Bedouins drink hot drinks to fight the heat, but let's be serious, who wants to drink hot tea in the summer?
So here are our proposals for soft non-alcoholic drinks to sip at any time of the day and to take with you in a thermos.

Flavored water

L'flavored water is a summer classic. Very easy to prepare and delicious to sip.
You can decide how to compose it, with fruit and aromatic herbs you prefer.
You can immerse directly in the water pieces of fruit and sprigs of herbs, obviously after having washed everything with extreme care, or you can prepare some ice cubes with fruit and herbs inside to always keep the water fresh.
The sugar not needed!
Here are the combinations that we recommend:
– cucumbers, lime and mint
– blueberries, peaches and rosemary
– oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit
– raspberries, basil and lemon.

Cold coffee

If the amount of coffee daily equals three cups, pour the three cups in a thermos with ice and sip them for the hours to come a bit like Americans do.
You will certainly have plenty of energy throughout the day, as well as being super hydrated.
Don't sweeten the coffee, at least flavor it with cinnamon and if you want to stain it, prepare some cubes of frozen milk. That of almonds it is excellent and naturally sweet too.
If you just can't help but add sugar, go for it a spoonful of maple syrup and no more for the whole drink.

Iced tea

Why don't you prepare the homemade iced tea instead of buying it packaged?
It can be prepared in a few minutes and can be flavored in many ways.
First of all you can mix different qualities of tea that you like, like a vanilla tea with an orange tea and a cinnamon tea, or a lemon tea with a black tea, for example.
Then you can flavor it like water with fruit and aromatic herbs as well as adding lots of ice.
There is no need to sweeten if you add aromas, also because sugary drinks do not help fight the heat, on the contrary they make the situation worse and strain the intestine.
Savor the taste of natural iced tea and slowly, like sugar-free coffee, you will get used to it and never go back.

Smoothie

They are gods pureed frozen fruit mix similar to slushes and super refreshing, but unfortunately they are to be consumed immediately because they then lose consistency and become simple fruit juices.
To prepare the smoothie you have to start from a frozen fruit base so we suggest you always keep strawberries, berries, sliced bananas, a chopped avocado, mango pulp or other fruits with a soft consistency in the freezer that can be blended for become a kind of ice cream.
In addition to these iced ingredients you will need a part of milk, better if vegetable and a tablespoon of coconut butter or peanuts to give softness to the smoothie.
Celebrities love smoothies made only of green ingredients such as spinach, kale, cucumber, lettuce and avocado and they always add a portion of protein powder and algae, also in powder.
These green smoothies they seem to be super energetic and very hydrating. A must try!

drinks to choose from in the summer – Italian Cuisine

What can be done to help them secure more water? What are the useful tips to make them drink more? Here are the advice of the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Pediatrics (SIPPS)

In summer with high temperatures, the body eliminates a greater amount of fluids through sweating that it needs to replenish in order to make the body work better and defend itself from the heat. Experts recommend consuming larger amounts of water. A recommendation that is valid at any age, even for children. But how do you get them to drink more? A piece of advice that mothers and fathers must always follow "is to propose to your child several times a day to drink, even more so with the arrival of heat and if he is outdoors or practices playful and motor activities that can further distract his attention or mitigate his need , says Giuseppe Di Mauro, president of Italian Society of Preventive and Social Pediatrics (SIPPS) who drew up the Decalogue Safe summer to help parents choose healthy drinks and foods. "When a child feels the stimulus of thirst, an initial phase of dehydration has already been triggered, the perception of which is less prompt and effective and the aggravation of which can become a real emergency on a clinical level", warns the expert.

What to drink

Water should always be preferred, possibly fresh and not frozen. "The daily water requirement varies according to age. From 4 to 6 years, the daily water consumption should be 1.4 liters. From 7 to 10 years instead of 1.8 liters and from early adolescence onwards around 2 liters. The consumption of water must also increase in proportion to the losses due to physical exercise, environmental conditions and the possible presence of disorders or diseases, for example vomiting, diarrhea and febrile illnesses ", explains Giuseppe Di Mauro.

How to help the little ones drink more

To help children drink more water «you can add the juice of half a lemon to each and a half liters of water. In addition to giving the drink more flavor, the mineral salts it is rich in replenish those lost with sweat. You can also create nice popsicles by putting water and lemon in the special molds .

Drinks to avoid

Consumption of packaged fruit juices should be avoided. They provide lots of added sugars that are easily assimilated by the body, little fruit and lots of calories. A 100ml glass of fruit juice, depending on the type, can bring from 45 to 60 calories. In addition, ready-made juices are sold in “family size packs” which risk making them consume more without realizing it. Better to give precedence to smoothies, smoothies and extracts prepared at home with fresh seasonal fruit that provide a smaller amount of sugar.

Reduce the taste of chlorine in drinking water

Often children don't drink a lot of water because tap water has an unpleasant taste. Chlorine is generally added to drinking water in the evening and is volatile so, as the hours go by, you feel less and less. It is therefore possible to eliminate or greatly reduce the aftertaste by taking the water that will be drunk in the following 24 hours before chlorination, that is, in the late afternoon. In this way the water will be much more pleasant.

Add the fruit to the water

To add flavor to the water and entice children to drink it, flavor it with fresh fruit, adding a little lemon or a little fruit juice.

No to sugary drinks

"Better to avoid orange soda or cola-based drink. They have little thirst due to the high concentration of sugars. Furthermore, the caffeine present in those based on cola, as well as not being suitable for children, can cause dehydration ”, explains Giuseppe Di Mauro.

For a snack, seasonal fruit

«Fruit is always an excellent snack or food after a meal. Summer offers a lot of them: peaches, apricots, melon, watermelon, plums, plums, pears, figs, prickly pears and grapes. Rich in water, vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytonutrients, fruit has no contraindications and can also be offered to the child with tasty smoothies, slushes or ice creams ", explains the expert.

On the beach there is space for vegetables that are easy to peel

“It is neither convenient nor hygienic to bring cooked vegetables or salads from home. A valid alternative can be vegetables such as cucumbers or watermelons to be peeled at the moment. They are high in water and potassium and low in calories. Excellent as a snack or to eat during lunch , says Giuseppe Di Mauro.