Tag: good

Good manners workshop at Christmas and table decoration – Italian Cuisine

At Christmas, the welcome and the family atmosphere are the key ingredient, even more important than the main course, discover how to bring good manners to the table

On Saturday December 15th, Italian Cuisine will kick off the magic of parties with an unmissable appointment: THEand good manners at Christmas. We are waiting for you The School of Italian Cuisine, from 10 to 10.45, to attend an exceptional lesson. They will be Fiammetta Fadda, expert in beautiful manners and a great connoisseur of bien vivre, e Beatrice Prada stylist of La Cucina Italiana to give you precious tips.

Fiammetta will introduce you to the delicate world of guests' etiquette, you will discover how to become perfect hosts, how to welcome guests and make them feel at ease and what actions to avoid categorically.
Beatrice will give you practical tips on how set the table for the holidays and thanks to the collaboration with Blumarine home you will see which mise en place to choose for every occasion and some gems to make your banquet a pleasant moment of conviviality.

On the day of the great family meals, you have to be ready to juggle the kitchen and diners and leave nothing to chance, to be sure to get prepared for Christmas sign up for the Christmas manners event.

Very good velvety, to do and redo – Italian Cuisine

Anyone who is interested in cooking will have noticed that the velvets have reached a peak of popularity. The truth is that they manage to make everyone agree, they are very convivial and usually like even the smallest for their consistency, while the soup continues to trigger strong prejudices among children.

They are a trend of recent times, or perhaps they simply have become famous lately and with this name, but in reality they have existed for some time. The most famous recipes are those of Escoffier, written in 1934, and of Prosper Montagnè, written in 1938, which wants it white and pure par excellence. But one of the first appearances of this sauce is in Sabina Welserin's recipe book of 1553.

The velvety are easy to prepare and they must not be confused with the past (smoked version of mixed minestrone) or with cream (which normally provides only one ingredient). They are photogenic, just see the shots of the charming Norwegian food writer and photographer Marte Marie Forsberg, which tell of steaming bowls consumed in front of a cloudy sky. A meal that tastes of winter in short (but also of autumn), of home and family and that in reality is among the most versatile imaginable.

The secret is a saucepan with high edges and a seasonal ingredient (normally it is vegetables, among which the most famous is the pumpkin, but there are also those who make chicken or carnivorous). The recipe includes a sauté then put the vegetables directly in the pot and cover with boiling water or vegetable stock. Cooking is fast, about thirty minutes at the most, with uncovered pot and low flame. Finally, the crucial phase, the cream is blended and if it is still too liquid (probable) should be put on the fire to make it thicken a bit or add flours of legumes or cereals to give more body to the preparation. The advice of many is to add potatoes at the beginning of the preparation, precisely because they are able to give that velvety texture more than any other ingredient.

What is of pumpkin, leeks and potatoes, zucchini or fennel does not matter: the velvety can then be embellished with cheeses, salami or anything that lends itself to accompany it (so basically everything). The final touch is given by croutons, sautéed vegetables or ham cubes, which in addition to adding flavor create a pleasant contrast of textures.

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Fundamental, of course, is to choose seasonal vegetables, following their tastes but also experimenting with unusual vegetables. In winter why not try celeriac, white turnip, Jerusalem artichokes or salsify?

There is certainly one of the most loved ones cream of pumpkin, appreciated for the sweet taste, the moderate caloric intake and its versatility: very good one with spicy croutons made by retrieving the panettone (and who does not have some in the pantry during and after the holidays?).

Even the ingredients usually reserved for important occasions can be used to give an unexpected touch to a cream. The one of potatoes with cotechino and black truffle It is perfect for opening a winter dinner with an important course. If you are looking for an unusual recipe, try the velouté with potatoes and new leeks, in which the delicate flavor of the vegetables is combined with the shrimp wrapped in bacon and the crispy ones fried zucchini flowers, for a combination of really intense tastes.

Claudia Minnella
January 2018
updated by Emanuela Di Pasqua
December 2018

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Made the mold, it's just good for you – Italian Cuisine

Never do all of them mold a bundle. Because there are yes those that are formed on foods preserved where they should not be present (such as jams and preserves of tomato) and therefore should be avoided. But there are also molds profits, rather indispensable because without them there would be no real delights like the Gorgonzola and the Castelmagno, Roquefort and the Taleggio cheese, the Brie and the Camembert. In fact, the two families to which these belong cheeses – that of blue cheese and that of the crusts flowering – they are united by the presence of mold, which belong to the kingdom of the mushrooms, and that during the ripening of the cheese provoke a series of transformations important on the surface and in depth, in taste, in color and in perfume. And it is precisely the art of selecting e mix the molds make each one unique cheese.

The "super powers" of molds
"Moldy" cheeses are a fantastic result ofskills of man, who has been able to turn a problem into an opportunity: i bacteria and the molds that make bad foods have been selected and cultivated, to turn milk into delicious cheeses. Today, most species of molds are used above all Penicilium, characterized by mycelia that end in shape brush. This process not only avoids having to throw the cheeses moldybecause it helps to improve it shelf, but it also makes them more palatable, because the molds give flavors and perfumes, in addition to different colors pasta or to the cheese crust. And it's not over. The molds on the crusts make it more digestible the proteins contained in the pasta of the cheeses. And therefore their digestibility increases with the progress of the seasoning. Also the molds and the substances produced by them metabolism they showed a positive influence on the bacterial flora intestinal, besides a bacteriostatic activity and antibiotic.

The blue-green: Gorgonzola and Roquefort
You recognize them from the typical blue-green streaks (for this they call them erborinati) that develop within their pasta by different types of penicillium: the Penicillium roquefortii which gives intense flavors and bluish mottling or the Penicillium glaucum which gives more delicate cheeses and green veins. The best known Italian blue cheese is the Gorgonzola Dop, which is produced with cow's milk to which they are added ferments lactic acid and yeasts but above all selected cultures of Penicillium roquefortii that produce the marbling. During the average 60 days of seasoning, it is these crops that develop them mold, which are formed along the path of the long steel needles with which they come regularly perforated the forms in order to allow air to enter the cheese dough and determine the conditions optimal and natural for the development of the Penicillium. The pigment of its spores gives the typical color blue/green, while the growth of the mushroom gives to the Gorgonzola its pleasant characteristic flavor. The Penicillium used in the production of Gorgonzola Dop cheese is gluten free as a substrate for mold growth today it is used rice starch, a naturally gluten-free cereal. So even gluten intolerant can consume it. As for the Roquefort Dop not only is it one of the most famous French cheeses but it is also the oldest and the only one to be produced with milk from sheep. The addition of Penicillium roquefortii to the milk of the black sheep of breed Lacaune gives it its characteristic marbling, which is formed during i 3-9 months of aging in cave.

The whites: Camembert and Brie
These cheeses are united by the presence of details mold on the surface, to which they give a patina white, which in those with a flowery crust is edible. The best known are the traditional ones "Feathered" French soft cheeses, namely Brie e Camembert, which also includes many cheeses industrial in which the Penicillum candidum or the Penicilllium geotrichum (or their mixture) are added to milk or sprayed on the surface of the shapes. The Brie comes from the homonymous area, east of Paris, where the cities have given their name to the different ones types (for example Brie di Meaux or Melun, all Dop), already known at the time of Galli and love from Charlemagne. To make it cover a layer of white and reddish molds is one Flora of noble molds, which are formed during the maturity, which proceeds quickly. For this reason the Brie must be consumed quickly, before it is altered. The Brie de Meaux is considered the father of the Camembert, which was born only at the end of 18th century. And that originally had the blue crust: to make it white-yellowish was the introduction of the Penicillum candidum, a mold coming from Pays de Bray which was used for the first time in 1910. Today a crop selected (the Penicillium camemberti) is diluted in water and sprayed on the forms before maturity, which takes several weeks and is a lot gentleIn fact, the difficulty of choosing a Camembert perfectly is known "a point".

Rosés: Fontina and Taleggio
Also in Italy there are cheeses "Muffettati" clear, with a pink or orange rind, due to some specific molds and yeast, and precisely Geotrichum and Mucor. As the Fontina Dop, whose rose crust is formed during the aging in caves natural following the development of a superficial microflora, which is progressively selected by continuous human interventions. Another example is the Taleggio Dop, whose crust pink and soft is due to the microflora which developed on the surface and comes from the environment in which it is made to mature and from the particular treatment to which it is subjected during the seasoning. At least once a week the shapes are turned over and "Washed", rubbing the surface with one Brush or with a sponge soaked in saline solution to remove the molds in excess and encourage the development of microorganisms that they do season the cheese, proceeding from the crust inside the pasta. That's why the crust is an essential component of the Taleggio cheese and it is perfectly edible. Which makes it, definitely, a cheese a zero waste!

Manuela Soressi
December 2018

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