Tag: Italian

Chef Miguel de la Fuente and the best brunch in Madrid – Italian Cuisine

Our interview with the executive chef of the Hotel InterContinental El Jardin restaurant in Madrid and the most interesting dishes of the event that he hosted cooking alongside colleagues from all over Europe

A Sunday stroll around Madrid is perfect for catching theessence of an elegant city, cosmopolitan, but at the same time simple and genuine. People crowd the streets stopping to make some purchases, talk on a bench or take some sunbeam that irradiates the tireless even in the middle of autumn.

And among many people who come and go, they move and meet, there are those who are ready to celebrate a ritual that entertains the Madrilenes, the brunch.
More and more people in Madrid choose the Sunday to wake up late, meet friends and relatives and sit around a table to stand on a bridge that swings nicely between breakfast and lunch. With the calm of great occasions, but also with the desire to feel citizens of the world and enjoy the best habits.
And among the landmarks of the city for brunch we find the proposal of El Jardin, the restaurant of the Intercontinental Hotel.
Located north-east of the historic center, it has won everyone thanks to the culinary proposals of its resident chef, Miguel de la Fuente. We met him on the occasion of Taste of the Intercontinental Life, an exclusive event that brings together all the chefs at the InterContinental Hotels & Resorts.

The kitchen for Miguel de la Fuente

I read about his academic past in the Fine Arts. When did the career of chefs come? And what link does it exist in its style between cuisine and art?
"But how do you know these things?" He asks, amused. "I've always liked art, so much so that I wanted to be a painter. But I also liked eating and being with my mom and my grandmother and watching them cook. Then I joined these passions and I was not mistaken: every day I go into the kitchen I do it with the same motivation of the first day. I live in contact with the stove, but the artistic dimension is present in the creation and decoration of each dish. Cooking is art .

Many dishes inspired by the Orient appear in the menu of the El Jardin restaurant. How were they born?
"The owners of the restaurant, which are Catalan, provide constant training for the chefs. The oriental dishes that we have in paper are born from a beautiful training dedicated to this theme that we did in Frankfurt with a chef from Tokyo. It is a wonderful way to break down every cultural frontier, grow and offer our customers, through international dishes, tastes that make them feel at home ".

Tell us something about the ajoblanco, your dish we tasted today in the Taste of the InterContinental Life lunch menu.
"It's a dish that speaks of our gastronomy. A cold, summer preparation that has a great history. It was born to reuse the bread of the day before, almonds and Andalusian oil. A combination of products from the south of Spain perfect to create a fresh, delicious cream. Today we have completed it with a raw shrimp and some flowers to represent the soul of the land and sea of Andalusia .

One of his most famous proposals is Sunday brunch. How was it born and how does it relate to the city of Madrid?
«He was born in 2011, when I arrived here after a work experience in the Basque Country. I proposed it to express my culinary personality. I liked the idea of creating a real gastronomic theater where the actors are the customers, but also all the hotel staff. To fill the scene the buffet, or a circular table with different islands, satellites where they find space chefs involved in the creation of sushi, sashimi and hot Japanese and Peruvian dishes, a corner dedicated to cutting the yamón, a table full of national cheeses and international and bocadillos in mini version, to taste as many dishes as possible. To wait for the guests there are in fact also salads, various types of rice, fish, meat, but also a buffet entirely dedicated to small pastries. To make brunch special, however, is also the fact that we have dedicated it to everyone. The little ones can in fact have fun at a table dedicated to them among mini laboratories, tastings and games .

And to return to the relationship between Madrid and the brunch created by Miguel de la Fuente, there is a detail to report. This great gastronomic theater goes on stage every Sunday from 13.30 to 16.30 about, a time well away from the Anglo-Saxon morning meal idea.

Taste of the InterContinental Life

The great occasion in which we met Miguel de la Fuente recalled all the colleagues of the other InterContinental Hotels & Resorts in the chef's kitchen. A special event able to tell the creativity and the gastronomic experience spread in all the restaurants of the hotels of the group, but also the character and style of each chef residents.
To open the menu a review of the French fish soup in milkshake version signed by Cédric Mery, the starred chef of the Alcyone restaurant in Marseille. Following the Vampire Ceviche enriched with a mango and sangria sorbet by Daniel Quiñones Espinosa, sous chef of Ella Canta, restaurant of the Intercontinental London Park Lane. You return to the Alcyone proposals with a crispy crab accompanied by caviar and smoked tea.
Follow theAjoblanco malagueño proposed by the resident chef of Madrid Miguel de la Fuente and the Foie gras with beetroot puree, raspberries and spices created by Miguel Laffan, the creative chef of the Atlantic in Estoril in Portugal. For the sixth dish of the Eddy Melo menu, the AKLA executive chef of Lisbon brought the Cod Lagareiro, one of the most authentic dishes of the Portuguese tradition. The tasting of the continues rabbit with truffle and cabbage of the chef Eberhart Lange of the Yugos of Berlin and of the veal cappelletti, the unexpected proposal by Luis Rendon Rodríguez, senior sous chef at Theo Randall at the InterContinental London Park Lane. To close, the wonderful raspberry meringue signed by Sophie De Bernardi, the pastry chef of Café de la Paix I at the InterContinental Paris Le Grand.

In the gallery below, the chefs and the dishes of the event.

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here are 4 really unusual beers – Italian Cuisine

From Klanbarrique, the "alternative rib" of the Italian Brewery, four beers come from the collaboration between the master brewer and two enologists from Trentino Alto Adige. To be experimented at the table in unexpected and surprising combinations

What can happen when one of the most renowned Italian brewers meets two enologists from Trentino Alto Adige? It happens that the temptation to trespass is irresistible. It happens that everyone feels freer to dare in an area that is not his, thus bringing the point of view of doing beer in the field of wine and viceversa. It happens that from a partnership and a beautiful friendship come four bottles that represent the link between the two worlds.

The protagonists of this story are Agostino Arioli, founder and brewer of the Italian brewery, one who has not lost the desire to have fun and experiment; Andrea Moser, kellermeister of Caldaro Winery – the largest South Tyrolean cooperative by number of hectares and members – e Matteo Marzari, winemaker of the Trentino winery De Tarzcal, renowned for the Marzemino.
About three years ago, the three gave birth to Klanbarrique, a line of beers that makes the point of strength contamination between ingredients and techniques and which, not for nothing, has as its claim barbaric fermentations.

Ultimate Beer Included. — The Last Inclusion.

The beers

Four beers presented, combined with the chef's dishes Vittorio Tarantola, patron of the homonymous restaurant of Appiano Gentile (CO). The intent was to demonstrate the great versatility on the table and the ability to be an interesting alternative to wine. He opened the dances theLast included, a beer made with the classic method of sparkling wines, to which hops have been added in the liqueur de tirage. The froth, that is, the creation of bubbles, then took place in the bottle, in a time of about a year, then the beer was flattened, filled with Tipopils beer (one of the great Italian brewery horses) and refined in bottle. It has been served with yellow squash cooked in oven, cotechino, escarole, cloud of white potatoes and crispy lentils: beer of great freshness and easy to drink, despite the complexity, has an elegant bubble and has proved perfect in combination with cotechino . Keep in mind for a different (and a bit snobby) New Year's toast.

There Wildekind it is a high fermentation beer of Belgian inspiration, matured for a long time in old wooden barrels, where previously it was made to refine red wine, and added with brettanomyces, a wild yeast that gives it complexity and a little "animal" aromas. After a year of aging, the first born in the Klanbarrique house is complex, fruity, vinous and not by all. In any case, it is to try with blue cheeses and long-term meats. The combination proposed by Vittorio Tarantola was with a risotto shaded with the same beer and seasoned with blue of Moncenisio and beetroot powder. Good for cheese, a little 'less for risotto, too delicate to support the aromas of Wildekind.

There Padosé it is an amber beer, low fermentation, still worked according to the classic method, to which are added black currant berries (about 10%) grown in the province of Lecco. After a maceration of a month's currant, it rests on the lees for over a year. The inspiration for making this beer came from the famous Kir Royale cocktail, made with champagne and cassis syrup. It is a surprising creation, able to combine the essence of beer, sparkling wine and cocktail in one gulp. Fruity, an overwhelming and refreshing drink, it was served with a venison with black pepper, spicy blueberry sauce and roasted onion, demonstrating a not indifferent body. Of course it is to try also in combination with fish and fruit and vegetable salads… could be addictive!

With dessert – a caramelized apple with walnuts, fresh goat cheese ice cream, panettone and a sprinkle of 18 Moons of Marzadro brandy – the Moonshare, a high fermentation and high gradation beer (10.1%), refined for a long time in wooden barrels previously used for the aging of grappa. The combination here has been centered in full: power and complexity make it interesting even with a strudel accompanied by custard, very intense cheeses, Christmas sweets. But it is also perfect to sip out of the meal, in front of the fireplace in a log cabin mountain.

Cornbread muffins for Thanksgiving Day – Italian Cuisine

An American recipe that can not miss in the classic Thanksgiving menu. We offer it as a single portion, to be served salty or sweet

The cornbread and the Corn bread that prepares in the United States for the Thanksgiving Day (this year on November 22nd), but not only.
It is an exceptional accompaniment for many dishes, especially when the dressing is particularly rich, being a bread tall and spongy which absorbs sauces and sauces.
We want to propose it to you today single-portion version, in the form of muffin.

How to prepare the cornbread muffins

Stir in a bowl 200 g of corn flour, 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate, 1 teaspoon of salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar and in another container beat with a whisk by hand 200 ml of whole milk, 100 g of eggs (without shell) e 50 g of melted butter warm. Add the two compounds, always mixing with a hand whisk to remove the lumps.
Pour everything into a greased and floured muffin pan and cook for 30 minutes at 180 °.
Someone likes adding doughs into the dough canned corn kernels to feel its consistency under the teeth. We advise you to try why it's worth it.
If you want to enrich them further you can do it with some steamed vegetables left quite crispy. Some broccoli florets, for example, would be particularly good!

Same recipe, different molds

We have proposed the corn muffins, but with the same recipe you can prepare an extraordinary one bread in the box cooking the mixture inside a plumcake mold.
If you love sweets, instead, you can turn the cornbread into a cake adding a little sugar at the dose of the basic recipe, a little 'of cinnamon and, why not, nuts and raisins.

How to serve the cornbread

The cornbraed should be brought to the table cut into cubes or, as we have suggested, in single portions.
The important thing is that it is quite tall and soft so that you can pick up the most tasty and tasty condiments.
Keep it well covered and in a dry place for two days at the most and eat it before it gets too dry. Since this is a typical Thanksgiving dish, the famous stuffed turkey, sweet potatoes, pumpkin or bean soup, bread and chestnut filling and classic pies, pumpkin pie or pecan, will also be on the table along with this delicious bread. pious.

5 errors of the pumpkin pie

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If you want to try the cornbread muffin you just have to put yourself in the kitchen with our recipe in hand.
Take a look at the first our tutorial to also discover some interesting variations.