martes, 23 de noviembre de 2010

GRAMAR. Verbs followed by objects and infinitives....

He wanted me to do the homework for him.
Can somebody help me to move the chair?
I would like to see you soon.
He says, he would prefer us to visit him next week.
David helps me to deliver the letters.
I´d prefer to go by car than by bycicle.

ITALIAN CULTURE!!! ((Italian cuisine))

Almost ninety years ago my grandgrandfather, made a trip across the Atlantic Ocean fleeing the Second World War, and though her trip was to the United States, the boat people became aware of his presence and left him on the beach of Cartagena.
He lived over seventy years in Colombia, but he always told stories about Italy and so I decided to write this article about Italian culture
Italy  is a long peninsula shaped like a boot, surrounded in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and in the east by the Adriatic. It has boundaries with France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia to the north.
The Apennine Mountains form the peninsula's backbone; the Alps form its northern boundary. The Po, its principal river, flows from the Alps on Italy's western border and crosses the Lombard plain to the Adriatic Sea. Several islands form part of Italy, the largest is Sicily.
The capital and the largest city of italy is Rome, Rome's history spans over two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over seven hundred years from the 1st Century BC until the 7th Century AD.
One of the most important and famous cuisine of the world is the Italian cuisine, Pizza and pasta dishes such as spaghetti bolognese and lasagna with bolognese ragù and Béchamel sauce are the most popular forms of Italian food all arround the world.
Italian cuisine has a great variety of different ingredients which are commonly used, tomatoe, basil, olive oil also well known  for its use of a diverse variety of pasta include noodles in various lengths, widths and shapes.
The meal structure in Italy usually contain 3 or 4 courses. Meals are seen as a time to spend with family and friends instead of immediate sustenance; thus, daily meals can be longer than in other cultures. During holidays, family feasts can last for hours.
One of the most important holydays in Italy is the St. Joseph's Day,every region has its own holiday recipes. During "La Festa di San Giuseppe" on March 19, Sicilians give thanks to St. Joseph for preventing a famine during the Middle Ages. The fava bean saved the population from starvation, and is a traditional part of St. Joseph's Day altars and traditions. Other customs celebrating this festival include wearing red clothing, eating Sicilian pastries known as zeppole and giving food to the poor.


domingo, 21 de noviembre de 2010

THE TOQUE BLANCHE!!!!

If you ask someone, what is the name of the chef´s hat?.....I´m totaly sure that nobody knows, but this hat is so important when you are a chef, that for me is a pleasure to tell the story behind this culinary icon.

Long before molecular gastronomy, new tecnics and innovative cooking, was the "TOQUE  BLANCHE" invented, The word  comes Arabic, but it has been known in English since 1505.
The Toque Blache is a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all. They were popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially in France. Today, it is known as the traditional hat for professional cooks.

This white hat is the most important culinary icon in the gastronomy history. It is a tall, round, pleated, starched. The many folds on a Toque Blanche are believed to signify the many ways that a chef can cook an egg. ((It has exactly 101 pleats))   :0
In the gastronomy history the toque was the result of the gradual evolution of head coverings worn by cooks throughout the centuries. Even in that time the hygiene was important. Boucher, the personal chef of the French statesman Talleyrand, was the first to insist on white toques for sanitary reasons.

Their roots are sometimes traced to the casque a Meche wear by 18th-century French chefs. The color of the casque a Meche denoted the rank of the wearer.

The modern toque and the complete uniform was created by  the famous French chefs Marie-Antoine Carême and Auguste Escoffier.

heston Blumenthal's Chocolate Mousse.....

This video is incredible for me, because during years I thought that chocolate and water were enemy!!! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g28-9NVUHj0


viernes, 19 de noviembre de 2010