Create a restaurant menu

Create a restaurant menu: This is a delicate operation. From the choice of dishes to the graphics, you need to take care of every detail, while if you want to have a drive thru on your restaurant the use of drive thru markings are important.

Create the restaurant menu: What is the menu for?

Create a menu restaurant

Create a restaurant menu

The answer might seem rather obvious considering that it is a useful tool to communicate to the customer dishes, drinks and related prices. Also have in mind the common mistakes with the restaurant accounting for the financial management.

However, this object also presents itself as a sales tool. Its correct draft will guarantee an increase in turnover.

A well-designed and strategically formulated restaurant menu can tell a lot about the style of your local.

Create a menu restaurant

When it’s simple, like this:
3 courses for euros dollars; macaroni and cheese available on request (but not included), all the sandwiches served on homemade bread every day from the local bakery downstairs – you’re definitely looking at something authentic!

Create a restaurant menu

Alternatively, if there are too many options to choose from or ways in which people could interpret what they see, then there are good chances that customers will quickly tire of trying different things before finally settling in a fairly comfortable place with everyone else in tow, so that no single individual can feel left behind because he did not order.

Create restaurant menu: The rules

Create a restaurant menu

Your menu is the mediator through which your turnover passes and is used, most of the time, to convince customers to opt for one dish rather than another.

First of all, don’t simply choose your favorite colors, but consider that there is a branch of neuro-marketing that studies colors.

Even the graphics allow, if IS done well, to bring your customers to order what you want. It is advisable to consult to a professionalist.

The menu of your restaurant should be beautiful and informative to the customer, as a dress for them. Not only does it showcase what you have in the store, but it also paints pictures with words that make eating there more appetizing than ever!

Create a menu restaurant

Create a restaurant menu



Your food menu communicates a lot about how people see style when they look at your local’s offerings – both good and bad. The presentation can help attract customers to try a particular dish of their own initiative (a “visual invitation”) and at the same time attract those looking specifically for this feature.

Create a restaurant menu
The choices on the menu


A menu that is too long is likely to be confusing and the customer will not be able to make a decision. Reduce the number of dishes per section to a maximum of 6 courses. In this way you will have better dishes and happier customers.

If you want to offer a varied choice that satisfies everyone, you can always opt for a periodic change of the menu, perhaps following the season.

Create a menu restaurant

create a menu restaurant
create a menu restaurant

The longer the list of food options, the more difficult it becomes for someone who is looking at what you have on offer and trying to decide which one they would like the most – especially when there are some very similar foods with slight variations between them! 

Create a restaurant menu

This means that although having only three pages might seem excessive because each page contains six different plates in total (18 selections), these shorter lists make people feel much easier in making their selection: since nothing seems extraneous or useless, but rather all the choices were weighed up in advance.

How to create the restaurant the menu – imagination

Create a restaurant menu


Don’t limit yourself to simple descriptions with a list of ingredients but refer to the preparation.

Moreover, you could take care of the menu based on the theme of your restaurant with a language that reflects its nature.

Don’t forget to translate the menu into English, especially if you are in a tourist location.

The descriptions of the dishes must more or less have the same length. However, for the dish you want to sell the most it is worthwhile to capture the attention with a more accurate description.

We tend to choose the dishes at the top or bottom of the menu. Take this into account and enter the dishes you want in these positions.

It tells the ingredient, the origin and above all the quality!

Read also: How to create a children’s menu: 5 tips.

Cafeteria: What you need

Cafeteria. The coffee plant is native to Ethiopia and arrived in Europe around the seventeenth century. Consumption spread in the 1700s. Coffee is consumed almost all over the world. There is no respectable café or bar that does not offer this drink as well as in other catering sectors. Coffee is at the top of the world in terms of economic value along with oil and steel.

cafeteria

Coffee for your coffee shop: Typologies

Cafeteria

Coffee is a tropical plant. Many are the species of the genus Coffea, but only two are economically important: the Coffea arabica and the Coffea canephora (known as robusta).

From the Arabica you get a better quality coffee. Contains from 0.9-1.7% caffeine percentage. This variety represents 3/4 of the production in the world. Arabica improves in quality if grown at altitudes above 900 meters.

Robusta produces a lower quality coffee and a considerable percentage of caffeine, or from 1.6 to 2.8%. This plant prefers lower altitudes (200-300) than the Arabica. However, it is a variety much more resistant to diseases and critical climatic conditions.

Production and collection

Cafeteria

The production is divided into:

  1. Central and South America;
  2. Central Africa;
  3. Asia.

The uniformity of the climate of tropical countries allows continuous fruiting.
The collection can be manual or mechanical. Manual collection takes place in two ways: picking or stripping.

Picking involves harvesting ripe and healthy berries.
With stripping, it is expected that most of the fruits will be at the right ripening, then, in a single pass, all the fruits are harvested. With this method the product does not have a homogeneous maturation and the quality suffers. However, the cost of this collection method is much lower.


Coffee for your coffee shop: Processing

Cafeteria

After the harvest, the beans must be quickly extracted in order to avoid deterioration.

  • In the dry treatment the fruits are dried in the sun. This operation can also be performed with the use of dryers. The result is safer, but poor in quality. Then the pitting and sieving takes place. The coffee thus produced is called natural or not washed.
  • In the wet treatment the fruits undergo stripping and fermentation. The beans are then washed and dried. After drying, pitting is carried out. The coffee obtained from this process is called washed. This method requires a lot of water and is long and expensive, however the final product has a better quality.


Green coffee is sent in jute bags (usually 60 kg) to countries
importers.

What you need to know about coffee for your coffee shop: Mixing and roasting

Cafeteria


In order to obtain a drink with the right body, aroma and taste, it is necessary to mix different types of coffee, in terms of quality and origin.
Mixing allows for a product with constant characteristics. This is important because the consumer gets used to a taste and matches it to a certain brand.

The roasting gives the coffee the taste, aroma and color that characterize it.
The degree of toasting varies depending on the country where the procedure takes place. In Italy, a strong and marked taste is preferred and toasting is carried out at higher temperatures and times (in the south than in the north). The opposite happens in countries that like a coffee with a lighter taste.
After roasting, the coffee is quickly cooled. A strong coffee does not necessarily have a better quality, but only a greater toasting.

cafeteria

Cafeteria

Four methods are used to make coffee:

  • Non-hermetic closure: the coffee is closed in bags practicing 1-2 small holes in the package. The packaged coffee should be used within a month;
  • Vacuum-packed: the coffee is packaged after removing the air and this allows the product to remain for about six months;
  • Pressurization: the coffee is packaged in watertight metal containers. This method, more expensive, allows a long conservation (even more than 3 years).


Decaffeinated coffee

Decaffeinated coffee contains little caffeine (about 0.1% on the dry substance). Caffeine is eliminated from the green bean through the use of water or carbon dioxide. At the bar the decaffeinated coffee is already ground in single-dose packets or in beans; this last solution offers superior qualitative results.

Read also: PIZZERIE, BAR, FAST FOOD FOR AUCTION: THE SPEED OF TRANSPORT

Buffet and All you can eat

Buffet and all you can eat. The all you can eat formula of buffet dinners or eats everything you can, from America has spread everywhere.

buffet and all you can eat
Buffet and all you can eat

You can think of it as a fixed price menu with no limits to what you can put on your plate.

What is an all-you can eat dinner? It looks like a destination for food adventurers. The possibilities to choose from are endless and will keep your taste buds on the tips with something new every time!

Buffet and all you can eat
You can think of it as a fixed price menu with no limits to what you can put on your plate.

A buffet is a great way to keep your appetite satisfied and enjoy lots of different foods. Buffets typically have a large number of dishes ranging from appetizers such as skewers, noodles in broth; main course options such as rice curry, fried chicken, pork chop, buffalo wings and desserts such as ice cream, melting cake and cotton candy, all in one place, so you can choose what is right for the occasion!

The best thing about this type of accommodation: There’s definitely no going back soon once things start to get boring because every dish offers something new – whether it’s flavorful spices used during the baking process paired nicely against sweet sauces.

But it works?

Buffet and all you can eat

This method is a mockery of the emotional factor that arouses in customers because obviously people can only eat up to a certain amount of food.

These clubs compete with the trattorie and try to attract customers with an accessible account. To do this, however, you need to be personal and focus on the buffet service.

Using fantasy with the all you can eat strategy is the key:

  • A set menu of over 10 courses so you won’t have any surprises at the cash desk.
  • Limitation of the cost of the raw material.
  • Extended surface
  • Let us never forget that for good buffet dinners, promoting is essential in order to obtain a large clientele.
  • The price decision must be carefully thought out based on the area in which you are located.

Buffet dinners: Giropizza

Buffet and all you can eat

The “giropizza” offers pizza at will, served at the table and with the possibility of tasting from the simplest pizzas like the Margherita to more complicated and imaginative recipes with fish, salami, avocado, stracciatella, pistachio creams, walnuts and many other ingredients that they will make your customers mouth water. Instead of bringing to the table a single pizza at a time, the waiters could offer slices already cut.

The pizza is excellent for all-you-can-eat buffet dinners, given the very low cost of raw materials.

Dinners Cold buffet, dessert buffet: how many types of buffets exist?

Buffet and all you can eat

There are general rules, but each type of buffet has its own characteristics.

If we think of weddings we realize that usually a salty buffet is prepared with appetizers and at the end of the evening there is a nice dessert buffet. In the evening, a buffet is served for Happy Hour. We also think about coffee breaks during a conference.

The savory or sweet buffets that you find them a little everywhere.

Cold buffet

Before you start, you must have a clear idea of ​​what you want to do and how to organize it.

Want to make a cold dinner buffet? You will need to provide an adequate menu, as we have the best cold room in the restaurant to keep the food, you can click here and learn more about this.

With a Latin American party can you have fun with music and decorations? The buffet will have a South American theme: tapas, avocado salad and palm hearts, scallops in banana leaves, baked cassava …

  • Try some special dishes: empanadas, falafel, tabulé, fish pie
  • remember to make vegan or vegetarian recipes

Buffet desserts

Buffet and all you can eat

In summer you prefer cold cakes without cooking and spoon desserts. Coffee semifreddo without eggs usually likes a lot or you propose a semifreddo zuccotto flavored with brandy.

Subdivide by quality: on the one hand the cakes already divided into portions, on the other the pastries with creams and then the corner of dry pastries.

Savory snacks

Buffet and all you can eat

To make people easier, create themed tables:

  • sandwiches
  • Salads, cold side dishes and vegetables
  • Each table has a theme.

Read also: How catering in the tertiary sector works

Vegan or vegetarian menu

Vegan or vegetarian. According to data from Eurispes, or the Italian Research Institute, in 2018 7 percent of Italians declare themselves vegan or vegetarian.
The data that interests us most is that 55 percent of respondents said they were in trouble when they had to eat in a bar or restaurant.
So, if you decide to include a special vegan or vegetarian menu for these categories of people, you would gain a significant competitive advantage over your local competitors.

Being vegetarian or vegan can be difficult at times. But it is important to make sure that your menu is suitable for this specific customer base, because they have their own needs that must be taken into account when going out to eat!
The problem of not including these groups of people in what is offered could mean losing an advantage over competitors who offer them options – so keep checking here from time to time, We will continue to update all our followers on new incoming dishes.

Vegan or vegetarian

If you are looking to create an exclusive menu for those who eat vegan or vegetarian, there is something that could help you. If other restaurants in your area can’t provide these options and do them their own way instead of using generic meat substitutes like chunks of soy bacon on toast, then they will be at a disadvantage in competing against you, since many people today attach great importance to animal rights.

If you are trying to attract a certain clientele, it is not enough to offer them food and drink. You will need an exclusive menu that specifically meets their needs – whether or not these people eat meat! For example: If your target market is vegan/vegetarian, then try serving dishes with creative vegan ingredients like seitan. Additionally, you can consider offering healthier snack options like are blue corn tortilla chips healthy, which can be a great choice for health-conscious customers.



To take the competitive edge of your industry, you should consider adding more plant-based options to specifically cater to those who don’t eat meat. The question is there and with so many people converting it’s no wonder restaurants are jumping on board!

Vegan or vegetarian

So let’s see some vegan proposals, from appetizers to desserts.

Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your vegan or vegetarian menu restaurant experience:
Include alternatives for meat eaters in each dish so that they can try something new. Use spices that everyone will like, such as cayenne pepper instead of beef broth, to spice up soups and sauces without the added heavy flavor being too strong. Also, make dishes lighter by using watery vegetables like cucumbers rather than greasy ones (and burgers). Ask politely when people object how much milk/egg products should be included.

Appetizers Vegan or vegetarian

1.Vegan puff pastry baskets stuffed with mushrooms and rocket
They are crispy caskets of phyllo dough stuffed with mushrooms and rocket, flavored with rice cream, food yeast and nuts. The filling is very easy to prepare!

2. Hummus in a carriage with black cabbage
It is a hummus, or a sauce traditionally made from chickpea paste, wrapped between two slices of bread together with the black, breaded and fried cabbage.

3. Fig and savory rocket tart
Imagine sweet and soft figs on a crunchy slice of bread, stuffed with a tasty tofu cream with rocket and capers. The peculiarity of the taste of this dish is the contrast between sweet and savory.

First dishes

Vegan or vegetarian

  1. Vegan noodles
    Perfect for those who want to combine tradition at the table and healthy choices.
  2. Miso soup
    Composed of a broth, flavored with wakame seaweed and miso, a condiment made from soybeans and other cereals, such as barley or rice, fermented through the action of a particular mushroom.
  3. Mushroom gnocchi
    They are made with lots of potatoes and little flour. They will be tasty, soft and will fill you a lot without weighing you down.

Second courses

Vegan or vegetarian

  1. Tofu meatballs, dried tomatoes and olives
    These tofu balls are a concentrate of herbs and aromas typical of the Mediterranean.
  2. Savory pie with carrot cream
    It is a tasty recipe that is suitable to be served at any occasion.
  3. Chickpea, oat and spinach burger
    Ideal to be consumed in a single dish with cereals and some chips or in the more classic versions: in a sandwich with vegan mayonnaise and lots of tasty vegetables.

Desserts

Vegan or vegetarian

  1. Vegan biscuits with chocolate chips
    They are the classic American “biscuits” but without butter, which makes them lighter.
  2. Pumpkin cheesecake
    Perfect in the autumn period. Vegan cheese is used.
  3. Vegan chocolate cake
    Choose cocoa bitter and fair trade, organic flour, extra virgin olive oil or corn oil, sugar can be substituted with fructose or stevia, butter with vegetable margarine, milk with soy milk, almond milk or rice, you can also use sourdough or cream of tartar instead of baking powder.

Drinks

Vegan or vegetarian

  1. Spicy Caffelatte
    It is a mixture based on soy milk and cinnamon.
  2. Strawberry milkshake
    Very easy: just use millet or almond milk.
  3. Creamy limoncello
    Excellent digestive, based on soy milk with vanilla.

Finished the complete menu for your new vegan customers!

Read also: Recipes based on melon: first course, second course and dessert.

Create a children’s menu: 5 tips

Children’s menu. Have you just opened a restaurant and you have to try your hand at the design of the menu? Surely, sooner or later you will also have to come across the need to create a children’s menu. It is  useful service  that parents very often appreciate. Not always the dishes of a restaurant are designed to please a very young audience, and that’s why it becomes necessary to develop a parallel menu, suitable for children.

Children’s menu

As we know, in fact, children have a completely different palate from adults and are led to taste and eat a decidedly narrower list of foods. That’s why, if you intend to run a welcoming restaurant that is also open to families, you should also think about designing a children’s menu.

Children’s menu

Building restaurant identity: find out how!

To choose the most suitable foods you will have to follow some simple rules, in order to avoid gross errors and to succeed instead to conquer even the palate of the little ones. On the other hand, many catering chains already do so: just think of McDonald’s, Roadhouse, or even other restaurants, able to offer a satisfying and tasty baby menu.

Successful restaurant error: find out what you absolutely must avoid!

Create a menu for children: tips to avoid mistakes

Children’s menu

On the other hand, creating an eye-catching menu for children is also an art and it’s not as easy as it may seem. We must avoid the mistake of falling into trivial and obvious choices, which unfortunately happens very often. Many restaurants, in fact, not to make mistakes and satisfy all tastes, sometimes offer menus for children too trivial and obvious, which can certainly work once, but certainly will not be able to retain customers.

Restaurant management: discover the most complete and effective software manager!

Children’s menu

1.Simple but not too much
For this reason the first advice to follow if you are creating a children’s menu is to choose simple dishes but not too much. It is clear that children prefer not too elaborate dishes. However, something tasty should never be lacking. Try then to insert a good and colorful dolcetto at the end of the meal. In this way you will give your menu an extra touch.
2.Small pasta
When it comes to children, one must not only deal with tastes but also with other types of needs. It is  very important that children are able to eat without running the risk of serving  food in the wrong way and choking. For this reason, if you are thinking of a first course, remember to insert only small size pasta. Avoid spaghetti or hardly chewable formats, which could only create problems.
3.Drinks
In addition to real dishes, even drinks have their own importance, especially when it comes to children. In this case, of course, we are not talking about wine and beer, but about drinks suitable for their age, like Coca Cola and orange juice. So remember to include within the menu also the possibility to choose between one of these drinks.

Children’s menu
4.Chips


When you have to create a children’s menu you can choose whether to insert more dishes or just a main course. Remember, however, that a food should never be missing: fries. As we know, in fact, the children have  a plate of pasta or a portion of meat can give up easily, the chips just can not say no. So if you have opted for a baby light menu, remember to combine with the first or second course a portion of fries.

Children’s menu
5.Update
Children are habitual and love habits. However, especially if your restaurant is aimed primarily at families, you should also consider changing the children’s menu. This does not mean that every month you will have to present a different menu. For example, you could rotate one of the main dishes from time to time. In this way you will give the impression of greater variety and you will avoid the mistake of falling back into an excessive static that, in the long run, could get tired. Not only that: taking a cue from what McDonald , why not evaluating  the idea of ​​a small gift or a surprise at the end of the meal? It could certainly be a very nice idea and appreciated by children, especially when is combined with certain holidays and festivities.

Neapolitan pizza dough: the original recipe

Neapolitan pizza is your passion and would you like to know the original recipe of the dough? Whether you do it for personal or business reasons, you must know that making the real Neapolitan pizza is not easy. Precisely for this reason it is important to know the recipe of the dough in the smallest details, but above all make sure that you do not skip any passage, under penalty of a bad final result. Here you will find all the indications, the ingredients and the procedures to follow in order to make the Neapolitan pizza dough to perfection.

Neapolitan pizza dough: the ingredients

1 liter of water
50 grams of salt
3 grams of fresh brewer’s yeast
1,7 / 1,8 kg of type 00 flour
These ingredients are those needed to make about 10 pizzas of 30 cm in diameter. In addition, the real Neapolitan pizza provides for the exclusive use of these ingredients. As for the water there are no particular indications: the only condition is that it is smooth. You can also use that of the tap, provided that the temperature is between 20 and 22 degrees and the acidity is between 6 and 7.

The flour, instead, must be of soft wheat 00. The choice of flour is very important, as it will condition the final yield. Generally the flour that is used for the preparation of true Neapolitan pizza is of medium strength, which means that it has about 11-12% of proteins. In some cases, however, some pizza makers choose to use stronger flours, in order to obtain longer leavenings.

Neapolitan pizza

Best pizza flour: find out which one to choose!

With regard to yeast, however, the advice is to prefer fresh brewer’s yeast. However, it is also possible to use the dry one with a low acidity level.

Neapolitan pizza dough: preparation

But let’s go to the heart of the dough recipe: preparation. To knead it is possible to use the hands or to help with a double-speed kneader with plunging or fork arms. At this point you start to pour all the water and salt into a bowl or container of a mixer, stirring and waiting for it to melt well.

Then you can proceed by adding a tablespoon of flour and baking powder, starting to turn with a ladle, or setting the lowest speed in case of kneader. You must then continue to gradually pour the flour, always kneading with the ladle and continuing until the flour has been completely absorbed.

At this point, if you have the mixer you will have to keep it working at the minimum speed for another twenty minutes. If instead you mix with your hands, then you can start by making a circular movement, that is taking the dough from below and then lift it up and bring it over and finally crushing firmly with the palm downwards. It will be necessary to continue until all the flour has been absorbed.

Neapolitan pizza

Now the dough can be transferred to a floured surface. Here we can continue to work the dough until it has taken on a smooth, soft and elastic consistency. Pasta, in particular, must be moist but at the same time should not stick to the hands.

At this point the dough can be covered with a damp cloth and stored in a place free from drafts. The surrounding temperature should be around 24 degrees. In order for the dough to rise well it is necessary to rest for at least two hours.

When the dough is doubled you can start to work it with both hands, in order to give it the classic “wheel-wheel” shape. Then you can proceed with the formation of loaves. These cakes can weigh between 180 and 250 grams and should be left to rise for at least 4 hours.

Even this phase is very important and who is preparing the pizza will constantly monitor the loaves, verifying their leavening and eventually moving them to warmer places. Once the dough is ready, the dough is ready to be spread and seasoned with the ingredients you choose to insert.

Pizzeria in the restaurant: how to manage it to the fullest

Beyond the preparation of the dough, which is certainly an important step in the case when we decided to serve pizzas to your restaurant, you will also be very useful to learn how to better manage the orders. Having a pizzeria inside a restaurant, in fact, involves a greater organization, which can not be left to chance or worse improvised.

The same management of restaurant reservations is more difficult and to ensure that it does not cause disruption should be entrusted to a good management. In this Ristomanager can offer a valuable help, reducing the margins of error and making even more efficient management of the pizzeria inside your restaurant.

It is software that works as an app for restaurant orders, but not only. This management system will allow you to improve and control every organizational aspect: from the management of the tables to that of the warehouse, staff and even customer loyalty.

Read also: Pizza oven static or ventilated?

Chocolate festival

Chocolate festival. Let’s talk about chocolate, have you already enjoyed in your mouth?

Perhaps you will think of the film with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche where they  fell in love in a French town between one praline and another. Or the last chocolate cake you gave up for its high caloric intake. I’m sure nobody has thought about the benefits that chocolate gives to body and mind, just knowing how to choose the right one.

Chocolate festival


The chocolate landed in Europe in 1502 and became a medical remedy, it was thought in fact, that it was a drug for digestion, the proper functioning of the organism and that it even healed from depression. So it was beliefs, that cocoa paste has superlative properties, today we have the security.

A basic requirement for a quality product is cocoa paste as the first ingredient, therefore attentive to labels. Bad news for lovers of the white and milk variants, the ally of our health is the flux, which should contain at least 70% cocoa; the higher the percentage, the better it is.

Chocolate festival

The cocoa, in fact, contains the flavonoids, powerful antioxidants that we also find in berries, in red wine and citrus fruits. But why are they so important for our health

  • They prevent cardiovascular diseases
  • They protect the arteries
  • They improve memory
  • Antivirals
  • Anti-inflammatories
  • Antiallergeni
  • They fight obesity
  • They help the immune system

The positive effects are many and worth taking into consideration, however we must not forget the fact that chocolate is a very caloric food, 100 grams of product bring about 500 kcal, but if introduced into a healthy and balanced diet, some small picture is it will be able to taste without guilt.

Chocolate festival
Chocolate festival

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL
An unmissable event for chocolate lovers, this year Perugia will host the Eurochocolate, at its twenty-fifth edition. From October 19th to 28th the Umbrian capital will be invaded by thousands of gluttons. For the occasion, three “tourist” packages have been created, which will allow participants to take part in the most prestigious chocolate festival on the peninsula. Below you will find descriptions of the travel offers and their prices:

Chocolate festival

Day trip, return journey by bus + day to Eurochocolate 49 euros
Weekend travel, return journey by bus + 2 days to Eurochocolate + one night in hotel (half board) + guided tour of Assisi 129 euro
Deluxe travel, return journey by bus + 2 days to the Eurochocolate + 2 nights at the hotel (half board) + guided tour of Assisi 219 euros
And if you are a lover of art, you can not miss the open-air gallery that offers Eurochocolate every year; the most admired are the sculptors, who succeed in modeling huge blocks of chocolate, creating works worthy of a museum.

Chocolate festival

RECIPE MUD CAKE
We could not finish an article on chocolate without giving you a recipe, we present the Mud Cake, or as it is called in its country of origin “Mississippi Mud Cake”.

Literally means mud cake but do not be fooled, it has been named for its soft and creamy texture, which reminds the banks of the Mississippi River. In the United States this sweet is present in the recipes of all families. Absolute protagonist, it can only be him, the CioccoRe, which makes this cake very substantial and therefore unsuitable for frequent consumption. For special occasions, it is a pity of throat that can be granted. A delight for the palate that will bring your taste buds on an entrancing journey.

INGREDIENTS:

250 grams of butter
250 grams of extra dark chocolate (70% minimum)
250 grams of sugar
130 grams of milk
4 eggs
1 sachet of vanillin
1 cup of coffee (optional)
50 grams of cocoa powder
200 grams of flour
1 sachet of baking powder
150 grams of extra dark chocolate
60 grams of fresh cream
grains of hazelnuts and pistachios

METHOD:

The first thing to do is to melt the chocolate in a bain-marie with the butter and sugar, mix all the ingredients and add the milk and the cup of coffee, continuing to mix over medium-low heat.

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

In a separate bowl, add the dry ingredients, then the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and vanilla sachet. Mix the ingredients and gently add the mixture previously dissolved in a bain-marie.

CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

Take another container, break the eggs and after adding a pinch of salt, use the whisk or electric mixer for a few minutes at medium speed, until they are light and fluffy.

Add them to the mixture and mix with a spatula from bottom to top, this step is very important to avoid disassembling the mixture.

The game is done; take a 22 cm diameter cake tin, with butter  and flour and then pour the mixture.

Static oven at 150 degrees for an hour and a half.

Now comes the easy and fun part, the preparation of the chocolate ganache; Once again melt the remaining chocolate (150 gr) with the bain-marie liquid cream, stirring occasionally. When it has reached a smooth and shiny consistency and the kitchen will be flooded with the dense scent of chocolate, you can pour it on the mud cake. To decorate, add the grains of hazelnuts and pistachios or alternatively a small pile of red fruits in the center. Enjoy your meal!

“There is not so much metaphysics on earth as in a chocolate”
(Fernando Pessoa)

Read also: How to prepare a good cake with honey

The dishes with algae

Dishes with algae

2017 has many novelties in store for the gastronomic scene, not least the dishes with seaweed.

We may have just touched 2017, but it has been an exciting year for those who love seafood and its many cousins dishes. In addition to the usual suspects like ceviche or octopus-legged sushi, we’re seeing more creative chefs experimenting with the incorporation of seaweed into their kitchen!

dishes with algae

Dishes with algae

Some of these innovations include the addition of wakame (seaweed) as a dressing in salads instead of green salads – or the making of tempura that includes pieces of fresh nori instead of flakes. As if all this wasn’t enough – be careful because there will always be something new coming.

It seems that, at a long distance from Japanese chefs, our Italian chefs have also discovered how edible seaweed is.

Plates with seaweed

Dishes with algae

The seaweed is delicious but you need to prepare it in the best way to taste it satisfactorily.

Algae may seem like an unpleasant food, but in reality they are one of the tastiest and healthiest foods there are! You just need to know how.


-Algae can be found in Asian or online grocery stores (and are frozen). They are usually sold by weight, so check the size of your package before purchase – the smaller ones are better because they will cook faster / more easily when making sushi rolls or other similar dishes; Larger sizes can last longer if all the ingredients are not used right away.

Dishes with algae



It is not possible to think of eating a dish of seaweed that is not well seasoned. It should also be remembered that each type of algae has its own specific characteristics. That is why below are presented some types of algae among the most known and widespread.

And not only: they are real “reservoirs” of nutrients such as iron, magnesium, vitamin B12, iodine, calcium and potassium. Eating algae seems very healthy. Then you can enjoy a good dish of algae so as to also improve their own levels of iron and the like in the blood.

Algae are also rich in fiber, which in fact makes them “scavengers” of the intestine. So it’s clear that they have different properties.

Dishes with algae

Just as “hygienic” are in their function as antioxidants: they clean the body from free radicals. In fact, if they are not reabsorbed, they weaken the immune system and even promote the onset of cancer.

But the properties of this variety of maritime plant do not end there. In fact, algae are already known to be depurative and not pollute (the risks of intoxication for those who eat algae tend therefore to zero).

From the inside of your gut to soups and side dishes, seaweed is a vegetable that you should eat. This macro-nutrient-rich superfood has many health benefits, including help in weight loss! Algae can also be an excellent addition to any dish or incorporated into foods such as tamales, where its salty qualities add flavor without adding calories.
The outer layer (reportedly) may seem bitter at first, but this disappears once cooked giving too much umami that makes these delights perfect as snacks.

Types of algae and in which dishes with the most beloved algae

Plates with seaweed

dishes with algae

Dishes with algae

But algae, in addition to being healthy, can also be tasty. Let’s see what they are and where to use them as ingredients:

nori: a black, sticky seaweed, which, however, is for you if you have a Japanese restaurant. With nori seaweed you can create sushi maki. If your restaurant is a common European restaurant, do not panic: it will still give added value to your fish broths. 

This alga also goes perfectly in basmati rice, better if in addition to soybeans and pumpkin seeds
spirulina: blue algae from the waters of Mexico. Its unusual color should not be suspicious: spirulina is an ingredient guessed in many Italian recipes including tagliatelle and fusilli. But this alga with beneficial properties and antioxidants also peeps in biscuits, coconut water, smoothies, and in tidbits with spinach
Plates with seaweed

Algae, in addition to being healthy, can also be tasty.


The texture of the algae is comparable to that of a rubber band when chewed with a full mouth; they are soft but have a certain elasticity between bites, which makes the experience pleasant! Algae contain many nutrients such as vitamin C and B vitamins that help promote good health because they are rich sources of fiber (especially laminarin), minerals including iodine intake from raw or cooked shellfish as proteins – all very important things we need every day.

Algae dishes: discovering algae

Dishes with algae

kombu: this Japanese seaweed, in addition to the already known benefits of algae, has to be alkalizing and therefore to regularize the pH of the organism. It can also be used on two gastronomic fronts: Japanese and vegan. In the first the kumbu alga is an ingredient in azuki soup, in the second it is the filling of vegan ravioli. Always on the vegan side is very popular in the dishes with algae with vegan burgers.


wakame: seaweed very popular in vegan cuisine, where it is widely used. You can taste it in all states: raw, cooked, crumbled after baking, as an ingredient in a vegetable cream. In fact, it makes a good impression in the celery cream, in the arancini, as a condiment for fish sticks, and in the sauce of roveja and mushrooms.

Dishes with algae
kelp: particular signs of this alga: brown, odorous sea, active support of processes of the organism such as diuresis and reabsorption of water retention. Kelp is also the active ingredient in numerous dietary supplements for its beneficial properties on metabolism. When it is dried, it is very much used in vegan salads. It is also the added value of soups and pasta and beans (of which enhances the flavor)

Read also: Buy quality fish for restaurants: risks, precautions and news.

How to make mini lasagna meatloaf

Mini lasagna meatloaf. If you feel like lasagna, this mini meatloaf lasagna is the right thing. It really tastes like lasagna!

Do not you have the time to make the mini meatloaf? This recipe can be cooked like a regular meatloaf.

Mini meat loaf lasagna



If you fancy lasagna, this mini meatloaf lasagna is the right thing. It really tastes like lasagna, but it’s smaller and there’s meat. It may not seem like a typical Southern dish, but that’s the basic idea.

Don’t have time to make mini meatloaf? This recipe can be cooked like a regular meatloaf.

It is a super rich dish that can strike straight to the heart both lovers of stuffed pasta, both meat loaf lovers.

The recipe is quite simple and the preparation requires only a little attention to detail. This is a real restaurant dish, but it can also be made safely at home, all you have to do is organize yourself to the fullest.

Mini lasagna meatloaf

Mini lasagna meatloaf

mini lasagna meatloaf
mini lasagna meatloaf



This is a dish that can be easily made at home, but it is also one of those dishes that you really want to try if you are in Italy. Get organized!

One of the most popular dishes in Italy is lasagna. It is made with layers of pasta, meatballs and tomato sauce in a baking sheet for an afternoon meal or an appetizer!

Lasagna is one of the classic dishes in Italy. It is made with layers of pasta, meatballs and tomato sauce for an afternoon meal or an appetizer
The most famous dish of all Italian cuisine could be the lasagna! This delicious focaccia contains various ingredients that vary from region to region, but often include items such as mushrooms, ricotta, spinach leaves – or any combination of these – depending on what sounds good on hand when preparing this comforting food. Sometimes even other cheeses can take its place depending on personal preferences.

This dish is perfect for anyone who loves Italian cuisine. The combination of flavors in pasta and sauce will make your mouth water as soon as it hits you, with an aftertaste that persists long after eating until the last bite!
I’m sure we’re not alone in saying how much better life would be if only our taste buds were always satisfied in this way: rich but light at the same time.


INGREDIENTS

– 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
– ½ cup of finely chopped onion
– 2 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
– 2 cups of minced frozen spinach
– 1 3/4 pounds of ground beef or bison
– 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs
– 1/4 cup of fresh minced basil
– ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
– 1 teaspoon of salt
– 1 cup of shredded / grated mozzarella

PREPARATION mini lasagna meatloaf

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the oil in a small pan. Cook the onion and garlic until soft for at least 5 minutes.

To defrost frozen spinach, put frozen chopped spinach in a fine strainer and run hot water on it until the spinach has thawed. Press the spinach with your fingers to release as much water as possible. Scrape the spinach out of the filter in the middle of a thick paper napkin (or two thin paper napkins) and fold the paper napkin over the spinach as a package.

Squeeze over a sink to remove all the remaining water (unlike a cloth towel, spinach does not stick to paper towels).

In a large bowl, use your hands to gently combine the onion and garlic, spinach, minced meat, eggs, 1 cup of marinara sauce, breadcrumbs, basil, oregano, salt and 1 cup of grated mozzarella.

Mix the mixture in each cup of the muffin pan, pressing with your fingers to flatten and level the tops.

Spread the remaining marinara sauce on top of each (about 2 teaspoons for each meatloaf) and then sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top (this is optional and makes it look more beautiful).

Read also: How to plan the cooking for the Lasagna Stuffing

Flours for pizza: choose the one for you.

How to choose the best pizza flours.

Flours for pizza. All those who, by trade or simple passion, intend to prepare the classic pizza, will have to know the best flours for pizza on the market to be used in order to better create their product. Through this sort of guide we will list all the best flours that can be used for the dough of the most popular dish in the world: pizza.

Knowing the flour that you use will be essential for the preparation and the final success of the product, often due to failures and complaints. Buying the first flour on the shelf of a supermarket is not enough, but the same goes for professional pizza makers.

Flours for pizza

Each flour has different properties and qualities, as we are reminded on the Esaustivo.it website. They are married to certain determined, to be completely unsuitable for others. To be sure of buying the right flour you will have to evaluate a whole series of characteristics such as wheat types, strength and protein content.

Flours for pizza
Flours for pizza

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FLOURS

Flours for pizza

FLOUR TYPE 0: the flour type “0” is rich in gluten and very suitable for the dough of traditional bread. It is coarser and less fine than the “00” flour.

FLOUR TYPE 00: it is the most common flour in the kitchen, as well as the most sold. Its fine granulation derives from the processing to which the innermost parts of the soft wheat seeds are subjected. During this process, however, a whole series of nutrients are eliminated such as mineral salts, fibers and vitamins contained in the grain. The result is a flour that, despite the simplicity of use, is devoid of essential nutrients. This means that it is richer in sugar and less digestible than other types of flour.

FLOUR TYPE 1: this type of flour has a high concentration of wheat germ and bran, useful for the body. Its consistency goes perfectly with the preparation of pizzas, baked desserts and bread.

Flours for pizza

FLOUR TYPE 2: this type of flour makes it a semi-integral product due to a coarser grinding, with a high fiber content. Compared to totally wholemeal flour its consistency allows a simpler processing, but the leavening of the dough will take place much slower than a traditional flour of type 00 and 0. The flour of type 2 is commonly used in the preparation of pizza, bread and baked sweets.

INTEGRAL FLOUR: the processing of this flour is more difficult than the other types analyzed so far, but its content of essential nutrients remains the highest thanks to the whole grain milling. Its consistency to the touch is grainy, while its processing requires an expert hand, but it is possible to buy the stone-ground product, to allow more homemade dough processing, also ideal for the preparation of pizzas.

STRENGTH OF FLOURS

The flours are classified according to the strength, calculated in “W”. The “W” is a unit of measurement that indicates the ability to:

1.absorb liquids during the dough processing process

2.retain carbon dioxide useful for leavening. This capacity depends on the presence of gluten in the flour itself.

The different flours are then divided into strong and weak, from the strongest to a value reported on the label of 500 W, the weakest by 130 W.

FLOUR FLOURS: they reach 170 W and absorb about 50% of the liquids during the dough process. They are especially indicated for the preparation of biscuits.

MEDIUM FLOURS: these types of flour reach 180 W up to 260 W, absorbing 65% of the liquids during the dough, associated with the preparation of sandwiches.

STRONG FLOURS: they reach a capacity between 270 and 350 W, absorbing on average 70% of the liquids during the dough process. They are therefore ideal for the preparation of pizzas, especially the Manitoba flour, which with its capacity to absorb liquids by 90% compensates for the weakest flours.

VERY STRONG FLOURS: these flours exceed 350 W, absorbing 90% of the liquids during the dough processing process. They are mainly used in confectionery for sweets such as panettone and pandori.

MEASURING OF THE FLOUR ASH: every flour has its own mineral content intact after the grinding process. The ashes represent the unit of measure of the refining of the same flour, the more their contribution will result lower the greater the refining suffered. In the same way the values ​​of the proteins of the different flours, corresponding to Gliadin and glutenin, will also be reported on the label.

Read also: The profession of pizza maker: interview with Roberto Gallo