Being the 8th issue of Cosa Bolle in Pentola, your Italian Cuisine newsletter.

This has been a sad week: When I moved to Florence in 1982 the first people I met were the furniture restorers, three brothers whose shop was next door. They did most of their work outside on the street, and things were never quiet as they argued over soccer results, talked politics or just plain yelled at each other. However, they also kept an eye on everything that happened on the street and were the first to come to a person's assistance if need be. Well, Luciano died suddenly this weekend and things are much too quiet now.

I've had a number of people ask me about baking recently and have answered as best I can, though I fear I have fallen flat more than once. Problem is, I don't bake. Nor do most Italians, for the simple reason that we're blessed with an abundance of bakeries. There are five within a five-minute walk of our house, all of which bake fresh bread morning and afternoon: Pane casalingo toscano -- Tuscan white bread, which is made with white flour and no salt, and has a crunchy crust and a crumb with marble-sized holes (in a variety of loaf shapes); pane integrale -- whole wheat bread, in a variety of shapes; pane pugliese -- puglian bread, which has a thinner crunchy crust, lots of holes in the crumb, and is salty; pane all'olio -- rolls of one sort or another, which have some oil in the dough, soft crusts and fine crumb; pane ferrarese, rolls with very fine crumb and crunch crust, other kinds of rolls, schiacciata that seasoned with salt and oil for and is baked when the kids get out of school… there's really no reason to bake at home. Nor would it be easy to achieve the same results at home, because the bakery breads are baked directly on the hot tile floors of the ovens, without the benefit of baking tins. One could procure a roof tile and put it in the oven, but it seems more trouble than it's worth. Out in the country, you wonder? I was recently at Montecchio, a hamlet in the middle of the Chianti Classico region to taste the wines. While I was talking to the vintner a dusty van rattled up, horn blaring: The baker from the next town over making his rounds.

Baking pastries is a lot more common than making bread, though there are also three good pastry shops within five minutes of our house; two double as bars (one is also a gelateria) while the third just bakes, doing a booming business on Sunday mornings, when people buy selections of individual-sized pastries for Sunday dinner (especially if they're invited out). Multiple portion desserts are more likely made at home, however, and this brings up Jill Heinrich's recent request for a zuccotto recipe. Here's one from De Agostini's La Mia Cucina, which says, "it's popular because it has the right amount of alcohol and combines cake and ice cream." It's also popular because it can be made ahead and frozen; if you do so give it time to warm up before you serve it, as it should be firm but not hard. To make one for six people you will need:

• 1/4 pound pan di spagna (this is also known as genoise -- a light airy cake)
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 3 sheets of fish glue, or a packet of unflavored gelatin of the kind used to thicken puddings
• 1/4 pound baking chocolate
• About 10 candied cherries
• 1/4 cup maraschino cherry liqueur
• 1/2 cup candied citron
• 1/4 cup milk
• A high-sided hemispherical bowl about 7 inches across.

For the chocolate sauce:

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon butter

Put the sheets of fish glue in a bowl and cover them with warm water to soften. Set aside the best looking cherry and dice the rest with the citron. Shred the baking chocolate.

Next, make the chocolate sauce: Melt the butter over low heat and stir in the cocoa and water. Slowly stir in the sugar and continue cooking over a low flame for five minutes, stirring gently, then remove it from the fire.

Squeeze the sheets of fish glue dry, and melt them in a pot over a low flame with three tablespoons of water, then let the mixture cool (if you are using powdered gelatin mix it up).

Cut the pan di spagna into quarter-inch thick slices and line the bowl with them. Sprinkle them with the liqueur, and, if need be, a little milk. Whip the cream to soft peaks, then beat in the confectioner's sugar and the gelatin, which should still be warm. Carefully divide the whipped cream mixture, and fold into one half the chocolate sauce. Pour it into the bowl and sprinkle it with half the candied fruit. Fold the remaining diced candied fruit and the shredded chocolate into the other half of the whipped cream, and use it to fill the mold. Cover the top of the zuccotto with the remaining slices of pan di spagna, sprinkle them with a little milk, and chill for 5 hours.

Just before serving the zuccotto dip the mold in hot water. Unmold it onto a serving platter, decorate it with the perfect cherry you set aside, and serve.

A printer-friendly version of this recipe.

Moving on to other things, Stu Borken (creator of an excellent almond date tart) writes that while in Italy he stopped for dinner in Imola (not far from Bologna), at a restaurant called San Domenico: "It is in an ancient monastery. The table settings are elegant, the crystal beautiful, the food was presented as works of art and tasted wonderful. There were 5 wine courses which I have sought out since my return to the states and served here, knocking peoples' socks off with them when I present the wines. This is assuredly one of finest restaurants in all of Italy." Tremendous thanks since I will be heading in that direction soon. The restaurant gets 4 stars and a laurel wreath from the 1998 Ristoranti d'Italia, which is as good as they give. The address is Via Sacchi 1; it's open daily except Sunday evenings and Mondays; tel. (0542) 29000.

Have a wonderful day, and thanks for visiting!

Kyle Phillips

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