They're out of their minds!

Politicians never cease to amaze me: The world economy's teetering on the edge of an abyss, American schools are full of gun-toting students who occasionally decide it's time for target practice, and more than 40 million Americans have no health coverage at all -- if they feel ill they go to the emergency room and hope for the best. So what are the folks in Washington doing about this? Nothing at all: They're gearing up to impeach a President in the most obvious partisan struggle in recent memory.

Italy, at least, has gun control laws that keep weapons out of the schools, health insurance that covers everyone -- and no panty scandals. But we do have crazy politicians; the country's first liberal government has just collapsed because Fausto Bertinotti, leader of Rifondazione Comunista, a hard-line communist party, withdrew his support after the rest of the coalition decided not to go along with his demand for a 35-hour work week. It's important to note that most of the workers didn't favor this particular provision, because they realize that workers in nearby Eastern Europe are willing to work 40-45 hour weeks at considerably less pay. Factories move here too, and as one editorial pointed out, the choice wasn't 38.5 versus 35 hours, but 38.5 versus none. No matter, Fausto provoked the collapse; Italy is now gearing up for an acrimonious election and has lost much of its standing with the other European governments - just in time for the introduction of the Euro, which will have a tremendous effect on how things are done in this part of the world.

They have their 15 minutes of fame and we get to pay the consequences.

On the Origin of Pasta

Life isn't all grim, however. People have been arguing for centuries over who invented pasta, and many have laid the honor at the doorstep of the Chinese, claiming that Marco Polo brought them back to Venice in the late 1200s. If you think about it, however, combining flour and water to make a dough, cutting it up, and drying it for future use is a pretty obvious idea, of the sort that is certain to have arisen independently in various parts of the world. This idea is confirmed by the recent discovery of a document on Sicilian dining habits commissioned by Frederick II of Swabia in 1154, which mentions "filiform pasta, called al-ytria, which is dried in a warm oven and keeps for several months."

Synthetic Corks for Wines

The other interesting news of late it that Italian wineries are beginning to adopt synthetic corks - not for the DOC wines, which must by law have cork stoppers, but for the table wines. Papers have devoted full-page spreads to the subject, and reactions are mixed. There's much horror from the traditionalists, especially those involved in serving wine, who lament the loss of part of the ritual - there's not much point in inspecting or sniffing an inert plastic stopper. The bodies governing the DOCs are taking more of a wait-and-see attitude; they want to know how the table wines that are now being sealed with synthetics will develop over time. It's no secret that wine in a bottle with a cork does change with time, as oxygen seeps in through the cork, and that a bad cork, which can occur in even the most expensive lots of corks, will ruin the wine it's in contact with. If the table wines with synthetic stoppers do well over the long hall we can expect the DOC commissions to allow them.

The reaction of the producers? They're interested. Enrico Teruzzi of Ponte a Rondolino told me that he'd prefer to use synthetic stoppers for his Vernaccia because he thinks they offer a better guarantee than the traditional corks. Ambrogio Folonari, of Ruffino, has been experimenting with them for the past two years and hasn't noticed any problems. Albiera Antinori recently said in an interview that she doubts Antionri will use obviously synthetic stoppers for strictly aesthetic reasons, but does expect that the company will adopt some sort of synthetic mix - "Bad corks are a real problem." So, it looks like synthetic stoppers are on the way.

My experience? I've had one synthetically sealed bottle, a Pinot Noir from the north-western US. It was a couple of years old, and quite nice - fresh, fruity, and with good structure. And this brings up a point: though there are wines that can and do evolve in the bottle, Barolo for example, the vast majority are ready to be drunk when they're bottled -- subsequent interaction with the atmosphere though the cork can only hasten their decline.

Winding down, Kathie recently requested a recipe for penne alla boscaiola, woodsman's penne. It's one of the classic pasta sauces, and is a wonderful reason to eagerly await the arrival of mushroom season. To my great surprise it's not featured in any of my Italian cookbooks. I have however found this recipe, after much searching.

And here's something else to do with mushrooms and penne, from an old issue of Sale e Pepe, one of Italy's better food magazines:

Penne Funghi e Fagiolini -- Penne, Mushrooms and String Beans

To serve 4, you'll need:

• 3/4 pound penne
• 1/2 pound cultivated mushrooms (the addition of a few dried porcini, steeped and minced, won't hurt)
• 1/2 pound string beans
• 1/2 pound ripe plum tomatoes
• 2 baby carrots
• A small onion
• 1/2 a garlic clove
• A small bunch parsley
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Half a small hot red pepper, seeded and crumbled (optional)

Blanch, peel and seed the tomatoes, and then blend them. Remove the strings from the beans, if necessary, and chop them. Finely slice the carrot and the mushrooms.

Set a pot of water to boil for the pasta.

Mince the onion and sauté it in the olive oil until it wilts; in the meantime mince the parsley and the garlic. Stir half the parsley and the garlic into the onion, cook a few seconds more, and add the mushrooms and carrots. Cook for about three minutes, then stir in the blended tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper (or red pepper, going easy) to taste, and simmer over a low flame for about 20 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering the water will come to a boil; lightly salt it and cook the pasta, timing it so it will be ready when the sauce is. Drain the pasta while it's still al dente, stir in the sauce, dust it with the remaining parsley and the grated cheese, and serve.

In terms of a wine, I'd go with a steel-fermented white, for example a Montenidoli's Vernaccia di San Gimingnano Tradizionale or their Vinbrusco, which is a blend of Malvasia and Trebbiano.

Thanks for visiting, and have a wonderful day!
Kyle Phillips

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