This has been an interesting week. On Sunday the papers were full of chortling articles about a daring heist: Thieves broke into a bank within Rome's Palace of Justice, where all the major criminal trials are held, and cleaned out 200 safety deposit boxes in the vault. Nobody in the police station 2 doors down the hall from the bank heard a thing, and there was much muttering about moles in the interviews on TV. The police have, for now, limited themselves to saying the theft was a professional job and that the thieves knew how to disable alarms -- hardly surprising considering where the theft was carried out. This is the perfect sort of thing to discuss under an umbrella at the beach and many did.

Others commented on the new vigor with which speed limits and other rules of the road are being enforced -- following a series of horrific weekend accidents in June, fines have been raised and arrest is now likely for more serious infractions (in addition to immediate suspension of license and confiscation of vehicle). The campaign seems to be working, because the number of fatalities was much lower this weekend. What does this mean for you? Assuming you come to visit and drive, nothing so long as you follow the rules of the road. And how to avoid getting involved in an accident? Be alert. Italians have an undeserved reputation for indiscipline on the roads; it is true that they go fast, but they're quite aware of what's going on, drive accordingly, and expect others to too. Use your signals when you turn or switch lanes to pass (never pass on the right, and shift right if you're being overtaken). People will generally make room for you if you signal, and will expect you to accommodate them when they do. Be decisive -- if you just drift along people won't understand what you're doing. Know when you have the right of way (as a general rule, in the absence of a yield sign the car coming from the right at an intersection or circle has the right of way) and take it, unless doing so will get you into an accident. This brings us back to point one: be alert. If you are, Italy's a fun place to drive.

The third thing everyone was commenting on under the umbrellas this weekend was a story about a trucking company in the Veneto region (up north) that could not find drivers locally. So they contacted 150 unemployed Sicilian drivers, who turned down very lucrative job offers for all sorts of reasons -- this when unemployment in the South, and especially Sicily, approaches 50% in some towns. The northern demagogues took the story and ran with it, loudly proclaiming it provides further proof (as if any were necessary) that South Italians are lazy sods who'd rather stay home and collect checks than do an honest day's work. As an editorial in La Repubblica, a leading slightly left-of-center daily pointed out, it actually shows something quite different. Italy has two economies, one above board and the other below, and though there are pockets of true unemployment in the South there are also many people who are "unemployed" but actually perform what is called lavoro in nero, work under the table. This lavoro in nero can be anything, from a part or full time job, to consulting, to stuff that's quite high tech and well paid; the article also noted that the phenomenon extends throughout the peninsula. Why all this lavoro in nero? Fiscal pressure: Taxes of one sort and another eat up 50 to 60% of people's above board gross earnings; companies are required to pay the taxes directly for their employees and therefore will do what they can to reduce this expense, while workers and professionals do what they can to pocket more money, for example accepting payments in cash.

The one kind of work that these nominally unemployed will not be doing is menial labor (field work, pot scrubbing, factory work, etc.). Italians are increasingly refusing to do those jobs, which are seen as either difficult, unhealthy, or lacking in prestige, and as a result Italian companies are hiring increasing numbers of immigrants to fill posts they cannot fill otherwise (the trucking company in Veneto will likely take this tack). In fact, even the post office, whose relatively easy, absolutely secure jobs were in such demand they were distributed as political favors until quite recently, is now hiring immigrants to carry mail, and training them for management positions as well. Bottom line: Despite what the demagogues say about unemployment in the South, the situation is much more complex than it would at first appear.

Returning more towards food, I was recently asked for a four cheeses sauce for pasta. Here are a couple, from a message I posted a while back on the rec.foods.cooking newsgroup:

Quattro formaggi generally is milk-based; the container of commercially prepared Salsa ai 4 formaggi in the refrigerator says it has Gorgonzola, fontal (a cheaper relative of fontina), grana (close cousin to Parmigiano) and something called italica, which is new to me. There's also white wine and white pepper.

What I make is quite simple, and involves three cheeses rather than four. Once the pasta water comes to a boil add the pasta, then take about a cup of milk and set it to heat over a moderate flame, adding about a quarter pound each of Gorgonzola dolce (the mild, creamy gorgonzola, not the sharp variety that resembles Roquefort) and Fontina. Stir constantly because the cheeses will settle, melt over the bottom of the pan, and burn if you don't. Add a pinch or more of white pepper to taste.

When the pasta is just shy of being done, drain it. Transfer it to a skillet, stir in the sauce, and 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano, and cook over a brisk flame, moving the skillet as you would if you were making an omelet to toss the pasta. Once most of the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is cooked, serve.

Reading the ingredients of the commercial sauce in the refrigerator makes me wonder what adding a quarter cup of white wine to the sauce just before tossing the pasta would be like. Something to try the next time I make it from scratch.

Fernanda Gosetti, on the other hand, suggests:

• 3/4 cup (150 g) sweet butter warm enough to be quite soft
• 1/3 pound (150 g) soft Grana Padano or Parmigiano
• 3 ounces (75 g) Gruyere
• 3 ounces Edam (75 g; a Dutch cheese)
• 3 ounces (75 g) mozzarella

While the pasta water is heating grind half the Grana and cut the remaining cheeses into thin strips. While the pasta is cooking heat the serving bowl with a ladle of boiling water, and when the pasta is done stir in the strips of cheese and half the butter; keep stirring to melt everything well. Just before serving stir in the remainder of the butter and the grated Grana.

One could do worse, though I'm not sure why she uses Edam. I might go with fontina instead, and you're of course free to use what cheeses you like.

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Francis Guagenti, on the other hand, requested a soft, chewy cookie called Panispagna that his mother, from Caccamo (Sicily), used to make. I haven't found anything that matches this description, alas. According to Pino Correnti, author of Il Grande Libro d'Oro della Cucina e dei Vini di Sicilia, Pan di Spagna is a cake that appeared on the scene when the crusaders brought sugar home with them (I've seen this explanation elsewhere as well); in terms of recipes his differs little from those made further north. He gives two, one with and the other without yeast:

A:

• 1 cup (100 g) fine flour
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (60 g) potato starch
• 1/2 ounce baker's yeast (use live bread yeast if need be)
• The grated zest of a lemon
• Milk
• A pinch of salt

B:

• 4 yolks
• 5 whites (whipped to firm peaks)
• 1 cup (100 g) flour
• 1/2 cup (50 g) potato starch
• 1/2 cup sugar
• A few drops orange water (or a drop of orange extract if need be)

Used hundreds of ways, and also consumed as is, this cake becomes irreplaceable when used as the container for the cassata and its relatives. The most difficult part about it is the baking, but covering it with foil and placing it in the exact center of the oven, which is kept moist through the addition of a can of water, will give you a perfect golden pan di Spagna provided you follow the instructions. Begin by beating the yolks, separately from the whites, together with the sugar and, if you like, a bit of vanilla extract. When the volume of the mixture has about tripled, fold in the flour (sprinkle it over the egg mixture as you work it in), and then add the yeast, which you will have dissolved in some warm milk, the grated lemon zest or orange extract, and a pinch of salt.

Put the pot on the top of a double boiler and while gently stirring with a wooden spoon, incorporate the whites, which should be beaten to firm peaks and the melted butter. Do not let the mixture boil! When it is thoroughly amalgamated pour it into a round 9-inch (24 cm) pan at least 6 inches (15 cm) deep, because pan di Spagna will rise. Bake in a preheated moderate (370 F, 180 C) oven for about 40 minutes (a toothpick inserted in the center should emerge dry).

Who invented this? It's difficult to say, though one thing is certain: the honey and molasses used by the ancients would never have allowed this cake to rise in the oven. Only sugar can do this, the sugar initially from canes, called cannamele, that the Arabs planted in Sicily and Spain. The Sicilian Constitution established by Frederick II in Palermo in 1231 defines "confectari" as those who work sugar, from whence confetti (candied almonds), confetture (jams) and so on.

It is certainly true that alchemists and convents begged many miracles from the sweet salt the crusaders brought home from the Holy Land; one is Pan di Spagna.

What to do with it once you've made it? It's perfect for making layer cakes and such (cut it in half, smother the bottom with icing or pastry cream, replace the top half, and continue to spread frosting), and, if cut into thinner layers, also makes an excellent base for jelly rolls and other log-like cakes (use a square pan in this case). Finally, if anyone has a recipe more along the lines of Francis's mother's, please send it (or post it on the board). And here's a recipe for Cassata.

Winding down, France, Italy and Monaco (i.e. Montecarlo) have recently signed an agreement establishing a reserve for whales in the upper part of the Tyrrhenian Sea, between the Riviera and Corsica. Expect people to be organizing whale-watching tours and excursions soon.

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

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