Prodi’s pretty picture

December 29, 2007 · Filed Under Life in Italy · 12 Comments

In what could possibly be considered as one Italian equivalent to the UK Queen’s Christmas Day speech, Romano Prodi, Italy’s current hanging on by a thread prime minister, appeared to demonstrate that he is possibly a wee bit out of touch with life here in the Living Museum. He painted a rosy picture of an Italy in which things were getting better, although I’m not too sure Beppe Grillo and his supporters would necessarily agree with Mr P.

One can draw several possible conclusions from Prodi’s optimism: First, he had had a little too much Grappa, and was feeling merry. Next, he really felt he ought to say something positive in order to counter a certain Italian comedian’s attempts to discredit just about all Italian politicians. Then, he was simply reading a speech prepared by someone else. And finally, he is so out of touch with Italian reality that he honesty believes that things are getting better.

Of course, on Mr P’s salary and perks, one doubts whether financial problems and worries about obtaining a full time work contract really bug his household. And any attempts to investigate the irregularities in which several members of his government are involved can easily be swept under the carpet by allowing the transfer of those nasty law upholding Italian magistrates and financial policemen to posts where they cannot stick their annoying little noses into affairs which simply do not concern them.

In light of the above, I guess from Mr Prodi’s personal point of view, he has good reason to believe things are becoming better in Italy. At least they are for he and his chums.

Still, Mr P may be right, after all, lots more people have been flooding the ski slopes than in recent years. This must be a sign of an economic up turn, if ever there was one.

Tags: government, grappa, Grillo, investigate, Italia, Italian, Italian politicians, Italy, life, magistrates, People, Prodi

Will it always be Christmas in Milan?

December 13, 2007 · Filed Under Milan · 2 Comments

It’s not just me, there are more Christmas lights than ever before here in Milan. Apparently the reason behind this festive splurge on pretty lights is rising crime levels in the city and some kind of pact the city’s politicos have made with the residents. Well lit streets reduce the probability of people ending up being the victims of crime. Yes, I suppose there is some truth in that.

However, this worthy attempt at keeping us all safe during the festive season raises the question ‘What happens after Christmas, when all these pretty safety lights go?’. Post Christmas crime levels may spiral. Unless of course, the powers that be are planning to make Christmas a permanent thing.

This interesting thought begs a few more questions. Such as ‘Will we be subjected to Xmas ads all year round on the telly?’ and ‘Will we get to see a plethora of Santa movies all year long?’. I suppose calming Christmas music could be piped throughout the city in an attempt to keep crime levels down. And ‘Will reds and greens become the next seasons favourite colours of choice for the Milanese fashion industry?’ .

‘Will mayoress Moratti sport a Santa costume all year round?’.

The mind boggles.

End of some frighteningly festive food for thought from me at Blog from Italy. Someone is off their baubles, if you ask me. Too much festive spirit, most probably Grappa.

Tags: Christmas, city, crime, grappa, Italy, lights, Milan, People, questions

Milanese Grey

November 20, 2007 · Filed Under Life in Italy · 4 Comments

I think it may be true to say that winter has finally kicked in here in not-so-sunny Milan. As always here, the temperatures dropped almost overnight, well, it seems that way. In reality, the temperature had been falling gradually over the last few weeks or so, but it hit genuine winter levels towards the end of last week.

Today and yesterday the sky over the city has adopted its familiar grey winter hue. It is quite chilly too and even I am thinking about digging out my gloves - I’ve already found a scarf.

Still, looking on the bright side, Christmas is just round the corner, and all this cold weather means that gnocchi in melted Fontina cheese are back on the menu. And I can start drinking more full bodied red wine, not to mention the winter fruits grappa which is maturing in a cupboard.

Winter may be cold, but it does have its advantages.

Tags: Cheese, Christmas, city, drink, eat, grappa, Italian Wine, Milan

The joys of dieting

November 2, 2007 · Filed Under Italian Food · 1 Comment

Are there any joys that can be associated with dieting? Well, yes there are, at least I think so. Firstly and most obviously there is the pleasure of knowing that you have rid yourself of some extra baggage. I tend to feel lighter, both physically and emotionally, as I often did when I was into one of my cycling phases.

But there is another joy, one which, perhaps, is not so obvious. This joy is the pleasure of eating interesting food after having passed many a day restricting yourself to ‘diet friendly’ dishes. I noticed this ‘joy’ on two occasions recently. The first time was while I was having lunch with my other half on Friday.

I had ‘faraone’ - which is ‘mature’ chicken, in an orange sauce, which was accompanied by some Italian mashed potato - purè. Oh how I relished this food! It was almost as if I had not eaten decent food for ages. The feeling was so wonderful that I did not want the lunch to end. Indeed, I threw my diet to the wind once more and ordered a tiramisu with amaretto pudding. It too was delicious.

Then, last night I was invited by our charming neighbour, Anita, to dinner at her house. On the menu was a sort of fusion between northern and southern Italian cuisine. The starter was a dish made of aubergines wrapped around a breadcrumb and cheese filling, and somehow a few tomatoes managed to get involved too, not to mention a hint of chilli. Very tasty, and when offered a second helping, I wasted no time in accepting.

After the aubergine rolls, the main course was ‘La cassoeula’, a traditional Milanese dish. I think this was possibly the first time I had eaten a ‘home-made’ version of this dish. When you know that it is made from cabbage and pork, you may not think that it could be all that appetizing, but I can assure you that it is very good, and Anita’s, our neighbour’s, version was extremely good. La cassoeula was served with polenta, not the quick cook stuff, but the ’spend hours attending the saucepan and stirring’ real thing. The combination made for a hearty winter dish, even if winter hat not yet arrived in Italy just yet.

All this delicious food was washed down with copious amounts of good red wine, and we had Tiramisu (again!) for pudding. After a coffee, a few glasses of grappa were passed around. It was a very pleasant evening, and I’m still feeling rather bloated.

I shall continue with my diet, in fact I may never stop, because it has led me to really appreciate good cooking once more. You eat so well in Italy, you tend to become a bit blasé with regard to the real goodness of what you are eating. Well, I’ve found this to be the case, and my diet highlighted this effect.

I suppose, in conclusion, one could say that there is not a lot of truth in the old saying ‘You can’t have too much of a good thing’, because you can.

Tags: delicious, grappa, Italian, Italian cusine, Italian Food, Italian Wine, Italy