Making sense of Italian Politics – Part 2: Is there life after Berlusconi?

Tags

Berlusconi, Italian politics

After the first part, here comes the second part of my guide to Italian politics for confused foreigners.

First, let’s make something clear. Despite what Berlusconi might say in some of his in-famous jokes, Italian Communists don’t eat children. In fact, we barely have any communists left. Kissinger’s “favourite communist”, as President of the Republic, has been responsible for brokering the premiership of Mario Monti, with the clear intention of leading Italy on a path toward the liberal economic reforms demanded by Europe and by the markets. Several ex-communists and plenty of ex-socialists joined Forza Italia, Berlusconi’s first party, in 1994. As of 2007, the larger centre-left party in Italy doesn’t even have the word “Left” in its name. It is simply called the “Democratic Party” (PD).

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Lemon and Poppy Seed Muffins

Tags

Baking, Food, Muffins

I know. Is the week before Christmas and common sense would want us to be dieting to prepare for the food marathon of 24-25-26 December (yep people. That’s how we do Christmas in Italy, or at least in my family. We don’t just eat on the 25, we also eat at Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. A lot). But I have an excuse.

And, oh boy, it is good.

I met a special person, that decided to help me with something really important to me right now, even if she just met me once. Muffins are not much (especially if they don’t turn out all perfect, mpfffff!) but showing at her door not empty-handed was the minimum I could do to show how much I appreciate what she is doing for me.

For these muffins you’ll need this things:

• 130 gr sugar
• 330 gr flour
• 170 gr butter
• 2 eggs
• 110 gr plain yoghurt or sour cream
• 250 ml milk
• 1 big lemon (juice and zest)
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbs baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbs poppy seeds

In a bowl mix all the liquids: eggs, lemon juice, yoghurt, milk and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined.

In another bowl mix the powders: first flour and baking powders, then sugar, lemon zest and pinch of salt.

Add the butter, softened and cut into small cubes. Combine using a fork or a wooden spoon. You don’t need to create a smooth, creamy batter, the important thing is that you don’t have any big chunk of butter left.

Now make a well in the centre, add the liquids and combine together. Muffin batter need to be mixed as little as possible, just enough to make it uniform. Now add the poppy seed and mix.

Fill in 12 muffin case and cook in a pre-heated oven at 180° for 20-25 minutes.

Voilà!

Making sense of Italian Politics – Part 1: Not him again? A short and simple guide to the country’s political spectrum for the puzzled foreign observer

Tags

Berlusconi, Italian politics, Monti, politics

It has now been years that every time I mention Berlusconi, the BBF asks me to explain what are Italians thinking when they vote him.

Since he writes on the online community Politics Worldwide he is being harrassing me, begging me to write a piece to explain Italian politics to foreigners.

Last week I desperately needed to keep my head busy otherwise my best friend anxiety would have taken charge. So I finally find the courage and the incentive to do it. The BBF even wrote an introduction for me.

Making sense of Italian Politics – Part 1: Not him again?

What is going on in Italy: a short and simple guide to the country’s political spectrum for the puzzled foreign observer.

I can imagine their faces. It must have seemed like yesterday to foreign offices around the world – after twenty years Italy finally managed to get rid of that skin-lifted, over-tanned, bunga-bungaing (yes, I had to get that word in!) buffoon and to replace him with a sensible, competent, credible politician – someone they could finally do business with. And now, after just over a year, Italy wants to send off Super Mario and field Berlusconi again?? This makes no sense!

Well, in the distorted game of Italian politics, it all makes (almost) perfect sense.

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After Eight Christmas Yule Log

Tags

Baking, Christmas

Few days ago I decided to do something sweet for my BFF (British Boyfriend), which normally implies baking something way too sweet for other mortals to eat (like a fruit cake covered in marzipan covered in icing sugar – a level of sticky glucose quite unnecessary to my italian eyes). This time I wanted to indulge his Christams passion for After Eight, since I can’t make a Pandoro from scratch (still due to my lack of a KitchenAid).

For reasons I cannot explain, once upon a time, like two decades ago, After Eight were quite popular in my house, maybe as a gift from some American uncle or just because in the Eighties tacky tastes were a must, just like shoulderpad and backcombed hair. Like these last ones, all of a sudden After Eight weren’t so popular anymore. And I thought that the same applied to the rest of the civilised world.

Since I live in England with someone who will eat chocolate in any conceivable form, I’ve discovered that here After Eight are still considered a dignified after dinner chocolate, a bit like Sherry Liquers (the British version of Mon Chèrie).

This Yule Log is very versatile, I’ve used some peppermint-flavoured cream, but you can use a marron glacée-flavoured chantilly, or some Baileys or kirtch-flavoured cream (for a Black Forest twist).

For the dough I’ve used this recipe.

You will need:

• 4 eggs
• 35 gr flour
• 25 gr cocoa powder
• 10 gr honey
• 80 gr sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:

• 250 ml whipping cream
• 1 or 2 tsp peppermint extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbs sugar

Start by separating the egg yolks from the whites. Whisk the yolks with the honey, 30 gr sugar and a tablespoon of water. Beat them until they are thick and pale.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites with the remaining sugar into soft peaks (if you are using the same whisks, make sugar you wash them carefully before using them for the whites).

Fold the yolks into the whites, moving the spoon from the bottom of the bowl upwards, trying to mantain the air in. Gently stir in the sifted flour and cocoa powder.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and smooth the batter on the sheet (1 cm thick). Bake in a pre-heated oven at 220° (static, no fan) for 6 minutes. During cooking time don’t open the oven door, so the moisture doesn’t escape.

When your base is cooked, take it out of the oven, moved it into a cold surface (using the parchment paper), quickly scatter over it some granulated sugar (so the clingfilm doesn’t…well…cling!) and cover it in clingfilm. Make sure you ford the film also under the paper. This is to keep the moisture in the cake base.

You can now whip the cream with the rest of the ingredients and put it in the fridge to rest.

When the cake base is cold, gently peel it off the parchment and spread the whipped cream over it, leaving 1 cm from the border free. Now you just need to roll your Yule Log starting from the shorter side.

All is left to do is decorate and…voilà!

December

Tags

England, Pics, Snow, Winter

English sun, some serious cold and a sprinkle of snow

A very beautiful frosty morning

Making a list, checking it twice…

Tags

Christmas, fragrance, nail polish, recession

I have to say, this year, like never before, I just can’t be bothered with presents (for me, obviously). It must be the recession, which seems to have gotten under my skin, it seems to have stopped me from lusting after all those superfluous things that normally make me happy (because, let’s face it, who really needs that extra pair of skinny jeans, especially with that rear end of yours? “but you see, it’s this shade of cobalt blue, is totally different from that ultramarine shade from last year!” Yeah, right).

But I must be the only one, because there isn’t a blog – not one – whose author didn’t make his (ok, hers) pretty Christmas wish list (for herself, obviously). Now, as anyone who knows me knows very well, I am a big fan of lists, especially gift lists. The ones you make around the 23 October, because by then you obviously know the A/W must-haves that you still don’t have and that needs correcting, but you also already have some hints about the new S/S trends and you want to impress everyone during the holidays with that midi skirt (with the results that most relatives and friends will wonder why you’ve decided to dress up as Mary Poppins this year). That same list that will then be delivered in two copies (one paper one digital, ’cause you never know) to parents, relatives, friends and most importantly to the unfortunate boyfriend.

And yet, this year I just couldn’t be bothered. But, given the unexplainable abundance on blogs of presents not only economically inaccessible to most people, but also, frankly, bordering ridicule (a 39.50£ scented candle. Now, it’s a candle, it burns out, just mix some essential oils, make a winter stew, some mulled wine for fuck’s sake), I decided it was my civic and moral duty to balance things out with a much, much less ambitious list (there is a Guccini’s book, for crying out loud; anymore unassuming than this, only a canvas bag from the fair-trade); moderate, somber, meek I might say, to stay in line with the times (hoping that Monti won’t do a spending review of my list as well. Ah, wait, Monti resigned, now we can do what the f**k with want, apparently).

1. Tatty Devine Grrrrr Necklace. Recently I’ve developed an obsession for laser cut acrylic necklaces. I’ve flirted with the idea of having a “spectacles” one, since when your eyes are missing ten (10) degrees, glasses are not just an important part of your life, they are the line between life and death. Then I decided that maybe I was overkilling it, with a pair on my nose and one around my neck, and, most importantly, that it was a bit too hipster for my tastes. I then discovered this super-cute Tatty Devine necklace for Hoxton Street Monster Supplies. Proceeds from the sale support a charity working with young people in East London. I love the Grrrr and I think it reflects quite well my default mood!

2. Sheep jumper (H! by Henry Holland). It’s Christmas and I’ve always been a huge fan of kitsch Christmas jumpers, the ones with reindeers à-la Bridget Jones to be clear. This is a version with some adorably round pink sheep (to indulge my passion for chubby animals or at least looking so, like sheep).

3. Food Processor Kenwood Multi Pro FP250. Now, I know that nowadays if you don’t have at least a KitchenAid stand mixer you can’t even have a bowl of plain boiled rice, but as I said, this is a recession, modest mores list. I am not here everyday baking croissant and brioches like Marie Antoinette. I just want a single object (and not a food processor, plus a mixer, plus electric whisk etc., since I don’t have Nigella’s kitchen!) that can smooth, chop, whisk and maybe knead if I really want those damn croissants (I make pizza from scratch thank you very much).

4. Lillie Swing Coat (Coast). It’s not that I don’t have a coat, quite the contrary in fact, but I always end up wearing my trustworthy red one, to give that pop of colour to my otherwise grey winter wardrobe. This pink?/orange?/lobster? swing coat would be a great alternative, wool and cashmere, a length that doesn’t make me feel like a Red Army officer, a roll neck and a hint of puff sleeves. Perfect.

5. Dizionario delle cose perdute, F. Guccini (Mondadori). A collection of stories from the past, to bring together my love for history and the easy-going but reflexive tone of Francesco Guccini.

6. Nigellissima (Chatto & Windus). Ah, Nigella Lawson. Where do I start? The queen of food-porn, she is also very down-to-earth and has a lot of imagination (and she knows not to take herself too seriously IMO). The recipes showed on the BBC were great and some even became staples in Casa Sonoinritardo (like the chicken with peppers and leeks) and I am always looking for new culinary ideas.

7. Idylle di Guerlain. I am always looking for a perfume I like and some time ago I sniffed For Her from Narciso Rodriguez from my brother’s flatmate, inexorably attracted by the powder-rose bottle. Then a shop assistant in the perfume shop made me try Idylle, telling me in a very conspiratory tone that it was created by the same “nose” (I swear) of Narciso Rodriguez, “but with the advantage that is not a designer fragrance”. Now, why that should be an advantage is not really clear to me, since it still costs a gazillion pounds, but I really like it and I hope it will be my next fragrance.

8. Ballerina (Chanel). This is the only real frivolity, an 18£ nail polish. In my defense, the Chanel Ballerina gives you that well-finished hand “au naturel” that you feel you could even go out in sweatpants a jeans and a t-shirt and you will still feel like Audrey Hepburn. At this point you might say: if you really want to do a recession-proof list, a sad, unpretentious list, then surely you can get that same effect with a 4£ polish, you don’t need to disturb mademoiselle coco! To all you I say: it is how it makes you feel, to know that you are wearing the best of the best. Besides, since when luxury and pleasure have anything to do with practicalities? And if you are asking that question you don’t deserve to read my blog anyway.

9. Recessionista (Essie). I am back on track after the Chanel detour with a nail polish called “Recessionista”, and that therefore belongs to this list honoris causa. Essie polish is fantastic, but this shade seems to be made for me. I only wear nail polish in winter and I rigorously wear only three tones: nude, red and burgundy. This is just a perfect burgundy, with purple undertones but without the dark edge.

10. Sulla strada (De Gregori). De Gregori is my music love, the one and only, despite repeatedly breaking my heart in the most recent years with his new arrangements (doesn’t he has friends? “France’ c’mon, the electric guitar is obviously not for you. Get over it dude”). But  you never forget your first love, and I haven’t listened to one single song from the new album yet.

11. The Jolly Old Whale, print (Stay Gold Media). I’ve already mentioned my weakness for animals of the round disposition, and now I am gonna also mention my love for minimal print and for her majesty the whale. How pretty is this print?

Reality check: of primaries, social popes and papi that we thought retired

Tags

Berlusconi, Italian politics, Kate Middleton

I start this feature in a bit of a dull weak; no relevant news, no shocking scoop (just to show how much we are addicted to Silvio’s boutades). Anyway, just in case in the last few days you’ve been in a igloo watching the aurora borealis, this is my week roundup.

• Bersani won the centre-left coalition’s primaries.
• Berlusconi couldn’t believe his luck. For the happiness he fucked off Alfano (his dauphin) and all his party, in a Pippo Baudo-esque delirium (You are here beacause of me!) and he went into bat for the sixth time, because, “the country is on the verge of collapse” and he – guess what? – is doing it for the good of the country and anyway he is just “besieged” by requests to run again.
• In the meanwhile, to warm up for the electoral campaign, he thought of responding to the economic development Minister (who had the audacity to say that a return of Berlusconi won’t be good for the country) by abstaining to vote in a crucial ballot, therefore sending to government into crisis mode.
• The President of the Republic basically decided he had no time for this and is convincing everyone (including Berlusconi’s party’s leader) to just keep calm, vote the stability law before the end of this month and then dismiss Parliament and vote in March.
• The Pope is on Twitter, with, not one, but seven different account. But he doesn’t follow anyone and he doesn’t tweet. Not even a small excommunication, a rerum novarum, nothing. But he already has almost a million followers.
• Last but not the least, Kate is finally pregnant (well, what else if not an oestrogen peak could explain that Farah Fawcett haircut anyway?) and just when I was about to do the Inspector Gadget villain-with-the-cat’s laugh thinking: how are you gonna pull off the Dukan diet now?, she just goes and gets hospitalised because she has this rare syndrome where she is just gonna throw up from now until the birth. Bitch.

Really? The Smoking Slippers

Tags

Flat shoes, Shoes

Well. I tried to ignore them. I hoped they were an eccentricity, a frivolity, something only Anna dello Russo or Richelieu could wear. Then they started to appear on the feet of more mainstream celebrities, like Alexa Chung, Kate Moss and Kanye West. But, c’mon, they’re celebrities, everyone knows that you find one of those decently dressed as often as you find one who’s never been for a little cosmetic surgery.

But this autumn they are everywhere. (Yes, I know, I am like a year/ a year and a half behind on the catwalks trends. Hello? Have you read the name of this blog?) Like it is normal to walk around in the camerlengo’s shoes. Did you see they are made of velvet? Did you get that they are called slippers? Just because the smoking jacket became a formal dinner jacket, it doesn’t mean that you can wear these to the debutant ball just because they are called smoking slippers. I would also like to point out that before the smoking jacket became a dinner jacket and then a tuxedo, it took like a couple of centuries. So just because last year Kate Moss was wearing some slipshoes, it doesn’t mean you should.

1. From Garance Dore’s Instagram // 2. Miu Miu via Purse Forum // 3. Charlotte Olympia via Polyvore // 4. Next

And they are ugly. With that rounded toe, that shape that would inevitably deform even if you have Carla Fracci’s slender foot, why would anyone want to wear the slippers that, to date, only quite smarmy character like Hugh Hefner and Ratzinger wear?

Image: ANSA

Cinnamon Buns

Tags

Autumn, Baking

On Friday I was really feeling the autumn vibe. Maybe it was the cold, maybe the mist, maybe the red and golden leaves outside my window. Anyway, it was time to fill my house with the smell of cinnamon.

When few years back I went to Stockholm, I discovered cinnamon buns for the first time. And, oh my, was it love at first taste! Recently I discovered, to my dismay, that there is an awful lot of people who don’t like cinnamon. How could you possibly dislike the flavour of Christmas, its warmth, the slightly peppery sweetness of this spice? Seriously, is beyond me.

These recipe (adapted from here) has a slight twist, I added sultanas and orange peel, but you can easily go without if you so wish.

Ingredients
For the dough

• 500 gr strong white bread flour
• 50 gr soft brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 15 gr fresh yeast
• 75 gr butter
• 200 ml milk
• 1 egg

For the filling

• 100 gr sultanas or raising
• 1 orange, zestl and juice
• 80 gr butter
• 80 gr soft brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

(It’s a good idea to start with softened butter. You don’t have to melt it, just soften it at room temperature or with few seconds in the microwave).

Start mixing in a bowl the flour, sugar and salt. Add the crumbed yeast. Now crumbs in the softened butter with your fingers, mixing it this way with the flour (like you do when making shortcrust pastry. It doesn’t need to get as fine as breadcrumbs, you just don’t want big chunks of butter in there!).

Make a well in the centre of the flour and slowly pour in milk and then the egg. When you’ve created a dough with your hands, put it on a work surface and start to work it energically. You need to work it for at least 10 mins (15 if you are a bit nervous about it). It should be quite soft and wet. if you find is too dry, simply add some more milk, but try not to add anymore flour. Keep working it and it would slowly absorb the liquid. When you think it’s ready, cut a small piece off the dough and stretch it as far as it will go without breaking. If you can see the light shining through the dough or the shadow of your fingers, then it’s ready!

Put the dough in a well oiled bowl (I used bran rice oil, since is flavourless), cover with a damp tea-towel and let it prove at room temperature for 80-90 mins (it should nearly double in size).

In the meanwhile, prep the filling. Remember to always clean sultanas, with water or with a damp paper towel (I just put them in a sieve and wash them under water, since they need to be soaked anyway). Zest the orange, add the sultanas and soak them in the orange juice. Let it soak for at least half an hour, or for the entire time it takes for the dough to rise.

Just before you roll out the dough, make a cream/paste with softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Beat it with a fork until it becomes a smooth paste. Line a rectangular deep roasting tin (measuring roughly 34 x 24 cm) with baking paper.

When the dough has nearly doubled its size, it’s time to roll it out. Use the hands to spread it out and create a rectangle. It could be helpful to make to folds, right and left; then turn the dough at 45° and make other two folds. Press it with a rolling pin until you have a regular-ish rectangle and roll it, the thickness of a pound coin. The long side should measure 30 cm ca.

Spread the butter paste over the base, then sprinkle the drained sultanas evenly. Starting with the long side of the rectangle, roll it up to create a sausage-shape. Put the big roll on a floured chopping board and cut it into equal slices. Put them close to each other into the roasting tin. Cover with a damp tea-towel and leave for 45 mins for a second proving.

Last, cook in a pre-heated oven at 200° for 10 mins and then at 180° for another 20 mins. Voilà!

Autumn Leaves and the Cabbage Aesthetic

Tags

Autumn, England, Food

(Soundtrack: Autumn Leaves)

Today is one of those deep autumn days. Outside is misty, and I wish I was surrounded by the moorland. Instead, I have to make do with the paths and the views of Springfield, the village I live in.

Mmmh…I think this weather calls for some cinnamon-related sweets, don’t you? Maybe I can even start to think about those Christmas decorations. Wait a minute, Halloween was few weeks ago, right? This, in Federica-land, means I am authorised to open up again that guilty pleasure of mine, the Christmas songs folder! Yey!!!!

But the real positive thing about this November is what I discovered today at the supermarket: the romanesco cabbage is here! My favourite type of cabbage! (Do you just say you have a FAVOURITE cabbage? You mean, not only you like cabbage, you even have a FAVOURITE one??? Yes, I know, I belong to that restricted club of people that not only like cabbage, but that also eat it with pleasure. Which is fortunate, I suppose, since in this country where green-leaved vegs are notoriously  scarce, the only ever-present veg is cabbage, in all shapes and sizes: white cabbage, cavolo nero, red cabbage, kale, savoy cabbage, green cabbage, greens – which are not green leaves as we mean it in Italy – cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and purple sprouting broccoli. I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone.)

Look at it. Isn’it cool? Even leaving aside the fantastic apple green colour, how cool is its shape? It’s like a spiralled-cone made up of lots of smaller cones (forgive me if I don’t know the exact number), which are in turn made up of what I am sure is an equal number of even smaller cones and so on, to infinity and beyond. Is your head spinning yet?

My love for the romanesco cabbage (which, incidentally, has always been known as pigna, cone, in my house) is good for my self-esteem. The simple fact that I like this cabbage so much, in fact, is a clear indication of my highly developed aesthetic sensibility. If you think that this one here is a fortuitous nature’s accident, perhaps even a freak…well, you are wrong. And more importantly, don’t even think of getting into architecture or maths. Because the aforementioned Mister Cabbage is not an accident. Its little cones follow a logarithmic spiral based on the Phi number. Mister Phi, on its behalf, is such a beautiful and irrational number (did you hear that, girls? that’s what you should say next time you have PMS! 🙂 ) and is so common in nature, that since the Renaissance has been adopted as a measure of beauty and proportion.

Is my aesthetic sensibility awesome or what?

What about you? Do you have a favourite veg? What veg is inspiring you this autumn?