The Seemingly Irrational Side of Italy

Today math and science lovers are uniting to celebrate the world’s most famous irrational number Pi on the date which matches its value: 3.14. I thought it might be a good day for us to look at the irrational side of Italy for an Italian inspired Pi day. Remember psychologists tell us that seemingly irrational preferences may be the best thing for us and let it be noted that the wisdom of Italy is to each his own.

Here are a few seemingly illogical expressions of Italian culture and living that may not be so far fetched after all.

• the number of Italian dialects. The fragmentation of Italy until the 19th century into city states, duchies and kingdoms resulted in many, many ways of saying the same thing depending on where you come from and to some extent your economic and cultural background.For example the sentence”The kids play in the park” translated into standard (classical) Italian is “i bambini giocano nel parco”. While in Rome you might hear “i bambini giocano ner parco” and yet another variation to be heard in Sicily or Genoa. Confusing for those of us learning the language but makes perfect sense in regional conversations.
• certain rules and unspoken regulations to ward off bad luck aka superstitions. As in it may be bad luck to work in the gardens or orchards on a certain day or giving away a sprig of basil to a lover will make him or her faithful or never plant beans on days spelled with “r”. Associations of cause and effect where there are none or common sense folk advice?
• cappuccino is strictly for breakfast. And totally forbidden during meals and never drunk after 11:00am. Fresh whole milk can sometimes play havoc with your digestion so drinking it early in the day may have its benefits.
• olive oil, vinegar, lemon and salt are the only ingredients for dressing salads. Sensible, simple and healthful – enough said.

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Italian Cigars

Smoked Mozzarella and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Not the smoking kind but the kind made with phyllo pastry filled and rolled with an Italian inspired savory or sweet filling. So versatile. You can literally add almost any filling. Begin by preheating oven to 325 degrees F and lay a sheet of phyllo dough on a clean dry work surface. Use a pastry brush to brush the phyllo sheet with melted butter. Fold the phyllo sheet in half lengthwise, resulting in a 12 by 8-inch rectangle. Brush the top of the phyllo with melted butter. Fill as desired and carefully roll up the phyllo dough into a cigar shape. About half way through the rolling, tuck in the 1-inch ends of the phyllo dough, and continue rolling. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet, seam side down, and brush the top with butter. Bake until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.

Suggested fillings

• slices of smoked mozzarella with a few pieces of sun-dried tomatoes
• Italian sweet sausage, cooked, drained and crumbled; mixed with whipping cream, dijon mustard and nutmeg
• a paste made with ground pistachios, ricotta cheese and honey
• combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and amaretti cookie crumbs to make this phyllo strudel recipe than re-purpose as cigars
• sautéed selection of finely chopped mushrooms in a little butter, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper with splash of creme fraiche at the end to give it richness
• slather with chocolate hazelnut gianduja and roll
• spread dough with La Bella Angiolina Ligurian Basil Pesto

For the savory versions of this dish you can vary the flavors of the brush of melted butter using garlic and or fennel seeds before adding your fillings.