The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-02

IL.
Palermo or Capri, the Chlanti, the sestie
Levante or Asti
Asst 10 greenwine, rich strong and sweet.
IL makes people i'll if they drink IL before
1t Is quite old enough-but perhaps it is
no. often served at royal banquets.
frederick the Great. but Victor Emman-
uers wine was the luscious "Monte
pmtciano''
Monte pulchiano d. egni vino IL Re-
The brilliant purple color, like an
amethyst, of this noble wine Is unlike any
other. The aromatic odor is delicious, its
sweetness Is tempered by an agreeable
sharpness and astringency, it leaves fat
terlng flavor on the tongue.
These best Italian wines have delicious
ness which 'seludes analysis like the
famous Monte Benz, which old Tommaso
produced in a small straw covered flask,
at the visit OF Kenyon to Donatello This
Invaluable liquor was of pale, golden
hue, ike other of the rare Italian wines,
and j carelessiy and irreligously quaffed
might have been mistaken for sort Of
champagne. It was not, however. an
efiervescing wine, although its delicate
piquancy produced somewhat similar eff
feet upon the palate. Sipping, the guest
ionged 10 sip again, but the wine de-
manded 50 deliberate pause in order 10
detect the hidden peculiarities and subtle
exquisiteness of its flavor that TO drink it
was more moral than physical flavor.
There was a deliciousness in it which
eiuded description and ike whatever else
That IS superlatively good was per-
haps better appreciated to the
sciousness. One Of its P most ethereal aeaI
charms lay in the transitory life of the
wines richest qualities, for while it re-
quired certain leisure and delay, yet if
you fingered too long in the draught il be-
tad hnfh in fro
and flavor. The luster and color should
not he forgotten among the other good
qualities, the admirable endorsements of
the Monte Benz wine. for as it stood
in Kenyon's glass little circle of light
glowed on the table around about il
as II II were really so much golden sum
shine"
There are few wines worthy of this beau
tlful eloquence of Hawthorne 1t clears
transportation"-the description, but the
wine did not. The transportation even
lev miles turned it sour, this rare wine.
That is the trouble with Italian wines.
Monte puiciano and Chianti do bear trans
portation. Italy sends much of the latter
wine 10 New York. Italy has however,
never produced q really good dry wine,
with all its vineyards.
The dark Gregnoiino wine, grown in the
vineyards of Asterau and Monferrato pos
sesses the remarkable quality of keeping
better if diluted with fresh water.
The Falernian, from the bay of Naples,
is the wine of the poets, nor need we re-
mind the classical scholar that the hills
around Rome were formerly supposed TO
produce IT.
Tie loose volcanic soil about Mount We
suvius grows the grapes from which La
cryma Christi is produced. 1t is some
times of q rich red color, though white and
sparkling varieties are produced.
The Italians are supremely fond of
alfresco entertainments, their tine climate
making out OF door eating very agreeable
How many a traveller remembers the
breakfast or dinner in yine-coyered loggia
overhanging some splendid scene. 1t
forms the subject of many picture from
those which illustrate the stories of Boccac-
clio up to the beautiful sketch of Tasso at
the court of the Due d Este. The dangers
of these feasts have been immortalized in
verse and prose from Dante down. and
Shakespeare has touched upon them
twice. George Eliot describes one in a
"loggia joining on garden with all
| one side of the room open and with
numerous groups of trees and statues and
avenues of box high enough TO hide an
| assassin in her wonderful novel of
"Romoia." But in modern DAYS since the
Borgia are all killed off, no one need fear
to eat out of doors in Italy.
Not much can be said of the cookery of
Spain. In the principal hotels of Spain
Gascon cookery. Carrie is the fayorite
spice, and the bad OIL expressed from the
olive, skin. seed and all, allowed 10 stand
until il is rancid, is beloved of the Span
lard but hated by all other nations / be-
lieve. however, that an ola podrida made
in Spanish house is very good 1t may
not be inappropriate here to give two re-
cipes for macaroni.
The first, macaroni au gratin is very
rarely found good in an American house.
Break two ounces of best Italian maca-
roni into pint of highly-seasoned stock.
let il simmer until very tender. When
done. toss II up with small piece of but
ter, and add pepper and salt to taste, put
in q large meat dish, sift over ii some fried
bread crumbs and serve. Ii will take about
an hour 10 cook, and should be covered
with the stock all the time.
Macaroni with Parmesan cheese.-Boil
two ounces of macaroni in half pint of
water with an ounce of butter, until per-
fectlv tender. If the water eyaporates
add little more, taking care that the
macaroni does not stick to the stew pan.
or become broken. When il is done, drain
away the water. and stir in two ounces of
good cheese grated, cayenne pepper. and
salt TO taste. Keep stirring, until the
cheese is dissolved. Pour on 10 a hot dish
and serve. A little butter may be stirred
into the macaroni before the cheese and il
is an improvement
Through the Riviera, and indeed in the
south of France, one meets many peculiar
dishes No one who has read Thackeray
need be reminded of Bosfittebaise, that
famous fish chowder of Marseilles. Ii is,
however only our chow-chow with much
red pepper. A cook can explore il, if she
chooses, and perhaps reach il after many
failures.
But there are so many very good dishes
awaiting the efforts of aFyoung housewife
that she need not go out of her way to
extemporiZe or explore.
The best cook book for foreign dishes is
still the old 'Francatelh-"
The presence in the midst of US of Ital-
ian warehouses adds an infinite resource
10 the housewife. Those stimuants 10 the
appetite called HoTs d. oeures We call them
reiishes, are much added to by studying
the list Of Italian dellcacies. Anchovy or
caviar, ported meat, grated tongue, potted
cheese. herring salad. the inevitable olive
and many other delieacies could be men
toned which aid digestion, and make the
plainest table inexpensively luxurious.
The Italians have all sorts of delicate veg
etables preserved in bottles. mixed and
ready for use. as in ia~diafere dressing,
also the best of cheeses. gGrdoarold. and of
course the tfuflle, which they know how 10
cook so well.
The Italians have conquered the art OF
cooking in oil SO that you do not taste the
oil. Ii is something 10 live for to eat their
fried dishes.
Speaking of the south of Europe re-
minds as of that powerful bit of oriental
ism out of place, which IS called Algiers,
and which France has enameied on her
fabulous and many-coiored shield.
Aleiers has not only beome winter Wa
fsri-y r>IarA high in favor with the