Pasta?

SORRY, MARCO Oretta Zanini De Vita claims Italians ate pasta long before Marco Polo’s voyage. More Photos >
By RACHEL DONADIO
Published: October 13, 2009
ROME

ORETTA ZANINI DE VITA, the pre-eminent Italian food historian, seems to have a tool for every pasta: a centuries-old ravioli cutter, a wooden stamp that mints pasta like coins, a chitarra for creating thick strands of tagliatelle. More

Douro: Harbor in an Economic Tempest

By ERIC ASIMOV
Published: October 14, 2009

IN the year or so since the economy plummeted without a parachute, Americans have not stopped buying wine. They’ve simply bought cheaper wine. Whether this will ultimately be seen as a time of sacrifice or an eye-opening education remains to be determined, but I have a hunch that many people will find it easy, when the economy recovers, not to resume their free-spending ways. More

Cake Wrecks Hits the NY Times

When the Icing on the Cake Spells Disaster
By DAVID HOCHMAN
Published: October 13, 2009
SOMEONE who decorates cakes for a living should possess certain skills. Spelling is an important one. For example, success is not quite as sweet when the inscription reads, “Contralulation’s Ronan.” An eye for color helps, too. Piped dark brown swirls are never a good idea on a cake dotted with plastic farm animals. Finally, a few words about customer service: When someone requests that nothing be written on the cake, “NOTHING” should not be written on the cake. More