That looks like a great piece of Parmesan cheese. I would throw it on and then eat it off of anything!

The punishment should be: three days of Diarrhea!

Jan

Please don't mention that word!

Confession

I always put fresh Parmesan cheese on spaghetti aglio e olio. For the finishing touch I serve my plates with a small amount of fresh grated Parmesan and some parsley ont top.

Arnon

Maybe in that quantity it is, but a little bit cheese on spaghetti aglio et olio is delecious.

Delicious indeed.
http://tinyurl.com/2s9dt2

I agree with you. And so does Il Cucchiaio d'argento: no mention of cheese in their recipe for Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino.

So did the crime go unpunished? And if not, who did the punishing?

Crime & Punishment 2

Yet another peek into the dephts of Arnon's flawless brain, soul & stomach... Some people eat meat every day: for me that is truly disgusting. I honestly don't care if they put loads of Parmesan, Old Amsterdammer or whatever cheese on it...Some of my honourable co-workers can not grasp the idea one can live without 'meat'. I just point towards India: 1.2 bilion people do rather well on a vegetarian diet.

When I was nineteen, I lived in La Concepcion, Panama. I had a host-mother who didn't like me because I wasn't a girl. She didn't cook for me, but once she did. She cooked some spaghetti and gave it to me. It didn't involve saus or anything, so I asked for some cheese. This woman gave me parmezan and I used it in large amounts. I had never tasted parmezan before, and I must say I hated the taste. I had to trow the spaghetti away, really, it was so disgusting. Unfortunately my host-mom saw me trowing away this dish.

@ Victor

It is only 30% of Indian population that is vegetarian, that makes something like 320 million people. The number you gave is slightly overestimated.

A little Parmesan is nice, but it's all about of garlic. What about pasta con vongole or penne all' Arabiata? I think these tastes are miravilgioso. Especially on a terrace in Rome.

Victor

Your knowledge of the Italian cuisine is very limited.
The fact that you take pride in your own ignorance doesn’t come as a surprise to me.

To all connaisseurs

Where does the indignation come from?

To answer the obvious question: yes, it is true that I am by no means acquainted with the Italian quisine.

Pjötr

I’m not a connaisseur of the Italian cuisine either, but I believe that cheese and fish are separated in that cuisine, other than in he French cuisine. When I was waiting tables at Tanti Baci in NY the nineties I remember that the Italian owner would get a heart attack when customers put cheese on spaghetti con vongole, to name an obvious example.
An Italian waiter at St Ambroeus would refuse to put cheese on aglio e olio. (Yes, I know this is not a fish dish.) There are almost no Italian waiter at St A anymore, at least no waiters with convictions.
Maybe some Italian readers of this site can elaborate.

Arnon
Have you ever tried spaghetti aglio e olio with lots and lots of Parmesan?
May be it is most delicious. Like french frieds with soft brown sugar.

Vera

No. I trust the Italians when it comes to food.

Vera

Are you pregnant? (IF so: Congratulations!)

punishment for all food dictators. Free pasta, free parmigiano, free garlic,... (even freedom for fish with chocolate, hail all aching stomaches)

Elaboration

In the first 10 hits of google.it with the search string "Spaghetti Aglio Olio":
* None mention cheese in any form
* 1 explicitly states "NON condire con parmigiano o altro formaggio."
* 7 mention that one can put (a small amount of) parsley

I personally know people that will never look at you again, or refuse to serve you any food, if you put parmesan on your Spaghetti aglio olio (e pepperoncino, which is the full Italian name). Is anyone else familiar with other forms of punishment?

Karol L.

Couple of times i had a pleasure to listen to Karol L. lecture´s .
He has a great aura about him , and is quite handsome.

Sandy

The punishment should be an invitation to have Cheese Fondue.

That's not snobism, it's not knowing about food ...

@Arnon

Dear Arnon, I take this as a compliment. Thx! Why: I couldn't care less about whatever food-etiquette ;)

Another thing: why didn't you mention the most beautiful coast (Amalfi) in Phantom Pain. All we get is a couple of names: the Santa Caterina hotel in the Italian town Amalfi. My guess is you suffer from severe namedroppings. Diarrhoea, that is. On the other hand, the flabberghasting Amalfi coastline & landscape is unfit to put in the words you have gathered in your not so poetic vocablulairy ( say cheese, say Parmasan)

correction

I feel slightly ashamed for writing: 'quisine' and not 'cuisine'.

salty and sticky

Well, salty and sticky is what lots of us seem to like. And if it is because of a habit it is even worse. The habit grows and one is not willing to TASTE anymore.

A few weeks ago i made pasta with homemade pesto and my guest stated he prefers pesto from the supermarket which actually is no pesto. It doesn't even contain oliveoil.

Victor

First there was the peasant Rutger.
Now there is you.
This is not snobism, it's reminding someone of their social class.
I don't know this for sure, but the majority of the people here care for silence rather than yelling.

Cheese

The problem about cheese is not its taste but its origin. Cheese is made from milk. Milk is a substance used to feed new born mammals.

Humans are the only species to drink milk after their infancy. What's worse, it's from different species (cows, goats). Milk, and its derivatives, are a disgusting, degenerating, grotesque consumable.

Sadly, milk consumption in oriental countries, where milk was never part of the menu, is increasing. The whole world seems to enter into their dotage.

David

First their was me. Then there was Victor. But apparently, there will always be you. It's like you are the patient, and we are the diseases. What do you think? I like the idea of making you sick.

Have some milk, it will remind you of your much missed mother and make you feel better.

Rutger

You misunderstood me, I have nothing against peasants.
If I need to know something about cows, plowing fields, diseases and cheese, I'll contact you.
I know one thing for sure, you and Victor must forget about literature and think of the farming business. I heard that In southern Italy immigrants are getting paid to live there. FYI.

David

I misunderstood you? I don't think so. Besides, who are you to make any claims regarding my capacity to understand?

You mean to suggest there is no linkage between the concepts, "peasant", "yelling", and "disliking" as used in your post?
I was already aware you had mush for a brain, but now I see you're not a standup guy either, which is worse.

Interestingly, denying any relation is in fact the opposite of AG's writing, which habitually suggest relations between disparate, random notions. (This is why AG is at heart a postmodern writer, despite his claims to dislike PM).
Your writing suggests nothing, I am afraid. It only serves to expose you. Perhaps you have other talents?

Rutger

The peasant has a more direct relation to the earth which is to be praised. I know some peasants who show a certain kind of wisdom, soberness and sincerity. Other types of peasants must not leave the farmland, I'm sorry.

Humans are also the sole species to drink barolo, smoke cuban cigars, cook their food and wipe their asses after shitting (at least most of them). Is that disgusting, degenerating, and grotesque too?

@ Victor

To discribe a landscape as " flabbergasting" , is in my opinion proof of lack of poetic awareness, or even worse , lack of talent to describe it in a way it adds anything of value to the story.

Sandy

What a clever observation!
By the way, do you like to use the word, "ass" in public? David does. Do you like to speak it, write it, too? Just curious.

Yes, and "shit" too.

@Mieke

Dear Mieke,

Have you ever been in The former Republic of Amalfi? You will be "dumbfounded, astonished as to incapacitate. " Oxford Dictionairy, lemma: flabbergast.

You really should go there ;)

@ RHcDG

Mister Rutger: are we twin brothers, perhaps?

Your posts made me laugh. Out loud. Repeatedly. I have the somewhat narcistic habbit to giggle a lot about the ones I post ( at least, erupting posts when in 'defence for being maltreated on this here lovely Blog)

Some serious news now: Mabel of Orange (OSF London/ Princess) wished me every succes with my valuable work. We all know why: CA, CP and ST is a serious subject! For only people with spines, stamina & brainpower dare to burn there asses on painful , difficult and taboo little human rights like these.

Let our illiterate friends eat garlic, oil & spaghetti with loads of parmasan! ( or fish with chocalate;)

@David

As far as I know I didn't use any exclamation marks! Or did I? If so, it must be because some of you are not as much as deaf but blind. Screens with braille do exist...::"''...--""! Translation: perhaps you should buy one

Victor & Rutger

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h15xIoVwWw&feature=related

@David

I bet it is a good laugh. Thx. Won't bother looking, though: busy busy mailing MP's on behalf of my almost personal windmill. Some people take the hole in the ozone layer, some people take a frog, and me, well, I took children as my cause. Guess it was the other way around, really...

Then, still believing this to be a LITERARY blog; give me a n interesting title if you love to insult me, please, for this peasant can read ;)

@Victor, the link David sent is really funny. You are afraid of being insulted, don't be. In trying to protect yourself, you are missing out.
Besides, writers know to be prepared for insults, It goes with the job.