No 13024, Wednesday 26 Aug 2020, Neyartha

Solution to 2D has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular/novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

Just waiting for COVID-19 to get over to eat all these Italian delicacies.

ACROSS
7   Italian soup obtained from the sick mountaineers leaving Ukraine (10) MINESTRONE MOuNTaINEERS*

9   Heroic poem displayed in a picture postcard (4) EPOS [T]
10 Italian bakery item’s bits strewn around the bed by one... (8) BISCOTTI {BIS{COT}T*}{1}

11 ... sending back unusual casing for the quarter with an editing tool (6) ERASER {RARE}<= over {SE}
12 Having lack of clarity resulting from post-rain shoes in water? (5) MUDDY [DD]
13 Unnamed persons picking up deformed hoops for a spiritual movement (9) THEOSOPHY {THE{HOOPS*}Y}
14 Draw between the Poles pitted against each other? (7) ATTRACT [CD]
17 A gentleman returning with fragrant oil for an Italian dish (7) RISOTTO {SIR<=}{OTTO

20 Sensible newspaper making an unusual impact outside (9) PRAGMATIC {P{RAG}MATIC*}
22 Italian dish made using grandpa’s talents (5) PASTA [T]

25 Cell on a slide makes Mao undergo initial turmoil in front of Lincoln’s retreat (6) AMOEBA {M<=AO}ABE<=}
26 Mirror used as a medical instrument (8) SPECULUM [DD]
27 Key found in the corridor according to hearsay (4) ISLE (~aisle)
28 Truly, I can’t break up without speaking (10) TACITURNLY*

DOWN
1   Social environment in Michigan makes the Pole drop out of the shortened line-up (6) MILIEU {MI}{LInEUp}
2   Reverses an edit on the measures to take after power loss for a short time (5) ?T?T? (Addendum - STE(-p+t)TS - See comments)
3   Tense about performing this evening after it turns dark (7) TONIGHT {T{ON}IGHT}
4   I am behind the office messenger welcoming the salesman from the south with a meat dish (8) PEPERONI {PE{REP<=}ON}{I} I thought it's spelt as PEPPERONI? See comments

5   Smooth music making the student trade places with George for an Italian dessert (6) GELATO (-l+g)GE(-g+l)LATO

6   Dreadful team show, in a way (8) SOMEWHAT*
8   Final note in the repeat performance replaced by the German’s signal-scrambling device (7) ENCODER ENCO(-re+der)DER
15 Sanitarium arranging the disposal of an Italian dessert (8) TIRAMISU SanITARIUM*

16 Secret service picks up the tab before the volunteers for the Italian bread (8) CIABATTA {CIA}{TAB<=}{TA}

18 Question interrupting the opera composition makes it less transparent (7) OPAQUER {OPA{QU}ER*}
19 Cut up and inspect (7) DISSECT [DD]
21 An old and eccentric man at the hot water spring, reportedly (6) GEEZER (~geyser)
23 Ruffle created by the ombudsman under stress lambasting English leaders (6) TOUSLE Acrostic
24 Italian sauce making the resistance vanish suddenly (5) PESTO PrESTO

Reference List

Quarter = SE, Pole = N, Power = P, Time = T, Student = L, George = G, Note = RE, The in German = DER, Volunteers = TA(Territorial Army), Question = QU, Resistance = R

Dr RKE's TalePiece

TONIGHT, Elena and Antonio Rocci are at the ISLE of Capri, for their first anniversary. ATTRACTed by the holiday MILIEU in the island resort, they have arrived from Naples by boat in the morning. They are SOMEWHAT upset that their visit to the Blue Grotto was called off because of the high tide. The sea water has turned MUDDY and OPAQUER today and is not likely to suffuse the cave with the eerie blue glow even if the tide were to be low, informs the boatman.  Walking hand-in-hand in the Gardens of Augustus, has made up for what they missed. As the pair sit there on a bench overlooking Marina Piccola, Elena fondly TOUSLEs the golden hair on her dear husband’s head. Why is Antonio not at his talkative best- why is he looking so TACITURN today?  May be, he is hungry. The couple have had little to eat all day save for some BISCOTTI that Elena had so PRAGMATICALly packed into her handbag. Dinner at Hotel Bellavista is still an hour away. “How I wish I had packed that CIABATTA I baked yesterday” thinks Elena.

Finally, they are in the honeymoon suite of the hotel, having ordered in-room dining. In their famished state, there is no bickering over what to order. A bottle of chianti (an anniversary gift from the hotel) arrives first. The maître d’ hotel has recommended, borlotti MINESTRONE for starters, PESTO PASTA for her and RISOTTO alla Milanese and PEPERONI for him for the main course. Having eaten their fill, they pore over the menu and take their time to select the dessert. Antonio selects Stracciatella GELATO while Elena opts for dark rum TIRAMISU.

This story does not DISSECT the details of what happened next. It is time we leave the couple alone now to their solitary bliss.

P.S. Antonio and Elena want you (the prying reader) to know that fagged out by the exertions of the day and a belly full of the Italian cuisine, they dropped off to sleep on the sofa minutes after the plates were cleared!