Living It

Strolling through the park on Sundays is a regular pleasure. Lots of snow and snowmen today, and the hawk was hanging out too.

Since it was such an epic meal and Mike actually had a real camera at Monday’s dinner, it’s worth another post. All the good photos below are his.

First off, who’s Dario Cecchini? I never heard of him until Mike told me, but, when I learned a legendary butcher from Panzano, Italy was cooking a 5 course meal at Del Posto, I couldn’t really resist.

Mike, Harry, and I started our four hour culinary adventure with drinks and some tasty hors d’oeuvres, and, after we sat down, Mario Batali did an intro. 

And Dario, speaking in Italian with interpretation by his wife Kim, explained that we were in for a whole cow dinner.

That started with what Dario called “Chianti Sushi”, or beef tartare. One part entirely raw along with a ball with a rosemary sprig in it that was seared on the bottom. Excellent presentation.

I’m all about meatballs these days, but the baked meatball in the second course didn’t really interest me. The third course, however, was superb. Tenerumi in Insalata, which was boiled beef knees with a raw vegetable salad. It wasn’t very photogenic, so I don’t have a shot of it, but the meat was really delicous.

Dario got up between each dish to explain what we were eating, which I really enjoyed. He’s very charismatic and high energy, and he joked that that it was hard to make this dish because there isn’t much meat on a knee and a cow only has 4 of them.

Next up was the Florentine Roast Beef. You know that was good.

Dario and Kim popped by our table at one point. Kim started thanking me for some mozzerella I gave them, but she must have confused with Harry.

Fontodi wines, also from Panzano, accompanied dinner, and, when the Flaccianello 2000 came out around the 4th course, we really took notice. A very pleasurable Sangiovese.

After the roast beef was the Carne in Galera, or “prison beef.” Dario said it was called this because it derived from a dish prisons served using less choice cuts of beef which they had to cook for hours to make tender. Dario’s version used neck meat cooked for 6 hours with Tuscan herbs. Its deep and rich meaty flavor was another favorite and well worth a trip to the big house.

I had a big meeting in Ohio the next day so I left after the first dessert, but what Mike called a “crazy chocolate thingamajig” came out after I left.

It was a leisurely and luxurious evening. The setting downstairs at Del Posto was elegant with barrelled ceilings and tables set with candelabras.

We sat next to the celebrity table, and watching Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, David Chang, and Joe and Lidia Bastianich was part of the entertainment.

I’m looking forward to Dario’s next visit.

An overabundance of food and a crazy ass, over-the-top show. I couldn’t document the choice parts, and I can’t even begin to describe it. It was fun and worth doing once.

In terms of food, the lamb chops and the chicken kebabs were the highlights.

Will post more details and hopefully some photos by @mikeodea on Wednesday. For now, here’s some Florentine roast beef and the candelabra on our table.

I’ve been repeatedly impressed by the quality of the public art projects shown at Madison Square Park. Some of my favorites have been Roxy Paine’s silver trees, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s illuminated heartbeats, and Antony Gormley’s figures in silent observance on surrounding buildings.

Another winner is on display now, Scattered Light by Jim Campbell. It’s a rectangular space on the central lawn that’s filled with over 1,600 hanging bulbs that act as pixels on a low resolution screen. When you first see it, the bulbs look like they’re randomly twinkling, but when you’re at the right distance and angle, you start to notice there’s a cohesion to way the lights move, and then you see shadowy figures moving across your field of vision. It really makes you pause.

I first saw Jim’s work at Miami Art Basel, in 2006 or 2007. I wasn’t really interested in video art, but the piece I saw, a light box with a shadowy street scene playing across it, immediately captured me. I knew he had the potential to be big, and I’m happy to see he’s doing well. Wish I could have afforded to buy the piece I saw then.

Some more information on Scattered Light here.

I’ve never liked plantains, but that’s changed after being introduced to tostones by my friend Elizabeth. Essentially they’re green, unripe, plantains that have been sliced and fried twice, usually served as an appetizer or side dish. Yet another example where frying can make almost anything taste better. 

When you buy green plantains, they should be hard. If they start to ripen or get soft, the taste will not be as good. Store them in the refrigerator to forestall ripening.

The first step in making tostones is getting the peel off the plantain, which is easier if the plantain you’re cooking is at room temperature. Slice the ends off, then make a slanted incision along one of the plantain’s ribs and come around the end. Then push the peel up and off the plantain. I usually have to make a few extra cuts to get to the right depth and loosen the peel. Take off a section of peel and repeat until it all has been removed.

Then cut the plantain in diagonal slices about half an inch thick. 

In a pan over a medium-high flame, heat up vegetable oil about a centimeter deep or enough to go a little over halfway up the slices when they’re in the oil. Test the oil with one slice to see if it immediately starts to sizzle, and put the rest of the slices in when the oil is hot. Cook for a minute or two on one side and then turn them over. In the photo below, see how the centers are a brighter yellower than the edges? Keep cooking and turning them over until they’re a single pale yellow throughout, but, if you start to see brown flecks, they’re starting to fry and you should remove them.

Place the slices on a sheet of tinfoil and with a flat surface (I used the flat bottom of a small bowl) flatten them until they’re quite thin. The first time I made them, I didn’t make them flat enough, and the tostones came out soft in the middle, rather than crunchy.

Do not reduce the heat on the oil while you’re flattening the plantains, because it only takes a minute. Return the flattened slices to the oil and fry them again. Turn over after a minute and keep turning over until brown flecks from the frying appear on both sides. With a 6″ skillet, I was able to get all the slices in for the first frying, but, once they were flattened, only half the slices fit back in. So I did the 2nd frying in two batches.

Remove the plantain chips from the oil and put on a paper towel to absorb the oil, and generously sprinkle regular salt on them. 

Eat immediately! They’re best when they’re hot and crispy. You can dip in a sauce, but I prefer them plain.

Since I bought a bunch of plantains, I kept the oil and re-used it several times to make tostones all week. Not the healthiest food, but sure tasty!

But there were plenty of cool bikes to see.

Sometimes you go out to the distant Brooklyn warehouse party and it’s a total bust. Tonight was one of the nights that makes it all worth it. Prince Terrence, a DJ I’ve never heard of before, spun an amazing set of utterly danceable tunes. Keep a look out – I will have to have a party with this gent.

The first time I came to Moto, some 10 years ago, I literally shouted out with joy when I tried the eggs stuffed with tuna and anchovies. Such a rich, resplendent flavor. They still delight, and it’s been too long.