2:00am, Saturday
I didn't get as much sleep as I had intended to this weekend. Blame it all on a most delicious nine hour feast of cheese, fat, gnocchi and cocktails. All at Don's apartment.
It all started with a ball of burrata and trailed off into worlds of crazy food that I could not, and still cannot, begin to imagine. I walked into his apartment a bit past six, anticipating a simple and composed dinner of burrata, baguettes, and Ib�rico ham. Little did I know Don had quite a bit more up his sleeves!
He said, "we're keeping it simple tonight", fiddling around the kitchen while his friend and I oogled our way though a book of food porn, better known as El Bulli. I heard and watched more fiddling in the kitchen as others proceeded to arrive. Soon I watched as he took out a ricer...and potatoes...oh goodness, could it possibly be?
...GNOCCHI! I've often written in the past that gnocchi is by far my most favourite pasta. EVER. I've had one failed attempt at actually making it. A few good experiences at restaurants, marred over by yet even more disappointing restaurants experiences. Decent gnocchi is easy to come by, bad ones even easier, and good ones, rarely.
Out with the ricer and potatoes arrived a metal mixing bowl, and I dared not asked, but watch. And indeed. Gnocchi it was!
Don did most of gnocchi making, while Sofia and I made sad attempts to help out. I'm afraid my gnocchi eating skills far exceed that of my making abilities, nothing wrong with that right? ;)
You know how some people like to eat raw cookie dough? Well the idea of raw cookie dough freaks the crap out of me...but I'd gladly eat raw gnocchi dough...if there was a warm pot of fondue on the side, hehe.
Gnocchi in the frying pan, post boil. Less than a minute after this photo was taken, an incredibly decadent mix of gorgonzola, cr�me fraiche and bacon were soon to be added...
...and important to take note, four types of fat when into this dish! Now this is the kind of gnocchi I want to eat!
Viola - the final product! If this is what Don meant by, "we're keeping it simple tonight," I don't even dare dream what an elaborate dinner would be. I couldn't get over how simple the actual process was compared to the results. The gnocchi were fried crisp in a memorable mix of fats so you got this crazy interplay of textures, tender soft innards rounded by crisp shell that literally gave a light crunch as you bit though an in, taking with it just the perfect serving of the rich bacon studded gorgonzola.
Oh! But ooh. The gnocchi was barely the start of the night. Barely.
While Ian and Don were worked on the gnocchi, the rest of us were digging into a cheese plate assembled by Don. A baguette from Amy's Bread, a mix of four cheeses: Ibores, Pecorino Foja de Noce, a Cabot Cheddar and Montenebro. I'll be the first to admit I'm not very well educated at all on cheese�but it helps that I've never met a cheese I didn't like, and I'm eager to learn!
But alas, after every new cheese, there's still one I call my favourite, and that would be...burrata! Burrata makes me happy like no other cheese does. Just looking at it puts a smile on my face. Pure white, plush, innocent. But then...you swivel the knife around just so and out oooozes this rich, cool cream. It's begs to be devoured in one luscious go, a top of a slice of baguette, dabble of olive oil, dash of salt, and some pepper if you will. And then. And then you swooon. Cause it's so delicious and there's nothing else you can do.
Oh wait. But there is.
Bo Ssam in the frying pan�magic's gonna happen!
You can eat. You can eat more. And indeed that's what I completely intended to do as Don removed a plastic container from the fridge. Two words, "Bo Ssam." And I knew there would always be more room in my stomach.
What caught me first in the final dish were the colours. I am infatuated with the colour of beets! The deep vibrant magenta, it's an arresting shade that demands locked attention. Why, I dare say it almost makes me as happy as diving into a ball of burrata. Layers of beets + cheese + bo ssam was, gah, AMAZING. I don't even know where to begin. So I won't, we'll just drool over it all together.
(insert drool)
(more drool)
I'm still on a food high, which may account for my sheer lack of ability to write anything semi-decent.
Somewhere in the night we had our first round of cocktail, whipped up by Don. Funny thing, I've never had a cocktail in my life until last Monday (we'll save that story for another day ;), and now I actually crave cocktails...if that's even possible!
I also had my very first taste of Ib�rico ham, and OH GOD, I hope it's not my last! It's got the crazy, moan inducing flavour that all that once nutty, creamy, with a near soft supple fattiness in your mouth.
A slice of Ib�rico in mouth, cocktail in hand...right at that moment, I decided that life would indeed be just dandy if all Saturday's were like this. While I was busy indulging in gluttonous acts, Ian exhibited some awesome knife sharpening skills. He tested his final product by cleaning slicing though kitchen towels in one swift move, impressive.
Gnocchi led into cheese, which led to beets, bo ssams, iberico ham, and of course...most logically...many rounds of Wii (bowling and tennis, if you care to know! ;) and then, cocktails!
I pretty bad at Wii early on in the evening, but by the end of the night I must say, my Wii skills improved considerably! Bowling I'm pretty lousy at, but I can hold my own when it comes to tennis. Sad though, I am suffering from a sore shoulder today - might be a case of Wii Arm?
Wii stance: stay focused!
We called an end to a most scrumptious night of great food and even better company far into the night. Definitely one of the best dinners I've had in quite a while. I made it home slightly buzzed, a bit too full, and very content. The cool air was a welcome refresher as I walked back to the Lower East Side. I walked slow, observing this liveliness of this city, even in the wee hours of the morning. Granted, most of the individuals out at the hour were somewhat drunk, though most were competent, scarfing down hot salty fries over at Pomme Frites or waiting in line for falafels and doner kebabs at Bereket. This city really never does sleep, does it?
Complete set of photos on my Flickr.
P.S.
Thanks to Don for putting together/hosting/cooking/cocktail-ing such an amazing dinner!
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