EATALY
I was recently sent an article written by Steven Heller for the Design Observer commenting on his overall experience at Eataly. This only increased my curiosity as to what I would find when I first visited. A sensory overload, there were so many people, multiple counters and navigating the floor plan was somewhat challenging at first. After about three trips around the space I had my bearings and began to check things off my list.
My first stop was with the butcher to get eight slices of veal cutlets. Standing in front of the glass partition I felt like a child at a candy store, "I'll have that one and this one and that one" but I shook my head and focused at the task at hand. There was a great selection and it is such a wonderful experience to have the ability to speak with the butchers and see your order being sliced and carefully packaged in brown paper all before you eyes. All I could think of was getting home and unwrapping these little suckers and start cooking!
I recomposed myself once again and moved onto the pasta. Now here I must give you full disclosure. In Mario's book there is a recipe for pasta (page 196), but who are we kidding here. Mojo and I agreed that trying to make pasta our first time out would be a stretch and we wanted our first night to be successful. What better way to ensure that we are being true to Mario's recipe than to purchase the fresh pasta made at his store. So off I went to get the pasta, the staff behind the counter was very helpful. I should also point out that everyone at Eataly is very courteous, and in great spirits, something not usually found in New York City establishments.
All that was left was to purchase the eight slices of prosciutto di parma check out and get back to work! Overall my Eataly experience was pleasant, although I think they would benefit from a wayfinding system that is clearly visible and accessible to new visitors.
CUCINA
Between basketball games, last minute grocery shopping and commuter delays we got off to a late start. It was not until 7:00 pm before we fired up the burners and got things cooking. Our first task was preparing the Saltimbocca alla Romana - Roman-Style Veal Cutlets with Sage (page 357). Mojo was first up to bat, he pounded each veal slice down to 1/8 thickness and then wrapped each one with a slice of the prosciutto and a leaf of fresh sage.
Next we moved onto preparing the Fettuccine al Limone - Fettuccine with Lemon (page 206).
I was up next and proceeded to zest and juice the lemons, dice the onions and jalapenos (for added flavor, que no?) and bring our pot of water to a boil. We were both very excited and things were moving along very smoothly. I'm not sure which of us is the sous chef at this point. We both took our tasks and ran with them. I am so proud of how mature Mario is approaching this experiment. You can see he has a real interest in creating and tasting more complex flavors. The smell of the fresh sage, and lemons was so refreshing and invigorating and although we got off to a late start we were hitting our stride.
MANGIA! MANGIA!
Everything was ready, looked and smelled delicious and we all sat down to see how Mario and I fared. Our first bite was the veal cutlet, we looked at each other and with wide smiles we both cheered.... O! M! G! Everyone at the table agreed. We all had different reactions to the pasta. I thought the pasta tasted great, something I could envision myself eating in the summer with some grilled chicken and a cold beer. I just didn't think that it paired well with the veal and we should have followed our captain's orders and served the veal with some greens. By looking at all the empty plates I can comfortably state that dinner was a success!
DOLCI
Under prepared is how we can sum up our desert menu. Although we had all the ingredients for the Crostata di Limone - Lemon Tart (page 453) we underestimated the amount of time and energy that would be involved in the process. After we had washed all the dishes from dinner and had cleaned the kitchen we took a deep breath and dove into our lemon tart. Vigorously stirring and whipping, and stirring and whipping, and more stirring and whipping we completed our tart and it turned out perfect. I would venture to say that it was the highlight of the evening.
We had a great time cooking and sharing the meal with the ones we love. Wish you were here, just make sure not to forget your orange crocs!
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