Four Course Lunch at Del Posto

Today my friend Michael and I decided to go crazy and check out the three-course, prix fixe lunch menu at Del Posto. It's snowing, and few are roaming the streets, but one can only be trapped indoors for so long. So we went... and it was fantastic.

After learning the course options were antipasti, primi or secondi, and dolce, and not wanting to miss out on pasta (all of which is made from scratch, in-house), we decided to up the three-course meal to four, bringing any thoughts of further restaurant exploration during the next couple of weeks to a screeching halt. The rationalization: when are we ever going to be able to eat here again? I can live on hummus, tomatoes, crackers, and boxed macaroni and cheese for awhile pretty easily. And if I end up getting whiny about it, I'll just remind myself how delicious this meal was...

primi assaggi

mortadella in pastella

stracciatella

saffron suppli with edible gold leaf

bread basket

salted grissini

lightly-oiled ciabatta

olive focaccia

mini baguette

...all housemade and served warm, with butter and whipped lardo

antipasti

CARNE CRUDA with truffled salsa, parmigiano-reggiano, and shaved porcini

seared LAMB tenderloin with sea cucumbers mare e monte

primi

ORECCHIETTE with lamb neck sausage, cherry peppers, and broccoli rapini

del posto AGNOLOTTI dal plin with parmigiano-reggiano

secondi

cioppino with SCALLOP carpaccio

grilled PORK ode to emilia-romagna with sunchoke crema and lambrusco

dolce

SFERA di caprino with celery and fig agrodolce and celery sorbetto

CHESTNUT cake with warm plum macedonia, crushed chestnuts, and yogurt gelato

post-dolce

chocolate-covered olive oil gelato pop, sprinkled with salted breadcrumbs

warm bomboloni filled with orange cream

chocolate-covered honeycomb

candied, dehydrated grapefruit with caramel sauce and amaretti crumbs

A Fresh Start, and A New Look

Hello to all! I hope this post finds you well. It's been a long time since I've written, and I thought it would be appropriate to clean up the site a bit and give it a more simple look. And since citrus is in season right now... citrus is the big winner.

I'd be lying if I told you I've been busy during the past couple of months. Actually, I've been quite lazy. After spending Christmastime in New York, I returned to Chicago to pack my belongings and drive home to Kansas City. There I had the opportunity to catch up with family and friends, as well as sell nearly everything I own (car included), all with the intention of returning to New York to find a job and an apartment. I also slept. A lot. And made some delicious ice creams: cinnamon espresso, Boulevard Dry Stout - milk chocolate; cookies: chocolate chip with candied bacon; and NOLA-inspired goodies: king cake, pralines.

I am back in New York now, thanks to my friend Devin, who is being kind and generous enough to share his coveted space with me until I land a job and a place of my own. I love this city so much, and am surprised at how comfortable I feel already as it relates to exploring, etc.

Finally, I want to thank every one of you for being so supportive of me during the past year or so. Your encouragement has not only been reassuring, but motivational. I'm hoping to use this site as a way to keep everyone up-to-date with regard to my whereabouts and goings-on. Hopefully there will be some good stories and pictures thrown in as well.

Stout - Milk Chocolate Ice Cream
makes about one quart

7 oz. milk chocolate, finely chopped
1c whole milk
1c heavy cream
1/2c sugar
pinch of salt
4 large egg yolks
3/4c stout beer (Boulevard, Guinness, etc.)
1t vanilla extract

Put chopped chocolate into a large bowl; set a mesh strainer over the top. Prepare an ice bath.

Warm the milk, cream, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium heat. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together egg yolks. Slowly temper some of the warmed mixture into the yolks with a whisk, then return all of the yolk mixture back to the saucepan. Stir the mixture constantly with a heatproof spatula over medium heat, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pan, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula.

Pour mixture through the strainer over the chopped chocolate; stir until chocolate melts. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the stout and the vanilla. Stir until cooled over ice bath.

Chill mixture thoroughly in the fridge, then freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.