a dinner not to be believed..

We were the lucky winners of one of the items on the block at the big auction of our children's school. We, along with a group of couples, won the opportunity for Mario Batali to come and cater a dinner party at one of our homes. Lucky for me, he cooked out of my house.

Everything came mostly prepped otherwise they would have needed all day plus more. He brought in food from his restaurants. Two people make pasta for one of his restaurants all day. That is their only job. So, for instance he brought some ravioli already prepared, tomato sauce prepared etc.

The 8 course meal was paired with a different wine at every course. The wine makes the food taste even more delicious. The white truffles he brought, and we ate, are like a drug. There is something about the smell. Once you smell a fresh truffle like that, you simply want to smell it again.

Mario is impressive. He is not only an incredibly smart but a great guy to hang with. He loves life. He loves rock and roll. He is passionate about his food. He really taught us about where the food comes from and why he pairs food with certain wines. Also, how food is prepped. He's a great teacher.

We began with coppa which is an italian salami - made at his restaurant. Next, we had a warm buffalo mozzarella layered with eggplant and tomatoes and served with a warm tomato sauce and cheese crisps. Unbelievable! We had 2 pastas. One being a pumpkin ravioli. The other pasta was served with a buttered sage sauce. The next course was beef braised in a barolo wine served with shaved white truffles. Rich is an understatement. Then, there was an incredible 3 cream goat cheese served with a tomato chutney. Last but certainly not least was individual apple quince tastes with a brown sugar type topping served with cinnamon carmel gelato. Top! There were appetizers and extra cookies at the end too. One thing that I learned from the entire experience and seeing the leftovers gel up in my refrigerator. Butter is abundant.

Everyone had a great time. But, the best part was really getting to see Mario in action. He rocks!

Posted October 28, 2003  
blog comments powered by Disqus
« Previous Post   Next Post »

Joanne Wilson Joanne Wilson loves food, books, and music. She lives in New York City. Her husband Fred and children Jessica, Emily, and Josh are bloggers too. More »

gotham gal updates

RSS    Email updates    Gotham Gal Twitter updates

ask gotham gal

Powered by Formspring.

books of the moment

  • Helen Oyeyemi: Boy, Snow, Bird: A Novel

    Helen Oyeyemi: Boy, Snow, Bird: A Novel
    I wanted to love this book. There are 3 sections. The first one pulled me in but I found that the second and third were not as interesting. A topic worth writing race issues is interesting but the book rambled. Alas.

  • Andrea Portes: Bury This

    Andrea Portes: Bury This
    A 25 year old unsolved town murder inspires a group of college kids to make a documentary around it with the belief that with the tools we have today that it can be solved. The writing is unique. Rapid short sentences that keeps the reader engaged. Super sad story.

  • Susan Minot: Thirty Girls

    Susan Minot: Thirty Girls
    This is based on a true story of a group of young women who were taken by the Kony LRA rebels in Africa while living and studying at a church. We follow a journalist and her experience on reporting about the girls who have survived by escaping. Learning about their traumatic experiences is heartbreaking. How and why this continues to go on in Africa is mind-boggling. I would have preferred Minot to spend more time with those girls than getting inside the journalists head. Regardless I really am glad I read this book. It is an absolutely worthy read.

  • Anna Quindlen: Still Life with Bread Crumbs: A Novel

    Anna Quindlen: Still Life with Bread Crumbs: A Novel
    A simple story about life, love and art. A 60 year old woman still evolving and finding herself. Really enjoyed it.

  • Jean Hanff Korelitz: You Should Have Known

    Jean Hanff Korelitz: You Should Have Known
    This book comes out on March 18th. The book moves fast with lots of twists and turns. A psychiatrist who has just written about how you should have known you were in a bad relationship finds her husband to not be who she thought he was. The perfect beach read.

  • Bill Bryson: One Summer: America, 1927

    Bill Bryson: One Summer: America, 1927
    My sister recommended this book. What happened that summer from baseball to Lindbergh and aviation to Henry Ford, Calvin Coolidge, Hoover, prohibition, Mt Rushmore, talking movies, theater, Al Capone and the first ponzi scheme. A great historic read.

  • Kim Malone Scott: Virtual Love

    Kim Malone Scott: Virtual Love
    Not sure how I stumbled on this book but I am glad that I did. The book is about a woman trying to figure out her life. She was an entrepreneur and closed her company. She moved to SF to work at Google and run the Ad Sense division. She is in bad male relationships and needs to figure out why so she can get in a good one. There are a lot of thoughts bouncing around her head in regards to her personal struggles. Truly enjoyable well written insightful book.

  • Jhumpa Lahiri: The Lowland

    Jhumpa Lahiri: The Lowland
    I had read both the Namesake and Lahiri's short stories and I felt both of those books were so much better than the Lowland. There was not on character I liked. None of them lived in the future or the present they all lived in the past. Their lives were just utterly depressing. Also the book was way too long. It is certainly a saga about the turmoil in Calcutta in the 60's and the havoc it wreaked on one family in the post. Perhaps if they all had sought therapy then their lives would have been happier. Would not recommend.

  • Liane Moriarty: The Husband's Secret

    Liane Moriarty: The Husband's Secret
    This is a great book for vacation reading. I read it in a day. Engaging characters who are living real lives and each come with their own baggage. I won't give away the premise of the book but I really enjoyed it.

  • Kate Atkinson: Life After Life: A Novel

    Kate Atkinson: Life After Life: A Novel
    I have read most of Atkinson's books. This was an interesting concept. The book mostly takes place during the world wars yet a bit of a challenge to read. It took me a long time to get into the book and then I decided to soldier through. Many of the chapters are essentially redo's of the characters life so that in one chapter they end up dying where in another chapter they continue to live due to a few shifts that take place. Each small decision you make has to do with the life you end lead. Interesting but did not love the book as much as I wanted to.