The Dinner Party

I had so many ideas on how I wanted to start my first blog. Tell a childhood story. Quote Michael Pollan. Make everything in Julia Childs' cookbook. But alas, bad perms, limited brain space and a mediocre movie have resulted in about 534 false starts and another 158 good intentions.

So I've decided to dive right in.
Let me just say, that moreso than anything else, I am lucky to have the most amazing friends and family. Okay, yeah, so the family can be a little whackadoo at times (isn't the word "crazy" next to the word "family" in Websters?) but I am one of those who believes that because her friends are all the best people, they should all meet (in a very small apartment), and what better way, than over food?

So yesterday 25 of my friends crammed into my 450 square foot, one-window, Manhattan studio for a New York-centric "dunch". (It was at 2pm... what did you want me to call it? Tea-time? Well, if tea is made from grapes sitting in amazing French Oak barrels, then, yes, perhaps it was Tea-time.) I digress. You can always tell who your friends are when you cram them all into a 20 x 20 foot space. Regardless, the rules of the game were:

1. Bring something that you think is a New York food and it should be under $20
2. Wear elastic waist pants

It was a BAD day to be a vegetarian. Or even a pescatarian. And definitely a vegan.

Meat: There were chorizos (spicy, sweet and fuet from Despana). There was salami from the expanded DiPalo's. Heidi brought a spicy Korean fried chicken that separated the men from the boys. Taj's pork buns and pork, chicken and shrimp dumplings from Vanessa's Dumpling House were the first to go out and the first to be gone. Luckily Stella came in with reinforcements: pork and coconut buns (not in the same bun, though) from Mei Li Wah both of which were completely different from Taj's buns (did that sound dirty?)

Greg and Nancy went German-style with sausages from Schaller and Weber, while Randi and Rachel represented the NYC Jewish Deli with Katz's pastrami, pumpernickel and mustard which was gone in the blink of an eye and couldn't be more New York. Brad and Lisa were a huge hit with Hill Country Mac and Cheese with a side of sausage. Monserrat and Sarah also brought meaty munchies and Italian antipasti from Menna's Salumeria in the Bronx. It was good to have the Bronx represented... there is amazing food in all 5 boroughs, though I've only eaten in 4.

In homage to one of my favorite dishes from yore, the lamb flatbread from Pipa which was on the menu when Douglas Rodriguez was at the helm, I made spiced lamb meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce. I've made the flatbreads before, but the ground lamb has to be a la  minute which, when serving 25 people from a 20 square foot kitchen, can be a disaster. So lamb meatballs it was... or were. And as I often do with garnishes, I did of course, forget the almonds and raisins. I was also jonesing to make a pate. I've never made a pate, and I realize it is a risky endeavor for a group since there will inevitably be a number of pate nay-sayers. Nonetheless I took a stab at a chicken liver pate with port poached figs and walnuts. And it wasn't too bad if I do say so myself. The 1/4 cup of brandy in the pate didn't hurt. Hey isn't that what a liver is for? Alcohol?

Fish: My ceviche didn't come out good. It was supermodel ceviche. It looked good, but that is where it ended. My hands were numb and burning from squeezing 30 limes, and my ceviche wasn't that good. Sad. As I mourned the demise of my ceviche (and the skin on my hands), Jordana and Mauro walked in with the largest, most beautiful side of smoked salmon I've ever seen in my life along with two baguettes. It was like the clouds parted and the salmon sang... Yeah, it was that good. And if I had had my druthers I would have just sat in front of it and eaten the whole thing. (Here's to self discipline!) If you are one of the two people who eventually finds this blog, reads it up to this part and hasn't stuck a pencil into your eye, and you want to read about food and wine from people who REALLY know, check out Jordana and Mauro's blog at: http://maurocheeseandwine.blogspot.com/.

Dairy: The Sicilian cheese from DiPalo's and the smoke mozzarella from Joe's Dairy have to be two of my favorite cheeses in the city. They are proof positive that cheeses do not have to stink to be amazing. And despite the fact that my genetic paucity of lactase conspires to ruin my life, I will punish my GI tract anytime for either of these two cheeses (the former of which made a showing on the table). It was also my first attempt at making Goat Cheese Pannacotta with Bacon Syrup. It is a Wylie Dufresne recipe and while the syrup was a bitch to keep together (try keeping the fat from a pound of bacon from separating out despite the fact that the instructions tell you to cool the syrup), the panna cotta could not have been easier. I'd say 50% gone, sort of like cars in the parking lot at my grad school in Newark NJ. I also made the Green Goddess dip from Thomas Keller. I made the creme fraiche the day before (3 parts cream to 1 part buttermilk) and used it for the dip, which I over scallioned and under taragonned. But it was good despite this and actually tasted pretty awesome with the salmon.

Desserts: Rob, who is a pastry chef, brought the most beautiful macaroons from Madeleine's Patisserie on 23rd Street. Dare I say, that they could have given Laduree's a run for their money. And Little Pizza, aka Chris, brought a red velvet cake from Two Little Red Hens Bakery, an up and coming UES bakery.

Ann and Chris are two of the most serious foodies I know. They got married at Italian Wine Merchants, Mario Batali's wine store, and had the cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery there. And they brought them to the dinner party. It is nice when food has a place in your personal history, and if I ever get married I will definitely NOT be one of those brides who does not eat, and I will get a dress with an elastic waist.

Was it a success? I think. Was the food good? Amazing. New York City has great food. But really it is the people that make the party, and (not to brag) I have the best friends in the world.