Tasty Tuesdays: Otto's Olive Oil Ice Cream/NYC trip recap

My sister and I left New Orleans Friday morning to go to our planned sisters weekend in NYC.  While Hurricane Isaac delayed our arrival by several hours, we pulled up to our apartment in the East Village just in time for dinner.  We dined at Mercadito on Avenue A.  Think guacamole with chucks of pineapple, pork tacos, and plantains.  Deeelish!

Saturday, we slept until ten.  I have not slept in for more than 18 months.  It was the most amazing rest ever.  We cabbed it over to Bloomingdales and got our makeup done as a test run for her wedding in November.  Such a great start to our girly day!  After we got gussied up, we walk along Madison Avenue through Mid-town and the Upper East Side making stops in Laduree, Ralph Lauren Children's, Giggle, and Eric Kayser.  After more walking back to Mid-town, we met up with one of my best friends for desserts at Momofuku Milk Bar.  Heavens!  It's delicious.  I has the candy bar pie while the other girls has the crack pie. Worth every calorie.  There is no better way to walk off dessert than by walking and shopping along Fifth Avenue.  After a little rest and relaxation, we met some friends for dinner at The Smith East Village.  I had skate for the first time and it was AMAZING!  We followed dinner with some lights at McSorley's and a fabulous cocktail at Bourgeois Pig.  

After some sleep, we woke up on Sunday excited about our food tour through Greenwich Village.  It was three hours of humor, history, architecture, and, of course, good eats.  Our tour guide was Bert.  He was awesome!  I totally recommend eating your way through the city on your next trip!  We caught up with other friends for a stroll through the Village and pre-dinner drinks and apps at the Gibson Hotel.  

Our final meal of the trip was at Mario Bitali's Otto.  I love that he provides diners an option to sample his delicious fare at completely reasonable prices.  We shared the Pasta Carbonara and a pizza that were delectable!  But the best dish of the weekend goes to Otto's Olive Oil Gelato.  I had it once before, and I will tell you that it alone is worth a trip to NYC!  It is the perfect combination of sweet and salty.  And the texture is perfectly creamy. I will think about it every day until we return to NYC for the Saints v. Giants game in December. 

Until then, I will have to try to convince my pastry chef sister to make some for me!

OLIVE OIL GELATO

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split, or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup sugar
• 10 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• Maldon or other flaky sea salt

Procedures

1. 1
   Combine the milk and cream in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring just to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
2. 2
   If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean with a paring knife and add the seeds to the hot milk. Cover and let steep for 30 minutes.
3. 3
   Add 3/4 cup of the sugar to the milk and bring just to a simmer over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4. 4
   Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and the salt together in a medium heatproof bowl. Gradually whisk in about 1 cup of the hot milk mixture, then return the mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula or a wooden spoon, until the custard registers 185°F on an instant-read thermometer.
5. 5
   Immediately strain the custard through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the vanilla extract, if using, and chill over an ice bath, stirring occasionally, until cold. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or, preferably, overnight.
6. 6
   Freeze the gelato in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, stopping to add the olive oil about halfway through the freezing process. Pack into a freezer container and freeze for at least 1 hour before serving. (The gelato is best served the day it is made.)
7. 7
   Sprinkle a few flakes of Maldon salt and drizzle a stripe or two of olive oil over each serving of gelato.