Bugging out

By Meredith Deliso

A man who turns into a spider. Aerial acts above the audiences’ heads. Zip lines running from one end of the theater to the other.

No, this isn’t “Spider-Man,” but a new aerial show from the Williamsburg-based Grounded Aerial, running at the Brooklyn Lyceum from now to 29.

“Beyond that, zilch, there’s just no correlation,” said Karen Fuhrman, creator of the aerial show “Insectinside.” “And no one ever got hurt with Grounded Aerial.”

“Insectinside” is five years in the making, an aerial play featuring dancers from “Pilobolus,” “Cirque Du Soleil,” “The Metropolitan Opera,” and “De La Guarda” that take on the forms of praying mantises, spiders, luna moths, and ants to tell the story of one man’s descent into insanity.

“It’s about a confused, schizophrenic man, and his world in his head is reenacted on stage,” said Fuhrman.

The psychical acts are sure to make viewers “ooh” and “ahh” — especially with stilt-walkers and a silk artist who falls 25 feet — but Fuhran hopes the story is equally engaging.

“It’s not spectacle for spectacle’s sake — it’s a play in the air,” said the artist. “The story is ultimately about awareness, on an individual and community level.”

“Insectinside” at the Brooklyn Lyceum [227 Fourth Ave. at President Street in Park Slope, (718) 857-4816], now through April 29 at 8 pm. Tickets $15 in advance, $18 at the door. For info, visit www.brooklynlyceum.com.

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Brooklyn Museum gala a hometown affair

By Meredith Deliso

For its next big bash, the Brooklyn Museum is looking for inspiration in its own backyard.

The Prospect Heights cultural institution hosts its annual gala on April 27 — and Brooklyn artists will be the honorees.

“The theme is squarely focused on our enormous interest in Brooklyn artists and what’s happening in Brooklyn today,” said museum Director Arnold Lehman. “We really want to feel that the community and the museum are very much as one.”

That means honoring borough-based artists Fred Tomaselli, Lorna Simpson and Fred Wilson, all of whom have had exhibitions at the museum in the past year. The dinner will also feature table settings designed by 15 local artists.

“My table design explores an urban/spring theme and utilizes the beauty found in cast off objects such as copper pennies, tempered automobile glass, and barbed wire,” said Williamsburg artist Ryan Humphrey, who will also include a silk-screened cassette with each guest’s name on it as a take-away gift.

And for the requisite bit of Manhattan glamour, Sarah Jessica Parker (pictured) will host the pre-gala cocktail party. SJP, of course, is famous in these parts for producing the controversial art reality show, “Work of Art,” which gave the winner the ultimate perk: an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. 

The museum gala varies wildly from year to year. At least year’s, food artist Jennifer Rubel created edible pieces that paid homage to such artists as Jackson Pollock and Marcel Duchamp.

Brooklyn Artists Ball at the Brooklyn Museum [200 Eastern Pkwy. at Washington Avenue in Prospect Heights, (718) 638-5000], April 27 at 6 pm. Tickets $500 to $1,500, with tables ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. For info, visit www.brooklynmuseum.org.

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Make Fort Defiance's muffaletta at home

By Meredith Deliso

“If this sandwich were an Olympiad, it would resemble 14-time gold medal-winner Michael Phelps.”

So write Jean Tang and Sarah Reistad-Long in their new cookbook, “The Big New York Sandwich Book,” about Fort Defiance’s much-praised muffaletta. Indeed, St. John Frizell has gained many fans at his Red Hook restaurant for his take on the New Orleans classic — piled high with Emmental cheese, provolone, mortadella, sweet soppressato, and, of course, olive salad.

And now, you can try your hand at recreating the tasty French Quarter staple, courtesy of the recipe below (though allow at least three days to create a proper olive spread).

Muffaletta

Created by St. John Frizell at Fort Defiance

Serves six

Ingredients

For the sandwich

Muffaletta bread loaf, about 1-inches round

9 ounces Emmental cheese, sliced

9 ounces mild provolone cheese, sliced

8 ounces hot coppa, sliced

8 ounces mortadella, sliced

8 ounces sweet soppressata, sliced

For the olive salad

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup vinegar

1/2 carrot, roughly chopped

3 cauliflower stalks, roughly chopped

1 celery stalk, roughly chopped

1 shallot, halved

1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted

1/3 cup green olives, pitted

1 tablespoon chopped pimientos

1 garlic clove

4 parsley sprigs

1 teaspoon capers

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1-1/4 teaspoons canola oil

Directions

For the olive salad

Place the sugar, water, and vinegar in a saucepan to make a brine. Heat to a boil over high heat; then reduce the heat to medium and boil until the sugar is dissolved.

Place the carrot, cauliflower, celery, and shallot into a large, heat-proof container. Pour the brine over the vegetables to cover. Refrigerate for at least three days.

Remove the vegetables from the brine. In a large mixing bowl, combine the pickled vegetables, olives, pimientos, garlic, parsley, and capers. Working in small batches, add the vegetable mixture to a food processor, and pulse until chopped, but not puréed. Toss with the olive and canola oils.

For the sandwich

Slice the bread in half lengthwise. Spread the olive salad on the bottom half. Add the Emmental, provolone, hot coppa, mortadella, and soppressata. Close the sandwich. Slice into six wedges, and serve. Store any leftover olive salad in the refrigerator.

From “The Big New York Sandwich Book” by Sara Reistad-Long and Jean Tang (Running Press, 2011).

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

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The Mus-o-meter registers Shenandoah and the Night's self-titled EP

Emotional. Gorgeous. Sad. Haunting. Celebratory. That’s how the frontwoman of Shenandoah and the Night describes the songs on the band’s forthcoming self-titled album (you can catch them live on Saturday at Brooklyn Bowl). Those serve it well, but we thought we’d also refer to the math of the Mus-o-meter to give you a sense of what this new act brings to the scene.

Take the moody, husky vocals of Cat Power’s 2006 album, “The Greatest.” Then add…

The longing, melancholy lyrics of Feist’s 2004 break-out album, “Let It Die.” Then add…

A touch of doo-wop from The Shirelles 1961 debut, “Tonight’s the Night.” The result?

Shenandoah and the Night’s new self-titled EP.

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Your favorite new read — picked by your favorite bookstore

Who can you always count on when you’re in a bind and need a good book? Your neighborhood bookstore, of course, whose employees read all the newest books before you do. That’s why we’re launching this semi-regular column featuring must-reads, handpicked and written about by the staff at some of our favorite independent bookstores in Brooklyn.

The BookMark Shoppe’s pick: “The Imperfectionists”

“The Imperfectionists” is one of the most original stories I have come across as it follows the lives of a group of people working at an international newspaper based in Rome, Italy. Each chapter introduces us to a new character while maintaining the common thread of the life of the newspaper. It still amazes me how author Tom Rachman was able to capture the pivotal point in a character’s life while showing all of their imperfections. This is a must-read!

— Bina Valenzano, co-owner, The BookMark Shoppe [8415 Third Ave. between 84th and 85th streets in Bay Ridge, (718) 833-5115].

Greenlight’s pick:  “Kraken”

We’re big China Mieville fans at Greenlight, and his newest novel in paperback, “Kraken,” is suspenseful, thought-provoking, sometimes scary and often funny — perfect for springtime beach or park reading. In fantasist Mieville’s version of London, the supernatural realm is the territory of gangland thugs, cult leaders and a special branch of the police. They’ve all got theories about the coming apocalypse — which seems to be connected to the magical disappearance of a rare giant squid from a museum. Full of unforgettable images and bizarre characters, the novel is a race against time and through Mieville’s incomparable imagination.

— Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, co-owner, Greenlight Bookstore [686 Fulton St. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 246-0200].

WORD’s pick: “Kitchen Daughter”

My favorite thing about “Kitchen Daughter” is how it defies expectation. The premise sounds gimmicky: a woman with undiagnosed Asperger’s loses her parents, her buffer from the world, and whilst fighting with her sister over her future discovers she can summon ghosts by cooking their favorite recipes. I know, I know. But author Jael McHenry (a contributor to Culinate and other food sites) unites these precarious plot elements beautifully. Dark and hopeful by turns, “The Kitchen Daughter” is a moving, unaffected novel about the ways that grief can simultaneously derail us and open new doors.

— Jenn Northington, event manager, WORD [126 Franklin St. at Milton Street in Greenpoint, (718) 383-0096].

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Blues Traveler's John Popper tries out new, similarly named, side project

By Meredith Deliso

Coming up in the city during the late 1980s, John Popper was no slouch — he’d play five, maybe six gigs a week. Eleven gigs in a row was the record to beat.

“I remember bragging about that for a long time,” said Popper, the harmonica-sporting frontman of Blues Traveler. “Boy, the stuff I cared about when I was 22.”

Popper could give his younger self a run for his money. Nearly 20 years after  “Run Around” got stuck in our heads, Blues Traveler is still touring pretty much constantly. And Popper’s new side project, the Duskray Troubadours, isn’t letting up either, with an East Coast tour that brings him to Brooklyn Bowl on April 22.

“Around our 20th anniversary, the songwriting of Blues Traveler was feeling too much like an assembly line,” said Popper. “It made me want to try something different.”

He describes the resulting band as the scrappy, roots-rock alter ego of Blues Traveler — so don’t expect quite the same epic, rocking tunes when they play Brooklyn Bowl.

“I feel like the audience comes with an expectation and they’re surprised,” said Popper. “It’s really fun to do stuff that’s more melody driven. It’s just a lot of beautiful stuff.”

The Brooklyn show is a bit of a homecoming for Popper, who lived in Park Slope and Fort Greene during the late 1980s, though he has long since traded Bergen Street and Ashland Place for a place north of Seattle.

“The Williamsburgh Savings Bank clock tower — that’s how I knew where I was,” remembered Popper. “Brooklyn holds a lot of memories. We had come here [on this tour].”

John Popper and the Duskray Troubadours at Brooklyn Bowl [61 Wythe Ave. between N. 11th and N. 12th streets, (718) 963-3369], April 22 at 8 pm. Tickets $10. For info, visit www.brooklynbowl.com.

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A Passover treat that's real sweet

By Meredith Deliso

Making dessert during Passover is a bit of a challenge.

The Jewish religious holiday forbids the consumption of grain-based products — or chametz — so that means no flour, baking powder or baking soda, the staples of dessert recipes.

“It’s like flying a plane blindfolded,” said Avram Wiseman, lead culinary instructor at the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts in Midwood. “The restrictions can cause one to either rise to the challenge, or fail miserably.”

For a safe landing this Passover, which begins on April 19, Wiseman was kind enough to share his recipe for a pistachio dacquoise, which consists of layers of meringue and buttercream, so no flour needed.

The pistachio helps add texture, as well as a nice color, to the dessert.

“To me, it signals springtime,” said Wiseman. “Pistachio is a nice twist on it. It brings it up to another level.”

The nut goes along nicely with his chocolate buttercream — though almost any filling will do.

“It could be decadent and luxurious, or very light and simple,” said Wiseman.

After a heavy Seder meal, the latter would be advisable.

Pistachio dacquoise

Recipe courtesy of Avram Wiseman

Ingredients

For the meringue

12 ounces shelled pistachios

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

6 egg whites at room temperature.

1/2 cup cold water

For the buttercream

1-1/2 tbls. instant coffee

2 tsp. boiling water

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

2 tbls. brandy

2 sticks sweet butter (margarine, if you’re keeping Kosher, obviously)

3 ounces cold water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

6  egg yolks

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and roast the pistachios for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.

Place pistachios in a food processor and chop to coarse crumb texture (reserve 1/4 cup for garnish).

Reduce oven temperature to 150 degrees.

Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper and draw a nine-inch circle on each piece of paper.

Combine 1-1/2 cups of sugar and the 1/2 cup of cold water in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Place a candy thermometer in the syrup and bring up to 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites by hand over a double boiler until warm. Place the whites into a mixer and whip on high until stiff peaks form. Slowly pour the syrup into the beating egg whites until very stiff. Fold the chopped pistachios into the meringue with a rubber spatula.

Place mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a straight tube and pipe concentric circles onto the parchment paper three times.

Bake at 250 degrees for two-and-a-half hours or until the meringues are crisp.

Once cool, remove the parchment (disks may be wrapped individually and stored for up to one week).

Chop chocolate into small pieces and place into a bowl. Dissolve the powdered instant coffee in the 2 teaspoons of boiling water. In the top part of a double boiler, combine the coffee, the chocolate and brandy over low heat until smooth. Set aside.

In an electric mixing bowl with paddle attachment, cream the margarine until smooth and set aside.

Combine 1/3 cup of water and the 1/2 cup of sugar and boil until the syrup reaches 230 degrees.

Meanwhile, whip egg yolks until light and frothy on high speed. Slowly pour the heated syrup over the yolks while still beating on high speed. Continue mixing until the yolks are cool to the touch and add in the softened margarine, one teaspoon at a time.

Add the chocolate mixture and blend well (buttercream may be kept refrigerated for several weeks).

To assemble

Spread the buttercream over each layer of meringue and repeat three times.

Continue to coat the sides with buttercream and garnish with remainder of chopped pistachios.

Pipe rosettes with fluted tipped pastry bag, around the top of the dacquoise if desired.

Chill to set and serve at room temperature.

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