We'll be having people over for S.'s birthday tomorrow, but tonight is his real live birthday, so obviously we had to have something special, and frying food at home makes any evening feel festive. Tostones and some simple cubanesque black beans were perfectly sufficient to compose a meal fit for a king.

I think nothing on earth is as naturally amenable to frying as the plantain, which without any adornment, breading, or batter produces for itself a beautiful, golden crust of sublime crispness. Potatoes do pretty well, but plantains are really unsurpassed. You will go through a lot of paper towels in making this recipe, and it does take a little while to do the frying and refrying, but it's not remotely difficult, and the results are superb.

TOSTONES
Green or barely ripe plantains, at least one for every two people -- we had one apiece, because we're decadent
Olive oil
Salt
Water

Peel plantains and cut into thick, 1" slices.

Heat 1/2" of olive oil in a frying pan until hot, but not smoking. If you drop a piece of bread into the oil, it should sizzle right away but not burn. Fry the plantains in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan, until light gold, about 1 minute and 30 seconds on each side. Drain on paper towels or heavy brown paper bags.

Once you've fried and drained the lot, use the bottom of a heavy saucepan or a wide solid metal spatula to flatten the plantains. (Of course, if you have a tostonera, use that, but if you do, you surely have your own ideas about how to make tostones!) You want them about 1/4" thick. It's useful to have a piece of wax paper or parchment on top of the plantains so they don't stick to the pan. I suppose you could do a few at a time, but I do them one by one.

One at a time, dip the flattened plantains into a bowl of warm, salted water. Drain on paper towels.

Add oil to the pan if necessary, and bring back to frying temperature.

Again in batches and without overcrowding, fry the flattened plantains until golden, about 1 minute and 30 seconds on each side. Use tongs to transfer to paper towels or brown paper to drain a final time. Salt if needed, though the salt water ought to take care of it.