Not sure what got into the NY Times Food section, but two articles this week center around the plantain. As a Tampa native, I've been eating plantains as long as I can remember from little cafes and sandwich joints. Soon after I began cooking for a living, I began exploring using plantains for just about everything, from garnish to the star of the plate. Anyone who's ever cooked with a green plantain knows the first time you go to peel one, you're dealing with just any banana. I've seen every trick known, but the tried and true way is to slice several long slits lengthwise down the plantain (I like to use the large ribs as slicing points). Slice the ends of just so you can see the pale yellow fruit. Then slide your thumbnail below the skin, and slide up the fruit. If you're good, the skin will easily give way without pulling the flesh, and begin to peel a little easier. By the 3 slice, it should be much easier than the first. I always assumed it had some crazy pressure release effect, but maybe I'm just imagining things. But this was all until know. The first article in the NY Times, Thumb Wrestling Now an Optional Sport outlines the story of a man dedicated to seeing his vision through, and has created a tool to make peeling plantains easier. The story is really much more than about the peeler, but about a man really chasing the American Dream, and so far, he seems on the right trail.
He also has a cookbook, and what looks equally as cool as the peeler, is a tostone (twice fried plantains) mold, which includes the option to make traditional flat ones, or dish like cups, which are perfect for appetizers.
http://www.lococonlosplatanos.com/

The second article outlines the fruit and is many uses, from sweet to savory. One use that's only briefly touched on, is one I'd like to suggest any adventurous cook try. I have used it more and more in the recent years as a subtle addition to Caribbean style seafood stews and chowders. That is to use green or slightly ripe plantains as a starch in the stew versus using a potato. Add the green plantain early in the process, and let it simmer along with the other hearty vegetables. The plantain will break down over the cooking process, and act as a natural thickener, as well as impart a subtle sweetness. So head out to your market, and pick up a few plantains if you've never, and explore a staple of many kitchens in the world. And if you have had plantains, pick a few up, and explore other avenues of using them (a Guatemalan friend turned me onto a dish where you take a ripe plantain and slip it lengthwise and bake it in the oven. About half way through fill it with Picadillo, and little queso fresco, and finish baking until the plantain is soft and the cheese melts).