Roman Holiday

(mid august. number 7.)

This Secret Restaurant was a "return to our roots." These dinners began, quite simply, as much smaller gatherings where Andrew and Lucas practiced their cooking. We decided to go back to that mode of operation and celebrate the height of summer with southern Italian food!

Primo

Baguettes from: Fressen (soft and dense) and Grand Central (crusty and airy), broiled with a brushing of olive oil

Wild lobster mushrooms sauteed in butter with fresh garlic

Pesto, made with almonds and an absence of cheese

Blanched, then marinated broccolini and purple carrots

Chopped dark heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil in a balsamic dressing

Insalata L'Estate

Red butter leaf lettuce, arugula, and massaged rainbow chard. Raw Oregon filberts, heirloom tomatoes, summer bell peppers of various colors, and lemon cucumbers. A vinaigrette made using purple carrot juice, chopped basil, garlic, balsamic, and olive oil.

Piatto

Purple potato gnocchi

Yellow heirloom tomato sauce with saffron.

A slice of fresh mozzarella

Calamari, breaded with red quinoa and fried in coconut oil

Grilled summer squash

Dessert

Home-made, fresh peach gelato served with peaches prepared in brown sugar, topped with a crumble made from toasted almond cookies.

The Wine

Also "back to basics," we simply served our 'House Wine'– Evolution (white) and Meditrina (red) from Sokol Blosser of Dundee, Oregon.