Dinner At Pasta Al Dente

Saturday, July 28, 2007

July's gathering of the "Wine & Dine" group was at Pasta al Dente in Naples (Long Beach). There was 21 in attendance for tonight's dinner. We sat outside since it was a very nice balmy evening. A touch of humidity, which in Southern California creates moans & groans from the natives. We get very few humid days so we are very spoiled when it comes to weather.

There were approximately 22 bottles of wine on the table. I can remember a few but did not keep track. I don't consider these dinners wine tastings, but sharing wine with everyone. I did bring two bottles. A 2006 Palmini, Honea Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, Tocai Friulano. http://www.palminawines.com/. A dry slightly fruity white white. It had nice acidity and was nicely balanced. It went very well with some of the food that was served. Several people wrote the name of the grape down (Tocai Friulano) to add to their quest for the Wine Century Club certificate. www.winecentury.com, I also brought a 2002 Clos Pepe, Sta. Rita Hills, Pinot Noir. http://www.clospepe.com/ . This wine was showing very well and at least six people commented that they thought it was the best wine there. It was elegant, very well balanced, good acidity and a beautiful finish. I was very pleased with the wine. It paired very well with the mushroom dishes.

The dishes that were served this evening are as follows:

Appetizers:

Foccaia bread with balsamic vinegar & oilve oil

Fungi di Oggi - sauteed mushrooms flambeed in brandy, Marsala wine and loads of garlic (somehow I did not get the "loads of garlic", maybe because I use a tremendous amount of garlic when I cook and it wasn't enough for me).

Fungi Imbottiti - baked stuffed mushrooms with pieces of chicken breast, green onions, cream cheese, herbs, finished with a Romano cheese bread crumb gratinate. I really liked this dish. I could have made an entire meal out of it.

Pizza: Shrimp Pesto - Bay shrimp, red onions, mozzarella, parmigiana, romano and regular pesto sauce. This was definitely a winner. Very tasty and very filling.

Salad: Riso Con Pesto - Risotto, chicken pesto, tomatoes, basil, onions and pine nuts on a bed of baby greens. This was tasty and several people raved about it, but at that point I was starting to get very full and probably did not enjoy it as much as I should have.

Pasta: Ravioli di Asparagi - ravioli filled with fresh asparagus, sun dried tomatoes, tri-colored roasted bell peppers and aglio olio. The flavors were very good. I did like this dish (which I took home)

Entrees:

Petto di Pollo con Noce di Coco - coconut chicken breast topped with cranberry mango chutney and roasted rosemary potatoes. This was similar to coconut shrimp. The flavor was wonderful. I did have a couple of bites of the chicken but I never saw the potatoes. I really liked this dish.

Vitello Picatta - breaded veal medallions topped with a lemon caper sauce served with rice and vegetables. This was good but I have had better veal picatta. I prefer my breading to be on the very light side and this tasted heavy to me. The sauce had great flavor.

I was stuffed to the gills, but we had ice cream on the way for dessert, so I put the balance of my coconut chicken, veal piccata and the ravilois in a take out container ( I will have the leftovers for lunch on Sunday)

It was a great dinner, with good wines and friendly people and this is what food and wine is all about. Having fun and enjoying life.

Next month we are off the Ante's in San Pedro. A Croatian restaurant which I have dined at before and liked it enough to go back several times.