olive & june

Where do I begin about this dinner?

At the beginning, of course.

The drink menu had lots of lovely choices.  We decided on Peroni (for him) and Sgropinno (for me), which was 42 below vodka, strawberry sorbet, and prosecco.  Both equally perfect choices to complement the meal to come.

This is Sgropinno, the water glass and bottle, and the candle, which needed lighting.

We began dinner with a few "piccoli piatti"(small plates) that were literally a couple of bites, each. We had to have Testaroli (our namesake), which was an eggy/pasta prepared crepe-like and garnished with basil pesto and pine nuts. Most definitely a favorite bite.  

We also indulged in Fried Ravioli (how could we not?), Crostini with white bean puree and green olive salad (about 4 delicious bites), and I had to have the Crudo- day scallop with pistachio butter (yum) and mortadella (my absolute favorite, the Italian equivalent of bologna, which we all know i love).  Melt-in-our-mouths cold and wonderful.  And let's not forget the freshly baked bread served with herbed ricotta cheese and olive oil.  It was the palate warmer for the cheese to come.

Our next round of plates was from the Antipasti menu:  cheese & meat platter, and pork meatballs.  The meat platter was divine, with thinly sliced textures so lovely I haven't seen them since working at Uva in NYC.  

The cheese platter was another world of amazing.  The gorgonzola, on a tiny bread bite, topped with a marinated strawberry, literally had me in tears.  Mick was half laughing, and half wanting a bite of his own.

From the bottom, moving clockwise:  fried ravioli square, testaroli (crepe), crostini, cheese platter, pork meatballs (oval bowl), meat platter, and crudo (day scallop). 

Close up of the cheese platter, pork meatballs, and meat platter.

I did try another cocktail that was delicious, but not my favorite, as Sgropinno will keep that title.  The second drink was The Foreigner, which was Hendricks gin, cucumber puree, and lemon.  It was quite refreshing and delicious with a cucumber slice, but I think it's better served on a Spring afternoon, with arugula and lemon salad.  In any case, it left the perfect taste in my mouth after dessert...

Dark Chocolate Mousse

With a name that unassuming, I was expecting a delicious bowl of mousse.  However, this dessert was literally Mick's favorite dessert of all time, and a hall-of-famer for me. Yes, there was a perfect, lovely, dark chocolate mousse square.  AND there were also caramelized bananas, cherries, coffee crumble (dirt), crispy chocolate paper, salted caramel, and magnificent ice cream.  You wouldn't believe it if I told you how amazing this dessert is.  You're just going to have to try it yourself.  As an old friend would say, it is "slap your Granny good."

That pretty much sums up this meal:  "Slap your Oma good."  The only thing that would have made this evening better is driving home to a cooled, freshly rained-upon lawn, and a delicate pink and blue sunset.  Oh wait, that happened, too. 

*All photos my own.