Monday, June 30, 2008

Monday, June 30, 2008 ... Dining at Nostrana

Leland, my 29-year-old son, tosses pizza dough at Nostrana Saturday evening.
leland_pizza_nostrana_oven

leland_close

Our friend Danielle heads back to California tomorrow. We've certainly enjoyed having her with us as she completed her field work towards her occupational therapy degree. She herself enjoyed very much getting reacquainted with Portland and friends here. She'd lived here for several years before going to school in Oakland.

To say thanks to us for being her hostesses, she wanted to take us out to dinner last night. We decided to go to Nostrana over at SE 14th and Morrison--that's where Lindsay tends bar and Leland cooks, sometimes pizza, sometimes other stations in the kitchen. When we walked in and toward the bar where we wanted to sit, Leland saw us, smiling and waving. I thought to myself that he must be working the wood-burning oven so just maybe I could get a photo of him tossing the pizza dough--hooray! The three of us didn't opt for pizza, though, since we'd had one delivered from a nearby pizzeria earlier in the week.

After a delightful appetizer I shared with Mama about which I cannot remember the name or the ingredients other than paper-thin slices of a delicate mushroom and wild greens, my pasta dish arrived.
leland_pasta_mushrooms
I found the details at Nostrana's Web site: House-made fettuccine with chive oil, true and snow morels and fava beans. Fantastic! As I ate my third or fourth bite, I remarked, "This tastes like summer time!" I happily devoured the entire dish.

Danielle started with the Summer Minestrone with Arborio rice and basil pesto, chilled, followed by the Warm carpaccio of Highland Oak Beef Tenderloin with cremini mushrooms, shaved Parmigiano and arugula. She kept saying, "This is so good!"
leland_beef

Mama got sand dabs, but I was too busy eating by the time that Lindsay got the backbone out of each fish. Like Danielle and me, Mama repeatedly said that it was delicious.

For our shared dessert, Lindsay thought we'd enjoy the Warm Chester blackberry jam crostada with mascarpone. We had a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead of the mascarpone. Yummy, yummy.

Mama and I are so blessed to be here with these two young men who love to cook, aren't we?

Finally, we wish Danielle and her mom a safe drive home--Pat is flying up Monday to make the return trip with her which I find comforting since the forest fires are so bad in California. Let's all remember the firefighters in our prayers, as well as those who live in the endangered areas.

13 comments:

Erik W. Laursen said...

Yum. Pizza.

Jim Klenke said...

Your pasta looks great, but I see some pizzas on the menu I would love to try.

WendyB said...

Nice action shot.

Anonymous said...

Your food and flower photos are nice. And this guy is either showing off or he gets paid to spin the dough. I like the idea of getting mine flung up in the hair too.

Now it is a wonderful photograph and I have enjoyed seeing it and trying to imagine why you were standing there in that location looking through the viewfinder and what you were "thinking" when you watched his performance and snapped the picture. Maybe you have surprised yourself too. I think it is nice.

Thanks for your visit to my blog and for the comment there. I do my best to repay visits with visits and comments with comments. I like to be somebody you can count on.

Abraham Lincoln
Brookville, Ohio

Raquel Sabino Pereira said...

After reading Abe Lincoln's comment, I became «commentless»!!! LOOL! FANTASTIC POST!!!!!!

ft. lauderdale daily photo said...

Now I am just plain starving. How do they spin the dough like that? If I were to try it, the dough would be all over the place and not fit for pizza!

Olivier said...

tout cela donne envie, même si ce n'est pas très bon pour mon régime. Je suis en admiration devant les Pizzaiolos qui font rouler les pates en l'air.
Ta serie sur les fleurs est superbes.
Et que deviens l'ami d'Amedée, Flat Stanley ?
it makes you want, even if it's not very good for my diet. I am in admiration before the Pizzaiolos who rolled pates in the air.
Your series on the flowers is beautiful.
And that become friends with Amedée, Flat Stanley?

Isadora said...

Such beautiful food!! Oh, but we could not see your son's face.... :(

Reader Wil said...

That looks delicious! Thanks for your visit. I just arrived home and am now answering all comments.

Gloria Baker Feinstein said...

Lynette,

We just moved into our "second home" here in Portland. Haven't made the total leap yet! I've been enjoying your blog. It's been really informative and fun to read.

Please check out mine to see my first impressions of the city:
www.gloriainafrica.blogspot.com

Gloria

Dick said...

Wow Lynette these are real action shots.

Chris said...

Our son likes to cook, too, although he cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, cook like your sons can.

Your pasta looks wonderful!

Andrea said...

I love pizza.....cheese pizza is the best.