Guess where I ate dinner after work on Friday? 3 Doors Down Cafe, SE 37th and Hawthorne

The cocktail--a New Old Fashioned with house-made dried maraschino cherries, muddled orange, angostura bitters, sugar and bourbon (Evan Williams Black Label). I took the photo in available light.


OK, so you know, my older son Lamont is sous chef at 3 Doors Down Cafe. He brought me this salad which is on the menu right now as accompaniment to pan-roasted King salmon and parsley red potatoes. It's made of julienne zucchini, arugula and lemon--very good taste and texture. I used the flash for this photo.


About half way through the salad, this appetizer appeared in front of me--grilled artichoke with lemon aioli. It was finger-lickin' good, let me tell you! This photo uses available light.


And here's my entree, sweet corn risotto with heirloom cherry tomato and basil salad. All I can say is, thank goodness I decided to forego the bread and bean spread, because that meant I could enjoy every bit of this dish fresh, as intended by the kitchen. Think about it, creamy parmesan-flavored risotto mixed with individual kernels of sweet corn that sort of snap as you chew. Mix that every now and then with a bite of sweet, juicy cherry tomato. My goodness! Used available light here, too.

Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Appetizers:

Pan Seared Sea Scallops, Peaches, Honey Basil Cream Sauce


Potato Gnocchi, English Peas, Prosciutto, Creamy Rosa Sauce

Cocktail:

Gin Fizz

Friday Night Delights, a la 3 Doors Down Cafe

Cardamaro Soda (Cardamaro soda & twist of orange)--a light, summery cocktail. There to the cocktail's left you see a bit of the Pugliese bread and the White Bean Spread, a 3 Doors Down favorite.




Appetizer: prawns, baby artichokes, basil, lemon, white wine--so delectable that I had to post two photos, trying to do it justice.

Suffice it to say that when I was done, the only thing left in the glass was ice and the twist of orange--there was nothing left in the bowl because I used all of the bread to clean it out, well, except for what I ate slathered in White Bean Spread. Yummy, through and through.

If you are new to my blog, please know that my older son Lamont is sous chef at 3 Doors Down Cafe.

And here's the recipe for the White Bean Spread, for you from the 3 Doors Down Cafe Web site:

What you'll need:

2 Cups Cannellini Beans
1 Medium Onion, Finely Diced
4 Tbl Butter
1 Tbl Fresh Rosemary, Finely Chopped
2 Tbl Fresh Garlic, Finely Chopped
2 Pinches Red Chili Flake
2 Tbl Parsley, Finely Chopped
2 Tbl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Italian Bread With A Nice, Crunchy Crust

Instructions:

Cover beans with water by two inches. Soak for 4 hours. Drain beans. Put beans into saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook beans until tender. Drain. In separate saucepan melt butter and add all remaining ingredients. Cook until onion is translucent. Add cooked beans. Mash. Add salt and pepper to taste. This can be reheated, just add a little more olive oil. Makes four cups.

Friday evening at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Prickly Pear Margarita, so smooth, barely sweet, totally refreshing


Spring panzanella salad of asparagus tips, English peas, radishes, fried croutons, pureed almond and red wine vinaigrette, perfectly textured, a real taste of spring

Sarah from work and I stopped by for a cocktail and a bite to eat before going to the Hollywood Theater to see a movie. Besides each of us enjoying the Prickly Pear Margarita, we shared the salad, and two appetizers: fried risotto & parmesan arancini with Mama Lil's Hungarian pepper aioli and seared sea scallops, warm romesco and micro greens.

Perfect, sun-warmed dining followed by another side of life, no less satisfying in all of its dark, complex, emotional morality--director Cary Fukunaga's version of "Jane Eyre."

Quite the evening out.

Cocktail, appetizer, salad--my Friday night at 3 Doors Down Cafe

Blackberry Daiquiri: blackberry puree, rum, orange liqueur and lime juice. Yummy summer libation.


Appetizer: Miticrema fresh sheep's milk cheese (Montesinos, Spain), grilled figs, 30-year-old balsamic vinegar, crackers. Cheese note on the menu: cream-cheese-like consistency, salty, acidic, creamy finish) Perfect combination, the cheese, as noted, and the lush, juicy fig bits, on top of a firm yet crispy cracker that held up well to having cheese spread on it before disappearing bite by bite. (I took this photo right at the bar where I sit on Friday after work, with my friend Richard holding up the huge white cloth napkin to my right as a reflector for the sunlight coming in through the windows from the left. I think it turned out just like I wanted it.)


Salad: duck confit, roasted beets, mache and creamy sheep's milk cheese. I had the same salad on Sunday, August 15, and well remembered the flavors and textures, the utter meatiness of the duck, my satisfaction doubled when my friend Danielle decided not to eat her duck confit, just her beets, mache and cheese. Yet, even though I only had the one duck leg Friday night, it's crispy skin and juicy meat demolished that memory, overtaking my senses. Who needs two duck legs when you've got one perfect leg to devour?

Y'all hungry? Let's go to 3 Doors Down Cafe, SE 37th and SE Hawthorne

What I had on Friday, August 7, 2009


Appetizer: Pan-seared sea scallops, sauteed peaches, honey basil cream sauce.


Salad: Iceberg lettuce wedge with cashel blue cheese dressing (and a sweet and crunch giant onion ring that I think Lamont cooked)


Cocktail: My first ever dirty martini

Would that I could imbibe a second Pimms Centre Court.

"Prepare me one, oh 3 Doors Down bartender," I exhort!
"Surely the Pimms, cucumber vodka, cane syrup, lemon & a splash of soda libation
"Would do much to ease my mind and cure this heat-induced perspiration!"

Ain't that a gorgeous-looking drink?

3 Doors Down Cafe co-owner Kay Bergin said, "Summer on a plate," when she placed the potato gnocchi with succotash on my table--she was oh, so right!

I'm here to tell you that the Pimms Centre Court is pure-T summer in a glass!

Oh, by the way, it was 106 degrees in Portland on Tuesday, one degree off the record. And Wednesday's predicted to be even hotter. We persevere!