Love mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs?
Then you have to get "From Our Home to Yours," the brand new cookbook from Spaghettini restaurant in Seal Beach.
These dishes may sound ordinary, but in the hands of Spaghettini chef Victor Avila, they're anything but. Think light-textured pork meatballs combined with house-made pasta in a marinara sauce based on San Marzano tomatoes (above).
Or macaroni in a Gorgonzola cheese sauce with broccoli (above). That box stuff you get at the supermarket is nothing like this rich blend of pasta with cream, chicken stock, both Gorgonzola and Parmesan cheeses and slightly crunchy steamed broccoli.
Sold? You can order the book from the restaurant's website. Better yet, go there, pick up a copy and taste the food first hand.
Spaghettini is a rarity in a trendy world where restaurants come and go in a flash. It's almost 30 years old, and executive chef Avila has been there for 27 years.
Behind this success story are co-owners Laurie Sisneros and Cary Hardwick, shown with Avila at the book's launch party. Starting from nothing, they've built up a place known not just for food but for its Smooth Jazz Sunday Brunch, where you can hear top artists at a fraction of what you would pay at other venues.
There's a spacious new patio too, perfect for a sunny lunch (above). That's where the launch party took place, staged with Melissa's Produce, a cookbook sponsor that has collaborated with the restaurant as it developed. The other book partners are Hamilton Meats and Provisions and Wild Fish Seafood Co. Inc.
The book contains recipes for everything from creamed corn and artichoke dip (you'll want both for the holidays) to sophisticated contemporary dishes.
One of these is caramelized Scottish salmon with baby bok choy, jasmine rice and sweet potato strands (above).
Pommery shrimp, on the menu from the beginning, has a sauce of white wine, heavy cream, shallots and Pommery mustard (above). How could you not love this?
For bruschetta (above), toasted baguette slices are accompanied by baby heirloom tomatoes dressed with olive oil, red wine and balsamic vinegars and sprinkled with basil.
The salads include a showy caprese (above). The heirloom tomatoes are drizzled with olive oil and a balsamic reduction and topped with either buffalo mozzarella or burrata.
The classic iceberg wedge salad has been updated with a dressing that incorporates premium blue cheese. That's applewood-smoked bacon on the side.
Still more dishes at the book launch were tuna tartare, a beet salad with goat cheese, roasted Brussels sprouts and peas and feta (above).
Could anything top these? Yes, white chocolate cheesecake with swirls of guava and blackberry sauces.
And to end, glasses of the house sparkling wine (above), perfect for offering a toast to "From Our Home to Yours."
Spaghettini Fine Dining and Entertainment, 3005 Old Ranch Parkway, Seal Beach, California 90740. Tel: (562) 596-2199 or (714) 960-6002.
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