Abruzzo-Style Polenta Dinner At Lucia Ristorante

In Boston's North End, way down Hanover Street, stands Lucia Ristorante in the same place it's been since it opened in 1977. Lucia was actually the first restaurant to bring authentic Italian food to the North End (according to their website). Owner Donato and his family hail from the Abruzzo region of Italy and share the foods Abruzzo is known for, such as maccheroni chitarra, as well as innovative new dishes.

I was invited to Lucia for a polenta dinner hosted by Donato. I had never been to Lucia before, and as it was a particularly chilly evening, I was looking forward to the hearty polenta meal and discovering a new restaurant. I had no idea that this dinner would be one of the most fun, laid-back events I'd ever attended.

I met Daisy and Meghan after work, and after unwinding at Daisy's apartment for a little bit before the event, we all walked over together. We were led upstairs to a cozy, brick-wall-lined room with a large communal table set up in the middle. Here we met Donato, who welcomed us with open arms, and some of his family members who also work at the restaurant. Soon, the rest of the guests arrived, and we started on dinner.

As we made our way through course after course, Donato told us about Lucia, his family, and his country and asked us all about ourselves. Often blogger events can be pretty formal, but this just felt like having dinner with friends and family. There was back and forth conversation around the table all evening long.

The meal started with fresh bread and butter and free-flowing red wine, a Sangiovese from Puglia.

Then we were treated to generous antipasti plates full of sharp provolone, prosciutto di parma, marinated roasted peppers, and (my favorite) marinated eggplant.

Next we tried two kinds of bruschetta, one topped with mushrooms and another topped with broccoli rabe. I loved the mushroom topping and the crisp grilled bread and tasted the broccoli rabe even though I am not a huge fan. It was actually prepared in such a way as to not be as bitter as I'm used to.

Donato joked that he was making us some Chinese food that evening as well. When we saw the platters of sautéed shrimp come out, we understood. But instead of having any Asian flavors, these shrimp were doused with balsamic vinegar, which made them sweet and tangy.

Then it was time for the reason we were all there: the polenta. In Abruzzo polenta is traditionally made on the coldest day in a big pot over a fire. Polenta is considered peasant fare and could have been topped with something like pig jowl. As opposed to a creamy polenta, which you might be more accustomed to seeing, Abruzzo-style polenta is very thick and is typically spread on boards, topped with an assortment of sauces, and served family style.

Donato brought us down to the kitchen to see how it's made.

We headed back upstairs and soon large platters of the firm, smooth polenta with an array of toppings were set before us. I first tried the braised rabbit, which permeated the air with the scent of truffles. The gamy meat was served in a mildly sweet gravy. (This was my third time trying rabbit in a matter of weeks!)

Next I took a generous helping of polenta with braised short rib and homemade sausage topping. The tender short ribs and homemade sausages were full of flavor, and while I loved the gravy in the rabbit dish, I loved the red sauce even more.

The final polenta dish featured a topping of braised lamb shank and pork riblets. I forgot to scoop up some of the pork, but I tried the lamb, which fell easily from the bone.

While polenta may be simple peasant food, I found it (and the various toppings) very rich, interesting, flavorful, and, yes, homey and comforting.

No dinner is complete without dessert, and Lucia did not disappoint. Platters of hazelnut cake and coconut and lemon sorbetto soon followed our hearty polenta dinner. The hazelnut cake was grilled and served slightly warm with a bowl of creme anglaise on the side for us to drizzle on top. It was sweet and nutty. Being that it's not so rich, it's something I could also see myself eating for breakfast. The lemon sorbetto was smooth and tasty, but the coconut sorbetto stole the show for me with its very natural coconut flavor.

And because we were at an Italian restaurant, I felt I couldn't leave without a steaming cup of Italian coffee. It was just the thing to cut the sweet sorbettos. (I probably should have asked for decaf, though, as it was almost 9 p.m. Oops!)

This was a wonderful dinner in so many ways. The food was impressive in spite of its simplicity and we learned so much. We felt like we were sitting down to dinner with family, and I hope I'm not being too optimistic when I say I'm really hoping that all of our meals in Italy will be just like this one!

Thank you so much to Donato and everyone at Lucia for treating us to such a special evening!

This dinner was complimentary but as always my opinions are my own.

While the dishes we tried are not on Lucia's regular menu, they are thinking about hosting a monthly polenta dinner, so you could soon have the opportunity to try this fabulous Abruzzo staple too!

One thing that came up at the dinner was whether people would just want a quick tour of the kitchen like we got or whether they'd like to actually learn to cook some dishes and then dine on those dishes. I would love to get into the kitchen and cook. What about you?

Russell House Tavern, Cambridge, Mass.

Last Saturday Jeff and I made plans to go out to dinner with friends, and after much deliberation over restaurant menus, we decided to head to Russell House Tavern in Harvard Sqaure. 

We arrived a bit early, and our table wasn't quite ready so we headed over to the bar area. I was all set to get a St-Germain Cocktail (Russell House is the first place I ever had one and where I first fell in love with St-Germain), but I noticed there were some other drinks on the menu with St-Germain in them. I decided to branch out and ordered the Battle of Trafalgar. This refreshing drink made with Pimm's No. 1, St-Germain, Batavia-Arrack, lime juice, and honey simple syrup fringes on sweet with subtle balance from the lime juice and was a lovely start to our evening at Russell House.

Just after we got our drinks, our table was ready and we were led right over. Our waitress came by to fill our water. She offered us complimentary still or sparkling water, and when my friend asked for more information about the water (most places charge for sparkling), she explained that they have their own water tanks upstairs. I think offering complimentary sparkling water is a great way for a restaurant to step things up a little bit. (We still went with still water -- maybe out of habit.)

After we placed our order, our waitress dropped off a bucket of fresh bread with garlicky oil. You can probably tell just by looking at it, but that bread was amazing.

At this point, I should mention that I was recognized as a food blogger when we got to Russell House. Our server was incredibly sweet and attentive right from the start, and I'd say that was because I was recognized, but I've been to Russell House a handful of other times (for brunch, for dinner on the patio, for drinks at the bar), and I've always had great service there. Sometimes it takes a few minutes to get some attention at the bar, but that's just because it's always packed.

We did get a little special treatment in the way of some treats from the kitchen though. Chef Michael Scelfo sent out an assortment of interesting small plates for us to try. I'm really glad he did, too, because I couldn't talk Jeff into ordering the beef and tongue meatballs even though he loves meatballs... because of the "tongue" part.

The first thing we tried was beef tongue cannelloni. The pasta was freshly made in house and encased a rich, soft meaty filling with a bit of a kick. Jeff and one of our friends and I all tried it. The guys thought the meat was a little mushy, but I thought it was just more tender than you'd expect. I'd never had tongue before, but if it's always going to taste like that, I would definitely have it again.

The next thing we tried was a special that night: warm striped bass belly with celery leaves and pistachio aioli on tomato toast. One of our friends can't eat fish, so he sat this one out, but the three of us who tried it all loved it. It had a great combination of flavors and textures going on. After eating it, I realized I need to start using celery leaves instead of putting them down the disposal.

Finally we broke into the oxtail pierogi. These came with spiced yogurt and bou-rye applesauce. I make my own pierogi, and I always like to fry it up and get it crisp on the outside, so I loved that these had a similar texture. (Some people just boil them.) The spiced yogurt sauce really made the dish and complemented the oxtail.

I so appreciated that we got to expand our horizons a little and try some dishes we wouldn't necessarily have thought to order. I definitely won't fear tongue anymore.

We did think to order the house made cotechino sausage pizza. This came with Linny's tomato gravy and house made ricotta. I loved how the ricotta was spread across the thin crust pizza and was evident in every bite. And I loved the incredibly thin crust of the pizza. It's hard to find pizza around here with a super-thin but still chewy crust. All four of us loved the pizza, and we completely devoured it.

I knew I wouldn't be happy if I went through the night without trying the warm burrata salad with honey-roasted brussels sprouts, heirloom apple, and Calabrian chili oil. It was the first thing that jumped out at me when I scanned the menu online ahead of time. My immediate thought after trying a bite of this was... how does one honey-roast brussels sprouts? That is something I seriously need to know! The sprouts were heavenly. The mild, creamy burrata and hot, spicy chili oil provided just the right contrast to those soft, sweet brussels sprouts and crisp, sweet apple slices. We cleaned this plate too.

Shortly after we made our way through all those appetizers, our entrees arrived. One of our friends tried the burger; the other the chicken sandwich. The burger is made with Archer Farms beef and served on an English muffin with cheddar (usually bacon, but my friend requested it without -- and yes, we're somehow still friends!) and charcoal onions. The chicken sandwich is made with melted taleggio, pickled onions, heirloom apple, and arugula. Both of them reported that their meals were delicious. And I can vouch for those well-seasoned fries.

Jeff got the grilled "Trace & Trust" market fish, which was striped bass that night. It came with a light and lovely arugula salad with fennel, red onion, and orange, as well as a green herb aioli. I tried a small bite of his fish, and he ate every last bit of the rest of it.

We all shared some sides of fries, brussels sprouts, and creamy Anson Mills grits. The brussels sprouts were honey-roasted just like the ones in the burrata salad. As much as I tried to convince Jeff that if he were ever to try a brussels sprout and like it, these would be the ones to try, he wouldn't go for it. (I cut him a little slack; I mean, he did have striped bass belly and tongue that night. Besides, we didn't need his help polishing them off.) And I think those grits were the creamiest, smoothest grits I've ever had. And lucky for me, they were the foundation of my entree.

I ordered the Ozark heritage pork trio. Pork has been a go-to meat for me lately (it's even going to be one of the entree choices on our wedding menu). I loved having three different pork parts in this dish: loin, shoulder, and belly. The shoulder and belly were standout favorites. The loin was delicious as well. What really made the dish shine for me was the arugula and shaved beet salad on top. The gorgeous colors of the Chioggia and golden beets elevated the whole dish. And because the pork and grits are on the heavier side, I appreciated something so light and crisp to balance them.

This might be the first time I ever say this, but I was too full for dessert! (We all were.) Hopefully I'll save some room next time. We all really enjoyed the food, company, and service at Russell House. A huge thank you to Chef Scelfo and everyone else at Russell House for the great service, incredible food, and readily apparent attention to detail.

Besides the three small plates Chef Scelfo sent out, we paid for this meal ourselves.

What's the most adventurous food you've ever eaten?

Kika Tapas, Cambridge, Mass.

My friend and I are still doing our best to conquer Kendall Square as more and more restaurants open in the area. We recently met up for dinner at Kika Tapas, which moved in right next to EVOO. (Kika Tapas is a sister restaurant to Tapeo and Solea.)

We were seated off to the right as you enter the restaurant, and while I was initially disappointed that we weren't right in the middle of things, I was soon grateful that we had been seated off to the side because the bar area was pretty boisterous. We were able to enjoy a quieter dinner and hear each other as we caught up on what was new in our lives.

We started off by trying two of the sangrias on the menu: the berry sangria and the sangria royal. I absolutely loved my drink (the berry sangria) and will be ordering it again. The combination of berry-infused simple syrup, Cava, white wine, and Chambord sounds like it would lead to a very sweet drink, but it was actually very balanced. My friend's drink (the sangria royal, which is a red sangria with Cava and Grand Marnier) was even less sweet and had strong citrusy orange notes. Depending what mood you're in, either drink would be a hit.

In the true fashion of small plates, we ordered a bunch of things to share. We started with some Brazilian cheese breads. These reminded me of gougeres but were a little heavier. I liked them but would probably order something more interesting off the pintxos menu next time -- perhaps the artichoke, goat cheese, and mushroom crostini.

Next we tried the bunuelos (broccoli and cauliflower fritters). The crispy, fried bites filled with bits of broccoli and cauliflower were one of my favorite dishes.

A dish you can't go wrong with is the queso de cabra montanes (baked goat cheese in tomato basil sauce). We slathered the sauce and cheese on fresh bread. It made for a rich, comforting combination (and reminded us of when we were roommates, living about a block away from Dali, where we'd get this small plate often).

The crab-and-mango-stuffed avocado looked and sounded better than it actually was. It's a great concept, but for me the flavor fell short. It needed some sort of sauce or marinade to tie all the components together.

The mussels were pretty standard. They came in a pool of spicy tomato and wine sauce. I always find this sort of dish comforting on a chilly evening.

The last dish wasn't something I've ever noticed at any other tapas restaurant, but it sounded really intriguing. The revuelto de esparragos y camerones is a warm dish of sautéed shrimp, asparagus, scrambled eggs, and fried bread. Had the bread not been a little too fried (i.e., slightly oil soaked), this dish would have been amazing. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, and each time I took a bite of one with a sliver of garlic, I was reminded of my most-favorite tapas dish: gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp), which I'll be trying when I return to Kika Tapas.

Of course, we couldn't leave without dessert, and the crepe with berries and dulce de leche sounded perfect to both of us. Just look at those thick drizzles of dulce de leche. Inside the crepe were tons of mixed berries including tons of mini blueberries.

Along with dessert, we opted to try two more cocktails. Be warned: These cocktails were strong. My friend tried la movida, which has Woodford Preserve bourbon, sage, cherry preserves, and ginger beer.

I went with la tormenta negra (if you know a little Spanish, you can probably figure out that this is Kika's version of a dark and stormy). This drink is a combination of Bacardi 8, Licor 43, Frangelico, and ginger beer.

Both drinks were very tasty, but you could definitely taste the alcohol in them. They're great for sipping.

What is your favorite tapas dish?

Chocolate-Orange Ricotta Tart

I have a stack of books to review piling up right now. On the top of that stack was Rustic Italian by Domenica Marchetti. I loved her previous book, The Glorious Pasta of Italy, and had high hopes for this next book. I paged through Rustic Italian, which goes beyond pasta to cover Italian dishes and treats ranging from fried sage leaves to pork rib ragu with polenta to poached pears with mascarpone cream. I wanted to make just about everything, but I homed in on the crostata alla ricotta e cioccolata, or ricotta and bittersweet chocolate crostata.

My friend was making braised short ribs and polenta for dinner, so I thought the ricotta crostata would be the perfect finish to the meal.

I gathered my ingredients and read through the recipe. The thing that was strange to me is that the dessert is called a crostata. I've always envisioned a crostata as a rustic dessert with folded-over dough, but this particular crostata sounded more like a tart. A sweet pastry dough is pressed into a tart pan, parbaked until golden, filled with a creamy ricotta mixture, and topped with rich chocolate ganache. The original recipe calls for a little lemon zest baked into the crust, but I opted to use orange zest instead, and I added some to the filling as well because I love the flavors of orange and chocolate together.

The finished dessert was a perfectly round tart rather than a rustic crostata, but that was okay with me as it made for an elegant presentation. This dessert is just the thing to follow up a hearty Italian dinner.

Chocolate-Orange Ricotta Tart (adapted from Rustic Italian)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 Cara Cara orange
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
2 eggs
1 pound well-drained ricotta
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
8 ounces Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate, chopped or broken
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Preparation

Combine flour, granulated sugar, half of orange zest, baking powder, and salt in food processor, and pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse until crumbly. Add eggs and process until dough begins to come together.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, and knead briefly.

Divide dough in half, pat one-half into a disk, and wrap in plastic and freeze for another use.

Take remaining dough and roll out into 12-inch round.

Carefully roll dough around rolling pan and unroll over 10 1/2-inch tart pan. Press dough gently into bottom and up sides of pan.

Trim overhanging dough flush with top of pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prick tart all over. Bake until edges are just beginning to turn golden, 10 to 15 minutes. (I underbaked mine slightly and it was a bit too soft, so definitely make sure you get those golden edges before removing the tart from the oven.) Transfer to rack and let cool.

Combine ricotta, confectioners' sugar, vanilla, remaining orange zest, and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in bowl, and stir with rubber spatula until combined.

Spread mixture in tart shell.

Bake until filling is set, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, and let cool to room temperature.

In large measuring cup, combine chocolate and cocoa powder. Heat remaining 1 cup cream in small saucepan over medium heat just until bubbles form around edges. Pour hot cream over chocolate, let sit 1 minute, then whisk until smooth.

Spread chocolate mixture over ricotta filling, starting at center and stopping just short of crust.

Refrigerate tart until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours. Let sit out at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. Then cut into wedges and serve.

I loved this rich tart with its citrusy notes, creamy cheese filling, and thick chocolate topping, and I can't wait to try more recipes from this cookbook.

What are some of your favorite Italian desserts?