Pasta by Hand at Alden & Harlow

Remember that whiny post from last week where I complained about not going to the Pasta by Hand dinner? Turns out I successfully got one of my friends to go with me! We booked two spots for the 6:00 seating and anxiously awaited the event -- there were very few details available so I didn't really know what to expect.

The dinner was celebrating the release of Jenn Louis' (a chef from Portland, OR) first cookbook. It was a family style meal and we were sat at a table with 4 other people. Kathleen and I arrived first, excitedly looked over the menu, and ordered some drinks.

Each course was prepared by a different chef around the city. I only got a few photos because I didn't want to be too weird.

First dish from Mary DuMont of Harvest: ricotta cavatelli with lamb sugo, pickled white lily, mint and spring blossoms (that she foraged herself!)

I think this was my favorite of the night. We all know by now that I'm a huge sucker for anything lamb.

Second dish from Matthew Gaudet of Westbridge: kombu gnocchi alla valdostana with miso bagna cauda, broccoli rabe, and nutritional yeast (second photo down in the left column). I loved this dish too -- nutritional yeast is something I've always wanted to experiment with. It really does taste like cheese! The gnocchi was reminiscent to the best I've ever had at Sportello!

Third course from Jamie Bissonette of Coppa and Toro: Sardininan style gnocchi with grilled fava beans, goat, and baharat. Another amazing dish. I tend to love everything that comes out of Jamie's brain.

Fourth dish from Matt Jennings of Townsman: chickpea gnochetti with chicken leg, fermented garlic and chiles (photo in bottom left of collage). This one was super interesting. Love the idea of using chickpeas in the pasta dough. Townsman just opened about 2 months ago and now it's definitely on my must try soon list!

Fifth dish from Alden & Harlow's Michael Scelfo: nettle gnocchi with spring vegetables, pickled fiddleheads, ramp, and walnut pesto (top left corner of collage). I loved the presentation of this dish -- it looked like it belonged in a forest! The pickled fiddleheads were interesting and the walnut pesto was so herby and tasty.

Our last dish was from the author herself, Jenn Louis: strozzapretti with parmagiano-reggiano and butter. I just googled stozzapretti pasta and that's definitely not what we ate. This remind me of arancini a little bit. Not sure what we ended up with, but it was super delicious!

One of the best parts about the dinner was that we all went home with signed copies of Jenn Louis' book! Can't wait to crack this one open and finally make some pasta by hand!

Gluten is not the devil!

PS: I could have definitely gone to this dinner alone. We had such a great time with the people at the table -- by the end of the meal I felt like we were all old friends!! Nothing like pasta to bring people together!

PPS: I learned some new words from writing this post!

- Sugo simply means sauce

- Kombu is edible kelp

- Valdostana is goat, so I think this gnocchi was made with goat's milk?

- Miso bagna cauda is a spicy Japanese sauce

- Baharat is a Turkish spice mixture (I think I knew this at some point)