Shotguns and Shellfish

Aaaahhh yes...Spring is here in Central Oregon and with it has blossomed a new voracious appetite for creativity. Hence my return to blogging after a 3 month hiatus.
My wonderful parents drove up to Bend for a little visit (which definitely corresponded with the warming trend) and with their arrival so also came our feasting with abandonment.

You see, for the past 5 months John and I have been living on day-old pastries, bread and dumpster soup from the bakery where we work. We venture to the grocery store once in a while for a little fresh produce and other items that sparsely supplement our bread diet. Of course when we have guests for dinner or it's a special occasion like Valentines Day or Cinco de Mayo we'll plan and cook a full menu that is luxuriously bread-free, but otherwise, it's, "hey John, what kind of bread do you want me to toast for ya?" This has been a great way to save money. I think our monthly grocery bill averages around $50 a month or less which lifts our spirits out of the "bread ho-hums" when we realize how much we're saving.So when my parents were here who conveniently share our love of good cookin' and good eatin' we did it up right! We had big breakfasts, picnic lunches and great food and wine for dinner. And during the day we entertained them with some fun Central Oregon outdoor recreation; we went fishin' and shootin' (those were Dad and John's ideas...) and we also planted some herbs in my little herb garden (for the genteel folks).

On their last night here they took us out to dinner at Merenda Restaurant and Wine Bar downtown. We shared wine flights and passed all the great dishes around the table family style.

Merenda is a large open dining space with beautiful old brick walls on the interior and windows looking out on the small town bustle of Wall St. They have a very diverse and carefully selected wine list and offer 2 oz tastes for 1/3 the price of all the wines they serve by the glass (which was 88 wines when we dined there). Oh, the wines all sounded so intriguing it made it hard to choose so we let the sommelier give us 2 flights of wine, a flight of Pinot Grigio and a flight of reds that had been rated 90+ by Parker (a well known, notorious perhaps, wine snob from Wine Advocate). The wines were all great, most notably delicious were an Oregon Pinot Gris and an Australian Shiraz, fruity and thick of course.

But enough about the wine, more importantly, let's get on to the food! This entry is the most photo-centric in the blog yet and although the photos almost speak for themselves I will do my best to transport you to the gorgeous smells, flavors and textures we experienced that evening.

We began with the Risotto Balls. They were rolled in fine bread crumbs, fried and served on a bed of baby frise with an aioli garnish. They were the perfect combination of crispness and warm meltingly smooth interior.The frise dressed with a sweet vinaigrette was a refreshing teaser between the drool-inducing balls.


The Pommes Frites appetizer arrived in a cone of white paper balanced like a bouquet in an iron spiral stand with freshly shaved parmesan and black pepper ground over them. The garlic aioli dip was so mellow it went almost unnoticed on the frites but once we tasted it, we couldn't skip the dip.


John ordered the hand made Fazzoletti pasta with fresh morels, spring garlic and thyme and had the whole dish mostly to himself. It was a beautiful layering of large pasta sheets the size of won ton wrappers (a little too similar to the pre-made wrappers we thought) but easily overlooked due to the abundance of fresh morels on the plate. The mushrooms were just as earthy and divine as we remembered them being and the spring garlic and thyme went nicely with them adding a burst of spring to the forest bouquet. John was kind enough to present each of us with a big bite.

The Iron Skillet Roasted Mussels with garlic and herb butter were good, but nothing special except that they were served on the iron skillet which kept them warm through the whole meal. Warm, but also maybe a little drier than they should have been.

Dad shared one of his Seared Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Pistou with me. One of the prettiest items on our table, and perfectly cooked as well. The Pistou is a garlic basil olive oil that tastes like a basil pesto but with all the chunks strained out.

I ordered the Roasted Halibut Cheeks with lemon, garlic and sherry in honor of my little sister Maggie who I am sure would have ordered them herself had she been there with us. They did not disappoint. They were a lovely firm but smooth texture and the sherry flavor was dominant in the rich broth. Small portion for 4 people to share but that's how it goes with delicious items I suppose.

Mom and I shared a Vegetable Platter that had four vegetables or side dishes that we chose out of the seven listed on the menu. Ours had Sauteed Spinach with Lemon and Garlic, Whole Bean Ragout with Goat Cheese, Sauteed Pea Vine with Smoked Bacon and Shallots and Organic soft Polenta with Butter and Parmesan. The best items on the platter were the spinach which was so fresh it seemed it had been lightly cooked right in front of us and the soft polenta which was like dessert it was so rich with butter and milk. The beans were a little too salty after the first bite and were missing any sign of the goat cheese. And the pea vines were overshadowed by the bacon, might as well have just been a pile of bacon on the plate. But at any rate this veggie dish is the kind of thing that gets us vegetarians very excited (even though I opted for the bacon dish...what was I thinking? I should have gotten the asparagus...I was weak...bacon is my downfall). I have heard in the past they have a Brussels Sprouts dish that is to die for.

Just when I thought I couldn't eat another bite, the desert menu showed up. Remembering the ecstasy Mom and I experienced the last time we ordered desert at Merenda (it was a blood orange cheesecake and it was art, pure and simple), I knew I had to try something else. I went for the Creme Fraiche Panna Cotta with Rhubarb-Orange Compote and Mandarin Sorbet. I was in ecstasy yet again. The Panna Cotta was so beautifully creamy it was like they used butter instead of gelatin and the little vanilla beans speckling the pure white mold were lovely. The rhubarb was soft with all crispness cooked away yet still firm enough to give me something to chew on with the soft creme, and the orange infused into it gave it a very floral note. The mandarin sorbet was a little grainy in texture but had a perfect tartness that went well with the rhubarb and the sweet creme. The absolute highlight of the meal.

It was a meal to remember and I can't wait to go back there and try it again. Now that I'm hungry after writing about our culinary adventure at Merenda I think I'll go have some bread...