Dalla Terra all Amore

I’m 99% a cooked fruit hater. However, I love seared peach (still mostly raw). Particularly with some Barata cheese. Today I added a little salt and some red pepper flakes. I’m a big fan of sweet and spicy. I’ll definitely do it this way again.

If I put this on my menu, who would order it?

Beef wellington taco with a puff pastry taco shell, creamed spinach, mushroom duxelles and filet mignon! 😋

Soft opening at Dalla Terra al Amoré.
Seafood service.
Unplanned service while my able bodied Texan friends were here.
I even let them help. So great.

Fresh wild Alaskan King Salmon
Mussels
Scallops
Broccolini and Brussels sprouts
Tomato basil salad with balsamic and goat cheese.
Sugar snap peas with chili aioli.

60th birthday sail.

Six years ago in April, I moved to Santa Cruz. It was a rain day and it was a long day. After the movers left, I found this little restaurant called La Posta. And it was delicious. I’ve continued to go there to celebrate me, to celebrate food and to enjoy friends.
And since it’s another move day, it seemed fitting that I relive my La Posta love story.

I rarely post Instagram. I wonder if anybody’s actually following me. This one brought a laughing tear to my eye.

TOMAHAWK STEAK.
YES!!

Full menu.
Four courses
21 plates of food for 3.

Course 1. Snack Service
-Otoro on Himalayan salt tablet
-Chard Snap Peas with Calabrian aioli

Course 2. Small Plates/salata
-Beets and tomatoes With crème fraîche and soft cheese drizzle.
-Caprese salad

Course 3. Small Entree
-Scallops
-Stuffed Delicato Squash with mushrooms, beet greens, soft cheeses, and charred rainbow chard

Course 4. Full Entree
-Tomahawk Steak
- Broccolini, Caramelized Onions, and mushrooms

Otoro from https://www.facebook.com/hhfreshfishco
H&H Fresh Fish Co.
Tomahawk Steak from https://pointbutchershop.com/
Point Butcher Shop

Dalla Terra all Amore delivered some amazing sushi last night with fresh caught, fatty bluefin tuna ‘otoro’.
In Japan, this restaurant would be named :
地球から愛へ
‘Chikyū kara ai e’
Thanks to H&H Fresh Fish Market for the fresh Otoro.

Dalla Terra all Amore on the road in Redmond Oregon
1. Lamb kebabs and stuffed Delicata Squash
2. Miso honey glazed Sable Fish (aka black cod) and mixed Veg. Not pictured: Caprese salad in grilled eggplant and strawberry spinach salad
3. Taco night. Outside sourcing for all pastor and chicken fajita meats.

Final full service dinner service for a while. Stay tuned for potential new location and new service options later this summer.
Tonight was a wonderful way to complete the last full service this spring. Happy to have a good friend came over from San Jose. Thank you, Bunny. What a delight.
Today I tried to freshen up the service, chef’s choice, with a light spring menu and tried a few new things. The desserts were from a bakery.
Definitely still some stuff to work on, but it came out pretty nice. Very fresh. Not too heavy.



So true.
Dalla Terra All Amore. = From Earth to Love.
Because there is love in the food.

Yes!!
100%

Another successful dinner with a new addition… a red heart shaped tortellini in a pesto bath.
Wonderful to share this meal with my lovely friend Maggie.
Menu in pics.

First dinner service in May was a success. I think the beets and asparagus were better than ever. And I just love it when people order the Rotolo pasta. It’s one of my favorite things. 

I’ve been thinking of an exclusive Japanese style menu as an option. And this is definitely tipping the odds in that favor. 
Although, I may have to translate the restaurant name into another language for that service🤣

Dalla Terra all Amore is back in service in Santa Cruz in May. Nice to be back in the kitchen. Looking forward to preparing tonight’s menu for my dear friend.
Unfortunately there’s no more bookings available this month. I will be considering availability in June. Keep your ears and eyes open if you’re interested.

I’ve been creating a brunch menu and doing some experimental samplings on some of the items for a few weeks. This is my first full Brunch menu service.
Six courses.
🫛Charred snap peas.
🦪Fresh mussels in wine sauce.
🧅Santa Cruz styled vegetarian biscuits and gravy (polenta, potato leek purée, caramelized onions, in a stuffed pastry)
🥑San Francisco style avocado toast. (breaded- baked sweet potato, avocado, house-made sour cream and onion, pillow of micro bladed horseradish. )
🍊Pallet cleanser. Thinly sliced fennel, olive oil, salt and pepper and blood orange.
🍮 Dessert. Not shown. Fig with balsamic and goat cheese.

Experimental kitchen day. Dalla Terra Test Kitchen on the road, Corinth TX

Passed appetizers:
1. Chanteral mushroom stem, scallop, crème drizzle with lemon.
2. Calabrese salami, filet mignon, scallop
3. Filet mignon, scallop, mushroom.

#1 was a success according to my tasters. Lowell and Lisa of Corinth.

A few firsts at my in-home restaurant experience at Dalla Terra all Amore. First time hosting two guests.
Also two full dinner services this weekend and a brunch tasting. Busy kitchen this week.
Next stop, I’ll be taking Dalla Terra all Amore out on the road to a suburb of Dallas soon.

-Course one
Seared Snap Peas
Scallops on shell
-Course two:
Cauliflower Steak with mushroom medley sauce
-Course three
Butternut with caramelized onion
Brussel Sprouts
- Course four
Fish (halibut on puree)
Broccolini

Still working on my brunch menu.
Had a friend over for some tasting today….
Shrimp toast
Savory French toast.
Avocado toast on sweet potato
Asparagus and Parmesan frittata
Mushroom medley on polenta with caramelize onions
Also snuck in a halibut on potato and fennel purée from the dinner menu

Another happy guest at Dalla Terra all Amore. Thank you TJ.

Course one
-Olives, Bread, Prosciutto, cheese
-Seared Snap Peas w/spicy aïoli
Course two
-Halibut with potato fennel puree
Course three
-Rotolo with mushrooms
-Butternut with caramelized onion
Course four
-Filet Mignon with Scallops
-Fingerling Potatoes

More experimenting.
Puntrelle, snap peas, tomato, green garlic, sweet onion with goat cheese and balsamic glaze.

Tapas and stuff. My in home restaurant Dalla Terra all Amore

My dinner guest tonight chose a small plate style dinner, chef choice. So I arranged a menu around some Spanish style tapas plates. I had a lot of fun coming up with some ideas, including a couple of standards. And she got to have a surprise dinner menu. Descriptions in the pictures. Not shown are the oysters and mussels small plates.

We don’t always eat gourmet or fancy here at Dalla Terra all Amore.
Sometimes the chef just wants to eat standing over the counter. 
And who doesn’t like a little spicy nut butter on your banana, with a side of coffee 

It’s been a fun few days experimenting in the kitchen. I think this will be the last one until dinner service on Friday. Today’s experiment was cauliflower steak and mushrooms with a browned butter caper sauce.
Also, shown is a chef favorite. Fresh California swordfish and grilled veggies.
Stay tuned food fans.