On the first day of the Gluten Free Culinary Summit, Chef Russell Kerman made an amazing dish: Pecan encrusted diver sea scallops over an herb infused quinoa & goat cheese croquette topped with a savory apple-leek chutney and a butternut squash coulis. (see above photo). (Great, now I’m drooling just thinking about it…) He is the Executive Chef of the Pinelli Marra Restaurant Group. All the restaurants (count them, NINE!!) have a gluten free menu and trained staff. Bless you guys! If you are in Providence, RI at all, go check them out. If the tasty yumminess that Russell Kerman made on a little burner is any indication, the restaurants shouldn’t be missed!
The restaurants:
On Friday night there was a “dining adventure” where you could pick one of four restaurants to eat at. My husband and I had picked Cafe Nuovo. It doesn’t appear to have a gluten free menu regularly, however, they seemed very well versed and had set up for this amazing dinner. (Remember my food is gluten AND dairy free and they handled it beautifully!) And, because I am a geek and totally into food porn, I took a picture of my dinner and desert…. Mmmmmm……
Hudson Valley Duck Breast, Maple-Butternut Squash Risotto, Melted Endive &Walnuts,
Roasted Cipollini Onions and Pinot Noir Glaze
(It didn’t photograph well, but trust me, I would bathe in that glaze!)
Fresh Fruit with Mango Sorbet
This is what my husband and everyone who could eat dairy had.
Isn’t it tasty looking?
Pot of Mousse
And my salad before hand? Organic Field Greens (with Cucumber, Baby Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Carrot, Shaved Bermuda Onion, Roasted Shallot-Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette)
Yeah, I need a personal chef… sigh…