With July 4th behind us, it’s time for the real parties to begin, the lush festivities that answer summer’s lifting of rules, it’s late nights, long sunsets, the urge to celebrate on a Wednesday.
Happy for us, Jody Adams of Rialto in Cambridge has long understood the sensorial call of cicadas and fireflies. For eighteen years the Rialto team has created an Annual Summer Wine Barbecue. This year’s theme is Liguria, the Italian region where pungent basil grows on the hillsides above the Mediterranean. Pesto was born here.
No one understands Italian culinary treasures as well as Jody Adams, and no one re-interprets them on this side of the Atlantic with such flourish. (The lobster dish above and the dish below are simply images of Adams' food I snatched from the internet; they won't necessarily be served on Wednesday.)
Here are some photos of last year's barbecue, compliments of Rialto. If you’re not actually sipping Campari in Genovese cafe right now, get yourselves to Cambridge for a festive evening that will make you feel far away from home.
In the name of food bloggers, while you’re thinking about Rialto, check on The Garum Factory, a gorgeous cooking blog put together by Jody and her husband Ken Rivard.
And here are the facts of Rialto's Wednesday in Liguria:
Summer Ligurian Wine Barbecue
What: On Wednesday, July 18 the Rialto kitchen moves outside into the Charles Courtyard for our Annual Summer Wine Barbecue. This year's event is an evening under the stars with a regional focus on Liguria, the coastal jewel of Italy, birthplace of pesto and home to some of the finest seafood in the Mediterranean. Guests will mix and mingle at the reception while sipping wine or a Liguria cocktail, slurping down oysters and clams from the raw bar and nibbling on hors d'oeuvres. The evening is like a gourmet Italian summer cookout with old and new friends and no mess to clean up!
Menu:
RECEPTION
Raw Bar & passed hors d'oeuvres
Vermentino, Bisson Vigna Intrigoso, Golfo del Tigullio 2009
Ligurian Basil Lemonade
FIRST
Cappon Magro…white fish lobster and shrimp salad, salsa verde, preserved mushrooms, artichokes, ship’s bread
Bosco/Vermentino/Albarola, Bisson Marea CinqueTerre 2010
SECOND
Grilled lamb two ways…pesto marinated chop, roasted leg, grilled polenta, smokey eggplant puree, zucchini, roasted tomatoes, lamb jus
Bisson Grenache
DESSERT
Jellied jasmine and watermelon
*please note menu is subject to change based on chefs whim and availability
Where: Rialto and Charles Square Courtyard, One Bennett Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA 02138
When: Wednesday, July 18, 2012; 6:30pm reception; 7:30pm dinner
Who: Jody Adams, chef and owner Rialto
Tickets: Call 617.661.5050 to reserve your space. Tickets are $125 inclusive of tax & gratuity.
Background: This is an annual event that Rialto has produced for 18 years. Each year Rialto hosts a big summer barbecue with over 100 people with a different regional theme.
