Bellissimo

By Christy Marshall

Photography by Katherine Bish

Marian and Evan Nunn love to cook, entertain and ... "theme" their parties.

Take the Thanksgiving where they cooked and served favorite dishes from past American presidents. Among other offerings were asparagus souffle (loved by Lyndon Baines Johnson), creamed onions (George Washington), pumpkin pie (Ronald Reagan) and raspberry pie (Andrew Jackson).

On this night, the Nunns welcomed guests who all have a child or two attending The Wilson School—as is the Nunns' daughter. The setting: their spacious home in The Plaza in Clayton. And the theme? Italian. All the dishes and all the wine hailed from various regions of Italy. At each place setting was a four-page menu, replete with details on each of the seven courses and vino selections.

The cooking—right down to the bread—was done by both Marian and Evan (who specializes in beef tenderloin). At one point in the evening, Marian picked up the phone by the stove and muttered a few words. Within minutes, guest chef Marc Del Pietro rushed up from Luciano's Trattoria to cook up the scallops.

Talk about bellissimo.

The hosts:

Evan and Marian Nunn

The location:

Their condominium in The Plaza in Clayton

The chefs:

Evan and Marian Nunn with an assist from guest chef Marc Del Pietro, chef at Luciano's Trattoria

The assistants:

Anita Lodes Lynn Torno (both from Party Helpers)

The florist:

Twigs & Moss

The sommelier:

Paul Hayden, owner of The Wine & Cheese Place (and Marian Nunn's cousin)

The guests:

Asha and Rick Zimmerman | Craig and Lissa Hildreth | Barb and Bob Donnelly | Carl and Katy Rowley

The Menu

Hors d'oeuvres

Raw oysters on the half shell

Blue cheese twists

The drinks: Remoulie's Prosecco (an Italian champagne) Negronis ( Campari, 1/3 sweet vermouth, 1/3 vodka, bitters)

Antipasto

The wine: I prandi

First Course

The food: Rosemary and sage-scented pasta with olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, butter, sea salt and sage

The wine: Falanghina white wine

Second Course

The food: Sauteed scallops with butter and saffron

The wine: Teruzzi and Puthod Terredifi

Sorbet

Apple with Muscat and grappa

Vegetable Course

The food: Risotto primavera

The wine: Dolcetto d'Alba

Entree

The food: Beef tenderloin

The wine: Mi Sueno

Cheese Course

The food: Fontinella, Cacciocavallo, Pecorino

The wine: Ripasso

Dessert

The food: Confirmation cake with raspberry coulis

Zabaglione

The wine: Saracco Muscato

Blue Cheese Twists

2 ounces blue cheese

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1/8 teaspoon sugar

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

3 tablespoons finely chopped pecans

1 egg

1 tablespoon water

Zabaglione

2 cups cold milk

3 cups half & half

2 large packages instant vanilla pudding

2 egg whites

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cognac

Pour milk and cream into mixing bowl.

Add pudding and beat slowly until well blended, about 1 minute. Do not overbeat.

Let stand 5 minutes. Beat sugar into egg whites gradually until mixture appears smooth and glossy, not dry. Fold gently into pudding. Chill. Just before serving, stir in cognac. Serve with cinnamon on top.

In a small bowl, combine cheese, butter and sugar. On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry into a 12-inch square. Spread cheese mixture on upper two-thirds of square. Sprinkle pecans over cheese mixture.

Fold bottom third of pastry over and fold top third over bottom. Lightly roll into a 12-by-5-inch rectangle. Cut into 24 5-by--inch strips. Beat egg and water together. Brush egg mixture over strips.

Twist each strip three or four times and place about 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Sliced Tenderloin of Beef with Horseradish Sauce

1 cups vegetable oil

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons dry mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

5 pounds beef tenderloin

Combine all ingredients, except tenderloin, in large shallow pan. Place tenderloin in pan, cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Remove beef from refrigerator 1 hour before cooking.

Cooking:

Beef is outstanding grilled.

Oven method: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place beef on rack in large baking pan and bake 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and continue baking to desired doneness (18 to 20 minutes per pound for medium rare). Remove beef from oven and let cool. Wrap with foil and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve, slice beef thinly and arrange on platter.

Horseradish sauce

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup prepared horseradish, drained

2 slices fresh white bread, crusts removed, finely diced

1/2 cup whipping cream, chilled

Combine first three ingredients in medium bowl and mash with fork to mix well. In a small bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold cream into horseradish mixture. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Confirmation Cake with Raspberry Coulis

3 cups flour (with a little extra for dusting baking pan)

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Salt

3 eggs

1 cups granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, plus butter for greasing baking pan

Grated peel of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, the baking powder and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Break the eggs into a food processor bowl, add the sugar and process until the mixture becomes pale yellow. Melt butter in a small saucepan over very low heat. Add the flour and baking powder mixture to the processor bowl and combine it thoroughly with the eggs and sugar. Add the melted butter, grated lemon peel and lemon juice to the processor bowl and mix.

With the processor blade running, slowly add the milk. Smear the inside of a 9-by-2-inch round cake pan liberally with butter. Sprinkle the entire pan with flour; shake off the excess. Pour the batter, which will have a rather runny consistency, into the pan; give the pan a shake to level off the batter. Bake in the upper middle level of the oven for 50 minutes or until the top of the cake has become a deep gold.

Raspberry Coulis

2 cups raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1 vanilla bean, split

Lemon juice to taste

Heat all until boiling. Simmer until sugar dissolves, approximately 10 minutes. Remove vanilla bean. Puree in blender or food processor. Chill. Serve over cake.

Risotto Primavera

1 stick butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 shallot, finely diced

1 1/4 cups Arborio or other risotto rice

1 quart chicken stock

1/4 pound baby spinach

1 cup fresh peas, blanched until tender

12 asparagus spears, blanched until tender and cut into 1-inch pieces

1/3 cup white wine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1/2 cup parsley, chopped

13/4 cups grated Parmesan

Melt half the butter, along with the olive oil, in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallot. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Add the rice, stir well and cook for 2 minutes. Start adding the stock gradually, stirring continuously after each addition until the liquid is absorbed. When most of the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender, add the vegetables and white wine. Mix well and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper and add the remaining butter, cream, chopped parsley and Parmesan. Mix well and serve at once.