A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of getting into the kitchen with Marcella. I followed her after seeing her pop up in my explore page or something, we had many mutuals, and instantly fell in love. She’s fun, talented, exclamatory (birds of a feather), and hosts a beautiful pop-up dinner on a monthly basis in her backyard. She had posted a little question box on her instagram stories asking if anyone wanted to collaborate. It was kismet because cooking and creating with friends has been something I have been yearning to do. I shot my shot with a 🙋🏻♀️, we met for coffee at Canyon, and the rest is history!
When we were originally brainstorming about what we wanted the dinner to look and feel like the first thing that came to mind was: sexy, fun, tea party. Walking through her garden feels like stepping into a whimsical, lush fairy land and I felt so inspired by it. Marcella and I are super in sync in multiple ways, but especially when it comes to passion about seasonal produce and showcasing simple ingredients in creative and (of course) delicious ways. We ending up using tons of produce from the farmers market and lots from her garden - nasturtiums, violas, alliums, Indian coriander. Marco, her husband and Backyard Bartender/Drink Master, came up with a signature cocktail for the evening tying into that original tea party vision. We partnered with dear friends who have the same ethos we do: nourishment, sustainability, abundance. The dinner guests laughed and enjoyed all evening and all ended up being friends - whether or not they started as such. All in all it was one of the best nights ever and I can’t wait for the opportunity to do it again!
The Partners
TYSM LA - I met Aimee after my friend Dylan brought some of her glorious cheese boards to a book club a few summers ago! Aimee is so talented and creates beautiful, colorful, abundant boards and has begun to arrange beautiful, colorful, abundant floral arrangements showcasing seasonal produce, too! She created the centerpieces and bud vases for the evening.
Nour - The founder of Nour, Annie, is a dear friend of mine. I met her at a coffee shop with my friend Emme. She is sunshine in human form and she inspires me so much. Nour is the best salad dressing(s) on the market (and earth) and we used it in multiple dishes throughout the night!
Algae Cooking Club - I had the opportunity to showcase ACC in a salad recipe I created with Nour. We ended up using the recipe for the dinner and used ACC throughout the night for our mayo, marinades, and roasting. ACC’s Algae Oil is a neutral, but buttery, high smoke point oil that was a pleasure to cook with all night and is now a kitchen staple!
The Dinner Breakdown
Guests were greeted with a cocktail - dubbed Lady Grey - or a mocktail upon arrival. The cocktail was made with gin and homemade earl grey syrup and topped with a sprig of lavender from the garden. I made a purple lemonade with dried butterfly blue pea flowers (try saying that ten times fast) and a simple mint honey syrup.
The lovely guests shmoozed and wandered around the garden for a bit until they were gently ushered to the deck to find their seats and get to the good stuff.
Marcella and I went to the Santa Monica Farmers Market together earlier in the week and snagged all our fresh ingredients, and then prepped together the day prior, so by dinner time on Saturday we were feeling completely at ease and ready to rock.
The first dish was a little egg bite. This is NOT your grandmother’s deviled eggs (no shade to those though!) This was an egg that was so herby, so deliciously salty, so moreish. Marcella had made this dish before for a previous dinner and I was so into it but was like, “ok what if it’s pink?!” So we lightly pickled jammy eggs with beets and Marcella made a mayo with yuzu from her neighbors yard. Topped with ‘chovies, capers, and fresh herbs.
Next was the snap pea laden salad. Marcella tossed some snap peas in ACC and charred them on the grill. We kept some snap peas fresh and thinly sliced on the bias along with radish and cucumber. I cooked some Ceci Piccoli (mini chickpeas) and Royal Corona beans from Rancho Gordo and then coated in ACC and roasted until nice and crispy. The salads were tossed with Lemon Caper Nour and topped with nasturtiums from the garden, mint, and Lamb Chopper (an aged sheep’s milk cheese). The result: spring in salad form.
After the salad was trout toast. Smoked trout dip made with creme fraiche and loaded with herbs, shallot, and capers was spooned atop a perfect slice of toasted challah Marcella had made the day before. The toast was finished with trout roe, more herbs, and a drizzle of lemon and ACC. There were a few vegetarians so I made a veggie garden toast with carrot lox (aka smokey pickled carrot), pickled shallot, cucumber, radish, micro greens, and almond cream cheese.
Then came grilled and glazed eggplant. Marcella made the glaze with honey, tamari, and chili. She grilled the eggplant slices and then brushed with the sexy, sweet, and a little spicy glaze. The eggplant paired PERFECTLY with Sumac Serrano Green Goddess Nour. Garnished with lightly pickled white onion, cilantro, lime, and violas from the garden.
For the main, I really wanted to go veg forward and use mushrooms. I think mushrooms are incredible. They can absolutely stand alone and shine when marinated and prepared well. Some of the best mushrooms I’ve had were simply grilled from Terra at Eataly, and they inspired me! When we were first recipe testing for the dinner, we tried both lions mane mushrooms and king trumpet mushrooms. I marinated them in ACC, tamari, white balsamic, garlic and rosemary (yes, from Marcella’s garden). The winner was king trumpet - they had a more meaty bite and the char from the grill really made them. The mushrooms were served over chimichurri (Marcella’s recipe slaps) and topped with Indian coriander (yes, from Marcella’s garden). We served them with cauliflower mash which was so simple and divine, one of my favorite ways to get more veggies on a plate. I steamed a few heads of cauliflower with garlic cloves, and then puréed with creme fraiche and ghee. For the dinner we also added a few mashed potatoes for a bit more oomph.
Dessert was a strawberry frangipane tart with basil ice cream that Marcella rocked, she’s SO incredible at baking and pastry. I had tried Marcella’s basil ice cream at a Backyard Garrett and I attended two months prior and I knew we had to include it in the dessert because it was bonkers insane good. My idea was sprinkling dried rose petals over the top of each dessert, because I’m obsessed with being a fairy obviously. Dessert was served with M&M - an apertif made with mezcal and amaro.
After dessert was served we joined everyone on the deck for a drink and conversation by candlelight. (Big thanks to Marco for slaying the dish clean up, these dinners are a well-oiled machine). We were so proud and happy with how the evening went - without a hitch! It was so fun to play in the kitchen with Marcella and cook for our friends - old and new. Marcella and Marco have created such an intimate and valuable experience, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to be included at this one 🥲. Backyard is a great way to spend a Saturday night and you get SO much more than dinner. If you’re in the LA area be sure to subscribe to Marcella’s newsletter to snag tickets to one of her monthly dinners. Her summer series is going to be delicious. She also shares recipes on her substack, so even if you’re not in LA you can enjoy her food!
Thank you to everyone who came, our beautiful sponsors, and YOU for reading I love you! X
And just when I thought my fomo couldn't get any worse...
SO happy this dinner lives on in substack form now. Thanks for sharing <3 <3
So beautiful friend! You, your writing, our dinner— all of it!! ❤️🔥