Delicious Outdoor Summer Dinner...lots of grilling 
I was recently lucky enough to be invited by my friends Matt and Ron to a delicious evening of food and wine hosted by Heidi and Chris (Chris is the owner and impresario of the delicious Park Avenue Bar and Grill at 4184 Piedmont in the East Bay. No website yet, but check it out – open 7 days each week. 510-985-0990). Dinner was so yummy that I thought I’d share it with others in case they want to replicate it.I felt like I was in a photo shoot for an elegant gourmet magazine, so I took lots of pictures. The evening started with an informal offering of wine glasses placed on a beautiful green (my favorite color) tray, near a bucket filled with ice and several kinds of wine for the tasting. I had a delicious Markham Sauvignon Blanc and a Domaine De Pellehaut -- a light, citrus-y, summer rosé.
Our hosts set out several cheeses, and I had found a fig-almond spread that was great with the stronger cheeses. Chris shucked several kinds of oysters including Kumamoto – tiny little oysters, that even I, scared of oysters, could try. He prepared them with a squeeze of lemon and champagne vinegar with shallots. Yum!
On to the main course, where Chris grilled asparagus and yellow squash (that cool implement I’m waving around is called a Pig Tail– shaped just like a pig’s tail and perfect for spearing veggies on the grill).
I learned a good grilling tip – that the hot spot of the grill is near the hinges where the grill closes because the walls are higher and the heat reflects there.
Heidi prepared crisp, thin layers of polenta with tomato sauce; iceberg with blue cheese dressing (unlike any blue cheese dressing I have had at a restaurant..this was creamy and smooth and not overpowering). And they grilled fresh wild salmon that their friends Brad and Tony had recently caught. Yum!
One of the wines we were lucky enough to try was Flowers Pinot Noir. And then for dessert (always my fave meal) Matt and Ron grilled fresh peaches and figs and served them warm with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.
We ate this with dessert wines, brilliantly suggested by the folks at K and L wines. We had a delicate, slightly sweet rosé sparkling: Cerdon de Bugey from Caveau de St. July, which is a mix of Gamy and Pulsard grapes--slight peach flavors, and, as Ron described it "summer in a glass." We also had a Muscat de Beaumes de Venise, Domaine Bouletin--sweet and yum. Both were very resonable, under $14.00.
MENU
3-kinds of 0ysters
cheeses
Guacamole
Grilled salmon
Polenta and tomato sauce
Iceberg wedges and blue-cheese dressing
Crab legs
Grillesd asparagus and yellow squash
Grilled peaches and figs with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce
