Rebirth of Pasquini's

It's history. It's rebirth. It's using the fruits of the Earth to serve delicious, healthy food to Pasquini's patrons.

The Live Oak restaurant, which reopened in May 2007, has a history that dates back to 1930, when Addenaco "Dan" Pasquini, a local farmer, purchased property at the junction of Highway 99 and Kent Avenue and opened Pasquini's Grocery and Gas Station.

According to a history written by Benn Pasquini, Dan and three nephews ran the farming, grocery and gas station operation during the early years.

Addenaco wrote that during the lean years of the Great Depression, the men augmented their income by serving big Italian dinners in the store's basement.

When Dan Pasquini died in 1964, the business was inherited by his son, Bernard "Benn" Pasquini. He was forced to close in 1971 when a fire gutted the business.

After renovation, the bar reopened but the grocery was gone. Benn had toyed with the idea of serving food at the bar for some time, because Pasquini's had a reputation for good food even though it had never been an actual restaurant. He started small, but as the crowds grew and the menu expanded, the old grocery store was converted into a dining room.

As can happen, the restaurant fell on hard times and was purchased in 1984 by cousins John and Joe Micheli. The restaurant was leased to Doug Bailey, who ran it until 1991. Rick Davis took over the lease and ran the restaurant until December 2006.

In 2007, John Micheli's son, Angelo Micheli, took control of the restaurant and refurbished it.

Angelo, who graduated from California Culinary Academy, said, "Cooking for me was easy, so for the first eight months, I spent my time in the kitchen and hired others to manage. By the end of eight months, I had the food where I wanted it."

And the "where" he wanted it was fresh, tasty and locally grown. To that end, he planted a two-acre garden next to the restaurant.

"Everything we pick from our garden, we use," Angelo said.

He explained that when they planted their first garden, a winter garden, they weren't sure how much they'd get from the onions and carrots as well as the many types of greens: "We didn't know how much would come up, but it all came up; much more than we could use."

The garden helps the restaurant in a number of ways: It provides fresh vegetables; it's an advertisement for the restaurant; and it gives Pasquini's a way to carve out its own niche in the tough restaurant business. "It's a uphill fight taking on all these chain restaurants," he said, so Angelo uses the local, fresh food angle as a way to be successful.

The young restaurant owner describes his style of food as basically Italian, leaning toward comfort food in the winter, with a nod to California cuisine, because they a lot of their own food and serve it fresh.

To show off the fresh produce, Pasquini's head chef, Jeremy Boyd, who grew up in Sutter and now lives in Yuba City, decided to prepare his own special Penne of the Garden (Penne del Giardino, in Italian) vegetable pasta dish.

"It's a garden-fresh pasta with fresh tomatoes, zucchinis, onion, penne pasta with a light white wine sauce," he said. "It's a lot of fun to make with fresh ingredients and is a picture-perfect dish for summer time.

"The first thing you want to do is get your pan nice and hot and add a little bit of olive oil. I'd say about 2 1⁄2 tablespoons, or just enough to coat the bottom of the pan," he said, explaining that he knows the oil is hot enough when a little bit of smoke starts coming off the edges.

While the oil was heating, Jeremy cut up the zucchinis and cherry tomatoes that had been picked just the day before.

While at the cutting board, he said, "It's better to cut the zucchinis into chunks, because the flat pieces tend to stick to the bottom of the pan."

I asked him why he was using three different colors of zucchinis. His answer: They all about taste the same, but the variety helps add color to the dish.

While he was cutting the fresh red onion, he said it's important not to cut the vegetables into pieces that are too small. "You're going to want all of your vegetables to be about the same size, so you have the same mouth-feel but different textures."

The order of cooking is important, so that the finished dish has just the right flavor, the right feel and the vegetables don't turn into mush.

The first to go in is the onion, because it takes the longest to cook. Jeremy said that once the onion starts to turn translucent, add a pinch of salt of pepper.

Jeremy warned that when you put in the vegetables into the pan, the oil temperature will drop a little, so turn the heat up a bit.

The next to go in is the zucchini, what he calls "the star of the dish."

"The best way to get your zucchini to cook fast is to keep it on high heat, cover it and let it steam a little bit, maybe a minute and a half or two minutes, or until the zucchini start turning a little translucent, like the onions," Jeremy explained.

"You want the freshness of the ingredients to come through, so don't cook it until it's mush. It's all about textures, so you want a little bit of crispness — you want it al dente."

He said he knows the vegetables are ready for the white wine when they're firm but with a little bit of give when he tests them with his spoon.

Adding the wine can be a little exciting because it will flame, so keep your face away from the pan to avoid singed eyebrows.

Jeremy added about 4 ounces of white wine to the vegetables to flavor them up a bit as well as to deglaze the pan. He then let the liquid reduce by about half, which took a little less than a minute to get the consistency he wanted.

As the dish neared completion, it was time for the garlic.

Jeremy said he waited to add the 1 1⁄2 to 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, because "I want that raw edge to it. It makes the flavor carry through, and I don't want the garlic to brown up and caramelize, because I already have enough sweetness from the onions."

His next ingredient, a half-pinch of crushed red chili flakes, is not mandatory, but adds another flavor dimension and a little extra color.

Next to go in was 1 to 2 ounces of balsamic vinegar. Jeremy said he uses it to expand all the flavors, but advised to only cook the dish for only another 30 seconds, because it's important to have the vinegar edge still there.

Jeremy then turned down the heat, added 2 tablespoons of butter and stirred everything well, to make sure the butter coated all the ingredients.

The final important ingredient: the tomatoes.

Looking at the finished vegetables, Jeremy said: "That's beautiful. You have the green, the yellow and the red and a little purple from the onion."

Lastly, Jeremy sprinkled some parsley on top. He said the amount isn't vital; you can add as little or as much as you like.

The penne pasta was cooked ahead of time, so it was ready when the vegetables were. After making sure all the excess water was gone, Jeremy poured the pasta into the pan with the vegetables (which was kept over a low heat), then tossed and mixed it to make sure the sauce coated everything.

He then turned off the heat, spooned the Penne of the Garden into a waiting bowl and added a little of the sauce over the pasta.

"Then to top it off, grate some Romano cheese and sprinkle parsley and a few chili flakes over it before serving," Jeremy said.

• PENNE OF THE GARDEN (PENNE DEL GIARDINO)

Will feed about four people

Ingredients

4 cups uncooked penne pasta

2 1⁄2 tablespoons olive oil

1⁄2 medium onion, diced

2 to 3 small to medium zucchini, sliced

4 ounces white wine

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

1⁄2 pinch crushed red chili flakes, optional

1 ounce balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons butter

10 to 12 cherry tomatoes, diced

2 pinches parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

Putting it together

Cook pasta according to package directions. Cool in ice bath; set aside.

Heat olive oil in large skillet until it just begins to smoke. Sauté onions until caramelized. Add zucchini and cook until tender and starting to turn translucent.

Add wine to pan cautiously (it will flame up). Cook until liquid is reduced by half.

Add garlic, chili flakes (if using) and balsamic vinegar. Cook and stir for about 30 seconds, then reduce heat. Add butter and stir until butter has melted and coated all ingredients. Add tomatoes and parsley. Cover pan and let steam for a few minutes.

Salt and pepper to taste. Toss in pasta and heat for 45 seconds or until hot. Serve garnished with grated Romano cheese and parsley flakes.

• PASQUINI'S

Where: 6241 Highway 99, Live Oak

Restaurant hours: Monday: 4:30-9:00 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday: 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.

Bar opens 4:00 p.m.

Call: 695-3384

Click: www.pasquinisfinefood.com

Owner: Angelo Micheli

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Hollis at 741-2400 or jhollis@appealdemocrat.com.