Frasca-licious

I've read and heard so much about the Boulder restaurant Frasca over the past three years, it seems as if I've eaten there a dozen times or more (though all I've done is made unfilled reservations):

• A local hog farmer has talked about how his home-grown pork is used in their recipes;
• Local cheesemakers and mushroom growers have told me that the restaurant also uses their product;
• And Denver Post food writer Tucker Shaw has devoted several stories, columns and reviews to the Friulian restaurant (Shaw, in fact, bestowed a rare four-star rating on Frasca when it opened in 2005).

Frioul is an archipelago in the Mediterranean off Marseilles in southern France. The region shares some of its food traditions with northern Italy.

And that's where we come in with today's review of food sections, an interesting read in which Shaw interviews the co-owners of Frasca.

Included are seven recipes in the print version of the Post (five online) that appear to be elegantly simple, provided you're able to procure the right kinds of cheeses: Grilled Coloroado Beef Short Ribs with Radicchio di Treviso, Barbecued Chicken with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes and Red Pepper Jelly, Frasca's Tomato and Meatballs, Pickled Shallot and Pesto Vinaigrette, Frico Caldo, Malted Milk Chocolate Gelato, and Cocoa-Almond Biscotti.

Featuring a combination of veal, lamb, bacon, and ricotta and Montasio cheese, the meatballs appear to be especially savory.

Frasca owners make wine recommendations for each dish, too.

So for those of you who probably won't drive to Boulder and spend the money to dine at Frasca, here's a chance to stretch your own culinary skills and at least try a little Friulano cuisine, as interpreted by chefs who have earned national acclaim.

If you've read this far, I'll invite you over for dinner, and I'll prepare at least a couple of these dishes for you. Just bring the wine.