Restaurant-Style Recipes at Home – Elephante Copycat Menu
We ate a beautifully and effortlessly elegant meal at Elephante Scottsdale and decided we wanted to host a Mediterranean dinner party that could hopefully replicate our evening—with restaurant-style recipes at home that captured the same charm and flavor.
As we planned our big Copy Cat evening, we imagined a sun-kissed escape to the Amalfi coast, brought to life at our dining table. We wanted our guests to slow down, savor the magical night we were creating, and enjoy the experience of restaurant-style recipes at home without ever leaving the house.
What Should We Serve
The menu at Elephante is a blend of rustic charm and vibrant flavours. In order to choose what we wanted to try and replicate, we relied on our own experience—and then Google helped us discover their most popular dishes. We also had to take into consideration our time, grocery availability, and personal preferences. The result? A thoughtfully curated lineup of restaurant-style recipes at home. Here is what we came up with.
Our Menu
- Arancini with Melon Passato
- Whipped Eggplant with Warm Puccia Bread
- Braised Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce
- Cacio e Peppe
- Grilled Steak with Chimichurri and Grilled Green Onions
- Garlil Butter Spinach
- Marsala Mushrooms
- Crispy Potatoes with Salsa Rossa Bianco
- Pistachio Sundae with Honey Drizzle
This was a big menu but we were so excited and enthusiastic about the food that we decided to dive in and see what we could accomplish. We didn’t have access to their recipes so trial and error came into play and we were really happy with our end results. Luckily our guests were family and close friends so we knew this was a safe place where we could experiment.
Must Have: Party Essentials
To bring this Italian spirit to life we focused on these elements.
- A fresh menu that we would feel invested in
- Relaxed but refined decor with natural textures – There was a lot of cooking that needed done so we need to be kind to ourselves and focus on that
- Plenty of wine, a signature cocktail even that gives us some grace if the menu takes a little longer than we planned
- Do as much as you can ahead of time.
Style the Scene – Decor, Ambiance and Your Table
We wanted a sophisticated look because Elephante has captured the essense of combining a relaxed high end experience.
Color Palette: Soft neutrals, terra cotta, sage green and ivory
Textures: Woven rattan, unglazed ceramics. crinkled linens, wood
Lighting: String lighting, candlelight – always consider the height of your candles. Although tall high candles can be dramatic and great for the mood you’re creating they can also interrupt conversation and the flow of energy at your party if they obscure your guests ability to connect with the person across from them.
Tableware and Glassware: Mismatched plates, and glasses, rustic neutrals, lots of wine glasses for each varietal.
Extra Touches: Potted rosemary, fresh lemon, small olive branches, twine wrapped napkins with a sprig of rosemary.
This is a great party to host outdoors, or position your table to open windows. Choose from our suggestion for what works best for you and remember the food is the focus for this evening.
Foundation of Flavours – The Sips and Bites
The heart of this dinner party is the flavours, creamy, herbaceous, zesty and rich. We enjoyed our meal at Elephante so much I wish we could have tried the entire menu. The recipes are our attempt and being an amazing Copy Cat. Luckily our guests had never eaten their so they were very impressed with our version.
Sips
Consider starting your night with Negroni or an Aperol Spritz. We chose to begin with a older vintage of champagne. We then moved on to a crisp white Bordeaux and with our main course we had a French left bank Bordeaux. You could consider an Italian wine pairing to stay consistent with the evening theme but ultimately please serve what you and your people love to drink. Sparkling and still water on the table with orange slices should be a standard practice.
What We Served
Please click on each item to take you to the link with the recipes. We had difficulty deciding what to make, and if we did it again, we’d probably skip the meatball course—it was too much too early in the menu. But we really wanted to serve a big red wine early in the evening, so we committed to it.
Sometimes we simplified dishes from what we had experienced or read about in Elephante’s version; other times, we added our own twist. The goal was to create restaurant-style recipes at home that felt both elevated and personal. We were really impressed with the outcome and look forward to adding these dishes to our repertoire—and one day going back to Elephante for another amazing meal.
Appetizers and Starters
I believe strongly that there should be something on the counter for your friends and family when they arrive. Always assume they have anticipated your cooking and haven’t eaten all day in preparation.
Arancini with Melon Passato and Proscuitto Crumble
Crispy risotto balls filled with mascarpone cheese, served over a sweet cantaloupe passato and then a crumbled baked prosciutto on top. We tried this at Elephante and I think we nailed the recipe. This will be a new favourite appetizer in our house. You can make them ahead and freeze them. This is an entertaining win.
Whipped Eggplant with Puccia
Roasted Eggplant blended into a velvety dip with tahini, olive oil and lemon. Topped with crispy shallots and garlic. We served this with a soft Italian bread. My attempt at Puccia was lazy and hence a fail. However the fail was a soft airy bread that still served well with the dip. Puccia is like an Italian Pita but I would reccomend you bake whatever is easiest for you. We also tried this dish onsite and the Puccia is quite dramatic so I’m not giving up on the Puccia. I’ll give it another go.
Braised Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce
This is a super easy recipe and I would recommend them but I would not keep it in this menu if I was doing it again. They’re too heavy when you’ve already fed your guests and beautiful fired arancini and a dip with bread. However these are a great starter on their own. Tender pork and beef meatballs slowly simmered in a chili-flecked tomato sauce.
Salad
When I entertain this is when I formally ask my guests to sit down to the table. It is a nice transition to a formally plated course. We served a white Bordeaux with the salad which is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. It will be crisp but with softened edges.
Cheese Stuffed Roasted Pears over Arugula
I had no idea how Elephante made, plated or the recipe so we simply read their description and came up with our own version. These plated and presented really well. It is a dramatic version of a pear and blue cheese salad. A simple champagne vinaigrette over the arugula elevated the dish.
Pasta
We chose to do a little bit of the traditional version of an Italian meal by having a pasta course. We chose the Cacio e Pepe because it is a family favourite, easy to do and it pairs well with a Barbaresco. We were hosting red wine drinkers so the peppery pasta allowed us to switch to a red wine while still serving a creamy pasta.
Cacio e Pepe
This is the pasta of Rome. It separates itself from the other creamy pastas with its peppery flavours and Pecorino Romano cheese. It’s creamy but not too heavy.
Main Course
Obviously we have been eating for awhile by the time we got to our main course. We served small serving sizes so that our guests didn’t have food fatigue before the main course. Depending on your group and your comfort level feel free to switch this course to a buffet style. It gets your guests up and mingling and can often save you a lot of time and effort. We served a French left bank Bordeaux with this course. The red meat made this an easy pairing.
Grilled Steak with Chimichurri and Charred Green Onions
Chimichurri is a go to for us when we serve grilled steak. It pairs well with most red wines; it’s a light topping; it plates beautifully and its easy to make. Our recipe is from a cooking class I took in Argentina 10 plus years ago that I still make many times each summer. The charred onions also add lots of visual appeal to your meal and taste yummy.
Garlic Butter Spinach
Easy, quick and fresh. A quick splash of lemon at the end brighten these up a lot. We have not tasted this at Elephante so this is our own version.
Marsala Mushrooms
Creating this recipe had me at odds. I often like a creamy mushroom when I’m serving steak but I had concerns about making it heavy. I was trying to keep this course with lighter sides. Therefore in the recipe you will see that the cream is optional. It will be really beautiful if you decide you’d like a creamy mushroom but I wanted something a bit more organic.
Crispy Potatoes with Salsa Rossa Bianco
I didn’t know about Salsa Rossa Bianco so this was a fun dive into an Italian dish. Crispy roasted potatoes layered over a spicy bright red sauce and then garnished with a tangy white sauce.
Dessert
I love desserts where you can throw together several premade elements so that it appears fancy and complicated but really wasn’t By this point you’ve had a heartfelt evening sharing food and moments with your family and friends and you don’t want to miss anything because you’re getting up to make a fancy showstopping dessert. This sundae is a quick put together but turned out really pretty.
Pistachio Sundae
Reading the Elephante menu online left me remorseful that we hadn’t tried their Pistachio Sundae. It sounds divine. We did a much simpler version. Our sundae was enclosed in a homemade Phyllo pastry cup, with a nutty pistachio pudding on the bottom, a scoop of homemade vanilla gelato and drizzled with Pistachio cream. We topped it with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios and honey.
FAQ
What can I make ahead? So much can be made ahead
- Roasted Eggplant Dip
- Arancini and Melon Passato and Prosciutto Crumble (just need to fry the arancini before serving)
- Stuffed Pears and vinaigrette
- Chimichurri
- Meatballs – make the day before and just pop in oven 2 hours before serving
- Salsa Rossa Bianco – heat up the red sauce just before serving
- Sundaes
- phyllo pastry cups
- vanilla ice cream
- chop nuts
- pistachio pudding
Final Thoughts
This dinner party reminded us of why we gather; to create community, moments, and to enjoy good food and good wine with those you love. We had a lot of fun trying to replicate what we considered to be an amazing meal.
Join the Conversation Below
Would You host a dinner like this and what restaurant would be your inspiration? Let us know if the comments if you tried any of these.
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