More than pasta

"I love food and I love the instant gratitude of feeding the people," he said.

Murray is chef and co-owner of Botticelli Ristorante Italiano in Casper. He started at the original Botticelli Ristorante Italiano in Rapid City, S.D.  in 1995 and eventually became co-owner. Over the years he helped set up several new Botticelli's, including the one in Casper, which opened in 1998. Murray moved to Casper permanently about a year and a half ago when he and Lee Hamdi bought the restaurant.

Located in downtown Casper, Botticelli Ristorante Italiano is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays for lunch and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays for dinner. The casual dining spot is dimly lit and features dark colors, but the owners plan to redecorate in the next year or two to make it lighter and more inviting. The restaurant is named after early-Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli, and prints of his work may make their way onto the walls.

The menu features a variety of dishes influenced by northern and southern Italy. Cuisine in northern Italy is richer and often features aged cheeses, cured meat, such as prosciutto, and game, such as the Anatra Crochante, a half duckling roasted and topped with portobello mushrooms, prosciutto and a white wine sage sauce. Lighter dishes and those with seafood and pork generally come from southern Italy. One example is the appetizer Insalata Caprese, which is fresh mozzarella and vine-ripened Roma tomatoes with basil and extra virgin olive oil.

Some items on the lunch menu are lighter, as are the prices. Pizza, paninis and pasta each start at $7.95. (Try the Melanzane pizza, which has roasted eggplant and wild mushrooms on a caramelized onion sauce.) Salads, such as the Gorgonzola salad with wild greens, Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts and oranges topped with a light vinaigrette dressing, start at $4.95 and chicken, steak and seafood meals run from $9.95 to $12.95.

During dinner hours, appetizers and salads start at $5.95, pasta costs $12.95 to $17.95 and meat dishes range from $15.95 to $23.95.

Both the lunch and dinner menus also offer a variety of appetizers, salads, deserts such as tiramizu and coffee. If you're not in the mood for pasta, there is steak. Murray hand cuts the black Angus beef choice steaks.

Several features are offered each day, and although fresh seafood is always in stock, Murray whips up additional seafood dishes on Wednesdays. Thursdays are pasta night.

Some of the featured dishes may end up on the menu soon. A new, shorter menu is in the works, Hamdi said. It is slated to come out in 2011. Many of the current favorites, such as the best-selling Linguini con Pollo, will remain on the menu. But don't worry, if your favorite dish doesn't make the cut, Murray will still make it. Everything except the pasta is fresh from scratch, so he can still cook items off the menu as long as the ingredients are in stock.

The wine menu may also expand in the next year. Currently, about 38 wines are offered, such as organic wine from 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards in Idaho. Murray hopes to add more Italian wines, specifically Super Tuscans, blended wine meant to compete with the California blends. For wine lovers, Tuesdays are a great day to stop in -- wine by-the-bottle is half-priced then.

Murray shares three of the restaurant's most popular items exclusively with Live Well readers below.

Anatra Crochante

1 duckling

3 cups white wine (Chablis or Chardonnay)

2 tablespoons fresh sage, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 cup portobello mushrooms

8 ounces sliced prosciutto

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup butter

Instructions: Place the duck in a roasting pan with a drip tray to keep the drippings separate. Roast at 350 degrees until it's three-quarters of the way done. Remove the duck from the oven and allow it to cool. Cut the duck in half and remove the interior bones (breast and thigh bone). Melt about two tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon butter in a skillet or saute pan. Sear the duck skin side down until the skin is slightly crispy. Place it in the oven and finish roasting it. Saute garlic in a pan. Add white wine and seasonings and reduce by half. Add two to three tablespoons butter to thicken the sauce. Add prosciutto and portobello mushrooms to sauce. Top duck with sauce and serve with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes or soft polenta.

Linguini con Pollo

3-4 ounces roasted chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

3 ounces grilled zucchini, chopped

1 ounce sun-dried tomatoes

1 ounce quartered artichoke hearts

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

1 pinch crushed red pepper

1 pinch dry oregano

1/2 tablespoon Kosher salt

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

7 ounces cooked linguini

2 ounces grated Pecorino Romano

Instructions: Saute everything except the cheese and linguini in a saute pan with 1/4 cup olive oil until the garlic is golden. Toss with cheese and linguini.

Botticelli Ristorante Italiano House Oil

1 cup garlic

4 ounces basil, with stems

2 tablespoons dry oregano

2 tablespoons salt

1 gallon olive oil

Instructions: Heat one quart olive oil until slightly hot. Add the garlic and seasoning -- except the basil -- and cook until garlic is slightly golden in color. Add the rest of the oil and basil and reduce heat. Slightly simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Strain out the solids and keep refrigerated or bottled. This is a great gift to share with friends and family.

To recommend a restaurant to be featured in Live Well Wyoming, e-mail editor Carol Seavey at carol.seavey@trib.com.