Keep it Simple

We had Dave's mom over for appetizers and happy hour this weekend. I wanted to keep it simple, low maintenance and light, since we were going out to a nice restaurant for dinner. Dave's mom also has a gluten intolerance, so the appetizers I serve can't be accompanied with regular crackers. Instead of the rice crackers I would normally serve, I decided to go on the lighter side and present a very colorful plate of fresh veggies with a hummus dip. It was a perfect snack before our three course meal to follow.

Since I can't just do anything without a little bit of extra effort, I decided to roast half of the red bell pepper and top my hummus with the pepper, capers and olives. You can either make your own hummus or buy the pre-made hummus if you want to go easy on yourself.

Hummus Dip with Vegetables
Makes about 4 cups

2 15 oz cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
Juice of 2 lemons, about 1/2 cup
6 tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt

For the topping
1/2 red bell pepper
3 tbsp chopped kalamata olives
1 tbsp capers
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Drain chickpeas, reserving liquid. Put chickpeas into a blender or food processor, add 3/4 cup of the chickpea reserved liquid and 1/4 cup water. Cover and blend to a semismooth paste.

With motor still running, add lemon juice through hole in blender lid or the top of the food processor. Add tahini, garlic, and salt to taste and puree until very smooth, about 2 minutes.

For the Topping

Slice and de-seed the bell pepper and place skin side up on a baking sheet. Place oven broiler on high and broil the bell pepper until skin is black. Remove from the oven and put pepper in a paper bag. Close the bag tightly and let steam for 5-10 minutes. Remove pepper and the skin should peel off easily. Chop the pepper and place in a medium bowl. Add olives, capers, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.

Place hummus in a serving bowl and top with bell pepper mix. Serve with any of the following: carrots, sliced red and yellow bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, pita triangles, sliced baguette, whole grain crackers.

Sicilian Baked Mahi Mahi

Home again. The weather is mild and breezy. I have Italian on the mind again. Will it ever stop? I simply love the uncomplicated, flavorful ingredients and diversity of regional cuisines.

I keep mahi mahi in the freezer. Costco sells wild caught, Pacific mahi in individually packaged frozen filets. Although I would choose fresh fish over frozen any day, depending on your seafood market your fish may have been previously frozen for transport anyways. They just deliver you the convenience of defrosting it. If that is the case, I would much rather buy my fish frozen and defrost it on my own time.

This dish is packed with salty flavors and the firmness of the fish holds its own against all of the textures involved in the topping. Served with a simple mushroom risotto and sauteed spinach, this recipe can be quickly made and will impress the most distinguished palates. For our wine I poured a wonderfully light and crisp Gavi. Cristina Ascheri 2009; it is 100% Cortese grape from the Piedmont region of Italy. After last night's meal, it's up there on my list as one of my new favorite whites.

Sicilian Baked Mahi Mahi

Serves 2-4

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil

2 to 4 mahi mahi filets

1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped

1 tbsp capers

1/2 tsp finely chopped anchovies in olive oil (optional)

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tbsp bread crumbs

Mix half the olive oil with the lemon juice and 1 tbsp of the basil in a shallow baking dish. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Arrange the mahi mahi in the dish and leave to marinate for 15 minutes, turning once. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Combine the olives, capers, anchovies and tomatoes with the

remaining oil and basil and season well. Spread over the mahi mahi and sprinkle with the breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes or until the fish is just opaque. Finish off by placing briefly under the hot broiler until the breadcrumbs are crisp.

Mushroom Risotto

Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz mushrooms, chopped

1 cup aborio rice

3 cups chicken broth

Parmesan cheese, grated, for garnish

Heat olive oil in a medium sauce pan. Add onion and saute on medium heat until soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms and sautee for another 5 minutes until garlic is fragrant and mushrooms are soft. Add the rice, stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth, one cup at a time, letting the broth absorb completely after each addition.

Simple Sauteed Spinach

Serves 2

2 tbsp olive oil

9 oz baby leaf spinach

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the spinach, working in batches so you don't crowd the pan. Add the yogurt and stir well. Serve immediately.

At Home in the Northwest

A light drizzle dances in the sky. Not even enough to consider rain as it dusts your eyebrows with the faintest amount of damp. Seattle - the land of the freshest seafood, organic markets, a thousand coffee shops, local microbrews, artisanal wineries; so much vibrancy within the depths of the wintery gray.

I booked my flight two weeks prior, to surprise my sister for her bridal shower hosted by our aunt Leanne. I was never really invited so I suppose I am somewhat of a party crasher, although most everyone seemed pleased to see me. As the plane descended into SeaTac airport I wished my farewells to the sunshine and we ducked under three sturdy layers of cloud cover.

Surprisingly the air was mild as I exited the terminal. At 48 degrees the Pineapple Express was cruising through, much to the dismay of skiers, where rain in the mountains was on the forecast for the weekend. Leanne picked me up and we made our way to her home in West Seattle. If I were to give myself a second chance in Washington, West Seattle is where I would plant my roots. Everything you could possibly want is within walking distance of this city community. From Leanne's house she walks to the Metropolitan Market, the local movie theater, and a wonderful selection of restaurants that range from an Italian tattoria, a tiny Thai restaurant, incredibly authentic sushi, Northwest cuisine, cafes, bakeries, coffee shops and of course, numerous craft beer bars and alehouses.

After preparing what we could for the next day's bridal shower, we decided to celebrate girls night out and dine at Circa, one of Leanne's favorite restaurants. It was a short walk from her house and the night was comfortable. We found two seats at the bar and gazed over the menu as we chatted. I couldnt believe the menu items, everything looked fantastic...and certainly not overpriced. I forget how good food can be without breaking the bank. Quite the opposite in Florida, where it seems we spend a small fortune for a mediocre meal. I finally settled on portabello mushroom ravioli with braised local kale topped with shaved Parmesan. Good choice, I might add. Leanne ordered the special, halibut with a butter caper sauce and garlic mashed new potatoes. After dinner drinks at The Cask. A hole in the wall that you would walk right by during the daytime without a second glance. At night, however, the cozy dark atmosphere is inviting. As we entered, a few tables looked up at us, it was quiet, but not uncomfortably so. We settled in at a small booth and marveled at the draft beer selection. Leanne decided on a Kona Longboard Lager and I went for the Lost Coast Barley Wine. A delightful welcome home evening in one of my favorite cities in the world.

The next day we busied ourselves tidying and prepping the last minute menu items. Leanne had been marinating chicken, olives and raisins for an orzo salad for three days now. I worked on a potato dish with capers, tomatoes and rosemary. Leanne turned her focus to her cake; a complex multi-step process with lots of "meanwhiles" included in the recipe. Martha Stewart does not let you take the easy street. The frosting turned out beautiful. White, white egg whites with a shimmering gleam that gave it the appearance of a snowy ice tundra. The best part about it however, was the bride/groom topper.

If you know anything about the McCausland girls, you will know that we had a capacious affinity for Playmobil toys. We had a Playmobil person for every occasion; skiers, pirates, race car drivers, knights with swords, cowboys and Indians mounted on horses, as well as all kinds of accessories ranging from a deserted island to a pirate ship to a Victorian house that was as tall as my sister. Needless to say, Leanne wanted to incorporate the Playmobli bride and groom as the cake topper. She searched high and low to track down the discontinued bride and groom set.

Later in the afternoon after our chores were complete, we took a walk down to the Met Market, a Seattle area based grocery market. On my connecting flight through Minneapolis, I had thumbed through Cheese Connoisseur magazine, stumbling across an article on the Metropolitan Market's cheese selection. The Market specializes in both local and world cheeses with knowledgeable staff to assist you in picking the perfect cheese for the perfect occasion.

I wandered around in awe, as I was reminded of the pleasures of a good market. I had Super Bowl snacks on the mind for the following day, so I had the deli clerk thin slice Angus roast beef and Prosciutto di Parma. I also picked out a chevre goat cheese and a hard Asiago with rosemary.

I made my way over to the wines and was delighted to see their selection of Northwest wines was more than three bottles. Quite the contrary. They had an entire section dedicated to the heavier Washington reds; Merlots, Cabernet Sauvignons and Cabernet Francs as well as the Oregon Pinot Noirs and Pinot Gris. I must have spent a half an hour just in the wine section before I picked out Fidelitas 2008, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Red Mountain, a small family owned vineyard concentrating on Bordeaux style red wines and Barrister Cabernet Franc 2008, 88% Cab Franc and 12% Cabernet Sauv from the Columbia Valley, 93 points. Perfect accompaniment to my Super Bowl appetizer lineup.

The shower was beautiful. 14 of my favorite ladies all in one room, enjoying each other's company, good wine and fabulous food.

My Super Bowl snacks turned out wonderfully. Leanne had some cherry preserves that we spooned over the goat cheese and I put together these incredibly simple and light "meat logs" for lack of a better term. I suppose "roast beef rolls" sounds a bit more appetizing, so that is what we shall call them.

Roast Beef Rolls

Serves 6

1/2 lb thin sliced roast beef

1 ripe avocado

1 Gala apple or other semi sweet variety, peeled and sliced thin

finely chopped fresh spinach

dried oregano

dried rosemary

Scoop avocado into a bowl and mash with a fork, at salt to taste. Lay out a slice of roast beef on a cutting board and put a spoonful of avocado on the roast beef. Place one slice of apple on the avocado and sprinkle with spinach, oregano and rosemary. Roll the beef into a tight log. Continue until you have used all the roast beef. Serve on a platter.