Tapas

What to make when its searing hot outside? Things that don't heat up a small apartment kitchen. Boy, if our A/C would just learn how to efficiently cool, we'd be doing Pizza Building dinners, and open-pit bbq roasting, and flambe (how do you do pretentious accents on letters in this get-up?). Tapas with minimal cooking.

Now, to answer the recent Pinot Grigio bashing comments: First, you must get over your bad selves, Chris and Beth. And re-read. We were not bashing the P.G. realm; it is just not an overwhelmingly complex wine. We do actually drink it, but find the ones we really like are more pricey. For example, Alois Lageder 2004 Benefizium Porer, a P. G. from Alto Adige. Nice apple and crispness, but $20.00. That is about our wine limit unless a special occasion calls for something pricier. This was probably our favorite P. G. and we DID enjoy it.

The Pinot Grigio of all Pinot Grigios, the standard by which all other P.G.s are rated, is the Santa Margherita. Santa Margherita selects their grapes from the Alto Adige/Valdadige region in Northern Italy. We were very excited to try this one, but were underwhelmed. It wasn't bad, highly drinkable, but not very "special." And although we found it for about $17, it often retails for more like $20-25. We didn't regret it, but have found many more wines for less with more character (to us). Everyone's tastebuds are their own authority, of course. Unh! Sean should be doing this part! But I haven't trained him on blogger yet.

Last night, we had Sean's dad over for dinner and did our own tapas. With tapas (small plates), simple is absolutely the best. Remember the bruschetta from your layover, Corner-Pocket Callaways? (that's Chris and Beth) Caprese salad first, of course, since the tomatoes were good and the mozzarella cheese was about 2 minutes old when we bought it. Then on to sliced avocados with lime juice, zest and cilantro.

Then we got experimental and tried a new PRETENTIOUS SALAD. This one was from one of our cookbooks called New American Cooking: California, by Williams-Sonoma. I had tried smoked trout on some pretentious bruschetta (please get everyone you know to call it Broosketta- thank you) at Chef's Table in Huntsville and it won me over. This one was fine, but Sean would just use smoked salmon next time and skip the salad part. It breaks the traditional Pretentious Salad formula, but fennel is always allowable in our salads.

Smoked Trout, Fennel and Arugula Salad

2.5 T. olive oil

1 T fresh lemon juice

1 small shallot, minced (less for Sean)

salt and pepper to taste

1 fennel bulb, quartered, cored, then sliced thin crosswise

1 whole boneless smoked trout (about 1/2 lb)

5 oz. young arugula leaves

Make the dressing about 30 minutes before serving this salad. Whisk together the oil, lemon juice, shallot, salt and pepper. Let stand for 30 min to allow the shallow flavor to mellow. We used a trout that had been shrink-wrapped or vacuum packed; the whole thing was just too scary for me and had too many bones to worry about. Still had skin on it, but was easily removed. Toss the trout with 1 T of the dressing.

In a large bowl, combine the arugula and fennel with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper now (or later if you want), and divide among salad plates. Arrange the trout on top.

Our last tapa was seared ahi tuna with lime crust. Oh the picture in the cookbook was gorgeous, and it's from Flavours, a Donna Hay cookbook. We would change it a bit next time, of course, and add much, much more pepper to the crust. You can overcook the tuna if you need to, but rare to medium rare is actually quite nice.

Seared Tuna with Lime Crust

12 oz. tuna fillet

1 T grated lime rind

1/3 c. lime juice

1/4 c finely chopped dill (I used cilantro as Sean detests dill)

2 T chopped parsley

2 small red chilis, seeded and chopped (I used crushed red pepper flakes-- chili-shy)

2 T. olive oil

sea salt and cracked pepper

13 oz. fettucine

1 T olive oil extra

3 1/2 oz. arugula leaves

Trim the tuna of any sinew and place in a shallow dish. Combine the next 7 ingredients and pour over the tuna. (I did half and saved half for later). Refrigerate for 20 minutes, turning once.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, heat the extra oil in a frying pan on high heat. Remove tuna from marinade and cook 1 minute on each side or until well seared, then slice.

Pile the pasta on serving plates (or cool bowls) and top with extra marinade (the part I saved for later), arugula leaves (slightly chopped if you wish), and tuna slices. Drizzle with extra oil and lime juice before serving. Serves 4.

We had all this with mint juleps to start, and a Sauvignon Blanc for the rest. Groth 2005 Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc, about $16. It's one of our favorites of this varietal, super citrus and mineral but just a hint of smoke. When you cook with lots of herbs, a Sauvignon Blanc is almost a sure-fire guarantee fantastic pairing.