We invited some friends, Shannon and Norene, over for dinner tonight.  Since it was a weeknight, we didn’t have all day to cook – so we used some of our tried and true, easy and fast recipes!  We started with a really colorful and fast raw ahi tuna appetizer.  Simply finely dice sushi-grade ahi tuna and then mix it with a little bit of sesame oil, fresh scallions and sesame seeds.  Serve it with rice crackers. My husband and I have this as a light dinner with a green salad on summer nights when it is too hot to cook.  If you want to make this dish into something with a more formal presentation (as we did for our guests tonight) then simply add a few more steps.  Thinly slice shallots into half rings and lightly flour and fry until crispy, and then set them aside.  Next chop an avocado into small cubes.  Get a small bowl with high sides (we used a ramekin that was about 2.5 inches across) and lightly oil it with sesame oil.  Then spoon in a layer of avocado followed by a layer of ahi – gently press it all into place and then flip the bowl over onto a plate and gently tap until the fish/avocado comes out in pretty dome shape.  Garnish with the fried shallots and serve with rice crackers.  This was lovely with the 2007 Ampelos Rosé of Syrah (my current favorite rosé).  Another easy and fast appetizer that we served was blanched asparagus (thin spears work best) with goat cheese and prosciutto.   Blanch the asparagus and then pat it dry.  Then lay out slice of prosciutto and spread some softened goat cheese on it.  Lay a piece of asparagus on top the prosciutto and roll it all up.  This tasted really good with the lightly oaked 2005 Domaine Alfred Estate Chardonnay that Norene brought.

2005 Domaine Alfred Chardonnay

2005 Domaine Alfred Chardonnay

Dinner was grilled swordfish steaks in a puttanesca sauce with roasted root vegetables.   All the fish we served tonight was from Kanaloa – a great source for fresh fish here in Santa Barbara.  Here is the recipe for the tangy, spicy puttanesca sauce (it is great on pasta too):

¼ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
5 anchovy fillets
2 tablespoons capers (drained)
1 can crushed tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
20 Greek (kalamata) olives (in a pinch I’ve substituted green Spanish olives)
6-8 fresh basil leaves
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Using medium heat, sauté garlic in olive oil for a couple minutes.  Next add the chopped anchovies, capers, tomatoes, chopped olives, oregano and cook until the flavors meld – about 10 to 15 minutes.  If your sauce seems too thin, turn up the heat for a few minutes and allow the liquid from the canned tomatoes to cook off.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Buon Appetito!