And best news? This fabu new app is free!

According to Nat’s press release:

“With the Nat Decants Mobile App, you can find the right wines, whether you’re in a restaurant or at the liquor store restocking. It’s like having a sommelier in your pocket.”

Features of the new Nat Decants Free Mobile App include:

- Find 380,000 professionally tested food and wine pairings (not generated by computer algorithm)
- Access thousands of wine reviews by an independent journalist
- Search the reviews by winery, price, score, region, grape, vintage, food match
- Track your wines in your virtual cellar and add your own journal notes and scores
- Search a directory of 10,000+ wineries to buy wine or plan a visit
- Find thousands of tasty, tested recipes for every wine
- Get wine savvy with articles, glossary definitions, and blog posts
- Share on Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail with friends

To get the free Nat Decants Mobile App visit:

www.nataliemaclean.com/mobileapp

On the page above, click on the words iPod or iPhone under the iPhone image to go to the iTunes store for the app. The direct link is:

http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/nat-decants/id353052386?mt=8

For BlackBerry, Droid, Nexus One, Nokia, Palm Pre and other smartphones, click on those words under the BlackBerry phone image. The direct link is:

http://www.nataliemaclean.com/mobile

Here’s a scene from Cannon Beach on Christmas day, where a father throws practice pitches to his young son, dogs play worry-free in the surf, and the beach’s signature monoliths loom in the distance.

Here’s Haystack Rock up close and personal. At the bakery in town, we bought a loaf of Haystack Bread and enjoyed it with cheese during a Christmas-Day “picnic” on the patio off our room.

Even bunnies are happy here! Several pairs of “wild” rabbits make their home on the bucolic lawns that front the beach. These aren’t common Peter Rabbits, but gorgeous varieties with Siamese-cat markings, lop ears, and blue eyes!

Sunsets don’t get much better than at Cannon Beach. . .

Now–enough with sightseeing. Let’s get on to the food.

Here is the humongous Fried Oyster Sandwich served at the Warren House Pub, across Highway 101 but with peek-a-boo views of the beach. Such a deal!

And here are the Pub’s substantial rack of ribs, along with a pint o’ beer, it makes a classic example of pub grub.

Although this is a dreadful photo, the fried oysters at The Wayfarer Restaurant & Lounge proved a substantial portion, perfectly fried. The sautéed green beans, carrots, and butternut squash made me feel a bit healthier and less guilty about loading up on fried foods more than normal.

Breaking with the tradition of my new blog category, A View From My Office, for today’s post I’m offering up A View of My Office. Note the metal bracing that will be covered with sheetrock beginning next week, god willin’ and the creeks don’t rise.

This is a total rip-off from my darling and brilliant Web-site designer, Christopher Prouty, principal at Studio 99 Creative. Chris, along with his wife, Amy, and their super-talented staff, produce award-winning Web sites around the globe.

Anyway, here’s a photo from my office in early-February, when things were still normal (above).

And here’s one about a week before the construction crew came in (notice there are no photos on the walls and nothing on the granite countertops!).

Here’s the condo with wooden floor and granite countertops all covered.

Sawhorses and tall ladders are our new accent pieces. LOL.

And here’s the job manager, Rick, checking his drawings one last time.

Here’s a view looking into my office (where the light is coming from) after Rick and Ronnie built a “door” and put up Zip Walls (like giant pogo sticks) with Painter’s Plastic attached to keep out the construction dust.

And from inside my office. . .just call me “Bubble Girl.”

A darling friend of mine calls these “uptown problems,” when we lucky types _itch and moan about our therapists or psychoanalysts or remodels while other less-fortunate people in the world are starving or in the Chilean earthquake.

And this is all long overdue. . .we bought our condo in 1992 and have remodeled it twice since. . . in 1992 and 1997. In this go-round we are adding ceiling beams and new lighting, wine storage, and painting the entire unit stark white.

Nonetheless, this is my rather stark reality for now. . .as a writer who craves solitude and quiet, I want to share it with all of you. . .and I totally appreciate your understanding and good, positive thoughts moving forward. And if I don’t answer your e-mails as quickly as usual, you’ll know the reason why!

Varietal: Pinot Gris

Serves 10 to 15; makes 30 appetizers

This plush dish, which hails from Bethel Heights Vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, invigorates the taste buds by pairing the sweet-musky flavor of scallops with the bracing edge of orange and the astringency of fennel. Pair it with a good-quality Pinot Gris (such as Bethel Heights) and notice how the light aromas and flavors of tropical fruit, orange, and stone fruit, topped off by a hint of minerality, along with a crisp, dry finish complement the flavors in the marmalade. You will have about a cup of marmalade left over; it keeps in the refrigerator for up to a week or freezes well for later use. It is excellent paired with a small block of cream cheese and crackers as a quick appetizer, as a dipping sauce for shrimp, or as a chutney or salsa with pork tenderloin. If serving the marmalade with pork tenderloin, pair the dish with your favorite Oregon Pinot Noir.

1 fennel bulb, diced (about 2 1/4 cups), plus the feathery green tops, minced, for garnish

2 tablespoons diced shallots

2 oranges, peeled, segmented, and diced, plus any juice that accumulates

1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest

4 cups freshly squeezed or store-bought orange juice

1/4 cup white wine

l/4 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon whole fennel seed

1/4 cup Cointreau or other orange-flavored liqueur

Granulated sugar

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, plus extra as needed

1/2 teaspoon unsalted butter, plus extra as needed

30 fresh or thawed untreated (dry pack) sea scallops, rinsed, drained, and patted very dry
(see Cook’s Hint, below)

30 good-quality whole-wheat crackers

1. Heat a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the diced fennel, shallots, orange segments and their juice, zest, orange juice, white wine, brown sugar, and fennel seed and stir well. Bring to a rolling boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is reduced to about 2 cups, 30 to 35 minutes. At the beginning of the cooking time, watch the pan carefully so the orange juice does not boil over.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Cointreau. Taste the marmalade; if it is too tart, add sugar to taste. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring often, until it reaches the consistency of chutney, 3 to 5 minutes. In the last minutes of cooking, watch carefully and stir often so the marmalade doesn’t burn. Transfer half of the marmalade to a small nonreactive bowl or jar, allow to cool completely, cover, and save for another use (see headnote). Keep the remaining marmalade warm until ready to serve.

3. In a large heavy-bottomed skillet (nonstick works best for this), heat the olive oil and butter over medium to medium-high heat until the butter foams. Working in batches, add the scallops without crowding. Cook the scallops, turning only once, until golden brown on the outside and still translucent in the middle (see Cook’s Hints, below), 1 to 2 minutes per side. Add more butter and oil if needed.

4. To serve, place a cooked scallop on a cracker and top with a scant teaspoon of marmalade. Garnish with the minced fennel greens.

Cook’s Hints: (1) If you can’t find fresh scallops, it is important to use previously frozen untreated or “dry pack” scallops instead, or the scallops will not brown (caramelize) properly, and will instead steam in their own juices. Previously frozen scallops that have been treated with phosphates during processing absorb water. Not only do they not cook properly, they lack the fresh, sweet, and briny sea flavor of their dry-packed cousins. Sea scallops that are uniformly white in color, or that are displayed surrounded by juice, are most likely treated. (2) Scallops (like many types of seafood) are delicate and will continue to cook even after they are taken off the heat. It is always preferable to undercook rather than overcook scallops so they don’t become tough and rubbery. When using the sauté method described above, many chefs prefer the scallops cooked medium rare (still translucent in the middle).

Recipe reprinted from Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia (Wiley, 2007, $34.95) by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

After running a few much-needed post-holiday errands at University Village, we worked up an appetite, and had been curious about Sonrisa, a self-described “Modern Mexican” restaurant, so decided to give it a spin. If my college Spanish serves, “sonrisa” translates as “smile.”

Which is just what we did when we were promptly greeted with a basket of freshly fried chips (blue corn and regular) and a glistening bowl of salsa. Quickly, we ordered a coupla Sonrisa Margaritas to quench our thirst and start the afternoon off right.

Here’s my Frontera Salad (dressings on the side per my special request). It’s described as “Ancho-marinated grilled chicken breast, served sliced on a bed of roasted corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion. Tossed with romaine and ancho ranch dressing. Grated cotija cheese.” The Frontera (”frontier” or “border”) salad was the perfect antidote to the holiday feeding frenzy. If not for the margarita, I’d have felt positively virtuous eating this healthy, fresh salad.

Meanwhile, my meat-eating hubby opted for Ancho-Grilled Chicken Fajitas served with sautéed red and yellow bell peppers, white onions, guacamole, pico de gallo, and flour tortillas. They were okay. . .nothing to write home about. . .and a far cry from the sizzling platters of goodness, served with heaping mounds of black beans and Spanish rice, from our days in Texas, home of Tex-Mex cuisine.

The Accelerated Wine and Beverage Certificate Program (AWBP) will advance a student’s professional skills in the wine and beverage sector. An AWBP certificate will position graduates to pursue career opportunities in numerous segments of the food and beverage industry.

“A deep understanding of wine, beer, spirits - even coffee and tea - is vital to career success in the foodservice and hospitality fields,” said Adam Busby, CMC and Director of Education at CIA Greystone. The pioneering AWBP program will equip students with skills and insights required for advancement toward leadership positions in beverage management in both fine and casual dining, restaurant front-of-house management, wine and beverage retail, wholesale, and more.

The accredited 30-week AWBP will impart knowledge and skills related to sensory evaluation, flavor dynamics, cellar management, and mixology. Food and beverage pairing, service, and hospitality are major components of the eight-month curriculum.

“AWBP students will graduate with a wine and beverage education on par with those skills learned by the CIA’s culinary students,” notes Busby.

The program launches in September 2010 at the CIA’s Greystone campus in St. Helena. Classes will be held at the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies, a state-of-the-art complex featuring two tasting theaters ideally designed for the in-depth study of wines and beverages.

Program enrollees must have a bachelor’s or associate degree in hospitality management, culinary arts management, or a related field, or have a bachelor’s degree in another discipline as well as relevant food and beverage industry experience. Financial aid is available for those who qualify.

Here’s what I had to say back then:

“The idea for steamed mussels dressed with bacon-rich balsamic vinaigrette was inspired almost 25 years ago, long before balsamic vinegar became a household staple and mussels became a commonly ordered item in Seattle. I figured this unusual dish was discovered by Place Pigalle owner Bill Frank while wandering the backroads of France. WRONG! Back in 1982, Frank and then-chef Connie Miller Cheifetz were trying to incorporate the philosophy of the restaurant (which Frank describes as “unusual preparations of good raw products without being off the wall”) into a new appetizer. Frank also appreciates dishes that combine meat or animal components with seafood, which is where the rather offbeat (albeit brilliant) idea of pairing bacon and mussels was born. In today’s version, plump mussels are placed lip to lip like upright soldiers in a pristine porcelain ramekin, then topped with a thick balsamic vinaigrette laden with chunks of celery, shallots, and chewy lardons (bacon bits). Don’t be embarrassed to sop up the vinaigrette; luckily, Frank supplies tangy sourdough rolls, strategically suited for dipping.”

And here’s what I say now:

“I’m glad to report that when Lluvia and Seth Walker bought Place Pigalle from Bill Frank several years ago, they kept the Mussels Pigalle, along with other signature dishes such as Calamari Dijonnaise and the Chocolate Pot de Crème on their menu, while adding new favorites. Here’s a recent photo of the mussels served in all their glory.

And still, I’m happy to report, among Seattle’s Top-10 dishes.