Martini Food -- Finding Some Nibbles To Suit The Mood

COCKTAIL CULTURE IS TRULY upon us, from the resurgence of the martini to the exploding popularity of mood music. In his book "The Martini," Barnaby Conrad III says "bartenders across the country report that the martini is once again the favorite mixed drink in America."

It uses gin or vodka, it's ritualistically blended, and it's all the rage.

While past generations comfortably sipped martinis in their smoking jackets and cocktail dresses - think of the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" - today's twenty-, thirty- and fortysomethings are just discovering the pleasures of dressing up, lighting a cigar and enjoying lounge music's swinging ease. Granola- and brown-rice-eating yuppies have had too much self-denial, and previously shunned cocktails and steak are turning up on restaurant tables and in home entertaining.

With all this potent sipping, some noshing is definitely important. These little tastes - whether called nibbles, bites, sipets or tidbits - must fit the mood of the occasion. It would be gauche to munch gooey nachos while elegantly sipping your perfectly chilled dry martini. But tiny bite-sized savories perfectly fill the bill. When choosing accompaniments, it also is important to find flavors to complement, not compete with, the drink.

Appetizers can be as simple as spiced nuts, parmesan crisps or smoked salmon slivers on little slices of toasted cocktail rye with capers and red onions. Or as kitschy as rumaki or Cheddar Olive Poppers. The latter - baked, cheese-pastry-wrapped green olives - with a sip of gin are an incredible taste sensation.

If you're giving a martini party, your guests can even make a whole meal of cocktail tidbits. Put out platters of toasted herbed crostini with kalamata olive tapenade and pass individual plates of seared, peppered beef carpaccio with a pouf of wild greens drizzled with a little horseradish vinaigrette.

One of my all-time favorites is Gin-Infused Prawns with Martini Aioli. The prawns are steamed in gin and vermouth, chilled and served with an aioli flavored with juniper berries, lemon zest, minced green olives and cocktail onions. For an elegant presentation, drape a few prawns over the rim of a small martini glass and put the aioli in the center for dipping.

Many classics can be given a '90s twist for today's cocktail food. Coquilles St. Jacques, for instance, can be "cocktailized" by poaching cut-up sea scallops and preparing a Gruyere-thickened white sauce using the scallop-poaching liquid for a rich flavor. The scallop pieces are then mixed with the sauce, placed in empty, clean oyster shells, topped with herbed bread crumbs and baked.

Deviled eggs, that old-time comforting finger food, are excellent when given a modern kick of spicy chipotle pepper puree added to the yolk filling.

Little Olympia oyster shooters are fun to serve in shot glasses, especially if you have a collection of old souvenir shot glasses. Place a few tiny shucked oysters in each jigger and drizzle with a bit of mignonette, a classic chilled sauce for raw oysters, made with red wine vinegar, shallots and cracked black pepper. I like to add a little finely minced lemon zest and a shot of Tabasco to spice up my mignonette, then freeze it 'til icy before topping the oysters.

And of course I can't leave out the piece de resistance - caviar-topped, tiny roasted new potatoes with shallot sour cream and chives.

The garnish of the martini itself can be a nice nibble - from the traditional pimiento-stuffed olive to pickled asparagus, hot peppers, tiny green tomatoes or tiny baby carrots with their fluffy tops still on. As Johnny Carson put it, "Happiness is finding two olives in your martini when you're hungry."

As a veteran judge in Seattle's Annual Martini Classic Challenge, I also have to mention two of my favorite martini foods from the 1995 Challenge. The winning entry was little juniper-rubbed tenderloin slices on olive bread with vermouth shallot butter by Chef Brian Lynch of the Metropolitan Grill. I also loved Chef Kerry Sear's (Four Seasons Olympic Hotel) lobster-filled crepe purse with a vermouth-and-gin-spiked martini sauce and a splattering of elegant sevruga caviar.

Looking at October's damp skies, I'm reminded of actor Charles Butterworth's famous line: "You ought to get out of those wet clothes and into a dry martini."

Chef Kathy Casey is a restaurant consultant and free-lance food writer. Her column "Dishing" appears the first Wednesday of every month in the Seattle Times Food section. C.J. Armstrong is a Seattle photographer.

---------------- The Cocktail Mix ----------------

MARTINI FANS SHOULD CHECK OUT the Fifth Annual Martini Classic Challenge next Saturday, with competition for the best classic martini, specialty martini and martini food.

Celebrity judges travel to the different contending bars; spectators can follow, preferably by cab. The schedule does "slosh" a bit but starts out this way: Metropolitan Grill, 6 p.m.; Garden Court, Four Seasons Olympic Hotel, 6:30 p.m.; Palace Kitchen, 7 p.m.; Oliver's Bar, Mayflower Park Hotel, 7:30 p.m.

Cocktail Culture club nights:

-- Moonlight Lounge, in Moe's Mo'Roc'N Cafe, 925 E. Pike St., nightly 5-8 p.m. Recorded jazz and lounge music from '40s through '60s, with live jazz Wednesday nights. No cover. Cocktail party attire is encouraged.

-- Volare, at the OK Hotel, 212 Alaskan Way S., Saturday nights. Live lounge music in back, free till 9:30, $5 after if dressed in formal cocktail attire, $7 in normal duds.

Cocktail music:

-- Favorite artists: Mel Torme, Esquivel and Combustible Edison.

-- Two multi-CD recording series of note: Ultra-Lounge (Capitol) and Cocktail Mix (Rhino Records).

The Ultra-Lounge issues include "Rhapsodesia: Music and Martinis for Lovers Only!," complete with glassware and measurements guide, and "Cocktail Capers: Mondo Space-Age Bachelor Pad A-Go-Go," whose cover art features cocktail wieners wearing crackers and Cheez Whiz hats.

The Cocktail Mix series (Martini/Madness, Bachelor's Guide to the Galaxy, etc.) includes the continuing saga of Rex and Doris in its liner notes.

Best read:

"The Martini," Barnaby Conrad III (Chronicle Books, San Francisco) has lots of history, cartoons, paintings, film lore, etc.

- Kathy Casey

------------------------------------- Gin Infused Prawns with Martini Aioli ------------------------------------- (Makes about 24 to 30 prawns, 1 1/2 cups of aioli)

For the Prawns

1/2 cup dry white vermouth

1/4 cup gin

1 teaspoon (about 15) juniper berries, crushed

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 pounds large prawns (16-20 size) in the shell, peeled and deveined.

For the Martini Aioli

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 raw egg yolks #

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon juniper berries (about 7 or 8), crushed and finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons finely minced lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup light olive oil

1/2 cup salad oil

1 1/2 teaspoons gin

1/3 cup finely minced stuffed green olives, drained well

3 tablespoons finely minced cocktail onions, drained well

1 tablespoon finely chopped Italian parsley

Note: Raw eggs are not recommended for pregnant women, children, the elderly or anyone with immune deficiencies. If you want to make the recipe without raw eggs, use 2 tablespoons of a pasturized egg product such as Egg Beaters.

To cook the prawns:

Place vermouth, gin, juniper berries, black pepper and salt in a medium-large pot with a tight-fitting lid. Over high heat, bring to a quick boil. Stir in the prawns. Cover and steam for 1 minute. Remove lid and stir. Replace lid and cook until prawns are a little more than three-quarters cooked, about 1/2 to 1 minute more. Remove pan from heat and let prawns finish cooking as they cool in mixture, stirring occasionally. Cool prawns in liquid in refrigerator until well chilled before serving.

To make the aioli:

In food-processor bowl combine lemon juice, egg yolks, garlic, juniper berries, lemon zest, salt, pepper, Dijon and cayenne and process to thoroughly combine. With processor running, gradually drizzle in oils, emulsifying aioli. The consistency should be thickened and smooth like mayonnaise.

Add remaining ingredients and pulse a couple of times to mix without further processing.

Refrigerate at least four hours so the flavors mellow before serving.

Serving suggestions:

Place aioli in a small dish on a platter, surround with prawns.

Place a bit of gourmet greens in the bottom of a small martini glass. Place a dollop of Martini Aioli in the center and hang a few prawns off the rim of the glass.

If you have a collection of shot glasses, place a prawn in a shot glass and dollop with a little of the aioli.

Note: For a fat-free appetizer try serving the prawns with spicy cocktail sauce with a little white vermouth and finely minced lemon zest mixed in.

(Recipe copyright 1996 by Kathy Casey)

--------------------- Cheddar Olive Poppers --------------------- (20 to 25 pieces)

This kitschy recipe comes from caterer Gretchen Mathers.

1 cup (4 ounces) finely grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup sifted flour

dash cayenne pepper

1 jar (about 20 to 25) medium-large pimento-stuffed olives, drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Beat cheese and butter together until smooth. Stir in flour and cayenne. Shape about 1 heaping teaspoon of dough around each olive, covering well and shaping into a ball. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven about 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Chef's note: Anchovy- or jalapeno-stuffed olives would make a nice variation.

--------------- Classic Martini --------------- Winner, Seattle's Best Classic Martini, 1993, 1994 & 1995. Oliver's Bar, The Mayflower Park Hotel, Seattle

Chilled mixing glass

Ice

1/4 ounce Cinzano vermouth

1 1/2 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin or Stolichnaya Cristall vodka

2 Italian green olives, marinated in vermouth

Fill martini glass with ice; let chill while proceeding to make martini.

Swish 1/4 ounce vermouth in chilled shaker glass. Empty excess vermouth. Fill shaker with ice, then add gin or vodka. Shake vigorously five times, front to back, then let sit 20 seconds.

Empty ice from martini glass and strain martini over "drunken" marinated olives.

Makes 1 serving.