Calore misto

Ingredients:
Pepperoncini peppers, 1/2 cup 

Cherry peppers, 1/2 cup

Black olives, 1/4 cup

Green olives, 1/4 cup

Red peppers, roasted, 1/2 cup

Artichoke hearts, 1/2 cup

Capers, 5 tbsp

Garlic, chopped, 1/2 tsp

Shallots, chopped, 5 tbsp

Anchovy, chopped very finely (1)

Olive oil, 2 cups

Tabasco sauce to taste

Directions:

1. Chop first ten ingredients in food processor or by hand.
2. Add olive oil and mix.

3. Adjust seasoning with Tabasco. 

The story: This ingredient-heavy, yet relatively simple recipe came from a hotel in Seattle where my family and I stayed during a business trip when I was about 13 years old. The trip is most memorable to me for the fact that I spent a day with a friend from summer camp at the Lakeside School, where she was a student, and vowed that my children would never go to a (stuck-up, largely affluent and well-regarded) public school like I went to. (I'm sure you appreciate the irony. Now, back to the food.)

My dad, Thomas, getting ready for the annual spring party
(Mardi Gras-themed that year), May 1999

Anyway, my father ordered this dip at the hotel restaurant, which I'm confident I didn't touch at the time. (I was an exquisitely picky child - more on that to come - who grew into an adult who draws the line only at live oysters.) It quickly found its way onto the menu at my parents' (otherwise catered) annual spring fêtes, and I'm hoping it will make a reappearance this summer when my parents host my father's friend Rod MacDonald for a concert at our house.