Since creating a general manager position, Tutto Vino Wine Cellar and Bistro has taken its cuisine and environment to a whole new level.

According to owner Raj Hora, GM Molly Morris has been extremely influential since joining the staff in September 2007. Morris has enhanced the restaurant’s friendly feeling and livened up the weekend entertainment.

Morris’ sense of style influences everything, from the menu to the décor to the atmosphere. Initially a regular customer, Morris loved the wine tastings and the small cuisine plates. Hora needed management help, and Morris fit the bill.

You don’t have to be an oenophile to feel welcome in the ambiance Morris has helped cultivate. Patrons enjoy a neighborhood atmosphere at Tutto Vino; on any given day, they might share a joke with Molly and Chef Mike Wolf, or squeeze in a little dancing.

Patrons will enjoy the menu as much as the mood: Chef Wolf has expanded it beyond the $10-or-less small plates. New items include blackened scallops, beef carpaccio, peppered beef tenderloin and more. The menu also lists 900 wines, 40 scotch whiskies and 36 micro-brews.

As part of a new feature in What’s Cookin’, Dublin Life asked Morris for her favorite recipe. She came up with something appropriate for a wine cellar: pasta with red wine sauce. This recipe, adapted from Mark Bittman’s The Minimalist Cooks at Home, was originated by Alessandro Giuntoli, a Tuscan chef at Osteria del Circo in Manhattan. The wine becomes the dish’s dominant flavor, but nuances of the garlic olive oil and pepper provide a flavorful foundation.

Pasta with red wine sauce
Ingredients:
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound spaghetti
1 bottle (750 milliliters) good red wine, such as Chianti Classico
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans, pine nuts, etc.)
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley or basil for garnish

Bring a large pot of water to boil. In a large sauté pan over moderate heat, add oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Boil pasta just to the point of bending; turn heat for sauté pan to high. Just as the garlic begins to brown, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add about three-fourths of the bottle of wine and bring sauté pan to a gentle boil. As soon as the pasta bends, drain and add to sauté pan. Stir occasionally, adding more wine as necessary to keep pasta from drying out. When the pasta is al dente, remove from heat and stir in butter until pasta is lightly glazed. Add chopped nuts and garnish. Serve.

Tutto Vino
7178 Muirfield Dr. (in the Shoppes at Athenry)
614-799-9222
www.tutto-vino.com

Bistro Hours:
5 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday
5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Closed Sunday and Monday.

Wine Cellar Hours:
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday
10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday
10 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Closed Sunday.