A place in the Sun.(chef Mollie Ahlstrand; includes Italian recipes)(Recipe)

Italy on the Pacific? Try Oprah's favorite new restaurant--incandescent food, a gorgeously low-key setting, loyal customers (movie stars, locals, foodies from everywhere), all choreographed by the extraordinary chef-owner, Mollie Ahlstrand.

THE CLIMATE OF MONTECITO, CALIFORNIA, IS OFTEN described as Mediterranean. The light is clear and bright, refracted from the ocean; the year-round temperature, close to perfect. It seems that the very air in this seaside suburb of Santa Barbara sharpens the appetite for fresh grilled swordfish, linguini with shrimp or mussels, and crostini al fungbi. It's no accident that these dishes appear in any number of sophisticated Italian restaurants in town. What sets Trattoria Mollie apart is the authenticity and soul of the food, and Mollie Ahlstrand, the remarkable chef-owner.

An unabashed extrovert, Ahlstrand is known for befriending practically everybody who walks through her door. Even the terse blurb in the Zagat restaurant guide notes that Mollie Ahlstrand "knows everyone...." In the framed photographs by the reception desk, she's the tiny, mischievous-looking woman in chef's whites standing with Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, laughing with John cleese, hugging Mikhail Gorbachev. Oprah, who says Ahlstrand's cooking must be an extension of her great warmth and passion, adds, "I have to stop myself from eating there every day, it's so delicious." But it's not just the celebrities--Ahlstrand connects with everyone who eats at her restaurant and she remembers everything about them. She greets, chats, and teases her customers in throaty, Italian accented English. And those who come to know her are amazed and inspired by her life story.

Ahlstrand was born 40-plus years ago in a small Ethiopian town. "My father was a Muslim and restrictive, but he was a very intelligent man who believed in education," she says. "He sent my sister and me to school, even though he was censured for it at the mosque."

Ahlstrand, drawn to the comparative …