California Dreaming
This time of year is usually reserved for comfort foods - rich, filling, and warm. However, this dish takes me back to the coast of California, where my girlfriend lives aboard her yacht in Marina Del Rey. She is smart, scrappy and is also a naturally good chef. So good, in fact, that she was requested as a private, personal chef on a charter where the chef had unfortunately been diagnosed with COVID-19. She was in the midst of getting her captain's license, so was in easy contact with the desperate captain but hey, what an opportunity! The beautiful thing is we had a behind the scenes view of the menu as it came together and, on her return, hosted a celebratory meal with friends that featured some of those dishes. I am always curious to watch her at work, somehow managing to never look frazzled or inconvenienced while operating in her tight galley kitchen. Every meal feels like it is produced in a five-star Michelin restaurant.
