WE’RE BACK, BABY!
Much like Kim Kardashian West, I escaped. Well, she took 40 of her friends to a “private island,” away from Calabasas and Health Nut salads. I took my new husband up the California coast, in a rented Camry that someone had clearly just hotboxed at the LAX Enterprise.
No matter, because we spent two weeks only hanging out with one another, staying in domes and lofts and attics, cooking some terrific dishes and forgetting about the rest. A taste index for the fans:
Tasteful:
The paradox of LA’s Petit Ermitage perfect rooftop forbidding photos/videos, while being the most Instagrammable
Tiki cocktails in Solvang, “the Danish capital of America”
An incredible corned beef hash on a paper plate in downtown Paso Robles
A poolside hot dog at the Madonna Inn
Field Recordings, the walnut tree solitude at Villa Creek, and Tin City
An elephant seal lookout along Highway 1
Big Sur, from the peppermint air to a best-in-class lunch at Nepenthe, secluded from the crowds and overlooking a cliff
This most perfect Airbnb in a small fishing town, where we cooked clam chowder, roast chicken, and a perfect rockfish, met some neighboring cows and saw 2 shooting stars.
Tasteless:
In-n-Out, Santa Barbara. I said what I said!
Dodging heat exhaustion in 100* degree “dry heat”
Being cocktail snobs in wine country
The college children of San Luis Obispo, bodies packed like sardines at the club, maskless and fancy-free
Mental wellness and well-being, leading up to and possibly following next Tuesday
LIKE KKW, ONLY DESPAIR AND HAND-WRINGING AWAITED OUR RETURN
A lovely exploration of fall’s true color, russet.
A “super-white” paint for houses and cars that could replace the need for air conditioning, and actually help with climate change.
Do you live in a 15-minute neighborhood?
States of strangeness and wonder:
“A lot of people appeared to be deeply unwell, in ways you don’t see in places where healthcare is free and the social net wide. I saw evidence of the opioid crisis, the obesity epidemic, mothers who looked like children themselves. A family meal at McDonald’s cost next to nothing; a single salad and a piece of fish at Whole Foods cost $50.”
BRINY ROASTED CHICKEN THIGHS FOR ALL STATES OF BEING
Two cooking vessels (a big skillet and an oven thing, like a casserole dish or a roasting pan) and you are good to go.
INGREDIENTS
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, patted dry & salted/pepped
⅓ cup of flour
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp., herbes de Provence
~10 garlic cloves, peeled & halved
1 lemon, cut into eighths
2 shallots, quartered
1 cup, dry vermouth (like Dolin)
⅓ cup, white wine
2 tbsp. butter
A bunch of salad olives & capers
1 cup of pearled couscous, cooked
WHAT TO DO:
Dredge chicken thighs through flour on a plate, shaking off the excess. In a large skillet, heat a bit of canola oil and when hot, add chicken thighs. Brown on both sides, and set aside. Heat oven to 400.
Add olive oil to the roasting pan/casserole, dispersing evenly (do it with a pastry brush or even a paper towel). Chuck in shallots, garlic, lemon pieces, and arrange the browned chicken in the pan with them. Pour vermouth in and swish around. Add the herbes de Provence to the tops of the chicken and vegetables.
Stick in the oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven, add bits of butter, white wine, olives, and capers. Stick back in the oven for 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Serve on top of couscous.