One of the roots of my friendship with Kaitlyn (that I’m able to remember, in any case) is our deep appreciation for and understanding of cuisine. A passionate cook since our relatively recent days together at USC, Kaitlyn regularly tackles time-consuming and skill-requiring tasks like making fresh dough for David Chang’s famous pork buns, a perfect roux for baked mac and cheese (usually baked in muffin tins for easy distribution) and my personal favorite, painstakingly poking blue cheese into olives for the perfect martini.  

Kaitlyn, who lives with her boyfriend and fellow food enthusiast Paul, once catered a cocktail party for a dozen guests singlehandedly with at least 8 dishes that I can remember, in their comfy and extremely well-stocked Wall Street apartment. The cocktail party was to celebrate their new in-home bar. I’m still celebrating that, actually.

She is a master of the sandwich, searer of polenta cakes and scallops alike. Whole chickens, dead or alive, cower at the mere mention of her Dutch oven. Whole ducks can prepare for a future as 4 or 5 different things: stock, pate, ragu, rendered fat, seared breast. I love cooking with her, and last night we made an incredible seasonal summer dinner. Their resident food critic, Leopold the schnauzer, saw the whole thing.

Poldy and Busy Bee <---

Barbecue Chicken over Seared Goat Cheese Polenta Cakes with Roasted Corn Salsa and Salad of Pea Shoots and Tri-Color Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

Paul tosses the Kansas City habanero-rubbed chicken with homemade barbecue sauce.  Note the awesome tattoo.

Kaitlyn's perfectly seared goat cheese polenta cakes

Admiring her handiwork.  Note the awesome tattoo.

Served with a lovely California Sauvignon Blanc

Not bad for a Wednesday.  We were going to do whole grilled snapper, but it rained.  And now I have this giant 2-lb snapper on ice in my fridge.  Your suggestions, as always, are welcome.