Before I launch into these comfort-food recipes, I'm going to share a brief West Coast travelogue. Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Los Angeles from St. Louis for six blissful days of vacation and then was whisked away to Dana Point with my guy Dave and his brother Jeff. We spent this afternoon with Dave's aunt, uncle and brother eating lunch at the very funky local eatery,
Ramos House Cafe (I discovered what a
Scotch egg was via their super renowned Bloody Marys), exploring
San Juan Capistrano and its beautiful
Mission and celebrating Dave's 34th birthday with sunshine and tranquilty by the Mission's Moorish style fountain
(Happy Birthday, love!).