Hello from sunny Southern California! Do you like tacos, kimchi, seasonal produce, and bright flavors? You’re in the right place.
Every Friday, we chat about California Cuisine recipes that will inspire you, no matter where you live in the world.
California Cuisine features fresh ingredients, in-season veggies and fruits, simple preparation, and flavor influences from many international cuisines. Our Golden State has a diverse population hailing from all over the world, especially Asia, Central and South America, and the Mediterranean, so Californian food reflects all these food cultures. It’s a beautiful mash-up!
Looking for other recipes? You’ll find them in the Recipe Index.
If you need to take a deep breath and close your eyes for a hot minute, the audio is above.
Life in SoCal
Wondering what winter is like in Southern California? The rain is gone for now, the sunshine has returned, and temps have been in the 70s F/20s C. Plus, the SoCal mountains are snow-capped! My youngest son sent me some photos of his hike earlier this week in the snow of the San Jacinto Mountains.
Meanwhile, the lavender is blooming, blood oranges are in season, and I’ve been recipe testing a new round of mocktails (those are coming soon!).
Coming in March: Cook Once, Eat 3x Series
Yes, it’s back! This is where we cook a big batch of protein and divvy it up into three entirely different meals for the week. Don’t call it leftovers, call it options.
You all loved the Cook Once, Eat 3x series last fall that featured roasted chicken, braised short ribs, pulled pork, and slow-roasted salmon. So many peeps requested a springtime version with new recipes—how could I say no to that?
This time around, I’ll include plant protein, ground turkey, boneless chicken thighs, and a vegan sauce-based approach from a surprise guest chef that you will love!
Look for this series starting next Friday.
Dinner for 2 + Movie
Today, we are closing out our month of dinner for two plus a movie. I love the idea of staying in to enjoy dinner while engrossed in a film. Especially with the snowy weather that some of you have experienced recently, it’s been an apropos formula for a cozy night at home.
For those who’ve been reading along the past few weeks, you know I’m always on the lookout for a good movie. While in graduate school, I minored in Film Studies—not to pursue a career in it, but because I love viewing and discussing movies. So, yes, I’m a little bit of a film geek, haha!
While my family enjoys movies, they aren’t always interested in the details that I am. Things like: the director and other films they’ve made, the overarching theme, the plot holes, if the mise-en-scène worked, how the actors did or didn’t develop their characters, and so much more!
My daughter used to say, “Mom, can we just watch the movie now?” LOL.
Some reminders about the film recs:
* Movie choices are very personal. While I enjoyed aspects of each movie and found them interesting, you might not, depending on your preferences.
* No one really cares about opinions, lol! However, I will give you reasons why I think a movie was good. Use those as an indicator of whether or not to add the movie to your watchlist.
* Not for children. Family movie night was a fun tradition when my kids were growing up, but these films aren’t for those family nights.
Plus, each movie this month inspired the accompanying dinner menu! So let’s get to it.
Nouvelle Vague (2025)
Set in 1959, this film is a comedy/drama tribute to French film director Jean-Luc Godard and his first movie, Breathless, which was released in 1960. It features a cast of characters who were influential in French New Wave (or la nouvelle vague) cinema. The director here is Richard Linklater, known for his indie films (Slacker, Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, among others), and a fellow alum of my alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin.
Shot in black and white, the documentary-style film opens with critics from Cahiers du Cinéma, a French film magazine, attending premieres and award ceremonies that recognized and ushered in a new and unconventional way of filmmaking in France. This innovative approach went against traditional storytelling, editing, and visual style and would shape movie-making all over the world for decades to come.
The plot follows the young filmmaker, Jean-Luc Godard, as he directs his first film. He casts a relatively new actor, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and the more experienced American actress Jean Seberg in the lead roles as the petty thief and his girlfriend. At the time, Seberg had one foot in Hollywood and one in Paris. As filming days are chronicled, we see the chaos, upheaval, and realism for which the French New Wave became known.
Reasons to Watch Nouvelle Vague
* Period piece. If you like movies set at particular times in history, you will love this glimpse into 1950s Paris. With a cool jazz score, Breton-striped top/trench coat/ballet flats fashion, and French-only dialogue, the film is like an embrace from the city of love. It has been called un vrai petit bijou (truly a little jewel) of a movie that totally immerses you in the new wave film culture of post-war France.
* Highlights the movement that altered filmmaking forever. At the time, mainstream cinema in the U.S. and Europe shot movies on studio sets with artificial lighting and relied on approved scripts with linear (chronological) storylines. The French New Wave turned all that upside down. Films were shot on location with natural lighting using handheld cameras. Narratives were sometimes non-linear, and dialogue was often ad-libbed on the spot by non-professional actors. The experimentation and improvisation led to innovations in moviemaking and editing, such as jump cuts (an editing style still used today) and a breaking down of the fourth wall (meaning, actors looked straight at the camera and talked to the audience). As 21st-century viewers, we take many of these things for granted in films today, but they originated with the French New Wave.
* Introduces the idea of the director as the author. Before the 1950s, the film industry, and especially the Hollywood studio system, was dominated by big studios and well-known contract actors that drove interest and movie ticket sales. The critic-turned-filmmakers at Cahiers du Cinéma insisted that it should be the director whose vision controlled the artistic choices, visual style, casting, themes, and overall direction of the film, not the studio. This idea of director as author, or auteur theory, meant that any of a director’s movies was recognizable by the personal stamp they had left on them. The auteur theory is still going strong. If you’ve ever seen films by Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, or Wes Anderson, you know exactly what I mean. You can spot their movies right away. While I was in grad school, one of the classes I took for my Film Studies minor was actually in the English Department, and ENG 344L Film Auteurs is still taught today!
* Reminds us that creativity is born out of hardship. Post-World War Two France had limited resources. There was no budget for large crews, expensive cameras, and lavish sets. New Wave filmmakers did not let this inhibit them and instead thought outside the moviemaking box! DIY camera dolly set-ups, sunlight as lighting, city streets as backdrops, and bystanders as extras all fit within their low budget and gave an immediacy and realism that studio-shot films could not.
If you are interested in French New Wave films, I recommend the original Breathless, of course, as well as The 400 Blows, Hiroshima Mon Amour, Jules and Jim, and Last Year at Marienbad to get you started.
I was inspired to dream up the following menu, which Jean Seberg might have appreciated: a mash-up of French bistro staples with a California twist!
Recipes
Sole Meunière with Blistered Tomatoes
Yields 4 servings
Time: 20-ish minutes
Inspired by the French classic, this easy fish dish is brightened up with quick pan-blistered tomatoes! Thin filets of sole cook up tender and quickly.
Notes:
* Can’t find or don’t like sole? I usually find it in the frozen food section of my local grocery store. Tilapia and orange roughy are good subs.
* Traditionally, Sole Meunière is cooked in clarified butter (which has a higher smoke point than butter and reduces excessive browning/burning). Because I’m sometimes lazy and don’t want to take the extra step of clarifying butter, I use a combo of olive oil and butter, adding the butter at the last minute so it has less time to brown. An alternative is to use ghee (a type of clarified butter used in Indian cooking) that you’ve made or purchased.
Fish Ingredients:
* 1 pound (about 6 thin filets) Dover sole
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 tablespoon butter
Tomato Ingredients:
* 2 Tbsp olive oil
* 1 dry pint (about 2 cups) cherry or grape tomatoes
* 2 garlic cloves
Garnish: lemon slices, chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
* Pat the fish filets dry with paper towels. Pour the flour into a dish or shallow bowl. Dredge each filet on both sides in the flour, then place on a plate or baking sheet. Don’t stack the filets on top of each other, but place them side by side.
* Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is heated, add the butter. Immediately slide in the coated filets, two or three at a time depending on what will fit in the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown, then flip and cook the other side for 1 or 2 minutes. The filets are very thin and cook quickly. Move to a large plate/platter and cover to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining filets.
* Wipe out the skillet and return to the stove top. Heat the oil on medium-high heat, then add the tomatoes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, leaving them alone so they will blister on one side.
* Shake the pan so that the tomatoes roll to their other side and cook for another minute or two. Add the garlic and gently stir a few times. Remove from the heat. Spoon the tomatoes onto the fish platter.
* Garnish with lemon slices and a shower of chopped parsley before serving.
Boiled Baby Red Potatoes
Yields 4 servings
Time: 20-ish minutes
Simple, easy, and delicious! Baby potatoes get boiled with aromatic bay leaves, drained, and tossed with butter. They are a perfect side with any fish, chicken, or meat.
Ingredients:
* 2 dried bay leaves
* 1 1/2 pounds baby red or white potatoes
* 2 tablespoons butter
* Garnish: flaky salt, chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
* Add bay leaves to a pot of water and bring water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until fork tender.
* Carefully drain the water out of the pot. While the potatoes are still hot, add the butter, and place the lid on to allow butter to melt. It will only take a minute or two.
* Using a silicone spatula or silicone spoon, gently toss the potatoes to coat them in butter. Garnish with flaky salt and parsley before serving.
Extras
A crisp salad of bitter greens and a zippy dressing would pair perfectly with today’s meal, like Arugula Endive Salad with Bacon or Salad with Fried Goat Cheese.
We can’t forget a sweet ending, can we? My vote is for the lovely Apple Galette with Frangipane. And for a drinkie, the California 75! It’s a lighter, West Coast version of the classic French 75 cocktail.
Did you miss the previous Dinner for 2 + Movie nights? I’ve linked them below.
Tell Me
That’s a wrap on February! I’d love to hear what you enjoyed about this dinner and movie series in the comments below.
Coming next week: Cook Once, Eat 3x, and this one is all about plant protein. See you next Friday!
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