A Storybook Meal with Brian and Paula

This is the story of a man and a woman in love, a bunch of cabins in the woods, great food and wine and the art of entertaining. It’s not often that you are so mesmerized by a new experience that you must tell the world about it. When two soul mates collide, it is the ultimate recipe for love – not just any kind of love but one that endures and becomes an all-encompassing aura. Meet Brian and Paula, two of the most amazing people you could ever hope to meet. Brian is a worldly father of two grown men, and Paula is the woman they all adore. This is a modern family in every way, from where they live to how they live, and most importantly how they love their boys, how they nurtured them to love life as they do, to follow their dreams and care about the world in which they live.

As you drive north from San Francisco up Highway One, you begin to experience the most sensational scenery with every winding stretch of pavement. This is not a road for the faint-hearted or ill-focused. You are subjected to breath-taking views at every turn; smashing waves, steep bluffs and cliffs, rolling fog and eucalyptus trees, not to mention the sandy beaches. You are in Northern California, unmistakable for its seascapes and for its resemblance to Scotland.

After a good 90 minutes on the road, passing small town after small town and soaking in the vista of Stinson Beach, I arrived at Brian and Paula’s home, on a very steep hill that overlooks Tomales Bay on one side, the Point Reyes National Park behind, and peaks and valleys in the other direction. It is a disorienting location that makes you feel as if you have arrived inside a children’s picture book, with Brian as papa bear and Paula as mama bear.

To say that your senses are overwhelmed is an understatement. Upon entering their property you are greeted with winding trails that lead from cabin to cabin. The smoke emanating from the chimney is a sign that leads to the main cabin. As expected, Brian and Paula pop their heads out from within like two characters in a picture book. The main cabin is simple and raw in many ways, as if it has always been there, but upon closer inspection there is evidence of two sophisticates trying to cover up their tracks.

This is what Ralph Lauren would do if he could find this gem of a home, but I dare say that he could never pull it off with the same nuance, grace and elegance. Clearly, papa bear and mama bear have traveled the world and have amazing taste, but what is invaluable is their art of making one feel at home – this is a savoir faire that cannot be underestimated. The ability to care for people without fussing over them means you feel at home as opposed to being a guest.

When I found out I was going to San Francisco for a few days, I asked to visit these old friends, and papa bear Brian, being the consummate cook, asked me what he could make for my “weary traveler’s soul.” I politely asked for his lamb shank, a recipe he makes that I simply adore. Needless to say, such a request requires nearly a full day of preparation, a ritual he is all too familiar with from when his two sons come home for a visit.

After an afternoon of telling stories, laughing a lot and sitting by the roaring fireplace, the seduction of dinner drew closer. I could smell the aroma coming out of the kitchen. Mama bear set the table with her fine carved-bone flatware, Provençale linen napkins and candles against the usual backdrop of the postcard windows to the valleys, mountains and sea.

Brian served a delicious Syrah-Grenache blend made by Greywacke Vineyards in Sonoma County’s Russian River. Brian loves this wine so much that his friends at Greywacke named the wine for him, The Muldoon, his family name. The meal consisted of a purée of butternut squash with hints of cloves and cinnamon, red-stemmed Swiss chard and the slow-roasted lamb shank. The meat falling off the bone was clearly a sign that it was ready to be devoured. The setting was picturesque, with a fire roaring and crackling in the background. An earthy pumpkin pie was the final note of this autumnal meal.

As the evening drew to a close, we took a stroll on the property’s many trails that lead from cabin to cabin, each a wonder of its own. In the cabin I would be sleeping in, I could not help but see myself in their picture book and feel like the hare that would spend the night. My cabin was large enough to have its own living room with a fireplace, a beautiful bed with Irish linen sheets, and thick, comfy blankets.

Brian and Paula lit the fireplace in my room, and I fell asleep within minutes – not just any sleep but the kind that is deep and restorative. I woke up at 10 a.m. the next day, a feat I have never managed anywhere else.