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Hardest part of your job:

It’s been a steep learning curve. Stretching the money from summer to last through the desolate winter is a trial every year.

Biggest loss in Big Sur:

Six weeks after my son was born, the house my boyfriend and I were renting burned to the ground with all our possessions in it.

Soul mate?

My beau, Eric, of course. But let’s not kid ourselves—I love Michelle Wojtowicz like no other. There is probably no one I can be as frank and openly pessimistic with and who understands me so completely. Eric calls her my “intellectual lover.”

What do you do with your time outside of the Bakery?

Despite doing my best never to try, much less enjoy, yoga, it happened. One day you’re going about your business, referring to people who do yoga as trendy assholes, and the next thing you know, you’re in the middle of a sun salutation and hating yourself for loving every moment of it.

Recipes

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Seared Ahi Tuna with Mixed Baby Lettuces and Seafood Dressing

We designed this salad for the Fishermen’s Feast on Christmas Eve, but its flavors and textures make it great for any time you want a salad with some bite. The chief lettuce for us is baby frisée, mixed with radicchio and mizuna, a spicy Japanese mustard green. For something crispy we add the bright hearts of romaine lettuce.

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INGREDIENTS

FOR THE SEAFOOD DRESSING:

1 cup lobster stock

¼ cup golden (or white) balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon fresh tarragon leaves

1 cup rice bran oil or canola oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE SEARED AHI:

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

One 10-ounce piece ahi tuna loin

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon rice bran oil or canola oil

FOR THE SALAD MIX:

1 head frisée

1 head radicchio

1 romaine heart

1 handful mizuna

1 shallot, minced

2 whole scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon minced chives

2 tablespoons fresh tarragon leaves

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Serves 4

Start with the dressing: Place the lobster stock in a small saucepan and reduce it over high heat until you’re left with 2 tablespoons, about 10 minutes. Put the reduced stock, vinegar, tomato paste, and tarragon into a blender. With the blender running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream. Blend until the dressing is thick and emulsified. Season the dressing with salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To make the seared ahi, first crack the peppercorns by placing them on a flat surface, like a cutting board, and pressing them with the flat bottom of a heavy pan until they split into pieces. Season the tuna generously with salt and with the cracked pepper. Heat a cast-iron skillet over high heat and drizzle the oil into it. Put the tuna in the hot pan and sear on all four sides for a few seconds, until nicely browned. (Searing should take less than a minute on each side—you’re trying to quickly brown the outside while keeping the interior rare.) Place the tuna on a plate and cool it in the refrigerator.

Wash the frisée and snip off the green tips of the leaves, leaving behind only the white and yellow part of the head. Cut the core off, tear the remaining leaves into medium pieces, and put them in a large mixing bowl. Pull the leaves off the head of radicchio and discard the core. Wash the leaves, then tear them into random pieces and add them to the frisée. Pull the leaves off the romaine heart, wash them, break them into random pieces, and add to the other lettuces. Add the mizuna, shallots, scallions, and herbs, and gently toss the greens together.

Dress the salad mix with about ½ cup of the seafood dressing—just enough to lightly coat the greens. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and arrange the greens on a platter. Cut the tuna into ¼-inch-thick slices, lay them on top of the greens, and drizzle with the remaining seafood dressing. Serve immediately.

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Roasted