The Chef, his vinaigrette, and the dooo-dooo-DOOO

In seventh grade, my best friend and I suffered from the same disease: an incurable case of extreme boy craziness.

Of course, neither of us had ever had an actual boyfriend at that point. But what we DID have was secret code names for our crushes (you know, in case one of them, with some sort of magic supersonic preteen-boy hearing, intercepted one of our nightly "gush about your crush" phone calls). There was "Jacket." There was "Jersey." There was even "dooo-doooo-DOOOO-AMY!" (don't ask).

After my family moved in eighth grade and throughout the following years, my friend and I continued to share crush nicknames via letters and phone calls. One day, after college, she started telling me about "the Chef." And when she started calling the Chef "fiancee," I knew that he and I would have to get to know each other on a more suitable first-name basis.

Now, the Chef was "the Chef" for good reason: he's a chef (okay, not all the nicknames were creative). I made a trip to visit them a while back so I could get to know their first baby, the Chef himself, and, let's be honest, the Chef's food.

Not surprisingly, I instantly fell in love with all three. Nevertheless...I, being a long-standing friend, still felt obliged to quiz the Chef on several topics: Was he good to my friend? (Yes.) Was he a great dad? (Yes.) Can and will he clue me in on some awesome chef-ly recommendations? And he, being the new husband to one of my long-standing friends, totally hooked me up.

One of my favorite tips from the Chef? Order a liter of Shoreline Extra Virgin Olive Oil (it's shipped in from Crete, and it's only available online--buy it here) and use it in his simply perfect recipe for salad vinaigrette:

Combine 1 tbsp Dijon mustard + the zest of half a lemon + honey (to taste) + white wine vinegar (to taste--about 1/2 cup). Add olive oil (to taste), whisking it in slowly. Enjoy over greens with good friends.

Trust me. It's as delicious as a friendship that can survive 20-plus years of crushes on boys with nicknames ranging from "the Chef" to "dooo-dooooo-DOOOO-AMY!" (but seriously, don't ask).