So for a few years now I’ve been going over to my godmother’s house for dinner every now and then. She has this sweet pad way up in the hills. Part of the deal when she bought it was that it would be remodeled with a kick-ass kitchen, of her own design, as she is no slouch in the chef department. Lately I’ve been heading up there for dinner about once every two weeks because I’ve come to the realization that her cooking is better than any restaurant I’ve ever been to.

That, and it’s free.

Oh and she prefers to eat dessert in front of her 72 inch 1080p plasma tv. Last night we watched wrestling.

My godmother was born in Stuttgart. She was a flight attendant (a stewardess at the time) for Pan-Am who married an American infantryman. After his tour was over, they moved to Los Angeles together.

Anyway, I get to go over there every other Tuesday when she has me over for dinner and creates an array of amazing dishes. Last night’s entree was her take on a lamb saltimbocca. I’ve had it with chicken before, also as a home cooked meal, and loved it. So when I walked in her kitchen last night and found out what we were having I was quite pleased.

I need to take a moment to talk about the overall “experience” of going over there for dinner. This is not some ramshackle operation thrown together at the last second. These preparations are like pit stops in a Formula 1 race: everything is ready to go, no time is wasted, and there are no mistakes. It’s almost like being on a cooking show without the cameras. Only instead of only getting to see the food on tv, you actually get to eat it. Which is important.

Every dinner comes with a salad. It’s pretty much the best salad I’ve ever had and it’s the only commonality between all the meals. It’s basically Live Gourmet (an awesome concept) butter lettuce, thinly-diced green onions, a dash of salt, and a custom home-made dressing consisting of a light mixture of olive oil and white vinegar. Occasionally she will throw in a small handful of mini tangelo chunks to spring up the flavor.

The pièce de résistance of this particular meal was the berry clafoutis she prepared. I helped eat it. This particular clafoutis consisted of blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries with peach and pluot slices. Really yummy.