Hello from Principalchef (aka Mike)!
My wife Jill and I do a lot of cooking and entertaining in our home. I try to live by the Penzey’s Spices model: “Love people. Cook them good food.” Now I’m becoming a better cook thanks to my children. My older son Ryan is practicing law in his day job and cooking up a storm at night. And Dawson is protecting the cyber world by day and enjoying the cooking of his partner Kylie in the evenings. I love learning new tricks from my family! My other cooking influences are my Mom, my Arkansas roots, my friends and amazing cooks in our neighborhood in Malibu (thanks Karen, Laurie, Pete, David, Jenn, and Sheri!), and my California living since 1980.
I love using this site to share recipes and stories with my family and friends. I am a retired public school educator, spending 32 years of my career as a principal and superintendent (principalchef has a better ring to it than superintendentchef). I now spend my time writing, swimming, golfing, and reading, and I love to cook whenever I get the chance. I hope you enjoy the recipes.
Please comment and – Cheers!
Mike
I feel very fortunate to have a beautiful open kitchen in our home, and since 2018, a fantastic outdoor kitchen as well. My brother Pat designed it and my friend Tim built it, and it has a built in Blaze 34″ BBQ, XL Big Green Egg, a sink, seating for 12 around a built-in fire pit, a slide out trash can, drawers for utensils, and lots of storage. I’m ready for anything!
Jill and I love preparing dinner for two, three, four, eight, or one hundred. One of my favorite weekends was when my next door neighbor Pat asked me to cook for a wedding gathering for 50, officiate her daughter Kristin’s wedding, and sing a song at the wedding. When I was introduced with my guitar, I overheard one person say, “The cook guy can sing too?” Pretty nice little Saturday really.
We have lived in the same 1600 square foot single story home since 2000, and in the same neighborhood since 1993. We love our home and I am not sure we will ever move! Our home interior is very open, and we’re lucky to have a large back yard. We eat indoors and outdoors – more outdoors since we have a fireplace built right into our outdoor kitchen. Though when it gets a little cold in Malibu – like under 68 degrees – Jill is a little reticent to get out there and brave the elements.
Cheers!
– Mike
SUBSCRIBE
To receive our best recipes right in your inbox