Alisal Ranch Cookout Recap and Orange-Marinated Tri-Tip Chimichurri & Padrón Peppers

I wrote this article for the Alisal Ranch Newsletter in honor of my father and my time cooking at the cookout this spring. I thought it would be fitting to share it with you today…

Since I was 8 years old, Labor Day weekend meant one thing to our family: Alisal Ranch. If it wasn’t for my dad and his love of beautiful places, great golf courses, and being with his family—three things that the Alisal brought to him in spades—we never would have started such an amazing tradition. When our car pulled into the sycamore-lined lane, my Labor Day weekend Ranch pals would be waiting for me on the fence. I’m not even sure my dad had stopped the car before I jumped out to meet them and run off to claim the Ping-Pong table and an Alisal Special, cartwheeling through the entire span of the lawn as we went. Those summer days forged close friendships grounded in a lifetime of Labor Days that exist to this day.

A deep love of the area developed in my bones during these visits and is something that I credit with making Santa Barbara my home in adulthood. The yellow hills spotted with oaks dripping with Spanish moss, combined with the dry ranch air and the smells—a mixture of dusty earth, green grass, blossoming myrtle, and horse (since those Esprit-clad days I have learned that “horsey” is also a description for revered wines) bring me calm in a way that no other place in the world can.

Alisal Ranch is a haven for kids and adults alike. Ageless exploration of activities and possibilities while my parents golfed, we would try to jam in as many things as we could in one day—horseback riding, sailing at the lake (in our early years there was a regatta), pool time, shuffleboard and volleyball—you could always count on a 4 pm volleyball game that welcomed any and all ages. As the golden hour approached, we would dash off for a much-needed shower and then dinner followed by evening activities. The subsequent days were lather, rinse, repeat and the repetition just confirmed how much we loved the place. Many of the same families who booked Labor Day are still attending and the neatest part is the kids that I grew up with now have children who are friends with our teens.

As a parent, I realize it combines structure and freedom perfectly. I’ve traded my saddle in for golf clubs and my dad would be so proud that while we play golf, my kids roam about enjoying the same freedoms I did!

You can imagine my excitement (and a few nerves) when asked to be the guest chef to celebrate my first cookbook, Lush Life, at a spring cookout this year. I know that BBQ like the back of my hand. Watching it morph through the years, I knew my Santa Barbara seasonal style of cooking would fit right in alongside my annual favorites including the corn and jalapeño muffins, the grilled lobster tails, and, of course, the incredible Portuguese sausages. Being the guest chef for the Easter week barbecue was a pinch-me moment. I know the event so well, and yet I was a little intimidated too—because it meant so much to be sharing my food with other Alisal guests.

An explosion of yellow mustard covered the hillside and inspired a menu from the spring chapter in my book.  Chef Anthony and Chef Lee made it so easy for me to share my Santa Barbara home-styled recipes with more than 150 of their guests. I knew our hero dish had to be the Tri-Tip, the triangular cut of meat from the bottom of the sirloin, and a Central Coast specialty. My first bites of Tri-Tip were at the Ranch as a kid, and we did it just the same—wood-grilled on the heavy iron grates fabricated just down the road in Santa Maria.

For the rest of the menu, I chose to showcase not only the early spring produce of the season but also a few more of my favorite Santa Barbara All-Star ingredients. From Lush Life, I added a Leg of Lamb roasted perfectly over the open wood fire, and served California Halibut, Grilled Mushrooms, a mustardy potato salad, Little Gems with my fave herby vegan Goddess dressing, and two knock-out desserts. I was also thrilled that we could set every table with my signature crudités and dips and serve the adult guests with two of my favorite cocktails—a Salty Dog and Strawberry Mezcal Margarita—the best way to begin any evening IMHO.

Even though my father is no longer with us, we keep his tradition alive, faithfully visiting every Labor Day to reconnect with our extended Alisal OG Labor Day family. Being at “The Ranch,” as my dad called it, reminds me how much he is truly around us and I know how proud he would be, beaming in his brown suede jacket at the check-lined table, to see me as a featured chef at the Cookout. My sister and my niece joined me and, even though I was surrounded by a totally new spring landscape, I really felt like I was home.

Wishing all the dad’s out there a very happy father’s day.