The continuation of a Watson family dinner tradition with the next generation, and enjoying time with forever friends.

Drew and I have known each other for many years. The roots of our friendship trace back to the summer he and I played “summer baseball” at Briggs Field in Manomet, Massachusetts along with my two younger brothers. Middle school was a bit of a blur, but then once someone in our friend group acquired a car (read: freedom), there were the usual high school shenanigans. After graduation, there was even more fun to be had in Boston, where we found ourselves at schools on either side of a reservoir.

Forever friends are that rare breed of friends that you may not see too often, but when you do, it’s as if no time as passed. You immediately sink right back into into a comfy closeness that continues to age beautifully across the years. The only thing better than spending time with forever friends is watching your respective kids fall into the same patterns with each other, just as easily.

And now, he and his wife Leah are the owners of Hops and Pie (and Berkeley Donuts!), both in Denver, Colorado, and both absolutely incredible (even my discerning, raised-in-NYC, pizza-snob-kids say so, so there ya go!). We get out there as often as we can to hang and to eat their amazing pizza, sandos, soups, donuts – really anything they touch – and of course wash it down with an ever-evolving selection of fabulous craft beers.

One recent visit was February 2022, on a weekend after some time in the mountains. In addition to skiing, we tried our hand at ice-fishing (thanks to the inspiration of our fishing-obsessed 10-year-old son) on an absolutely freezing day.

As is usually the case, luck smiled down on our fisherman and we wound up with a nice collection of trout small salmon. Once I ensured my son wouldn’t lose a foot to hypothermia after he managed to submerge one leg up to his knee in the freezing world (having accidentally stepped into an old, uncovered hole while they were discarding the bits from the cleaned fish), I sent a photo of our loot to Drew, who excitedly promised to cook it up for us the next day at their home.

Drew shared with us the story of how when he was growing up, once a week his mom Jan would ask him to go catch some trout for dinner. Little Drew would head down to the local pond do just that: catch dinner.

I was fascinated that it would fall to the shoulders of young Drew to collect the family’s dinner protein, but he shrugged it right off. He caught what he could, and a short whle later dinner was on the table.

His mom would clean it an inevitably stuff it with a simple but delicious mix of olive oil, shallot, garlic and dill, and it would be enjoyed with a rice pilaf and salad. This is exactly how he prepared it for us in Arvada, Colorado (just next door to Denver), February 2022.

Someday I hope to add some photos from Drew’s childhood, but for now we can imagine dinner might have looked something like the above photo, with a Red Sox-clad Drew eating the fish he had caught with his own earlier in the day.

This playlist captures some of the songs we would have been singing together in the back of Heidi’s jeep as we made our way to Friendly’s for the upteenth time.

[Quick pause to recall those extra-spicy buffalo wings, the chicken quesadillas with the nicely-spiced chicken juice dripping out of the super soft flour tortillas as we devoured them; and the Vienna Mocha Chunk sundae which is no longer available as a sundae because it has since been immortalized as an actual ice cream flavor. Holy Cow: and now you can get Friendly’s-branded coffee pods flavored as Vienna Mocha Chunk?!!]

Ok, back from that reverie, just crank these tunes to get that mood and energy going in the kitchen. Bonus points if you are also enjoying some nice craft beer while you prepare dinner. If you are in the Denver area (jealous!), then grab a growler from their store.  But even if you aren’t nearby, take a look at their rotating list of craft breweries because maybe you are lucky enough to have a current brewery in your corner of the globe!

First, we present the the pictures-are-worth-a-thousand-words recipe, in three photos, shared by the chef himself, direct from Drew’s kitchen in Colorado (and the words-only recipe to follow):

Somehow As usual, I managed to be so in the moment enjoying friends and food that I did not get a photo of the pilaf that night in Colorado. He told us that growing up it would be Uncle Ben’s on the table (rice of choice on my childhood table, as well). There is no record, but my shoddy memory remembers boxes of the Near East brand that night in Colorado!

Use what ya got, cuz that’s also what Jan would have done. Just don’t use the only-add-water prepared version because, ick (take our word for it). Ideally, find the boxed kind by Uncle Ben’s and follow the instructions right there on the box.

An epilogue added May 2024.

Drew’s mom Jan passed mid-May 2024. As a tribute to her and her memory, we made this dinner once more. While we weren’t able to catch our own trout in any area ponds (much less the Seine River), we were thankful that our favorite poissonnière helped us special order some truite.

The Parisian version of the ingredients. Our favorite Olive Oil from Cantasole which we visited in Puglia, salt from the Camargue, and craft beer from Brasserie Croix de Chavaux over in Montreuil.

I saw that it had been split and gutted but did not notice that the head, and worse – the spine and multitude of bones were still there. It did not end up as pretty as Drew’s but it was delicious, and my son and I had a fun time cleaning (hacking at) the fish. Just a cautionary tale so that you can learn from our mistake!!

Rest in peace, Jan! You will be missed, but your memory lives on in so many ways. May this meal be one small tribute among many. Our thoughts are with Drew, and your whole family, including many adored grandchildren who were so lucky to have some time with you.