Some close friends of mine, who will remain anonymous for privacy’s sake, asked me to make dinner for a memorial. Jim was a loving father who was survived by his wife, two kids, two grandkids, and eight grand-chickens. My sous chef Emily Drucker and I drove upstate to cook this dinner in their lovely, fully-equipped kitchen. I know this family fairly well. I’ve catered their wedding, celebrated their first baby shower, and catered a 40th birthday. Needless to say, I was mourning as well.

It was a lovely affair despite the sad news. We served an appetizer table full of snacky items, dips, and hand-shaped goat cheeses in classic provencal and funky baharat flavors. Dinner was family style with a strong Moroccan theme: lamb tagine, big vegetable stew, and couscous. A bok choy salad so crisp, but made buttery with freshly roasted delicata squash. You can see from the collaborative menu that these folks love food and were open to new, interesting flavors that you wouldn’t typically see at a memorial.

Emily took charge of dessert. Jim’s favorite cherry pies, apple pies, and chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt. We toasted to Jim and sang him a song. I’d like to think he was sitting out on the porch listening and bobbing his head along.