b'Sol Birman was my father-in-law. I loved him as if he were my own father. This picture was taken on the day I married his daughter Nanci. She has always told me that she felt as if she married someone much like her dad when she married me. I do not know how to explain this, but in spite of the fact that we never met until I came to America, he and I shared an enormous number of similar characteristics: the way we dressed, our innate vanity, our love of laughter. When I decided to change careers and leave Wall Street to become a chef, I started as a dishwasher. Sol always believed in me; even then, he knew I would find my way. We were different in many ways, but we both loved Nanci deeply. This is a family dish that he taught me how to make because it was Nancis favorite!'