Linx is recruiting single females 24-30, from any cultural heritage, 5’7”+ in height, feminine, fit, and natural in her appearance. She’s brainy, down to earth, globally aware and culturally curious, and flexible to work remote from anywhere in the world! Bonus points for highly educated! This is a search for two extremely eligible bachelors. No fees for qualifying women.
Email our founder Amy today: amy@linxdating.com
Amy Andersen is Silicon Valley’s undisputed Cupid, with lots of advice and a successful matchmaking business to spread the love from Redwood City to San Jose.
By: Michael McCarthy, Editor-in-Chief, for Modern Luxury Silicon Valley Magazine
Twenty years ago, Amy Andersen was living in Silicon Valley and in a serious relationship with a tech professional. The Marin County native says she was astounded by the number of eligible single male friends she had in the Valley—all of whom were looking for long-term love. “While these men lamented to me about their lonely hearts, I saw a very similar trend in San Francisco with my female friends,” says Andersen. “I had networked and connected with dozens of single women through the San Francisco chapter of the Junior League. These young professional women were having no issues getting dates, but were plagued by men who had no desire to commit.”
An idea—Linx Dating (linxdating.com)—was born. “I initially started Linx to bridge the gap between the men of Silicon Valley and the women of San Francisco,” says Andersen, who worked in private wealth management and public relations before launching Linx in 2003. “The business grew over the years and gained national and international recognition. I feel incredibly blessed that the demand is higher than ever some 18 years later, and I can’t believe that I get to match the most remarkable and dynamic men and women. I love my job.” During this month of amore, we asked Andersen about the power of her business, the secrets of finding a partner in the Valley and how to maintain the flame.
What special skills, or gut instinct, do you bring clients who are looking for love?
It’s really about access and pattern recognition. When you’ve been around for more than 18 years, you see a lot of patterns and have access to a lot of singles. I know the area well and have a good sense of the various demographics and psychographics—those who are single and looking for long-term commitment, as well as what tends to work and not work. I’ve seen network effects benefit the business; word travels and happy clients refer other great candidates to me, so I have a great pool from which to match people to each other or to [launch] an outbound search beyond the network.
That said, no two people are ever the same, and a huge part of what I do, once I match people, is provide ongoing coaching and advice to help couples realize the great potential that could be there between them and thus to avoid pitfalls and dating quicksand that could sink what might otherwise be an amazing relationship. Those skills come from, again, nearly two decades of seeing issues come up that can plague young couples.
What are the biggest challenges to finding someone special in Silicon Valley?
Certain challenges are not unique to Silicon Valley—busy people and lives and difficulty accessing the right pool of singles are issues in any market. But I would say that desire for anonymity and privacy—combined with impatience and ticking clocks—make volume dating on the apps very difficult and impractical. Hoping and waiting for the random introduction or lucky meeting to happen in the course of life is a nice thing that could happen, but it’s not a viable primary strategy to meet the one.
My clients have already bought into Linx, where I invest the cycles to really get to know and understand you, custom curate high-quality matches and provide a laser-focused and a highly confidential and private approach to dating to save what could be years of searching for that needle in a haystack. That said, I recommend to all clients that they should pursue multiple other channels in parallel to Linx to maximize the chances of success—whether [it means] online apps, where I’ve even helped with reviewing their profiles, or helping them think through how to put themselves in the best position to succeed by working on themselves.
What are some of the most surprising things you’ve learned recently about love and relationships in Silicon Valley?
Although this can be true anywhere, I find it especially true in the Valley—finding a balance between traditional gender roles and the reality of life today can be tough in dating and in the transition to relationships. So can the notion of nurturing patience and communication in a world of instant gratification and the rush to judgment. Also, in a place where the tech industry and engineering provide clear and analytical answers to problems every day, relationships fall into the gray area and require more emotional intelligence. Folks here, for the most part, can be more challenged in that area.
What are some things that can doom a new match or budding relationship?
Two matches can fixate too heavily on some early road bumps in a relationship, not taking the time to look at how much good there is and to work through the issues; they figure the grass must be greener on the other side. In other words, people here are wired to give up quickly instead of working through the hard stuff that ultimately makes a relationship so much more meaningful. Also, some of my clients have a hard time turning off the career talk in the early dates, and the date turns into business networking and has the feel of a job interview. I try to help them reveal a more balanced, authentic side. Finally, both male and female clients can get hung up in the game of not showing too much interest in the other person too early, and that can kill the buzz. I encourage clients to give an affirmation, if even subtle, if they’re interested. Intuition is one thing, but people aren’t mind readers or psychics!
How has technology, specifically dating apps, changed the calculus of dating since you launched Linx?
The availability of thousands of matches in the palm of your hand on a phone makes impatience and judgment easier. You could be swiping away your future partner and never meet the right person because you’re searching for someone better.
How has dating during COVID changed the delicate dance of dating and matchmaking?
This is more science and common sense than matchmaking. Obviously, going out a lot to meet random people at lounges and events is not the best practice right now. Phone calls, texts, Zooms are important early on, and that can create some pressure to address big issues in the initial stages versus just getting to know each other and building chemistry. So, I advise folks: If you feel something that could be meaningful, get on the same page with the person about vaccination and testing and see if there’s a safe way to get together to start building on the early good signs. My general advice would be start with a simple phone call to chat about COVID safety and then bridge that to an in-person [date]. It’s extremely hard for my clients and loved ones to find the sparks through a Zoom session. How can you truly feel the chemistry, read body language and truly discover if those pheromones are there?
Your advice for sustaining a loving relationship?
Give each other a ton of respect and latitude, try to refrain from harsh judgments, and develop an effective communication strategy from the start. Communicate as best you can. Different people have different ways of communicating, even if they don’t realize it.
Always have integrity, and do the right thing. Be consistent with your behavior. In other words, if you’re kind, non-judgmental and friendly to your colleagues or the stranger who walks past you on the street, don’t change the way you treat your partner behind closed doors. Be consistent with the way you handle your relationships, and honor your partner with respect.
Put in the hard work and keep tending to [a relationship] like a garden, nurture it every day. I encourage you and your partner to take a deep dive into relationship books like The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work(Harmony Books) by John & Julie Gottman, Wired For Love (New Harbinger Publications) by Stan Tatkin or Getting the Love You Want (St. Martin’s Griffin) by Harville Hendrix. Sometimes, I sometimes [encourage couples] to work with a therapist—not because your relationship is damaged, but because you want to have the tools in your toolkit to be the strongest, most resilient, loving couple possible. Always remember how lucky you are for all of the good there is, even when faced with challenges.
This is our travel issue. What are some of your favorite romantic getaways in Northern California?
In Napa, Solage in Calistoga (aubergeresorts.com/solage) is great to stay for a romantic weekend. Check out the new hip Pico Bar and the world-class pool, spa and amenities. I also love B Cellars (bcellars.com) winery in Oakville for the vino and food pairings, as well as the Far Niente (farniente.com) winery near Oakville for the sheer scenic beauty. There are so many amazing restaurants, but a few standouts are Charter Oak (thecharteroak.com) in St. Helena for casual gastronomique style, Brix (brix.com) near Yountville for the garden, beauty and freshness of the food, and R&D Kitchen (rd-kitchen.com) in Yountville for elegant, casual grilled fare.
In Sonoma, a favorite is the MacArthur Place Hotel and Spa (macarthurplace.com); it’s a lovely boutique hotel with a phenomenal restaurant, Layla—it’s some of the best food in Northern California, along with The Girl and the Fig (thegirlandthefig.com). Both are lovely settings for dates in relaxed settings.
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To read the February 2022 issue in the digital edition, please go here. To read this particular article by Editor-in-Chief, Michael McCarthy, please go here.
It is my pleasure to introduce a remarkable Bay Area based woman named Jessica Theroux to the Linx blog. I had the opportunity to visit with Jessica in the Spring of this year and we shared a wonderful afternoon getting to know one another. I was so impressed hearing her passion for cooking, but even more so at how soulful her story is. Jessica spent a year traveling throughout Italy, cooking and talking with Italian grandmothers as part of her research for her celebrated book – Cooking with Italian Grandmothers: Recipes and Stories from Tuscany to Sicily. Not to mention that celebrity chef, restaurateur, and author, Alice Waters, did the introduction to her cookbook!
I not only adored Jessica’s enchanting cookbook but loved how she truly embraces the “old world” and doesn’t forget how important tradition is, particularly in today’s fast-paced modern era. Her philosophy and passion tie so nicely into what Linx represents. So, on that note, with the holidays in full swing, I thought I would reach out to her to see… just see …if she might be able to suggest a recipe for our faithful readers. To my surprise, she presented me with a romantic, yet healthful and balanced, holiday menu for two, written especially for our readers! Enjoy!
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By: Jessica Theroux
Each year, as the craze of the holidays begin, my mind returns to the tranquility of the small Sicilian islands that I visited while researching for my book, Cooking with Italian Grandmothers. Life happened at a slower, gentler pace on those islands, the result of which was a rich experience for the senses. Days were spent in the warm ocean breeze, which carried with it the aromas of wild fennel and native mints, and the distant sounds of local men deftly catching fish for dinner. 
Breathtaking Sicilian coastline
With the pressure and demands of modern life lifted (there were barely any cars, let alone cell phone reception), endless hours were passed talking with and helping local grandmothers slowly prepare their delicious traditional dishes. 
Sicily
This simple, elegant menu for two evokes the ease and sensuality of those islands, while also bringing health and balance to the holidays through its focus on high-quality protein, and seasonal fruits and vegetables. A delightful dose of subtle hedonism runs throughout the dishes– in their use of heady fresh herbs and toasted spices, punchy citrus and creamy avocado, and in the silky texture of melted bittersweet chocolate tucked within plump dates.
This is the perfect seasonal meal to prepare for a love interest or dear friend—someone for whom you would like to offer an indulgent way to wind down and relax during, or after, the holidays.
MENU
Seared Tuna with a Coriander-Fennel Rub
Mache Salad with Clementine, Avocado, and Mint
Warm Dates with Hazelnuts and Bittersweet Chocolate, Fresh Mint Tisane
Serves Two
Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Execution Time: 15 minutes
Seared Tuna with a Coriander-Fennel Rub
This seared tuna is inspired by the Sicilian all-male tradition of hand-spearing migrating bluefin tuna; the most extreme expression of this being the annual “mattanza”, or culling, that happens along the west coast of the main island during the summer months. When the tuna is brought to land, local housewives spend weeks both grilling and oil-curing the bounty of their men’s catch. Here, crushed fennel and coriander seeds combine with citrus zest to create a bold crust upon searing; the tuna is also delicious grilled.
2 tuna steaks (yellowfin or bluefin) 6-8oz each and ¾ inch thick
*You can also substitute with another firm fish, such as halibut
Salt
Black pepper
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 clementines or tangerines, zested, with the flesh reserved
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Lightly toast the coriander and fennel seeds in a small skillet set over medium-low heat, 3-4 minutes. Remove the seeds from the heat immediately and crush them in a pestle and mortar, or clean spice or coffee grinder. Mix the ground spices together with the clementine zest and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
Rinse the tuna under cold water and pat it dry. Sprinkle generously with salt and black pepper on both sides, and rub thoroughly with the spiced oil.
Warm the remaining tablespoon of oil in a ridged or flat skillet set over medium-high heat. When the surface of the oil starts to shimmer, add the tuna steaks to the pan and turn the heat down the slightest bit. 
Sear the tuna for 2-3 minutes on the first side, until lightly browned. Flip the steaks, and sear the other side for 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the tuna. You can check its doneness by cutting into it. The above method and timing will cook the tuna so that it is still a little rare in the middle when you take it off the stove; it will continue to cook once removed from the heat and will be just pink at the time of serving. If you prefer a more rare-seared tuna, simply sear it for less time on each side; or, for a more well cooked fish, sear it for a little longer on each side.
Mache Salad with Clementines, Avocado and Mint
This salad offers a healthy and refreshing accompaniment to the seared fish, to be served alongside it. Be sure to combine the tuna with little bites of avocado and clementine—the combination is divine!
4 cups Mache, baby arugula, or other salad greens, washed and dried
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1 tablespoons minced fresh mint
1 avocado, cut into medium sized cubes
3 clementines or tangerines (from above)
1 scallion, washed and finely sliced
1 teaspoon sherry or champagne vinegar
3 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
To prepare the clementines, use a pairing knife to trim away the skin left over after zesting; to do this, cut from the top of the citrus down the sides to the bottom, as close under the white pith as you can manage. Slice the clementines crosswise to make pinwheels, or supreme them into wedges.
Place the salad greens in a large bowl and toss them with the scallion, chopped herbs, and a sprinkling of salt. Drizzle the vinegar over the greens, and toss lightly to distribute. Repeat with the olive oil. Lastly, add the avocado and clementines.
Plate the tuna on top of the salad, or with the salad to the side, as you prefer.
Dates with Hazelnuts and Bittersweet Chocolate, Fresh Mint Tisane
These warm, chocolate-stuffed dates are just about the easiest dessert on the planet! They take only five minutes to prepare, but provide a long lasting impression.
4-6 medjool dates
1-1.5 oz 90-99% cocoa chocolate, such as Lindt (the higher the cocoa content the better)
1 tablespoon roughly chopped hazelnuts, raw or toasted
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, rinsed
Preheat your oven to 250°F.
Make a slit lengthwise down one side of each date, remove the pit, stuff with a piece of dark chocolate and a sprinkling of hazelnuts, and press the date back together to close. Place in the oven for 7-10 minutes, until the dates are warm. 
Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Place the fresh mint leaves in a teapot (I like to make tisanes in a glass teapot, for the beauty of it), pour water (just off the boil) over the mint, and let steep 5-10 minutes.
Serve the dates on small plates, and enjoy with the refreshing mint tisane. 
Warm dates with Tisane
If you loved what you read here and want more of Jessica’s rustic Italian cooking, you can buy her book on Amazon for convenience sake here. 
Ustica
Jessica’s film found here
Last weekend, my husband, sister, and I had the pleasure of getting to spend a Friday with a lovely client over dinner. This dinner was not your average dinner. It was extraordinary. It was Italian. It was divine. My client had recently returned from Italia where he took some classes to continue to educate himself on rustic Italian cooking.
When we arrived he has the largest chunk of parmigiano reggiano that he had smuggled back into the US for us to sample and a colorful array of other cheeses, charcuterie, and the kicker- not only a loaf of walnut bread he made that morning (seriously…this is true) BUT fabulous flat bread he made as well. He was so sweet and kind answering some of the most ridiculous questions coming from me. I have so much to learn when it comes to cooking and what we loved seeing was how happy he was in his element- not to mention relaxed and having fun! 
We sipped wine, nibbled yummy appetizers and then the real fun began. Our evening was a cooking dinner party- part education, cooking, and eating. What a way to spend a Friday after a long week! He made the pasta from scratch and was the most patient cook I have ever witnessed…slowly folding the flour “volcano” into the eggs with a fork…ever so slowly. The pasta came out absolutely perfetto! He then taught us to make pesto using pistachios (versus pine nuts that can go rancid quickly) and an incredibly rich carbonara sauce. A short video montage my sister put together from the night.
The pièce de résistance was his Torta di Mele cake for dessert- once again completely made from scratch. Delicious apples, sliced paper thin, baked in almost a crepe batter until caramelized. The smell of the torta di mele poured through the oven and was so pretty to watch as it baked in the oven. He served it with a local San Francisco based Madagascar vanilla ice cream paired with ice cold limoncello.
With the holidays right around the corner, giving gifts of homemade limoncello is creative and something anyone would appreciate (also the perfect hostess gift!)Imagine your homemade limoncello poured over ice cream or pound cake. Here is a random video I found to see how it is made. Keep your bottles of limoncello in the freezer until ready to serve. The ingredients are simple and making a batch doesn’t require much work, but you’ll need some time. In most recipes, limoncello must steep anywhere from 40-60 days or so. So that means get started now!
We played board games, we laughed, and drove home that night in awe and with tummies extremely stuffed. He not only gets tremendous satisfaction out of cooking himself two meals a day using only the freshest ingredients from farmers markets but cooks regularly for friends. If we lived closer, I have a feeling we would be camping out on his porch daily waiting for meals of any kind.
Here is the recipe for the apple cake. It was SO good we are making this for this Thanksgiving: http://www.divinacucina.com/torta.html
5 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced paper thin
2 eggs, extra large
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
7 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons baking powder
Powdered sugar for decoration
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and lightly flour two round pizza pans or a 9×13 lasagne pan.
Beat the eggs and sugar together and add the flour, baking powder, milk, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Add the apple slices and pour into the prepared pan. Place the pan on the bottom of the oven for 10 minutes, then place in the center of the oven to cook until golden, about 1 hour. Torta di Mele is a very thin, rich cake that will bake down to about one-half inch. It will cut easier if you let it cool before serving. But you can reheat it in the oven before serving.
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