Name: Katy Hadduck.

City: Simi Valley.

Specialty: Comfort food.

Secret: Surrounding food with people.

Saving lives: It's been a couple of years now, but the celebrations remain special. As a registered nurse for the Ventura County Fire Department, Katy Hadduck counts among her responsibilities the tracking of all cardiac arrests reported from the 31 fire stations in Ventura County.

When the firefighters go on a call for a cardiac arrest and the victim survives and is discharged from the hospital, Hadduck celebrates with the firefighters by preparing her special CPR French Toast.

"The firefighters enjoy it, and it's what we're here for," she said. "We fight fires, we do safety inspections, but we're here to save lives."

Stations' success: Although the celebrations are generally kept in-house, there was one memorable exception, involving a 5-week-old infant who was revived with CPR and was later discharged from the hospital in "great condition," Hadduck said, "because the dispatcher had taught the family CPR over the phone until the firefighters got to the home."

That family kept in touch with the station and was invited to the CPR breakfast.

"To see the paramedic who performed CPR on that baby — the last time he saw the infant, the baby was blue and limp — and seeing the baby alive and well brought tears to our eyes."

The proof of the stations' success lies in the many people who are walking around today because of these dedicated firefighters, Hadduck said.

"We also have bystanders and family who now know how to do CPR," she said.

Eating together: A mom for 26 years and a wife and nurse for 31 years, Hadduck has been quite adept in the kitchen for much of her life, though there was a time when her twins, Tom and Tyson, would beg to differ.

"When my kids were little, they would say, Could we go to Aunt Karen's house so she can make us dinner?'" she recalled with a chuckle.

Eating dinner together as a family has been an imperative in the Hadduck household.

"Whether it was wonderfully prepared or if I threw something together, we had to eat together," she said.

One of her best recipes is clam chowder with half-and-half, bacon, potatoes, onions and clams; another favorite is her chicken tortilla soup. "I love nourishing people with my nourishing spirit," she said.

CPR French Toast

1 1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

3/4 cup butter

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup

10 (1 3/4-inch thick) slices French bread

10 (1-inch-thick) slices soft-crust "Texas-Toast"-style bread

4 eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups milk or half-and-half

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, melted

Combine brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a medium saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Pour syrup evenly into a lightly greased 13x9-inch baking dish.

Arrange bread slices over syrup.

Combine eggs, milk, vanilla and salt. Stir well. Gradually pour mixture over bread slices. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

Combine sugar and cinnamon and stir well. Sprinkle evenly over soaked bread. Drizzle melted butter over bread.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately.

— To nominate an amateur chef to be a Cook du Jour, e-mail jprice@VenturaCountyStar.com.