This year’s market looks to be one of the best yet, the Plaza lined snugly with a yummy selection of prepared food vendors, while festive local music acts are lined up to entertain, and all the areas most dedicated farmers in residence with their spectacular fresh fruits and vegetables.

Returning this year is two of my favorite prepared food vendors, the producers of all that beautiful, tummy grumbling wood smoke: Mike [the bejkr] and Rob Larman’s Cochon Volant BBQ.  Mike’s world-class breads are on offer from his stand on the west side of City Hall.  His gorgeous, crusty baguettes are dreamy, and could be dinner in themselves, but what you truly want are his crazy-good flatbreads.  His dough is nothing short of pizza dough perfection.  It has this wonderful, subtle yeastiness.  The edges char in the most wonderful way from the extreme heat of the fire and the crust always has the most delightful, ideal chew.  Toppings vary week to week and are always seasonal, obtained from other market vendors, but always feature a restrained amount of vegetables, slivered remarkably thin and finished with a few dots of some unique, and if we’re lucky, stinky cheese.  This is slow food at its finest, hence the inevitable, but so-worth-it, line.

Chef Rob Larman’s smoking metal pig stands sentry over the South side of the horseshoe to allow the porky smoke to drift westward.  Although, you can smell its beautiful fragrance from anywhere on the Plaza, it inevitably lures me right to it.  Pulled pork is difficult to resist. Larman’s version is ultra slow cooked, decadent and tender.  It arrives spilling extravagantly from a fluffy, pillowy potato bun.  I can’t help but pile the vinegary, pickled red onions on my sandwich; the tart onions and the rich, meaty pork are a match made in barbecue heaven.  If I am feeling particularly health-conscience – or just saving room for dessert – I might opt for his big smoked chicken salad.  Pretty greens and crisp vegetables for this dish and his seasonal sides are procured from Paul’s Produce, whose stand is hardly forty feet away.

A smattering of new vendors to the market this year features a plethora of new savory options for snacking or downright dining.  In addition to scrumptious sushi, Thai, Mediterranean, crepes, and more, market goers can now nibble on plump, nicely barbecued oysters, crispy fish and chips, grilled tri-tip, and even traditional, southern looking fried chicken I look forward to sampling.

Sweet things are always plentiful.  One could certainly get a sugar high in many forms here, from creative cupcakes and homemade pie, to kettle corn or even my favorite: Thai coconut sticky rice served with slices of fresh mango.  Typically, I tend to bypass most of those sticky sweets and choose from the divine array of fresh fruit from the farm vendors; Oh the cherries and the strawberries!

Although, my favorite new vendor at the market this year is hawking something sweet that I truly cannot resist. Sweet Peabody’s Homemade Sorbet sells sorbet from a cute little cart on the Northeast side of City Hall.  Each flavor changes based on what is in season at the market and are produced in small, handcrafted batches.  The decadent, Campfire Coconut is a lush, creamy concoction of fresh, young roasted coconut and a Silverado Strawberry tasted of nothing more than frozen, super sweet strawberries, intensified.  You’d never guess the Fierce Chocolate was cream-free, nothing more than a lush, velvety cup of frozen, surprisingly low-calorie, dark chocolatey goodness.  I am eager to taste each week’s fun, fruity creation.

I made the decision to move to Sonoma after strolling thru a Tuesday Farmer’s Market.  I figured that the whole town was there that night, picnicking, sipping wine, laughing, eating, and watching little kids dancing barefoot in the grass.  On that evening, I gawked at the massive tables spilling heirloom tomatoes and watched in wonderment as the line for hand-dipped corn dogs snaked practically around the block.  I knew at that moment that there couldn’t possibly be a more perfect, delicious place in the whole world to live.  I can’t help but think of that night each Tuesday and think how true that is.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

I am only back from the beach a few days when the craving for the hot, golden sun on my skin and soft sand beneath my feet, the smell of tropical fruit, of ocean, and coconut sunscreen — that unmistakable beachy smell — overwhelms me.  The beach, this year, has somehow taken hold of me, settling deeply within my soul.  A desire to be there won’t leave me alone.  The more I am there, floating in the sea thick with salt, the more I look up into those rustling palms, the more I long to return.  At the beach, all is forgotten with the real world.

We read, we swim, we walk, we swim again, and in between we have long, lazy conversations that the work and noise of the outside world would never allow.  Mostly, though, we sip something fruity.  And rum-filled.  Something that, no matter the beach, always arrives in a tall, festive glass, looking heavenly and frosty, always with a hunk of fresh fruit – pineapple, or possibly lime, teetering on the rim.  Beads of condensation hang slowly and then drip from the bottom of the glass, chilling my chest, my belly.

Just the smell of rum transports me to the islands; it epitomizes the carefree vibe of the beach, of summer no matter where you drink it. Rum is the ideal thirst quencher.  I am sorry Wine Country, but sometimes (many times) summer situations simply call for rum.

Drinking rum in Wine Country has always felt worrisome, ordering it out, I’m afraid I might offend the winemaker more than likely sitting at the bar next to me.  But thanks to the clever folks at Sonoma’s Prohibition Spirits a gal can get her tiki cocktail fix with a bit of Wine Country goodness thrown in.  The team that first brought us a modern, Northern California version of the Italian liquor lemoncello, with HelloCello Lemocello di Sonoma, and then my go-to winter sipper, Hooker’s House bourbon, has now, happily, launched Sugar Daddy rums.

The rum’s cute name refers to Adolf Spreckels, a sugar baron, industrial tycoon, and long-ago Sonoma resident.  The trio of rums — light, amber, and dark — were concocted in the Caribbean and then finished in true Sonoma style with aging in used wine barrels.  The light rum appropriately lingers briefly in oak barrels that once matured Carneros chardonnay resulting in rich, surprisingly, tropical flavors of banana, coconut, and pineapple.  The barrel adds an additional bouquet of yumminess that suggests citrus, pear, and flowers all the while adding a pretty straw blonde color.

I can’t help but crave a Mai Tai every time I glimpse the Sugar Daddy Amber rum sitting innocently atop of the little red Chinese cabinet that doubles as my cocktail bar.  Its glowing, burnished hue is the result of a lengthy aging in charred French oak chardonnay barrels.  This more intense caramel and vanilla-soaked rum is scrumptious simply over ice, but I am addicted to a version of the aforementioned Hawaiian cocktail heavy on the almond liquor and light on the not-from-concentrate version of Trader Joe’s pineapple juice.  The very same amber rum resulted in a killer, über boozy dessert of Bananas Foster, dramatically set afire and served at a recent dinner party at my casita.

It was in Bimini, at a shanty of a bar perched at the end of a terrifyingly creaky dock the very first time I drank a dark rum and pineapple juice.  Little did I know that this very drink would become my ‘beach drink’ for maybe the rest of my life.  I can’t tell you what about this combination is so utterly perfect.  Dark rum has these exotic hints of burnt sugar and dark honey, vanilla bean and spice.  And pineapple?  Fresh pineapple tastes solely of sweet honey, of lychee, of sun, and pineapple… it just tastes of the beach.  I am transported to that day, on that dock, overlooking the pale, see-through sea no matter where I sip a dark rum and pineapple juice.  Sugar Daddy dark rum is the ideal rum and pineapple sort of dark rum.  Prohibition Spirits ages it two years in emptied Hooker’s House bourbon barrels.  Dark rum perfection, Wine Country style.

Find Prohibition Spirits rums locally at Sonoma Market, Whole Foods, and Plaza Liquors, or Prohibition-spirits.com

Sugar Daddy Mai Tai

• Serves one
• 2 oz. Sugar Daddy Amber Rum
• 5 oz. POG juice (pineapple, orange, guava)
• Fun garnish

This is probably the fastest, easiest and most delicious pool cocktail for summer.  Combine Sugar Daddy Amber Rum and POG juice in an ice filled glass. Garnish with fruit, flowers, mint an umbrella or anything fun. Okole maluna!

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

We all get something from our mothers, I suppose.  A girlfriend inherited her striking, thick eyebrows and a gal I work with, her loud, happy laugh.  My own little sister thanks mom for her pale blue eyes, the color of the clear Bahamian sea, the very same water where mom first took her swimming as a baby.  A favorite cousin has remarkable moxie, no doubt passed along from my also extremely determined aunt.

Maybe we’ve adopted certain quirky mannerisms from mom?  You can’t help but chew on the end of your pen or possibly, also like mom, you can’t help but to continuously tuck that very same stray strand of hair behind your ear.  I got my own sapphire-colored eyes from mom and a thing for romance novels, it seems.  There would be endless traits from mom that I would be thrilled to have received: her feistiness, her perseverance, her sincerity.

Though, what I am most grateful she passed along to me?  Her obsession, her passion, her complete and total love for food.

I try so hard sometimes to recall my first food memories; foggy except for a fluffy coconut cake, in the shape of a bonnet-wearing duck, smooshed between my fat fingers.  Spaghetti, which I slurped off the yellow tray of my highchair. There are fleeting recollections of slimy seeds, pulled from a Halloween pumpkin, that mom roasted and heavily salted so we kids could snack on them in lieu of sugary Tootsie Rolls.  My mom was a foodie before there were foodies.

Sauces were homemade.  Recipes were torn with care from magazines, exotic ingredients searched out, the dishes tediously constructed and placed excitedly before her family.  Baby chicks were mail ordered and delivered to our wide-eyed postmaster, mom looked so forward to their fresh, orange-yolked eggs, but merely received a fine from the city instead.

Mom was a hunter’s wife.  Unusual fowl arrived most Saturdays from dad’s early morning excursions.  I sat wide-eyed on the deck with mom in a flurry of feathers as she plucked them expertly.  Winter holidays, mom was always in the kitchen braising some hunk of venison, slow-cooked stews heavy with red wine and little potatoes or the coveted back strap, quickly seared rare and garnished with nothing more than some Norwegian lingonberry jam.  Favorite memories were these holidays spent with mom in the kitchen, coming out occasionally asking dad to shuck her an oyster, soon perched on a Saltine, with plenty of hot sauce.  My holidays will forever require oysters, wild game, and mom’s coconut studded fruitcake.

I vaguely remember my parents’ parties as a kid, with off-limits adult food lavishly covering the buffet.  Teeny, chilled crab claws dunked in a heavenly, mustardy sauce and buttery puffs of pastry cradling a heady smelling mixture of mushrooms and wine.  I had an utter addiction to the strange, cake-shaped mass of soured cream, hard-cooked egg, and salty, black fish eggs she called ‘caviar pie.’  Mom, even though the kids were to stay upstairs, looked the other way as I snuck into the foyer and gobbled up the stinky cheeses and globs of smoked fish dip, fancy crudite, gigantic chocolate-dipped strawberries.

I knew early on mom was different from other moms, that at our house we ate ‘weird stuff.’  I was torn between appreciating our delicious dinners, my strange bagged lunches, and thinking we were surely missing something, missing something yummy other families were dining on.  I loved our family’s heavy bread, studded with seeds and nuts.  I coveted mom’s dark baking chocolate, which was off-limits without permission, so much tastier than the waxy milk version my friends always had on hand.

Mom’s spaghetti sauce boiled for hours on the stovetop, strangely, but deliciously loaded with chunks of carrot and flecks of herb.  Mashed potatoes were always buttery and real, almost always accompanied by little, steamed, bright green, frozen peas.  Oh, how I loved these strange things although I wondered why our bread wasn’t white, why our sandwiches had crusts.  Why our peanut butter sandwiches, on the rare occasion we even had one in our lunch box, never dripped that curious grape colored jelly, but slivers of banana instead.  Why we never opened our lunch boxes to find dessert, but always found a hand written note on a napkin, signed ‘love, mom.’

Missing breakfast was not an option and I never wanted to if I was allowed to use the fun, saw-shaped knife to cut segments from softball sized pink grapefruits.  (On rare occasions we were permitted access to the sugar bowl, sprinkling a liberal quantity on top of the pink fruit before scooping each segment into our mouths and finally squeezing the juice into the bottom of the bowl, and drinking it straight from there.)  Breakfasts were sometimes simply oatmeal, boring maybe in other homes, but in ours mom remedied that with a scandalous spoonful of crunchy peanut butter left melting on top.  Saturday eggs were poached, the yolks always left runny, mom’s warm, homemade hollandaise sauce spooned luxuriously on top.  My child brain wondered why we couldn’t just go to McDonald’s instead, even as I used the last bite of my English muffin to clean the last drop of sauce from my plate.

Birthday dinners, mom would make whatever our little hearts desired.  I couldn’t get enough of the massive artichokes she steamed, leaving us kids to clamor obnoxiously over each other to dip our leaves in the lemony melted butter.  How I was fascinated at the big tooth marks we left in each leaf, couldn’t believe a dinner could consist of these strange vegetables and nothing more than bread to catch the buttery drippings, followed by my favorite birthday dessert, angel food cake with sugared strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  Did I want pizza take-out like the other kids got?  Why did I think that was more special than mom’s coffee-rubbed leg of lamb and homemade scalloped potatoes?

Mom got me my first restaurant job, at 13.  Mom passed along her passion for spicy food, for all meals Indian and Thai.  She always has fresh flowers on the dining room table and now, so must I.  She will drive hours for a meal, fly across the country even.  And now, so will I.  She taught me the importance of good cheese, of daily wine, of a special, home-cooked meal, no matter how little else one has.  I still don’t eat fast food or drink soda or buy junk food thanks to my mom.  My tomatoes sit on the counter, my herbs grow in a window box, all of my dressings are homemade, and my birthday meals are still a really big deal… all thanks to mom.  Food is not just something to shovel in my mouth. Meals are special occasions, because of mom.  Most of all, mom never let us kids go hungry no matter how tough times got.

My life is utterly delicious because of my mom. Thank you and happy Mother’s Day, mom.

Kristin’s foodie tip of the week: It is berry time

Local, first-of-the-season cherries and strawberries have arrived!  It’s immeasurably exciting to see the first fruits of spring after an entire citrus-filled winter.  If I were a poet, I would write an ode to the fruits… little red spheres of happiness, how do I love thee?  Is there anything more joyful than biting into a still warm-from-the-vine strawberry?  I think not!  And, the sweetest in Sonoma are harvested and sold at the little stand on Watmaugh and Arnold Drive. This weekend — hooray! — gorgeous, ruby red and pale yellow cherries were proudly displayed at the Friday market and at little stands set up, roadside, all around town.  They are the cherry ideal: firm, juicy and just so sweet.  This time of year, I am sometimes afraid that I may just turn cherry-red from over-consumption.  It is a berry delightful week!

Coffee-Basted Birthday Lamb

Recipe inspired by mom

Mom always served this flavorful lamb rare, sliced thin, accompanied by little roasted red potatoes and asparagus with homemade hollandaise sauce. Serves 6

• 1 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups strong brewed coffee
• 1 (3 3/4-pound) boneless leg of lamb, well-trimmed, butterflied

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 475°F. Stir brown sugar, espresso powder, and cloves in small bowl with a little water until sugar and coffee dissolves. Place lamb, fat side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread 1/3 of spice mixture evenly over. Turn lamb over. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Spread evenly with remaining spice mixture. Roast lamb until thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 130°F for medium-rare, about 25-30 minutes, basting every five minutes with brewed coffee.  Transfer to platter. Let rest 10 minutes. Slice thinly and serve.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.–

I ’ve been away for weeks it seems, traveling for fun, traveling for work.  It seems tragic to leave Sonoma this time of year when it is just so darn pretty.  Tragic to leave Sonoma almost always; you know I miss the food here… and the wine.  A portion of this month I spent on a beach.  In Mexico.  I know, very hard to complain.  We ate very well, don’t get me wrong, and drank well too (how I love those Baja wines) but days before my return to Sonoma I began dreaming of a ham biscuit.

Not just any old ham biscuit, but a fluffy, golden, buttery version stacked with thin, salty, Southern ham, and smeared to the point of overflow with whatever house-made jam happens to be in season.  I am talking about ham biscuit heaven from the Fremont Diner.  Merely hours from my return, the Mini practically drives itself there, my tummy clenched with excitement, me and Mr. B eager for a mimosa-filled, lazy Sunday brunch gobbling said biscuits, deviled eggs, and those little fried chicken sandwiches he is so utterly fond of.  We pull in, all giggles and happiness and see what can only be described as a skinny jean-wearing mob snaking out the front door.

Sadly, there was to be no brunch for us that Sunday.  I am afraid the world has heard about just how crazy-good the Fremont is and, they too, are craving some Southern fried goodness.

Dreams of a biscuit shattered, we resolve to make mimosas at home while devouring an entire gooey wheel of Mt. Tam, somewhat consoled by the fact that we’re not shoulder to shoulder with mass quantities of out of town hipsters, but instead lounging poolside on a glorious, sunny, Sonoma Sunday.  We vow to return that very evening for dinner.  When this girl gets a biscuit in her head, there simply ain’t no getting around it.

Yes, the Fremont is open for dinner Thursday thru Sunday and I am truly torn about reminding you all so.  I cannot bear to think about those crowds stealing my favorite picnic table at dinner time, too, the one shaded from the low, early evening sun.  The one where chickens peck at the crumbs around your feet and you can watch the grass-covered hills first turn tawny and then the palest pink, and finally lavender under the setting sun.

Dinner at the Fremont is so close to Sunday suppers back down south, it is impossible to not feel just a little bit homesick.  A happy homesick.  Starters arrive directly from my time in the mountains back east.  Boiled peanuts are hot, strangely, but joyfully, mushy.  Addictive.  Potato chips are pulled from the deep fryer and doused with spicy crab boil, the powder sticking to your fingers, salty goodness washed down with a cold can of beer.  Mason jars of bubbly and a mouthful of deviled egg leave me teary eyed.  I am so happy here.  This is happy food if I have ever known it.  I will never tire of the wide-eyed stares when the tattoo’d staff arrive loaded down with kitschy cafeteria trays practically bending from the weight of the meal.  This is my idea of gorgeous food.  Down-home, simple, pure country fare served with little fuss.  Just plain good.

Fried chicken with its skin crackling and barbecued meats glistening under a blanket of brick-colored sauce, edges and ends black from char are just like my grandma used to make.  Dinner, like a solid old south church potluck, piles of meat and endless bowls of vegetable sides, and everyone reaching over each other to get a bit of those vinegary greens or one more spoonful of mashed potatoes dripping with pan gravy.  I’ll have my very own biscuit and possibly nothing more than a few vegetable sides.  Oh, and a bite or two of your chicken please.

Fluorescent spring peas bob in a minty broth of butter and green onion, bubbling macaroni and cheese is, thank the heavens, not at all fancy.  Sticky beans are baked, utterly delicious, rich with smoked pork and molasses maybe.  A little bowlful of black eyed peas, spotted with white onion, is comfort food at its finest.  Dinner here passes in a fog of honey, in which the southern gal in me must dip the chicken, and the biscuit.  I cannot stop, but must.  Maybe just one more sliver of homemade dill pickle.

Just like good southerners we order dessert, unsure of where we might physically put it.  Caramel cake, drenched in an amber frosting and baked in a massive cast iron skillet is surprisingly not too sweet, although simply looking at it makes my teeth hurt.  Shakes are thick, served the old-fashioned way, in a parfait glass, the metal cup arriving with what won’t fit in the glass.  Again, caramel is the star here, in a salted ice cream version.  I only wished I had room for the super spring sounding homemade strawberry shortcake.  Finally, I am content, my happy belly full of biscuit.

Kristin’s foodie event pick of the week

It’s a Salsa Dance Party and Dinner at Nicholson Ranch Winery this Saturday, May 4.  The event starts at 5:30 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres, followed by salsa dance lessons, and a live performance by the Bay Area’s Julio Bravo y su Orquesta Salsabor!  The delicious sounding dinner from Chef Rob Larman’s Cochon Volant begins with mini empanadas and ceviche tostadas, and continues with chili-lime grilled steak and smoked achiote chicken breast with tasty sounding Latin sauces and side dishes.  Tickets for wine club members are $60, while regular pricing is $80.  Dinner, wine and music are all included.  Tickets can be purchased from their website at shop.nicholsonranch.com/main.sc or by calling the tasting room at 938.8822 x15.

Southern Cream Biscuits

Recipe inspired by the Fremont Diner

Makes 12

• 4 cups all-purpose flour plus more
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled butter, cubed
• 1 1/2 cups (or more) heavy cream plus more for brushing

Special equipment: A 3” diameter biscuit cutter

Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk 4 cups flour and next 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter; blend with your fingers until pea-size pieces form. Add 1 1/2 cups cream; stir until dough forms, adding more cream by tablespoonfuls if dry. Transfer to a lightly floured surface; roll to 3/4” thickness. Using biscuit cutter, cut into rounds. Repeat until all dough is used. Transfer biscuits to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush tops with cream and transfer to oven. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

Just what is a ‘good burger’ anyway?

Is it the beef?  The fat ratio or the size of the grind?  Charcoal, gas or a dirty-in-a-good-way diner griddle?  It could quite possibly be all about the bun.  Kaiser or Dutch crunch?  An English muffin is always a fine idea.  Dire decisions such as to toast or not to toast, soft or crisp.  Is cheese a must or — the horror! — a must not?  For burger bliss shall there be a plethora of toppings… say, a sauté of mushrooms spilling out, or porky strips of bacon hanging dramatically over each side?  Possibly, the most crucial choice: iceberg or romaine, bib or red leaf.  The lettuce could simply make it or break it.

And one couldn’t judge a burger without first considering the condiment.  Classic catsup, flavored mayonnaise, and a gazillion varieties of mustard are merely the beginning.  The burger, a dish rooted so deep in our American beings, is easily more personal to each of us than any other.

The burger in my own life has been an ongoing evolution.  I remember first favoring a thin patty, heavy on the gooey deli Swiss, plain except for a big squirt of Heinz, leaning this side of greasy.  A kid sort of burger.  By my teens, my mom’s funky raw green bell pepper burger became mine as well.  It was more than likely due to the requisite pile of stinky blue cheese melting, last minute like, on top.  The burgers of my twenties were hazy, typically gobbled down in a hungover haze, nothing more important than the necessity of grease and carbs.

I can’t remember when I stopped craving a burger regularly.  Stopped wanting bite after big bite of beef.  Now, I only want one, possibly two perfect bites; I want a slider.  A tiny patty charred ever so briefly.  Rare on the inside, but hot enough to melt the cheese.  I need the cheese.  A big grinding of black pepper, a slathering of homemade mayo.  Nothing fancy.  A nice little slice of juicy tomato, if it so happens to be the season, and always a heavy-handed sprinkling of good, thick salt.

Don’t even think about adding shredded lettuce.

It is now burger time.  Summer is practically upon us.  Memorial Day is right around the corner.  I have heard the first rumblings of group barbecues, of cleaning up the grill.  I have caught myself lingering over those itsy bitsy slider paddies in the case at Sonoma Market, plotting summer grill competitions.  I have burgers on the brain.  But, maybe not as much as my very good friend, Sonoma resident, and blogger Mike Clouse.  Mike lives, breathes, possibly dreams of the burger.  Although, perhaps not as much as he does beer.  Over burgers (and beer, of course)  we recently talked about, what else, burgers and beer.

Kristin: Hey Mike, your blog is really great!  Tell me about it,

Mike: In Jan 2011, I decided I wanted to start a blog and was told to pick a topic that I am passionate about, a topic that I would love to talk about. I thought for, like five-seconds, it was like BAM!  Great burgers, craft beer, and my favorite bike rides.  My blog hubsandhops.com is a place where I can share my passion for those things as well as a place for me to just write and share my ideas and thoughts about my life and my family as well.

Kristin: I bet you have a favorite Sonoma Valley burger!  Where do you go out for one around town?

Mike: Without a doubt, the Fremont Diner has the most kick ass burger in town… bacon, just say’n!  Runners up would definitely be the girl and the fig burger with a big slab of brie and a farm egg on top.  The Hopmonk burger is a good one.  It’s simple, but with a cold IPA, yes please!

Kristin: Oh my gosh, I do love the Fremont’s burger.  Those fries are definitely my ‘fry ideal!‘  I recently heard that Restaurant Rudy makes a really great burger… so juicy you truly cannot put it down.  For me, juiciness is a burger requirement. What makes a burger good, in your opinion?

Mike: Freshness and quality of ingredients for sure.  Organic, local produce and beef is a great start.  A bun can make or break a burger, too — big and over the top is just as bad as wimpy and plain.  It just needs work.  Another big component to a great burger is the joint that serves it up. To me, the atmosphere matters. Clean, fun, and high energy works every time, and of course a huge element is the beer on tap.  You just have to have some great beer to go with the burger. Like a pint of Lil Chief from our local Sonoma Springs Brewing, which pairs great with a burger.

Kristin: The bun just might be the most important factor in my burger-building.  The English muffin from the Model Bakery is the bomb.  I also adore the soft, beautiful potato buns from A.B.C Baking in downtown Napa.  They make the best tiny slider buns!  I rarely order a burger out, I’m more a ‘grill them at the park’ sort of gal.  Do you make your burgers at home?

Mike: Not often really. I like so many special ingredients and sides that it ends up costing me like forty dollars for my burger, ha-ha!  It is fun to do with a group though, having some friends over and coming up with some fun burger ideas is great.  Sonoma Market is my first place to shop for sure. Their meat department is amazing and they have slider buns, too, which is cool for a party.

Kristin: I just cut a tasty looking recipe from a magazine for quinoa burgers!  I bet you are not an ‘alternative burger’ type of guy!

Mike: Yah, not so much.  I mean a tuna or veggie ‘burger’ may be good, but in my mind they are just a different food. A burger is beef.

Kristin: What has been your most memorable burger experience?

Mike: The famous ‘Sonoma Burger Cook Off’ without a doubt.  That was the most burger fun I have ever had, even if I did get robbed of the championship title!

Kristin: Ha-ha!  Well, I am sure that the best burger won fair and square!  What is on your burger bucket list?”

Mike: Locally, I need to get over to the Hot Box for Norm’s killer burger and duck fat fries.  I just got hungry saying that, true story.  Also the burger on Glen Ellen Star’s new lunch menu is on my radar for sure.  To be honest there are a lot of great burgers out there and, in their own unique way, are awesome and worth checking out.  For me, at the end of the day, a good burger is really about the people I’m enjoying that burger with that makes all the difference.  Having great food and a cold beer with my wife or with friends really makes the burger that much better!

Kristin: I couldn’t have said it better,

Check out Mike’s charming blog at hubsandhops.com.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

I breathe a big, deep belly breath here and smile.  Mmm, I just love that smell.  This is the official beginning of Wine County in my opinion, where I feel like I’ve arrived home.  Just as I crest that hill, my first view of the vines, the tangle of wild roses along the road, I finally relax here for the first time since coming thru the craziness of the city traffic.  The Sonoma sun still golden, the Carneros winds warm and fierce, my shoulders begin to soften.  It is here I breathe, and I think, “Yay, I am home!”

Inevitably, my next thought is, “Oh no.  What’s for dinner?”

When driving home from the City in the late afternoon, as I often do, I simply cannot bear to think about braving Sonoma’s downtown traffic or even quickly popping into the market.  I cannot bear to think of going even one minute out of my way in lieu of heading straight home.  Leave it to Wine Country to provide for the makings of a magnificent meal that can be easily procured without actually having to step foot into a grocery store.  One can do goodie gathering in as little as one stop, right along Highway 121.

The Fruit Basket is always my first stop.  I like strolling around here, under the wide awnings, probably once a cheery green, now a faded olive.  I like looking at all the interesting products and dreaming up dinner from their old, sometimes dusty, wooden shelves.  I bet most cars whizzing by this slightly shabby, open-air market have no idea of the wonders inside.  A wonderful dinner could simply be gathered here, no additional stops required.

Rustic crates hold towering piles of fruits and veggies of every sort.  Three types of sweet potatoes, perfect apples, local asparagus, exotic edible cactus, and the most affordable citrus around just to name a few.  Imported gourmet goods, generously stocked, include pastas and fancy Italian sauces, jars of olives, canned fish and beans, and olive oils and vinegars.  Wide planked tables hold bags of every type of dried bean imaginable and a wide assortment of colorful dried fruit.  Tall cooler cases in back showcase Clover dairy products — get your milk here! — eggs, and a respectable selection of cheeses, local and imported.  Six packs of beer and white wine are kept cold and ready to be sipped the minute you arrive home.  I always hope to find a surprising bottle while browsing the bountiful section of red wine, and I often do.

There are days when I crave a steak dinner.  These days, Highway 121 shopping is ideal.  I’ll breeze thru the Fruit Basket for a couple of russet potatoes to be scrubbed, rubbed with olive oil and rolled in coarse salt, and baked until fluffy.  A pile of fresh spinach is my ideal when sautéed and folded into a quick Béchamel and baked until bubbling.  There is nothing more delicious with a good, rare steak then a big tomato, cut in half, drizzled with olive oil and copious amounts of salt.  Simply roast until caramelized and charred around the edges.  Yum.

A mile or so up the highway I pull into Angelo’s Deli.  I feel confident that the best spots to get a steak always have a cow on the roof, and here it is certainly the case.  The accommodating gals will chop of a hunk of NY strip just for you.  Just show them how wide using your thumb and pointer finger.  I prefer to get a big one to share, maybe even with a few slices left for lunch the next day.  The steaks here are perfect, beefy and rich, just what I want in those very rare occasions I actually want to indulge in a steak.

If I haven’t grabbed a bottle of wine from the Fruit Basket, this is Wine Country after all, so there are certainly many choices for finding something special along the way.  There are evenings that call for some bubbly…well, every evening should call for bubbly, but some simply scream it.  In these instances, I’ll swing into Gloria Ferrer for a bottle of Blanc de Noir.  Maybe even a quick tasting.  I also love to stop by Cornerstone for a quick Blue Bottle coffee from Park 121 and to pick up a bottle of something red and delicious from Meadowcroft Winery, who’s charming tasting room is always fun to visit.

There are certainly many, many perks to living in Sonoma.  We are truly surrounded by deliciousness everywhere you look.  From corner gas stations, to winery tasting rooms, and country farm stands, it is always fun to search out local ingredients and interesting products.  It is always fun to get your dinner along the highway!

Kristin’s event pick of the week

It is time for the kids to be in charge of the backyard! This Sunday, April 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Andrea of Quarter Acre Farm hosts a “Kids Gardening Class.”  For children ages 5 to 8 years old, Andrea will demonstrate what veggies are perfect for kids to grow to create a tasty backyard year round!  Kids will have the opportunity to make their own newspaper pots and plant seeds to take home.  The cost is only $20 per parent/child combo ($5 for each child or parent) and will be held at the Stone House (HWY 12 Properties office) at 147 East Spain Street.  Reservations are required as space is very limited. RSVP to quarteracre-kidgarden.brownpapertickets.com or quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com.

Steakhouse Creamed Spinach

Serves 6

• 3 lb baby spinach
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Cook spinach in 2 batches in 1 inch of boiling salted water in an 8-quart pot, stirring constantly, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Squeeze small handfuls of spinach to remove as much moisture as possible, then coarsely chop. Heat milk and cream in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until warm. Meanwhile, cook onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add warm milk mixture in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in nutmeg, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until heated through.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

The hand written menu was in Spanish, nothing more than Cuban café, cortadito, and cafe con leche.  A few buttery looking pastries graced the counter, some sweet and filled with guava or fresh sweetened cheese, and a savory version with ground beef and raisins.  I ordered what would become a major addition of mine the five years I lived on South Beach…a cortadito.  An extremely strong, rich portion of espresso with equal amounts of steamed milk — no froth! — with, an absolute must in the Cuban culture, a dangerous amount of sugar.

There were many things about the Cuban culture that I quickly fell in love with.  Rum-soaked nights salsa dancing, sticky, tooth-achingly sweet plantains, not to mention the people themselves.  So, when my great friend, fellow foodie, and Sonoma resident Katharine K., told me she was off on an adventure to the Caribbean island I was incredibly jealous.  I sat her down over coffee, sadly not the Cuban variety, and insisted she fill me in on every fascinating detail of her journey and thought, how fun, to share with you her story.

Kristin: I know it is still fairly difficult for American citizens to travel to Cuba. Who organized the trip and how did you find out about it?

Katharine: The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art sent out a note advertising the trip. Our visas came through Californians Building Bridges, a nonprofit started by (Sonoma developer) Darius Anderson to bring people to Cuba on a people-to-people humanitarian license. The organization is interested in giving more people the opportunity to visit Cuba and to see for themselves the difficulty that the US embargo inflicts on the Cuban people.

Kristin: Why were you interested in visiting Cuba?

Katharine: I was interested because the trip was going to focus on the art of Cuba and would give the group access to some of the best artists in the country.

Kristin: Tell me about the rest of your group.

Katharine: Most of the people in the group, 17 of us, were from Sonoma. There was one from L.A. and two from N.Y.

Kristin: Did the food have any part in your desire to visit Cuba?

Katharine: Several years ago the fellow who cut my hair in Oakland went to Cuba with his partner. He reported that the food they ate was not very interesting, mostly black beans and rice for every meal along with a little stringy chicken. Undaunted, I bought three Cuban cookbooks and tried cooking from them. It is true that black beans and rice is a staple of the Cuban diet, but, as the cookbooks revealed, there was a lot more variety: wonderful salads, pulled pork, a great beef dish called picadillo, and plenty of sweets like flan.  I didn’t expect the food to be the highlight of the trip and it wasn’t, but it was very good and there was enough variety to keep the meals interesting.

Kristin: What were a few of the meals you enjoyed the most?

Katharine: My favorite places to eat were the “paladars,” small privately owned restaurants. When they first originated they could only seat 12 people in the family home and could only be staffed by members of the family. The restrictions are less limited now, they can seat as many as 50 and can hire people from outside the family, but they are still quite intimate and the food is often quite good. For example, the first night we ate at Paladar Los Mercaderes in the old part of Havana. It was a feast. We began with three different spreads for the house-made bread: butter with herbs, blue cheese with fruits, and olive oil with herbs. Then very thinly sliced dried beef, octopus with pesto and fried onions, lobster in a lobster shell, a lamb stew, a chicken stew, rice, and chocolate cake for dessert. We were blown away.

Kristin:  Wow, that sounds like such fun!  Were there any foods that you considered to be strange or exotic?

Katharine: Spiny lobsters are caught in the waters surrounding Cuba. They are delicious. My favorite dish cooked with them was a spicy tomato sauce with large chunks of the lobster.

Kristin: Did you happen to visit any Cuban food markets?

Katharine: I did go to a grocery store, populated by locals, which was right across from the hotel. I must say there wasn’t anything very interesting in the place and not even much on the shelves! It was a Saturday late afternoon so maybe it was depleted by the weekend shoppers?

Kristin: When I lived in Miami, I loved the Mojitos!  What did y’all drink? Great cocktails? Coffee? Was there wine?

Katharine: I loved the rum! Mojitos are the most frequently offered drink there. The first afternoon when we walked into the hotel to check in, they even offered us each a mojito. One evening we went to the famous Tropicana for the fabulous show with dancers wearing gigantic headdresses, wonderful music, and singing… a real Cuban Las Vegas kind of show.  Our tables were set with five bottle of Havana Club rum, ice, bottles of cola for making Cuba Libres and various munchies. I drank rum over ice there and it was great. But, I really did love the mojitos. A small group of us went to the bar where Ernest Hemingway went to drink mojitos. There was wonderful coffee, too. We visited a coffee producing area and stopped for a break at a coffee house. I had a vanilla-flavored espresso and it was incredibly smooth and delicious. Every morning I had a latte. There was wine, but I wasn’t that interested in it!

Kristin: It sure sounds like a wonderful experience. What would you say was the highlight of the trip?

Katharine: The visits with the artists in their studios. The last night we had a party in the garden of two artists who are brothers. Their work was hung in the gallery on the ground floor and the garden was decorated with lights and a fellow was making mojitos. We enjoyed a beautiful buffet of roasted pork, black beans and rice, croquettes, carrots, beets, squash, Cuban sweet potatoes and rice pudding for dessert. The night ended with a performance of Carlos Varela, the Bob Dylan of Cuba, and his band. It was transporting, not understanding a word, but feeling it all.

Kristin: Would you return to Cuba? If so what would you like to do this time or do again?

Katharine: Yes I would love to go back to Cuba. This time, I’d like to get outside Havana more, into the countryside. I would like to stay in a hotel in Old Havana which would make it easier to participate in the street scene of the old part of the city. I would like to see more artists, possibly some women and some up and coming artists that are not so well known and famous as the ones we met. I would definitely like to have more time to hang out in the streets and talk with people.

Kristin: What advice would you give to someone interested in traveling to Cuba?

Katharine: Go! Don’t wait. It is fascinating.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

For many of the wet winter months, there isn’t much happening around town, and that is really all right with most of us.  Now that the sun is beginning to make more frequent appearances and it feels as if town is waking up from its annual winter nap and I have felt more like getting out.  Exploring.  I’ve felt more like discovering what yummy developments have occurred while I was burrowing under my down comforter.

Below, a few excellent ideas if you’re in the mood for getting out, and discovering some deliciousness as well.

In what was once the, mostly vacant, Sonoma Court Shops and has thankfully now become the fabulously bustling “Tasting Room Alley,” behind Chico’s on the Plaza, you’ll find a heavenly little storefront, not so curiously named Sigh.  It is here, at the fabulously conceived and sweetly coined all-sparkling wine tasting room, that you can cozy up to the bar or a tiny cafe table and sample a plethora of sparkling wines from near and far.  Select a flight of various bubbles or indulge in a whole glass, or more.  It is an adorable place for an outing with the girls or a romantic beginning to date night with your honey.  On a recent visit, yes with my honey, a flight of three beautiful, pale rosés were simply scrumptious.  Sigh is right.  Call 996.AHHH (cute) or visit sighsonoma.com for details on hours, events, and offerings.

Settle into the lovely little bar or a comfy corner booth at Restaurant Rudy, it could easily be one of the more refreshing spots right now for discovering deliciousness in Sonoma.  We popped in recently for a pre-movie nibble and perused the perfectly sized menu, which features a mere handful of carefully chosen starters and main courses.

That particular Friday evening, Rudy had me at liver.  This chicken version was a velvety terrine, smooth pureed livers encased in a golden, melting sheath of lush duck fat.  The whole beautiful slab heavenly when spread on slices of buttery, toasted brioche.  A pretty pile of head-on, pink shrimp were also out of this world.  They were so sweet, their bodies tender, decadent when dunked in a homemade aioli. The best part?  Their crispy, crunchy, salty legs.  If you haven’t yet enjoyed a meal at Rudy, what are you waiting for?  Restaurant Rudy is located at 522 Broadway in Sonoma, 938.7373.

I love lunch.  I would choose it over dinner any day of the week.  I love, love long Friday lunches, the best way to celebrate the arrival of the weekend, the week’s work ending at the more appropriate hour of noon.  Then there is Sunday lunch.  Supper, really.  I love long Sunday afternoons lingering over bottles of wine, my tummy full from a multi-course feast, followed by a luxurious nap and nothing more than popcorn or a bit of cheese for dinner.  Lunch is certainly more fun, don’t you think?  So, I couldn’t be more excited for lunch to begin this week at one of my favorite local spots, Glen Ellen Star.

Beginning April 5, the super talented gang there will offer a divine sounding menu of their spectacular wood-roasted pizzas, sure-to-be gorgeous salads, vegetables, and burgers.  I am especially thrilled about the possibility of whole fish from the wood-burning oven and cute little pints of their homemade ice cream, which is always ridiculously good.  I can’t wait to luncheon here very soon with the gang on the pretty, soon-to-be sunny, patio or maybe I’ll secret away from them and the rest of the Plaza, just me and Mr. B. and a date with that whole fish!  Lunch hours: Friday thru Sunday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 343.1384 for more information or to make a reservation.

On the Menu

Be sure to consider doing your grocery shopping at Whole Foods on Wednesday, April 10: “Community Giving Day” benefits the Jamie Oliver Food Foundation in which five percent of net sales from all Whole Foods’ Northern California and Reno stores on this day will support local food education programs.  A very worthy cause indeed.

On Sunday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. join Andrea of Quarter Acre Farm for a morning of tomato education during her, now famous, “Tasty Tomato Talk!”  During this class, you’ll learn the ABC’s of successfully growing the most delicious tomatoes at home.  The topics that will be covered include choosing which varieties to grow, how many plants to grow, deciding on their location within the garden, transplanting tomatoes, watering for healthy plants and tasty fruit, and pruning for less leaves and more fruit.  The cost is only $10 per person and will be held at the Stone House (HWY 12 Properties office) at 147 East Spain Street.  Reservations are required as space is very limited. RSVP to quarteracre-tomato.brownpapertickets.com or quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com.

Observe Earth Day at Jack London Park as you raise a glass of wine to toast the land we cherish so much during “Sonoma Valley’s Earth Day Wine & Walk Celebration.”  On April 20 and 21, participating Sonoma Valley wineries will donate a percentage of their weekend’s sales to Jack London Park.  Interested guests can first stop at those wineries supporting Jack London Park, and then possibly enjoy their winery purchases with a picnic at the park.  Savoring the wines that are made from the abundant Sonoma Valley vineyards combined with experiencing the 1400 acres and 20 plus miles of trails in Jack London Park is an ideal way to mark Earth Day.  Participating wineries include Bartholemew Park, Benziger Family Winery, Envolve Winery, Gundlach Bundshu Winery, Hanzell, Imagery Estate Winery, Kaz Winery, Mayo Family Winery, Moondance Cellars, Ravenswood Winery, VJB Cellars among others.  For more information please call 938.5216 or visit jacklondonpark.com.

Chicken Liver Mousse

Recipe inspired by the luxurious version at Restaurant Rudy

• Serves 8 as an hors d’oeuvres
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/3 cup brandy
• 6 oz chicken livers, trimmed (3/4 cup)
• 5 large egg yolks
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• Several fresh bay leaves

Accompaniments: toasted baguette slices, flaky sea salt, and cornichons

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Cook shallot in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Remove from heat and carefully add Cognac (use caution; if Cognac ignites, shake skillet), then boil until reduced to about 2 tablespoons, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add livers and yolks, then purée until smooth. Add milk, flour, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and allspice and blend until combined. Pour into crock, skimming off any foam. Put crock in a larger baking pan and bake in a water bath until mousse is just set and a small sharp knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat, then remove from heat and let stand 3 minutes. Arrange bay leaves decoratively on top of mousse. Skim froth from butter, then spoon enough clarified butter over mousse to cover its surface, leaving milky solids in bottom of saucepan. Chill mousse completely, uncovered, about 4 hours. Bring to room temperature about 1 hour before serving.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

I can understand the popularity of an oversized omelet, stuffed to overflowing with smoky ham, oozing melted cheese.  Who, for crying out loud, wouldn’t gobble up a spicy pile of huevos rancheros, a messy mixture of creamy beans and warm tortillas?  I can appreciate the fact that the love for eggs takes all forms and comes in an endless amount of preparations.  Although for me, I am in love with simple.

For me, there is nothing more delicious on a Sunday morning or for a late night supper, than a perfectly runny, simple poached egg.  Truly delicious, happily perched on top of a double toasted English muffin, the lush yolk snuggling comfortably into the crunchy nooks and crannies, finished with nothing more than a drizzle of peppery olive oil and more good salt.  A poached egg or two makes an elegant, not to mention ridiculously easy, spring meal when served a top a shallow bowlful of those aforementioned spring vegetables, all quickly sautéed with nothing more than a knob of butter, a splash of chicken stock, if you desire, and a few snips of fresh chive.

Oh eggs.  Is there something more comforting than homemade egg salad?  I believe that it has sort of gotten a bad rap over the years.  Egg salad has sadly earned a reputation for being a fattening deli staple, mashed to death and laden with yucky sweet mayonnaise.  Unfortunately, that is typically the case.  Good egg salad?  Oh, it is so good.  Local eggs, boiled until the yolk is just set, the color of a golden Sonoma sunset, gently chopped and mixed with a lemony homemade mayonnaise, possibly a tiny dash of curry powder or a handful of chopped dill folded in.  Now, that is good egg salad, completely addictive eaten straight from the bowl with a spoon or even better yet when generously piled on a slice of grilled bread and eaten open-faced.  Even better yet when finished with a slice or two (or three!) of smoked salmon or topped with peppery watercress and always, always, that generous sprinkling of good salt!

I don’t eat eggs all that frequently, so when I do, I am passionate about where they’re coming from.  I hadn’t lived in Sonoma all that long when I plonked down my first six bucks for a dozen eggs from the farmer’s market.  All the time thinking, “I can’t believe I just paid six bucks for a dozen eggs.”  They were the most lovely shade of pastels that I had ever seen: soft brown and pale, pale blue.  Each one a milky, creamy white or a faded, grassy green.  They were almost too beautiful to eat.  I kept them in an antique Ironstone bowl on my counter where I could gaze at them each time I came into the kitchen, their simply sitting there, like a painting, I realized was worth the six dollars alone.

I mustered up the gumption one evening to crack a few into my favorite little mixing bowl, with plans for an adorned omelet for supper, nothing more than a pinch of fine herbs thrown in… très française.  The first egg slipped from it’s shell and landed gently into the bowl.  I stood motionless for many minutes as I peered into the bowl.  That egg practically brought tears to my eyes.  Its yolk, the most brilliant orange, sat high above its white, a more gorgeous egg I know I had never seen before.  I cracked the other egg and it too was stunning.  As I whipped them excitedly with a fork, I knew there and then that there was just no going back.  As I sat down to my omelet that evening and took my first bite, the first bite of the best omelet I have ever eaten, I knew that there was no going back to those grocery store eggs.

So, this spring, I will think more sincerely about eggs.  Local, yummy, healthy eggs.  Our picnics will feature frittatas with just the tips of Delta asparagus, dots of super soft farmer’s cheese, and possibly a puree of fresh sautéed nettles.  I will enrich my go-to Monday night dinner of homemade gingered chicken broth, simple but for floating bits of fresh spinach and perfect cubes of silken tofu, by dropping in a few, fat eggs.  Sundays, when there are ends left uneaten from a few of our favorite Della Fattoria loaves hardening on the counter, I do believe we shall soak them in a couple of eggs whisked with a generous amount of Straus cream.  As we linger over lattes, they will be left to bake gently, the best brunch, served with a drizzle of warm, smashed strawberries.  Eggs, no matter how I enjoy them, all the better with a bottle of Gloria Blanc de Noir, and a toast to spring.

On the Menu

Head to Petaluma and to McClelland’s Dairy for an “Easter Egg Hunt & Traditional Farm Tour” this Saturday, March 30, beginning at 12:30 p.m.  Guests will first learn about the history of the farm, pet baby calves in the nursery, milk a cow by hand, watch cows being milked in the parlor, then stroll through the farm store and taste their delicious European Style Organic Artisan Butter all during the tour of this working dairy and farm.  Finally, kids will hunt to find hard boiled eggs from the farm’s own grass fed chickens!  Visit Mcclellandsdairy.com or call 664.0452 for details.

Napa’s Silverado Resort and Spa invites locals and visitors alike to celebrate the spring holidays with a special “Easter Buffet” on Sunday, March 31.  Guests will enjoy festive spring dishes from the very talented Chef Jeffrey Jake such as hot smoked salmon with farm egg and buttery brioche and a fresh Dungeness Crab Louie.  The Easter bunny will be making an appearance for the kids, and parents have the option to add on a sparkling wine and Bloody Mary bar experience.  In addition, Silverado will be offering an “Easter High Tea” on Saturday, March 30 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Royal Oak restaurant.  The experience, complete with a live magic show, includes traditional treats such as tea sandwiches, scones, and petits fours is a great way to kick off the holiday weekend.  Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 257.5431.

On Sunday, April 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. join Andrea of Quarter Acre Farm for a morning of tomato education during her now famous “Tasty Tomato Talk!”  During this class, you’ll learn the ABC’s of successfully growing the most delicious tomatoes at home.  The topics that will be covered include choosing which varieties to grow, how many plants to grow, deciding on their location within the garden, transplanting tomatoes, watering for healthy plants and tasty fruit, and pruning for less leaves and more fruit.  The cost is only $10 per person and will be held at the Stone House (HWY 12 Properties office) at 147 East Spain Street.  Reservations are required as space is very limited. RSVP to Quarteracre-tomato.brownpapertickets.com.

Observe Earth Day at Jack London Park as you raise a glass of wine to toast the land we cherish so much during “Sonoma Valley’s Earth Day Wine & Walk Celebration.”  On April 20 and 21, participating Sonoma Valley wineries will donate a percentage of their weekend’s sales to Jack London Park.  Interested guests can first stop at those wineries supporting Jack London Park, and then possibly enjoy their winery purchases with a picnic at the park.  Savoring the wines that are made from the abundant Sonoma Valley vineyards combined with experiencing the 1400 acres and 20 plus miles of trails in Jack London Park is an ideal way to mark Earth Day.  Participating wineries include Bartholemew Park, Benziger Family Winery, Envolve Winery, Gundlach Bundshu Winery, Hanzell, Imagery Estate Winery, Kaz Winery, Mayo Family Winery, Moondance Cellars, Ravenswood Winery, VJB Cellars among others.  For more information please call 938.5216 or visit Jacklondonpark.com.

French Toast with Warm Strawberries

Serves four

• 3 large, local eggs
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (1-lb) rustic baguette, cut crosswise into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices (not including end pieces)
• 3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 cups strawberries
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on sweetness of berries)
• 1 tablespoon Grande Marnier
• Garnish: confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, and salt until blended. Pour into a large baking pan and soak bread slices in 1 layer, turning once, 8 minutes. Purée 1 1/2 cups berries with sugar and Grande Marnier in a blender. If you want to eliminate seeds, force purée through a very fine sieve into a bowl. Transfer to a serving bowl and fold in remaining berries.  Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet or griddle over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Transfer 4 soaked bread slices to skillet with a slotted spatula and cook until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Cook remaining bread in 2 batches, adding more butter as needed. Transfer slices as cooked to a large shallow baking pan (using a clean spatula) and, when all are browned, bake in middle of oven until hot, about 5 minutes. Warm berries gently in microwave and serve with French toast immediately.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

I begin to dream of honey-scented peaches and black-red, sticky-sweet cherries.  As the days lengthen and begin to warm, I mostly dream of berries.  Fat, sweet blueberries and tart red raspberries.  I adore the fruits of summer, but what I desperately wish for, as mornings dawn drenched in spring’s golden sun, is a strawberry.

I am not talking about those questionable specimens available year-round, factory farmed and trucked in from Chile or Mexico that taste like cardboard or, worse, nothing at all.  I am going to sound like an old lady now, but the strawberries that I yearn for taste like strawberries of my childhood, plucked from the plant with my own chubby fists, at a roadside u-pick-it patch.

We Sonomans are ordinarily required to wait patiently, counting each excruciatingly long, wet winter day, until the rickety little Watmaugh strawberry stand has opened for the season before we get our first real taste of a gorgeous spring berry.  But, guess what?  Right now Whole Foods has first of the season California strawberries!

I could hardly believe my eyes or my nose!  They are beautifully fragrant, these berries, you can smell from across the store, like summer spilling from a little green plastic basket.  These are the berries that leave syrupy pools on the countertop and drip happily down your chin as your teeth sink into their ruby-colored flesh.  I greedily loaded up my cart and have been back many times for more.  There is no need to add sugar to these beauties.  That first evening’s stunning dessert was nothing more than a heaping bowlful, dolloped with a lavish spoonful of Cowgirl Creamery’s ridiculously good crème fraîche and a quick grating of orange peel.  Ah, pure spring.

The signs of spring are gradually appearing at the farmer’s market as well.  While puttering around this past Friday, I stood gawking idiotically at Oak Hill Farm’s blossom-laden quince branches towering from rustic tin buckets and their tiny heads of delicate lettuce when a mysterious bag of something green caught my eye.  Practically screaming ‘spring,’ were a few precious bags of prickly, wild green nettles.  I love the stinging nettles, their flavor the flavor of green; wet earth and moss, spinach and a subtle minerality.  I scooped up both bags with a silly smile.

Ah, spring.  I began pondering my nettles, thinking of how to best celebrate their springiness.  A lemony risotto would be lovely.  Folded into softened sweet butter and stuffed under the skin of a roast chicken would do the job nicely as well.  After a few painful stings, I chose to subdue my pesky nettles by a brief blanching and a quick puree with a glug of peppery olive oil and a wee bit of green garlic.  Dinner couldn’t have been more deliciously simple, the nettle pesto tossed with wide, fresh pappardelle noodles, a zesting of Meyer lemon, and a few fistfuls of salty parmesan.  Followed by more of those heavenly strawberries for dessert, of course.

As every tree, vine, and bulb in the Valley burst into bloom, I make the switch from rustic, bean and meat based stews to delicate, brothy consommés.  Every scrap of leftover chicken and veggie matter simmer endlessly in an oversized pot on my back burner, the result; a homemade batch of tasty stock, always at the ready.  It certainly doesn’t need to be spring to whip up a batch of matzoh ball soup, but with the Easter and Passover holidays here, it just so happens to be my favorite time to do just that.  My now-famous, not-traditional, herb-flecked, chicken fat-filled, matzoh balls bob merrily, in a clear, pale, chicken broth.  Tiny baby carrots and fresh-shelled peas are so pretty when added just before serving, plenty, leafy fronds of anise-scented fennel or dill scattered on top.

With the discovery of those berries, the nettles, I knew spring had sprung.  Farewell to cozy, slow-cooked meals cooped up indoors.  Hello to lazy afternoon picnics in the Plaza.  Bye-bye Cabernet, welcome back Viognier!  As each day turns longer, warmer, thoughts shift from endless braised meats and roasted root vegetables to the arrival of fresh English shelling peas and smashed fava beans, tender baby arugula and the too-short-season for local asparagus.  Ah, Sonoma spring how scrumptious you are.

On the Menu

Andrea Davis of our little, local, Quarter Acre Farm will discuss how to simply start a successful, edible garden during her “Basic Backyard Vegetable Gardening” class on Sunday, March 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  She will cover topics such as choosing what plants to grow, preparing your soil, maintaining your garden, harvesting your bounty, and more.  This class and others in this series will be taking place at The Stone House, the office of HWY 12 Properties, at 147 East Spain Street.  Reservations are required and space is very limited.  The cost is $10 per person.  For more information or to RSVP, email Andrea at quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com or call 415.533.3106.

Chef Rob Larman hosts his “Annual Spring Lamb Dinner” on Friday, March 29, at the Valley Wine Shack.  The always-delicious dinner starts with a salad of Dino kale, roasted beets, and blood orange, followed by wood-oven roasted Sonoma lamb with savory beans and a mint pesto.  Finally, the best part, fresh strawberry shortcake.  The cost is $38 per person.  Wines by the glass or bottle to pair with the meal will be available for purchase from the Wine Shack.  For reservations and more information, call the Wine Shack at 938.7218.

The Sonoma Community Center continues its “Community Table” dinner series on Saturday, March 30, with a three-course menu by Cafe La Haye’s Executive Chef Jeremy Lloyd.  The menu will include an Apple Cauliflower Soup with Gruyère Cheese, Braised English Cut Short Ribs, Root Vegetable Mashed Potatoes, Cabbage Braised in Red Wine, and Cafe La Haye’s signature Butterscotch Pudding with Almond Sea Salt Toffee.  Wine pairings by Gundlach Bundschu will accompany this special meal.  Tickets for each dinner are $65 per person. To reserve your seat or to obtain information on other upcoming dinners, call 938.4626 ext. 1, or visit the Sonoma Valley Box Office at sonomacommunitycenter.org.

Spring Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls

This soup is the perfect Passover starter, but please be warned, it is far from traditional.  There is a fairly good chance that Bubbe or the in-laws will school you on the significance of the more traditional, bland balls.  Don’t be tempted to use store-bought broth, it is just not the same.Serves 8-10

Broth:

• 3 medium leeks, top 2 inches of dark green parts discarded, then halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into thirds
• 5 large carrots, cut into thirds
• 2 celery ribs, cut into thirds
• 1 (4- to 4-1/2 pound) chicken (giblets and liver removed)
• 1 small head garlic, halved crosswise
• 1/3 cup sliced fresh ginger
• 15 long fresh flat leaf parsley stems
• 15 long fresh dill stems
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 4 quarts cold water

Matzoh balls and soup:

• 1 cup matzoh meal, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons rendered chicken fat
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (reserved from recipe here)
• 4 large eggs, separated
• Dill sprigs for garnish
• 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into fine dice

Make broth:

Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water, agitating them to remove all sand and grit, then lift out and transfer to an 8-quart stockpot. Add all remaining broth ingredients to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, skimming foam occasionally, 3 hours.

Make matzoh balls and soup:

Stir together matzoh meal, parsley, dill, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper in a bowl. Work rendered chicken fat into mixture with your fingers until incorporated, then stir in 1/2 cup broth from chicken and yolks. Mixture will be stiff. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl until they just form soft peaks. Stir one-third of egg whites into matzoh mixture to lighten, and then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly. Chill, covered, 30 minutes or overnight.

Transfer chicken from broth to a cutting board to cool. When cool enough to handle, tear chicken into shreds, discarding skin and bones. Pour broth through a fine sieve into a 5-to 6-quart pot, pressing hard on and discarding solids. Return broth to a simmer. With dampened hands, gently form chilled matzoh mixture into roughly 1-inch balls, gently dropping them into simmering soup as formed (this should yield about 20 matzoh balls; moisten hands as necessary to prevent sticking). Simmer matzoh balls, covered, until just cooked through, about 45 minutes (To test: Halve one matzoh ball. It should have a uniformly moist interior; if uncooked, it will be dry in the center). Add carrots and simmer for five minutes until tender. Add chicken into hot soup to warm through before serving. Garnish with dill sprigs.

Kristin Jorgensen is one of Sonoma’s most passionate, food obsessed residents. In this weekly column, she covers all the delicious happenings, foodie events and restaurants in Sonoma, the rest of Wine Country and beyond.  Email her with comments, questions, or your food related events at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.