Strawberries were my childhood berry of choice and still are. My fingers have been stained for days, little green plastic baskets of plump berries will sit on the counter top all summer long, leaving their sticky juice puddling underneath. I can’t help but to grab handfuls of them as I pass, can’t help leaving pink fingerprints all over the house. This past, super sunny weekend, during a wild, frenzied berry-eating fest, we found ourselves whipping up a few batches of frozen, fresh strawberry daiquiris made simply with a ton of berries, agave nectar, a squeeze of lime, and a potent jigger of rum. They were heavenly sipped slowly on the back porch, even too good to set down and play some bocce lest they melt during my turn. They were the ideal way to enjoy these perfect strawberries, a sublime combination of pure ingredients that was just so darned good. Berry, berry good.

The tragically short local asparagus season has come and almost gone. Even though I have tried my hardest to eat as many of them as humanly possible, I am afraid I will still regret the fact that I haven’t enjoyed more. I popped into the Fruit Basket the other day, I can’t resist their great prices on citrus and avocados, and stumbled on a gorgeous pile of Delta asparagus which appeared to have been picked merely minutes prior to my arrival. Oh boy, I truly couldn’t leave without a few bunches thrown into my basket. That night I tossed them in a bit of olive oil and roasted them quickly in a super hot oven, gobbled them up – with my fingers, of course – and immediately wished that I had taken home some more. These asparagus were dream asparagus, the asparagus ideal, amazingly tender and fresh. It has been nearly impossible to stop thinking of them since, the next morning I really wished that I had saved a few for my favorite breakfast of steamed asparagus topped with a runny poached egg.

The stunning vegetables that sit stacked beautifully in their crates at Paul’s Produce stand at either of our farmer’s markets are always pristine, but it is the artichokes that, especially this time of year, keep me coming back for more. Whether choosing a few, teeny ones and frying them whole with simply a squeeze of lemon, or gingerly trimming the thorny edges on an oversized globe, steaming the big beauty, and serving it with a bright green, herby, homemade tarragon aioli, they are always to die for.

Preparing fresh artichokes can be sort of a pain, but like the other fleeting vegetables of spring like fresh fava beans or little shelling peas, they are so completely worth it. Paul’s artichokes more than likely won’t be around too long, which even as I write this, sends me into a total panic since I have yet to prepare my favorite spring vegetable ragout that, if baby artichokes were left out, would be a crime. I believe that, officially, there are only a few more weeks of spring, when everyone will go all crazy for heirloom tomatoes, but in my house, I will continue whipping up my favorite spring dishes until every last little strawberry, spear of local asparagus and little baby artichoke is gone.

Fresh Strawberry Daiquiri
Serves 2

1 cup pureed fresh strawberries
1 cup light rum
2 Tablespoons Agave nectar (or more to taste)
Juice of 2 limes
Ice cubes as needed

Select 2 large cocktail glasses. In a blender, combine the strawberry puree, rum, Agave nectar, and lime juice. Add ice and process until smooth. Pour into the glasses and garnish each glass with a slice of lime, resting it on the rim. Serve immediately.

On The Menu
This Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to noon, the Sonoma Ecology Center hosts a “Chicken-ology Workshop” at Sonoma Garden Park. Learn the A to Z’s on how to raise chickens in your backyard with Nick Rupiper of Fowler Creek Farm. Rupiper currently cares for a flock of over 1,000 chickens and other farm animals, and sells his gorgeous eggs locally at the Friday Farmer’s Market, the Sonoma Garden Park, and at Sonoma Market. Rupiper will teach participants about which breeds are best to purchase, chicken coop requirements, and overall hen needs. The workshop is $10 for Sonoma Ecology Center members and $15 for non-members. All proceeds benefit the Sonoma Garden Park, located at 19996 Seventh Street East. Register online at brownpapertickets.com, enter Chicken-ology, or visit the Sonoma Ecology Center website at sonomaecologycenter.org. For more information about the workshop, contact Megan at 996.0712 extension 113.

• On Sunday, May 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. Ramekins is hosting Patricia Curtan for a book signing and conversation with the author to celebrate her new book, “Menus from Chez Panisse.” Patricia began hand-printing menus for the restaurant while employed as a cook in the Chez Panisse kitchen. In “Menus for Chez Panisse” Curtan presents four decades of menus including dinners for special guests Julia Child and James Beard, with notes on the occasions, art and the food. Chef Michael Emmanuel, another Chez Panisse alumni and a good friend of Patricia’s, will be on-hand to offer bites and nibbles inspired by Chez Panisse menus with ingredients from Ramekins’ Fifth Street Farms. Tickets are $49. Call Ramekins to make your necessary reservations at 933.0450.

• Audubon Canyon Ranch hosts it’s “Second Annual Art of Eating” event on Saturday, June 3 at Glen Ellen’s Bouverie Preserve. This year’s theme is “Women who change the way we eat” and will feature more than 16 talented local chefs, 14 vintners, and 60 unique auction items. The proceeds from this event will benefit the education programs of Audubon Canyon Ranch, which annually provides more than 6,000 grade students with the opportunity to experience nature-based educational experiences at no cost to the schools. Tickets can be purchased egret.org or by calling 415.868.9244.

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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

I know that he loves the rides for the thrill of going fast, the feeling of the raw power of that big machine as we roar around, but me? Oh sure, I love the wind in my face, being that close to the wild flowers that fill the roadside ditches, the faded red barns, and velvet-nosed cows in their green fields, and all of that, but what I truly adore…are the food-filled pit stops!
I can’t say that I have much experience with the Harley community, except for a few strange days spent with a girlfriend back when I was young and stupid during Daytona’s insane motorcycle-riding, tattoo-filled fest that is “Bike Week,” but that is a story for another time. I think that Harley riding is sort of half about the actual ride and the other half about the camaraderie, the hanging with the other guys, the leather, and the pit stops at atmospheric roadside eateries along the way. There cannot possibly be an area where it is more perfect for riding, where there are more beautiful backroads and more delicious pit stops than right here in Wine Country. During a recent, gorgeous, sunny Saturday, we climbed aboard the Harley and headed out for an afternoon of twisting roads, hot sunshine and, what turned out to be, plenty of porky goodness along the way.

We headed towards Napa, but didn’t get very far. Riding on the back of a motorcycle is actually pretty hard work. I swear! So, I figured that we needed some good, hearty fuel before we got going and there is no dish that I crave more on a Saturday morning than a ham biscuit from the Fremont Diner. The popular diner’s oversized, picnic table-filled patio is the best spot for Harley folk to sit. You know they like to stay close to their hogs and with the diner’s simple, grown on site country fare, and super cold local beers, I can’t think of a more ideal eatery for my newly found two wheeled friends. The Fremont’s ham biscuit, you all must know by now, is certainly in my top ten favorite things to eat. The homemade biscuit is buttery and fluffy and just like my grandma used to make. The Southern style ham is sliced not too thin and not too thick and is just exactly the right amount of salty and, when paired with a vinegar-inflected grainy mustard and a sticky-sweet homemade jam, it is nothing if it isn’t downright heavenly.

The afternoon zoomed by in a blur of vineyard after vineyard and endless people on bikes, the self-pedaled kind. The winding roads between Napa and Sonoma counties are all truly beautiful, but when turning onto Highway 128 as we headed back towards Sonoma County and the little town of Geyserville, it simply took my breath away. This is motorcycle road-riding at it’s absolute finest. The smooth, narrow road gently banked around the range that separates our two counties. We first passed through dark, towering redwood forests that smelled intensely of pine and felt moist and cool, the sunshine filtered delicately through the tall trees. The Valley then opened up with bright, golden sunshine which warmed my bare shoulders. The vineyards of the Alexander Valley are some of the prettiest in Sonoma County. Old Zinfandel vines, with florescent green buds just breaking, roll along the hills as far as the eye can see. Historic farmsteads dot the landscape, their rambling old farmhouses leaving me drooling, envious for one of my own one day.

The tiny town of Geyserville is a Wine Country anomaly; it has not even one red light, but several world-class restaurants, interesting galleries and tasting rooms. I was utterly starving and knew that we would be fed well at Diavola Pizzeria right on the bustling little main street. We parked the bike right up front – I love that about motorcycles! – and sort of ambled rather sorely up to the bar. After two hours on the back of a vibrating, hot, Harley a cold glass of wine sounded rather divine. The rustic, Italian menu is always appealing, but that day it was even more so. A wooden board beautifully layered with house-cured meats and pâté staved off our incredible hunger until two super thin pizzas from the wood-burning oven were delivered amongst a steamy cloud of sweet tomato and spice. Both pies were a porcine lovers dream, one generously topped with crumbles of homemade sausage and the other with the chef’s own crisp, cured pork belly. A much-needed, ultra rich espresso guaranteed we would stay awake just long enough to get home and a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream was simply because we couldn’t resist.

I have always been a huge fan of the hog, but now I guess that has a fun new meaning. If you haven’t seen – or eaten – Wine Country from the back of a motorcycle, I highly recommend it! Rent a Harley Davidson locally in Vacaville at Iron Steed Harley by calling 455.7000 or visiting ironsteedhd.com. The Fremont Diner is located here in Sonoma at 2698 Fremont Road, 938.7370. Visit thefremontdiner.com for hours and to see their full menu. Diavola Pizzeria is located in Geyserville at 21021 Geyserville Avenue, 814.0111. Visit diavolapizzeria.com for a full menu and to make reservations.

Yield: 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

Southern Biscuits
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.

Kristin’s foodie event pick of the week
Sheana Davis’ Epicurean Connection hosts a “Foie Gras Dinner with Sonoma Artisan Foie Gras and Duck” on Wednesday, May 16. Junny and Gueillermo Gonzalez, the fabulous local duck producers, will supply their gorgeous duck products while guest chefs Norman Owens – of the Hot Box Grill – and Antonio Ghilarducci – of the Depot Hotel – prepare an amazing sounding meal of foie gras torchon with poached apricots, a salad of duck confit and hazelnuts, pan seared liver and breast with melted turnips and Chanterelles, and finally poached pears with a walnut-brown sugar cake. Wines by Ghilarducci Vineyards will accompany the sure-to-be-delicious meal. The cost is $75 per person, inclusive of wine and gratuity. Please RSVP quickly to save your space by calling 935.7960. The Epicurean Connection is located at 122 West Napa Street.

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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

I could ramble on all day about how much I love visiting Sonoma Valley wineries, like while sitting high up on the grassy hill at Scribe overlooking our perfect little town or simply drinking those Sonoma Valley wines…maybe with the gang at “the fig,” probably a glass of the, always divine, Atmosphere Marsanne-Roussanne in-hand. There is Sonoma Market that we cherish like a best friend and the sweetest, mind-blowing lettuces grown by Paul’s Produce and the tangy, soft serve Straus frozen yogurt generously served at Whole Food’s coffee bar. All of these things make me grateful everyday that I live in this heavenly place, although nothing is more festive, more fun, more delicious, more Sonoma than our Tuesday Night Farmer’s Market.

Nothing screams “Sonoma!” more than the Tuesday Night Farmer’s Market and I know everyone must be as excited as I am that it is that time of year again. The first official Market of 2012 was this past Tuesday, May 1. Yay! For more information on this season’s vendors and entertainment, be sure to visit the Valley of the Moon Certified Farmer’s Market website at vomcfm.com. I hope to see you there!

On The Menu
On Sunday, May 20, from 4 to 6 p.m. Ramekins is hosting Patricia Curtan for a book signing and conversation with the author to celebrate her new book, “Menus from Chez Panisse.” Patricia began hand-printing menus for the restaurant while employed as a cook in the Chez Panisse kitchen. In “Menus for Chez Panisse” Curtan presents four decades of menus including dinners for special guests Julia Child and James Beard, with notes on the occasions, art and the food. Chef Michael Emmanuel, another Chez Panisse alumni and a good friend of Patricia’s, will be on-hand to offer bites and nibbles inspired by Chez Panisse menus with ingredients from Ramekins’ Fifth Street Farms. Tickets are $49. Call Ramekins to make your necessary reservations at 933.0450.

• Slow Food Sonoma Valley hosts a “Potluck Dinner” at the Grange for members, prospective members or those of you who would simply like more information about the organization on Monday, May 14, from 6 to 9 p.m. During this festive, foodie gathering the group will discuss their upcoming projects and events while sharing a wonderful meal. Guests should try to r.s.v.p. to margarita@travelingmatters.com and bring a food item to share that is preferably locally sourced or produced. The Grange is located at 18627 Sonoma Highway in the Springs. For more information on Slow Food, visit slowfoodsonomavalley.com.

• Another “Dining Club Rive Gauche” dinner will be held at the Grange on May 9. This month, experience the “Cuisine of Morocco” with belly dance superstar Nathalie Tedrick and a menu consisting of lamb Tagine, chick pea cous cous, a Moroccan salad sampler, and much more. The dinner is $35, b.y.o.b. and reservations are required by calling 996.0900.

What’s cooking Sonoma?

Truly exciting news: the Fremont Diner is now open much later than usual. The atmospheric, roadside eatery will now be serving up their fun, farm-fresh, Wine Country fare daily until 6 p.m. If that news weren’t exciting enough, they are also offering happy hour pricing with $1 off beer and wine from 3 until 6 p.m. • Glen Ellen Star has announced their opening date to be May 18! I have been eagerly anticipating the opening of this new restaurant, featuring a chic-rustic decor and skillfully prepared wood-fired cuisine from Chef Ari Weiswasser and Erin Benziger-Weiswasser. I was fortunate enough to attend a practice dinner last month and I promise you, the food, atmosphere and wine program are all bound to be fabulous. I promise to give you a full report on the deliciousness when they’re open! Check out their website for a sample menu at glenellenstar.com. • Last week, Sonoma’s Best launched a fun, warm weather project named “Hot Diggity Dog.” They now offer a delicious selection of prepared artisan hot dogs and sausages everyday with names like the “Mutt” or the “Italian Dog.” Each week, a special dog will be created and named after a member of the Sonoma community. The combinations and toppings are fresh, unique and often homemade and would make a scrumptious lunch or snack – for merely $3 to $6 each – particularly when paired with a local beer or glass of wine. Be sure to save room for one of Addie’s monstrous chocolate chip cookies and a perfectly prepared Blue Bottle latte. Sonoma’s Best is located on East Napa Street at Eighth. Call 996.7600 for all the details.

Thai Coconut Sticky Rice with Mango

Makes 8 servings for dessert or a snack
This Thai treat is a favorite of our group each week at the Tuesday Farmer’s Market prepared by the talented chef at the Issan booth.

3 cups sticky rice, soaked overnight in water or thin coconut milk and drained
2 cups canned or fresh coconut milk
3/4 cup palm sugar, or substitute brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 ripe mangoes

Steam the sticky rice until tender. Meanwhile, place the coconut milk in a heavy pot and heat over medium heat until hot. Do not boil. Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve completely.

When the sticky rice is tender, turn it out into a bowl and pour 1 cup of the hot coconut milk over; reserve the rest. Stir to mix the liquid into the rice, then let stand for 20 minutes to an hour to allow the flavors to blend. Peel and slice the mangoes. To serve, place an oval mound of sticky rice on each dessert plate and place a sliced half-mango decoratively beside it. Stir the remaining sweetened coconut milk thoroughly, transfer to a small serving bowl or cruet, and pass it separately, with a spoon, so guests can spoon on extra as they wish.

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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

The company is a LGBT – that’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender for all of you straight folks out there – event and travel company based here in Sonoma.  The duo has been known to produce some of the year’s most legendary events, like the “Big Gay Wine Train,” not to mention arranging luxury inbound, behind the scenes Wine Country travel itineraries.  The Gay Wine Weekend, which runs this year from June 15 through17 and now in it’s third incarnation, is a simply outrageous three-day gay extravaganza of food, wine, and tons of fun. Did I mention wine?  Oh…and cute boys.

Last year, a very civilized cocktail reception in the gorgeous gardens at MacArthur Place kicked off the weekend’s festivities. As you can imagine, there was plenty of sparkling wine and pretty little nibbles. This year, in exciting news, the Eldorado Hotel will act as the weekend’s “host hotel,” extending very special rates for visitors traveling to Sonoma. The weekend’s fun gets underway with several “Winemaker Dinners,” which are on tap for Friday evening, right after sipping on some vino at the VIP reception held in the hotel’s very chic lobby. These intimate gatherings pair an interesting, talented winemaker with a local restaurant, offering an unforgettable opportunity to imbibe on stellar wines and scrumptious Wine Country fare. Australia’s iconic winery, Penfolds, brings their exclusive wines to Sonoma County and are paired with the Eldorado Kitchen’s California cuisine, while La Crema’s winemaker, Elizabeth Grant-Douglas, pairs her Sonoma wines with the-always-delicious-food from the girl and the fig. Massimo Monticello, the winemaker from B. Wise Vineyards, will host an Italian dinner at ESTATE. The festivities do not end with dinner, you know better than that! Beginning at 9:30 p.m. join the gang at Sebastiani Vineyards for “Cabaret Night!” Hosted by Russian Opera Diva and Drag Queen, Katya Smirnoff-Skyy, the evening should be a total hoot.

I cannot say that there is a more colorful sight than several hundred gay men dancing in a vineyard. The setting for Saturday’s “Twilight T-Dance” is completely over the top; an old weathered barn, which last year was festooned with piles of glittered throw pillows, shimmering fabrics and – I think – a disco ball!  The thumping boom-chick-boom-chick sounds from the big city dee-jay and the spontaneous eruption of high pitched laughter from the crowd float amongst the vines. This party, in my opinion, is easily the most relaxed, beautiful, enjoyable event held during Sonoma’s hectic summer events season. Area food trucks provide perfect offerings for staying nourished during the long afternoon of wine and dancing. Just in case you’re not partied out by the end, the Eldorado Hotel hosts an “Apres-T After Party” with little bites and a no host bar.
The weekend is not just an excuse to sip wine and mingle with cute winemakers. One hundred percent of the monies raised over the course of the three-days benefit Face to Face, the Sonoma County AIDS Network. A perfect way to help raise these much-needed funds and to possibly feed your hangover, is to attend “The Big Gay Wine Auction and Brunch.” Held this year at Ramekins, the menu will surely be a spectacular parade of fresh-baked pastries, egg dishes and much-needed mimosas. Auction items include winery visits, tours, wine and other items all generously donated. Gay or not, this is a weekend filled with amazing, delicious events that no one should miss!

Out in the Vineyard’s “Gay Wine Weekend” is quickly approaching. During the weekend of June 15-17 there will be many festive events that include a welcome reception, wine dinners, a cabaret night at Sebastiani Winery, a brunch at the Eldorado Kitchen, and the weekend’s showpiece event, the always fabulous Twilight Tea Dance. Tickets for these events can be purchased as a package or separately. Find a full schedule of events and information on how to purchase your tickets at gaywineweekend.com.

On The Menu

This Friday, April 28, is another great sounding winemaker dinner at the Community Cafe. Buena Vista will provide the wines and discussion, paired with a menu that includes shrimp with sherry, duck confit with poached cherries and Mexican chocolate ice cream. The dinner is only $49.95 plus tax and gratuity, with wine! Call to make your necessary reservations at 938.7779.

• Join Chef Alex from Cafe 522 on April 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Hall Winery in Napa for their “Third Annual Cabernet Cook-Off.” The event benefits Food for Thought, the Sonoma County AIDS food bank. Find tickets online at hallwines.com/cabernetcookoff.

• Speaking of Hall Winery, they are rebranding their Sonoma winery which us locals will all know as Roessler. The winery is now known as Walt Winery and is named after owner, Kathryn Walt Hall. Visit their lovely tasting room behind the girl and the fig the first weekend in May for a series of events celebrating the inaugural release of these wines. The open house on Sunday, May 5, sounds especially nice with live music and small bites, which will be provided each day by Cafe 522. For more information and a complete schedule, call 933.4440.

• A series of cooking classes hosted by notable area chefs and bakers are now being held at the Community Center’s Rotary Community Kitchen. Sonoma’s own Mike Zakowski, a.k.a the [bejkr], hosts his first in a series of four bread-baking classes on Saturday, June 9. During “Introduction to Bread Baking” he will demonstrate break-baking techniques, including simple fermentation, the production of sour cultures, and more. For more information or to register for this or any other of these classes, call 938.4626, ext. 1 or visit sonomacommunitycenter.org.

Seafood Paella

Warm weather makes me crave things like this seafood-laden paella!

Makes 4 servings

1 large onion, finely chopped
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed to a paste or finely chopped
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
A good pinch of saffron threads
4 cleaned small squid, bodies sliced into 1/4-inch-wide rings, tentacles left whole
2 cups medium-grain Spanish paella rice or risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
3 cups fish or chicken stock, plus more if needed
1 cup dry white wine
12 jumbo shrimp in their shells
16 mussels, scrubbed and debearded

Fry the onion in the oil in a 16-inch paella pan until soft, stirring often. Stir in the garlic, and before it begins to color, add the tomatoes. Add salt to taste, the paprika, and saffron, stir well, and cook until the tomatoes are reduced to a jammy sauce and the oil is sizzling. Add the squid and cook, stirring, for a minute or so. Add the rice and stir well until all the grains are coated. Bring the stock and wine to a boil in a saucepan. Pour over the rice, and bring to a boil. Stir well and spread the rice out evenly in the pan (do not stir again). Cook the rice over low heat for 18 to 20 minutes, moving the pan around and rotating it so that the rice cooks evenly. Lay the shrimp on top after 10 minutes and turn them when they have become pink on the first side. Add a little more hot stock toward the end if the rice seems too dry and you hear crackly frying noises before it is done. When the rice is done, turn off the heat and cover the pan with a large piece of foil.
Steam the mussels with a finger of water in a pan with a tight-fitting lid. As soon as they open, they are cooked. Throw away any that have not opened. Arrange the mussels on top of the paella and serve 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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

Sometimes it seems that everything on the Northern California coast has been colored in hues of oyster grey and as we pulled into Hog Island Oyster Farm, the setting indeed appeared as if painted with watercolors. Rustic picnic tables and a low, picket fence are a pale, washed out grey, like driftwood, faded after many years of bright sun and pounding, cold rain. The crushed, bleached-out oyster shells crunching beneath our feet, and the sand which formed the tiny crescent-shaped beach beyond, are all shades of ash, colorless, but beautiful. Hog Island is easily one of the most breathtaking spots to while away an afternoon while indulging in oysters by the dozen, eaten within view of the bay beds in which they were just plucked.

Excited picnickers – mostly daytrippers from the City – were already arriving, unloading cheeses and breads, wine, and goodies for the grill from their coolers. We were just winging it, simply wanting to sit and stare at the view, to have some oysters as a pre-lunch snack. We chose to order our provisions from the boat-shaped bar; pristine raw beauties, shucked professionally and nestled on crushed ice, a hunk of buttery local cheese and my favorite yeasty baguette from Petaluma’s Della Fattoria…bubbles from Napa’s Schramsberg winery, of course. To reserve your space for picnicking, which includes your own picnic table and charcoal-burning grill, be sure to call ahead. Hog Island can certainly be crowded, as it was even on this chilly April afternoon, but so much fun to see all the delicious local fare brought by the surrounding tables, to discover just how others eat their oysters, and to see everyone enjoying themselves so much. Our oysters, a dozen each of the teeny Kumamotos and the creamy Sweetwaters, were among some of the most perfect I have ever eaten. I can’t say if it was because of the superb job done shucking them or the fact that they were mere minutes from being brought from the sea, but I like to think it had something to do with slurping them down while overlooking the bay on a perfect oyster grey day.

Point Reyes is the type of town you would only find in Northern California and I love it. Only here, could you find an itsy-bitsy town miles from anywhere with lovely shops, a coffeehouse in a feed store – yup, a feed store – that solely grinds fair trade beans and makes an epic latte – with organic milk from Marin, of course! – a cheese shop loaded with gourmet goodies and incredible, locally produced cheeses, not to mention a beautifully designed restaurant with modern, skillfully prepared fare.

That restaurant is Osteria Stellina and it could easily compete with the top spots in Napa, but is right there in Point Reyes and that is where we were headed for lunch. The menu is Italian, but a coastal California interpretation of Italian. Sort of Portofino meets Point Reyes. The menu is a who’s who of local farmers and fishermen, just about everything here is from neighboring farms or the bay. The dining room feels really nice. It’s my sort of place. Clean lines and simple wood furnishings manage to feel cozy and comforting. Scents of wood smoke drift from the open kitchen and wildflowers sit prettily on a vintage sideboard, all brightened by the sunlight pouring in through the large windows overlooking the strangely bustling sidewalk.

The food is honest and soulful. The talented chefs in the kitchen here take a truly perfect ingredient and prepare it really simply, maybe a quick roast in the wood burning oven, a drizzle of super green local olive oil, or a scattering of fresh herbs. Oh, mucho Italiano. I have a thing for stinging nettles, the wild, leafy green with an earthy flavor much like spinach, but much more spinachy. Our first course of an ultra thin pizza, the crust a wonderful cross between chewy and crisp, topped with potato slices so thin you could see through them, gooey cheese and a puree of bright green nettles left me simply giddy. It was honestly happy-dance-inducing.

You’ll find more Italian inspiration in the vegetable dishes. A rustic, creamy colored Heath bowl was filled with Rancho Gordo Cannellini beans which were simmered to a state of creaminess, paired with slow-cooked winter chard. A generous drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of crunchy salt made this dish my favorite. Seafood dishes here are flawless. A briny stew of lavish shellfish, included clams, mussels and shrimp was quickly sautéed in white wine and a delicate fish stock. The simplicity of that stew was the ideal example of why I love Stellina. That and the homemade ice cream, promise me when you go you’ll get the homemade ice cream!

Hog Island Oyster farm is located at 20215 Highway 1 in Marshall. Visit hogislandoysters.com or call 415.663.9218 to obtain all the details regarding reservations or visiting the farm. Osteria Stellina is located in downtown Point Reyes. Call 415.663.9988 for hours and/or to make a reservation.

On The Menu
Quarter Acre Farm is offering shares of their 2012 season with their “Quarter Acre Farm CSA.” As a CSA member, you receive a box of the highest quality, just-picked vegetables each week for twenty-six weeks. A full share is only $26 per week. Call Andrea Davis at 415.533.3106 or email her at quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com.

• Chef Rob Larman is cooking up a yummy sounding “Prime Rib Dinner” at the Valley Wine Shack on Friday, April 20. The decadent menu starts with a chopped salad and then moves onto smoked and seared prime rib and finishes with – my favorite! – strawberry shortcake. The dinner is a bargain at $38 per person, with plenty of wines by the glass or bottle choices from the Wine Shack. Call 938.7218 for more information or to make your necessary reservations.

• A series of cooking classes hosted by notable area chefs and bakers are now being held at the Community Center’s Rotary Community Kitchen. Sonoma’s own Mike Zakowski, a.k.a the [bejkr], hosts his first in a series of four bread baking classes on Saturday, June 9. During “Introduction to Bread Baking” he will demonstrate break-baking techniques, including simple fermentation, the production of sour cultures, and more. For more information or to register for this or any other of these classes, call 938.4626, ext. 1 or visit sonomacommunitycenter.org.

• Out in the Vineyard’s “Gay Wine Weekend” is quickly approaching. During the weekend of June 15-17 there will be many festive events that include a welcome reception, wine dinners, a cabaret night at Sebastiani Winery, a brunch at the Eldorado Kitchen, and the weekend’s showpiece event, the always-fabulous Twilight Tea Dance. Find a full schedule of events and information on how to purchase your tickets at gaywineweekend.com.

Cannellini Beans and Greens

Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main course

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 large bunch greens (such as mustard greens, kale, chard or broccoli rabe; about 1 pound), thick stems removed, cut into 1-inch strips (about 10 cups packed)
1 cup (or more) vegetable broth or low-salt chicken broth
2 cups cooked Cannellini beans (preferably Rancho Gordo)
1 teaspoon (or more) Sherry wine vinegar
Good quality coarse salt
Fresh ground pepper

Heat 4 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add garlic and dried crushed pepper; stir until garlic is pale golden, about 1 minute. (Do not allow to burn or toast) Add greens by large handfuls; stir just until beginning to wilt before adding more, tossing with tongs to coat with oil. Add 1 cup broth, cover, and simmer until greens are just tender, adding more broth by tablespoonfuls if dry, 1 to 10 minutes, depending on type of greens. Add beans; simmer uncovered until beans are heated through and liquid is almost absorbed, about 2 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, and more vinegar if desired; drizzle with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and serve.

Kristin’s most delicious event pick of the week

A cooking class entitled “An Evening with Ronda Giangreco and Lisa Lavagetto” at Ramekins that any food-loving Sonoman shouldn’t miss will be held on Wednesday, May 9, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The book, “The Gathering Table,” is a heartfelt recollection of how author Giangreco, after being diagnosed with MS, faces down the disease by bravely hosting 52 dinner parties in a year for over 120 guests. Chef Lisa Lavagetto will feature dishes from the book, which is sure to delight all. Join Ramekins, Ronda and Chef Lavagetto for an evening filled with food, laughter and inspiration as you learn about Ronda’s personal journey and her culinary adventures along the way. The delicious sounding menu includes homemade ricotta on crostini, a fennel and greens with blood orange, handmade fettuccini with a rabbit ragú and an orange-olive oil cake. The class and meal costs $80 per student. Call Ramekins to hold your space, or for details at 933.0450.
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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

Every single time I spend time out on the coast I wonder why I don’t spend more time out on the coast. Sonoma, you need to spend more time on the coast! A mere forty-five minutes from town, Tomales Bay has some of the most stunning scenery, hiking trails, ocean kayaking, not to mention plenty of just-plucked-from-the-bay seafood and coastal wines. Getting there along the winding roads is so much fun to experience with my Mini’s convertible top down, happily inhaling the scents of eucalyptus, cedar, salt and…even cow.

It is just so California to be sort of out in the middle of nowhere and utterly surrounded with stellar food and wine, and Nick’s Cove is the epitome. The historic roadside eatery, fish shack, and over-the-water cottages date back to the early 1930s where it served as a seaside spot for day trippers from surrounding areas after the War. Nick’s continues to be the ideal waterfront stop for a yummy meal, killer views or a nice glass of wine. It’s not necessary that you spend the night, but I beg you to please consider it. There are seven lovely, somewhat affordable hilltop accommodations with bay views. Although I highly recommend choosing one the five absolutely divine cottages perched right above the water. I warn you, they are not for the financially modest, but all the thoughtful, luxurious amenities, and the romance factor – not to mention the insane views – make it worth every penny, I promise.

After a sufficient amount of time was spent oggling all the wonders in our cottage, Megan and I decided to grab the cute little canning jar filled with complimentary snack mix from the room, order a bottle of wine from the restaurant’s bar, and head out to the restored fishing shack on the end of Nick’s dock for a fierce game of dominoes. The winds were extremely gusty, but the bright, shimmering sun reflected magically off of the choppy waves. It was so beautiful in every direction that after a while my eyes just hurt from staring at the view. This summer, if you can’t find me, look here, on the end of this super long dock at Nick’s. I simply could not think of a place more beautiful to hang out, lounging in an Adirondeck chair, face to the sun and a glass of Muscadet in-hand.

Games make me hungry, well honestly most anything makes me hungry, so I was thrilled that we’d opted for an early dinner. Our table snuggled right up against the large windows that looked out onto one of the prettiest views imaginable. Luckily, our glasses of bubbly arrived and we were perched there in time for a gorgeous sunset. Executive Chef, Austin Perkins’ cuisine is exactly what you would want in a coastal roadhouse. His menu is filled with cozy, simple dishes that utilize ingredients sourced from nearby farms. The service was charming, the staff all smiles, they seemed happy to also be in this beautiful place.

It would be an absolute crime to not order oysters here, especially with the cold bubbly and that amazing view. Oysters always taste yummier with bubbles and a view. Fact. Farmed right there in Tomales Bay, the briny bivalves were heavenly chilled and served with a simple mignonette and were even more delicious when grilled with a tasty, vinegar-inflected, house-made barbecue sauce. A warm salad of colorful, heirloom cauliflower was doused in a delightful, whole grain mustard dressing, an inspired combination that was easily one of our favorite courses of the evening. Megan’s obsession with anything made with pasta and hot cheese was happily satisfied when digging into an outrageous, bubbling crock of fresh Dungeness crab macaroni and cheese. Insert Megan’s swoon here. Huge diver scallops were seared quickly, with nicely caramelized edges, and accompanied by tangy marinated beets, a fabulous foil for the richness of the huge scallops. The seafood here is pristine and a special entree of Petrale Sole was no exception, tiny spring vegetables were really pretty on the side. Next time, we’ll linger near the fireplace to indulge in the homemade s’mores for two.

Our dinner was truly delightful, everything made even more delicious while enjoyed in Nick’s completely atmospheric setting. I was nearly comatose and beyond excited to climb into that boat-bed, but I couldn’t resist the oversized claw foot tub. A little dish of blissful smelling lavender salts were a thoughtful touch. As I climbed aboard the bed, I was already looking forward to the in-room breakfast that was scheduled to be delivered the next morning. A pot of dark, fresh-brewed coffee, fresh fruit, and pastries baked in-house – which included an ultra moist, lemony, glazed poppy seed muffin that I continue to think about daily – came to the door right on schedule. So, with the sounds of Tomales Bay lapping gently below the cottage and a very full belly, I slept and dreamt of the next time I might return to Nick’s Cove. For more information regarding Nick’s Cove and Cottages, including to make reservations for dining or for overnight accommodations, visit their website at nickscove.com or call 415.663.1033.

Hog Island Manila Clam Chowder
Recipe from the Hog Island Cookbook

Serves 6

1/2 pound high quality bacon, sliced 

1/2 stalk celery, thinly sliced
2 large leek, white part only, thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 large carrot, peeled and thinly sliced 

3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 Tbsp. butter

8-10 medium-size skin-on Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered into bite-size cubes.
6 pounds small, raw Hog Island Manila clams in the shell, rinsed
1 quart heavy cream

Salt and pepper

Parsley for garnish
 
Place clams in a colander in the kitchen sink and rinse throughly under running water. Pick through and discard clams with broken or open shells. Allow clams to drain in the sink while you prepare your stock base. In a large stock pot bring 5-6 cups of water to a boil (no salt) and cook the potatoes until al dente, or just before fork-tender. While the potatoes are boiling, in a second heavy-bottom pot melt the butter with the thyme. Render the bacon in the butter and thyme, over low heat; once bacon is rendered add leeks and celery, cook until vegetables are translucent. Add carrots and cook until bendable without breaking. Add the potatoes and 4 cups of potato water. The base can be made (up to one day) ahead and kept chilled.

Portion your clams out per single serving (3/4 lb per serving) and cook each serving individually. Working in batches, place a single serving of clams in a heavy bottomed sauté pan over medium heat. Ladle one cup of the chowder base on top and cover the pan, simmer for about 5-6 minutes, or until the majority of clams open. Skim through and pick out any clams that have not opened. (Don’t skip this step — unopened clams may spoil the chowder.) Add in 1/2-cup cream per serving and bring the chowder to a simmer. If it is too thick, add in more of the potato water. When the chowder is bubbling in the middle, it is ready to serve. Pour individual servings into a large soup bowl.
 Garnish with cracked pepper and chopped parsley.   

On The Menu
“Tomatomania” returns to Cornerstone this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, April 14 and 15, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two days of “all things tomato,” this annual event features experts who share their tomato-growing experience and tips. Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase more than 150 varieties of the plant and to attend a variety of complimentary workshops. Make it a whole day by lingering at Cornerstone, enjoying barbecue, wine tasting, the shops and the gardens. Visit cornerstonesonoma.com for details.

• Chef Rob Larman is cooking up a yummy sounding “Prime Rib Dinner” at the Valley Wine Shack on Friday, April 20. The decadent menu starts with a chopped salad and then moves onto smoked and seared prime rib and finishes with – my favorite! – strawberry shortcake. The dinner is a bargain at $38 per person, with plenty of wines by the glass or bottle choices from the Wine Shack. Call 938.7218 for more information or to make your necessary reservations.

• Dining Club Rive Gauche returns on April 25 at 7 p.m. with “The Cuisine of Brazil” at the Sonoma Valley Grange Hall. The four-course menu includes a seafood course of bolinhos de bacalhau, a sweet potato salad, spice rubbed chicken and more. Live music will be courtesy of Tudo Bem. The tasty sounding menu and music are $35 per person plus gratuity. Reservations are required by calling 996.0900.

• A cooking class entitled “An Evening with Ronda Giangreco and Lisa Lavagetto” at Ramekins that any food-loving Sonoman shouldn’t miss will be held on Wednesday, May 9, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The book, “The Gathering Table,” is a heartfelt recollection of how author Giangreco, after being diagnosed with MS, faces down the disease by bravely hosting 52 dinner parties in a year for over 120 guests. Chef Lisa Lavagetto will feature dishes from the book, which is sure to delight all. Join Ramekins, Ronda and Chef Lavagetto for an evening filled with food, laughter and inspiration as you learn about Ronda’s personal journey and her culinary adventures along the way. The delicious sounding menu includes homemade ricotta on crostini, a fennel and greens with blood orange, handmade fettuccini with a rabbit ragú and an orange-olive oil cake. The class and meal costs $80 per student. Call Ramekins to hold your space or for details at 933.0450.

Read Part Two of our food-filled adventure to the coast in my column next week! Megan Clouse is the talented photographer behind many of the fabulous pictures featured in my Sun Eats column. She specializes in weddings, but also does portraits and commercial photography. You can find her blogging as the Cardigan with yours truly at thecardiganandcook.com. Visit her website at mclouse.com for more information. 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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

The chef, who looked exotic in his starched white kimono, a tight blue sash tied at his waste, presented me with a complimentary little bowl of noodles. The thinnest of noodles were dotted with sesame seeds, slivers of – what I was to later learn was – toasted seaweed, and a smoky soy-based broth. Oh, how I loved those noodles. I loved the beautiful, rustic little bowl in which they were served. I loved the ritual of hot tea poured slowly from a delicate, pale green tea pot, grey cranes in-flight painted along each side. I was immediately obsessed with eating with chopsticks, it seemed utterly foreign, so romantic. Each time the chef handed me a piece of fish, the garlicky dumplings, my tempura vegetables – which I have since become addicted to – he placed his palms together at his chest, bowed gently, a little prayer. I loved that.

I remember that the chef’s fingers were amazingly long and feminine, almost fluid, I couldn’t take my eyes off of them. The way the small balls of rice fit perfectly in his palm, the long slice of fish landing beautifully on top. I fell in love with the atmosphere of that tranquil restaurant, where you could sit on woven mats on the floor, but only if you first removed your shoes. It was there, at that tiny spot, that I experienced so many food firsts. My first slice of raw fish, a piece of glistening, fatty, wild Alaskan salmon, still my favorite to this day. I experienced the joy, the pain, of my first wasabi burn. It was where I had my first real restaurant date, that night taking my first tentative sip of sake. I returned as often as my meager teenage salary allowed, working my way through every mysterious dish on the handwritten menu. I simply could not get enough. The lengthy list of crazy sounding rolls were enough to keep me satiated for months, but I preferred the pure, clean flavors of that day’s nigiri, the simplicity of unadorned seafood and sticky rice, which was strangely, immensely satisfying. With each visit I stoked my newly found wasabi addiction.
I instantly adored the Japanese culture and everything about sushi. I was obsessed with the tradition, the ritual of it all. The hot cloths rolled just so and stacked on their thick wooden plates, handed to each guest with a slight bow, the chopsticks resting carefully on something pretty, made for exactly that purpose set carefully at each place setting. I really liked how you would never think of pouring your own sake, you poured for your guest and then they for you. I wanted to learn the proper way to eat, as not to be one of those embarrassing Americans. I learned to not rub my chopsticks together obnoxiously and to not make a murky green paste with my soy and wasabi.

There is just something about sushi that makes me so completely happy. I honestly can say that there is no other food that I crave more and luckily, to satisfy those cravings, we have Shiso. Because I lived in a small mountain town for years without a sushi bar, I know how miserable life without instant access to raw fish and wasabi can be. Chef Ed Metcalf’s charming little sushi spot in the Maxwell Village Shopping Center always hits the spot with it’s locals-only vibe, comfy decor and fresh offerings. I can never resist starting with my most-loved item, a salmon hand roll. Toasted nori is a perfect, crunchy wrapper for vinegary sticky rice, creamy avocado, slivers of crisp cucumber and buttery, fresh, raw salmon. I love that Chef Metcalf never skimps on the salmon. A hand roll is heaven when it’s prepared lovingly and at Shiso, as with all of their food, it always is.

The smallish menu of fresh fish consists of favorites like tuna, sweet shrimp, hamachi and, another favorite of mine, jumbo sea scallop. Oh my gosh, is there anything more delicious than a fresh scallop? Yummy, with a few drops of citrus – perhaps yuzu – brightening up the super sweet shellfish. Large, creative rolls are also always fun. The “West Side” is a mouthful of delicious spicy salmon, green onions and peanuts all fried in a crispy tempura batter and drizzled with a sweet chili sauce. I could wax poetically for days for my love for sushi, but I think I need a wasabi fix! I’m off to Shiso! Shiso is located at 19161 Sonoma Highway. For more information or to make a reservation, call 933.9331 or visit shisorestaurant.com.

Kristin’s foodie event pick of the week
Last week, I excitedly drove to San Rafael in a scary, dramatic rain storm for a one night only showing of a documentary entitled, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.” If it is at all possible, I fell deeper in love with the Japanese culture and sushi while watching this beautifully filmed story of eighty-five year old master sushi chef, Jiro, and his pursuit for the absolute perfection of his craft. He is renowned as the world’s greatest sushi chef and his touching story will certainly move you, sushi devotee or not. The story of Jiro’s dedication to detail, his obsession for obtaining the world’s most pristine products, and his eldest son’s succession as master chef, all unfold between gorgeous, sweeping shots of the daily food preparations for the tiny, ten seat restaurant hidden deep within a Tokyo subway. I cannot think of a more delicious way to spend an evening than to watch this fabulous documentary followed by a sushi dinner. Luckily, Santa Rosa’s Summerfield Cinemas is showing the film for one night only, tomorrow, April 6. Call 522.0719 or visit summerfieldcinemas.com for more information, directions and/or showtimes.

On THe Menu
For a really festive option for Easter dining, head to the Hotbox Grill where Chef Norman Owens will be preparing an “Easter Brinner!” In addition to many of their regular, delicious menu offerings, his “breakfast for dinner” offerings sound like exactly the perfect Easter meal, particularly the braised rabbit over rabbit liver hash with a whole grain mustard sauce or the chicken fried filet with Paul’s Produce kale, whipped potatoes and béarnaise! Yum, béarnaise! Call 939.8383 or visit hotboxgrill.com to make reservations or for more information.

• On Saturday, April 14, head to ESTATE for a “Cooks with Books” luncheon event with Sondra Bernstein and Chef John Toulze celebrating the duo’s beautiful new book, “Plats du Jour: the girl and the fig’s Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country.” The cost for lunch, wine and a signed book is $120 per person or $195 per couple. Call 415.927.0960 or visit bookpassage.com to make your necessary reservations.

• Dining Club Rive Gauche returns on April 25 at 7 p.m. with “The Cuisine of Brazil” at the Sonoma Valley Grange Hall. The four-course menu includes a seafood course of bolinhos de bacalhau, a sweet potato salad, spice rubbed chicken and more. Live music will be courtesy of Tudo Bem. The tasty sounding menu and music are $35 per person plus gratuity. Reservations are required by calling 996.0900.

Salmon Hand Roll
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 (5 ounce) center cut salmon fillet, skin removed, finely chopped
4 teaspoons sesame oil
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 toasted nori sheets, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
1 small cucumber, peeled and sliced into slivers
1 small avocado, peeled, seeded and sliced into slivers
2 cups cooked Sushi Rice, recipe follows
To serve: wasabi, sweet picked ginger, soy sauce

In a medium bowl, mix together the chopped salmon, sesame oil, soy sauce, and mint leaves. Place a sheet of nori, shiny side down, on a work surface. Place 1/4 cup of the rice on the left side of the nori sheet. Using wet fingers, form the rice into a 3-inch square, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Place about 2 tablespoons of the salmon mixture, diagonally, in a 1/2-inch wide strip, on the rice, with the top of the salmon mixture facing the top left corner. Place a few slivers of cucumber on top of the salmon. Starting with the bottom left corner, roll the nori over the filling. Continue to roll, ice cream cone-fashion, working towards the right corner of the nori. Seal the edge of the hand roll with water or a few grains of the cooked rice. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Arrange on a serving platter and serve with wasabi, sweet pickled ginger and soy sauce.

Sushi Rice:
2 cups short-grain sushi rice (recommended: Kokuho Rose)
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar

Place the rice and water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 25 minutes. Sprinkle the vinegar over the rice and mix with a fork. Transfer the cooked rice to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Allow the rice to cool completely before using.
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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

Moaya Scheiman and Andrea Koweek, the sweet couple behind Crisp, come from a long history in the restaurant and special events businesses. Moaya, worked for years with a handful of celebrated Bay Area restaurants and chefs, and even did a stint in Bangkok with his own restaurant. A talented pastry chef, Andrea last worked for many years with the girl and the fig heading up their catering and special events department. It was while working there that Andrea realized the need for a bakery in Sonoma specializing in chic Wine Country wedding cakes, thus Crisp was born. These cakes, which will be the foundation of the bakery’s business, are elegant renditions of classic cakes all inspired by seasonal produce, modern baking techniques and timeless flavors. Oh, did I say that they’re gorgeous?!

All of the imaginative creations coming from the shiny new Crisp kitchen are based on quintessential American sweets. Moaya is passionate about our country’s food history, especially the South’s. His eyes lit up excitedly when he spoke of his love for that part of the country’s cuisine. Although, the duo likes to rethink these classics, finding inspiration at the farmer’s markets, through trends in cutting-edge ingredients and particularly through the bounty of amazing, local Sonoma ingredients. Cellophane bags of peanut brittle toffee were completely addictive, made even more so by the addition of tiny bits of crispy bacon. Homemade marshmallows are so pretty, incredibly light and fluffy, completely lacking the fake industrial flavors of the grocery store kind. Yes, I ate almost the whole bag and I am not at all sorry. Cookies here are ridiculously buttery. While sinking my teeth happily into the shop’s version of an Oreo, the “black cocoa shortbread with vanilla bean crème,” my eyes literally rolled into the back of my head. Morning pastries are beautifully presented versions of the classics. A messy, crumbly coffee cake was intense with cinnamon and will more than likely become my go-to midmorning craving. A crystallized ginger scone is scone perfection – all buttery, crumbly goodness – and could most certainly sway long time devotees of Artisan’s delicious ginger scones. And, don’t you gluten-intolerant folks freak out…there will be scrumptious offerings for you too. Dietetic offerings? Not so much.

Yes, this is ultimately a bakeshop, but don’t think it’s all just sweet and sticky here. A lovely sounding menu of breakfast and lunch savories will include a few market-inspired salads that will surely change with the seasons, savory pastries and possibly a few hand pies. Although, the shop’s focus will always lean heavily towards the sweet side, a selection of unique sandwiches will be available everyday, some featuring homemade or locally produced charcuterie. Happily, breads for these sandwiches will eventually be produced in-house. I am already fantasizing about the concoctions that they just might come up with and maybe, just maybe someday I will be in the market for a wedding cake. Crisp Bake Shop is located at 720 West Napa Street. For more information, visit crispbakeshop.com. They are opening this Sunday, April 1 and their hours will be: seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On The Menu
Tomorrow, March 30, at 6:30 p.m., join the Community Café for another delicious, wine-filled winemaker dinner with Tom Meadowcroft of Meadowcroft Wines. The four-course meal consists of many scrumptious sounding dishes like fried oysters on greens with buttermilk dressing, a bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin with a Cabernet reduction and a molten chocolate cake, all perfectly paired with Meadowcroft wines. The Community Café’s winemaker dinners are always fun and always affordable. Tickets are $39.95, plus tax and gratuity. The seating is limited, so be sure to make your reservations soon by calling 938.7779.

• Several fun cooking classes and events are coming up at Ramekins. “An Elegant Spring Dinner,” with Joanne Weir takes place at Ramekins on Thursday, April 19. This intimate class, limited to twelve students, features a menu of spring delicacies from the James beard Award-winning chef. For information on this or all the other great cooking classes and events at Ramekins, or to reserve your space, call 933.0450 or visit ramekins.com.

• Andrea Davis, of Sonoma’s Quarter Acre Farm, is leading a class that any backyard garden enthusiast surely should not miss. On Sunday, April 1, from 10 a.m. until noon, her “Tasty Tomato Talk” is always incredibly informational and covers many unknown ways to ensure your tomatoes are the most delicious. The classes will be held at the Backlot Garden at 243 West Spain and the cost for each class is $10, which includes light refreshments. Reservations are necessary and can be made by emailing quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com.

• On Saturday, April 14, head to ESTATE for a “Cooks with Books” luncheon event with Sondra Bernstein and Chef John Toulze celebrating the duo’s beautiful new book, “Plats du Jour: the girl and the fig’s Journey Through the Seasons in Wine Country.” The cost for lunch, wine and a signed book is $120 per person or $195 per couple. Call 415.927.0960 or visit bookpassage.com to make your necessary reservations.

What’s cookin’ Sonoma?
Pastry chef Addie Owens, wife of Norman Owens, the super talented owner and chef at the Hotbox Grill, is now baking the most outrageous chocolate chip cookies in town! Find them daily at the Epicurean Connection and at Sonoma’s Best, where they’re to die for with the shop’s killer Blue Bottle coffee.
• Just in time for Easter egg decorating, Nick Rupiper’s delicious, golden-yolked, local “Nix Chix” eggs are available at the Friday Farmer’s Market and now at Sonoma Market! Be sure to look for them at Sonoma Market in the egg department under the Fowler Creek Farm label.

• Mike [the bejkr] – our esteemed bread “Olympian” – just returned from a successful trip to France where he competed with the American team at the Coupe du Monde, the most prestigious bread baking competition on the planet. After three days of competition, Team USA placed second, taking home the coveted silver medal. Purchase Mike’s amazing breads most weeks at the Friday morning Farmer’s Market at Depot Park.

Chocolate, Peanut Toffee with Bacon
Recipe inspired by Crisp Bake Shop
Makes about 3 pounds

4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups whole cocktail peanuts plus 1 cup chopped (1 pound 10 ounces)
1/4 cup crisp bacon, chopped very fine
7 to 8 ounces 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Equipment: a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan; a candy thermometer; a metal offset spatula

Butter baking pan and put on a heatproof surface. Bring butter, sugar, and salt to a boil in a four to five quart heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat, whisking until smooth, boil, stirring occasionally, until mixture is deep golden and registers 300°F (hard-crack stage) on thermometer, 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately stir in whole peanuts and bacon, then carefully pour hot toffee into center of baking pan. Spread with spatula, smoothing top, and let stand 1 minute. Next, immediately sprinkle chocolate on top on top. Let stand until chocolate is melted, 4 to 5 minutes, then spread over toffee with cleaned spatula. Sprinkle evenly with remaining chopped peanuts, then freeze until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. Break into pieces.

Note: Toffee keeps, layered between sheets of parchment paper, in an airtight container at cool room temperature 2 weeks.

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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email 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 gooey yolk snuggling comfortably into the crunchy nooks and crannies, finished with nothing more than a drizzle of peppery olive oil and a generous sprinkling of crunchy, good salt. A poached egg or two makes an elegant, not to mention ridiculously easy, spring meal when served atop 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.

I believe that egg salad has sort of gotten a bad rap over the years. It’s 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 and still golden, 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 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, each one a soft brown and pale, pale blue, or a milky, creamy white, 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. Simply sitting there, like a painting, I realized those eggs were worth the six dollars. I mustered up the gumption one evening to crack a few into my favorite little mixing bowl, with plans for an adorned omelet 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. It’s 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 I was never going back to those grocery store eggs.

On The Menu
Next Friday, March 30, at 6:30 p.m., join the Community Café for another delicious, wine-filled winemaker dinner with Tom Meadowcroft of Meadowcroft Wines. The four-course meal consists of many scrumptious sounding dishes like fried oysters on greens with buttermilk dressing, a bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin with a Cabernet reduction and a molten chocolate cake, all perfectly paired with Meadowcroft wines. The Community Café’s winemaker dinners are always fun and always affordable. Tickets are $39.95 plus tax and gratuity. The seating is limited, so be sure to make your reservations soon by calling 938.7779.

• Out in the Vineyard’s “Big Gay Wine Train” is back for its second year onboard the Napa Valley Wine Train next Saturday, March 31, at 6:30 p.m. One of Wine Country’s most festive LGBT events, this is an evening consisting of an elegant five-course dinner paired with wines from some of California’s most awarded winemakers. Tickets are sure to sell out, so be sure to reserve your space today by calling 800.427.4124. For more information visit outinthevineyard.com.

• Several fun cooking classes and events coming up at Ramekins. Next Wednesday, March 28, beginning at 6:30 p.m. join Ramekins Executive Chef Doug MacFarland for a hands-on class entitled “Dress Up Your Chuck.” Students will learn unique preparations and sauces for affordable cuts of beef. Another fabulous sounding event, “An Elegant Spring Dinner,” with Joanne Weir takes place at Ramekins on Thursday, April 19.This intimate class, limited to twelve students, features a menu of spring delicacies from the James beard Award-winning chef. For information or to reserve your space for these and/or all the other great cooking classes and events at Ramekins, call 933.0450 or visit ramekins.com.

• Andrea Davis, of Sonoma’s Quarter Acre Farm, is leading a class that any backyard garden enthusiast surely should not miss. On Sunday, April 1, from 10 a.m. until noon, her “Tasty Tomato Talk” is always incredibly informational and covers many unknown ways to ensure your tomatoes are the most delicious. The classes will be held at the Backlot Garden at 243 West Spain and the cost for each class is $10, which includes light refreshments. Reservations are necessary and can be made by emailing quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com.

• Frances Mayes, author of the super famous Under the Tuscan Sun, will be at the Left Bank Restaurant in Larkspur also on Sunday, April 1, for a special dinner and book signing to promote her new book, “The Tuscan Sun Cookbook.” A toast to her experiences in Italy, her new cookbook evokes the days spent roaming the countryside in search of local specialties. This lovely sounding dinner offers a unique opportunity to dine with Mayes and feast on dishes inspired by the cookbook. The $110 ticket is inclusive of the meal and includes a signed book. Call 415.927.0960 or visit bookpassage.com to make your necessary reservations.

Spring Vegetables topped with a Poached Egg
Serves six as a light entree or first course

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
4 shallots, finely diced
1 pound fresh English shelling peas, shelled and blanched
1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices
3 pounds fresh fava beans, shelled, blanched in boiling water 1 minute and outer skins removed
Two 3-inch strips lemon zest removed with a vegetable peeler and sliced crosswise into julienne strips
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon snipped, fresh chives
6 poached eggs

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sauté shallots, stirring, until tender, about 2 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove shallots and set aside. Add remaining tablespoon oil and 1/2 tablespoon butter and heat over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sauté asparagus with salt to taste, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. Add fava beans and sauté, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Add zest, lemon juice, peas and shallots, and salt and pepper to taste and sauté, stirring, until just heated through. Divide the vegetables into six shallow bowls and top each with a poached egg and a sprinkling of chives. Serve 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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.

A new “Star” in Glen Ellen

Opening soon in downtown Glen Ellen, is a sure-to-be-tasty new eatery named Glen Ellen Star. Housed in the charming little building that was home to Saffron for many years, the Star is the brainchild of husband and wife duo Chef Ari Weiswasser and Erinn Benziger-Weiswasser. Ari trained in many high-profile New York City kitchens before moving to Sonoma, and shortly after he completed a sixteen-month stint at the French Laundry. Erinn, daughter of Mike and Mary Benziger, will help oversee the dining room and, appropriately, the wine program. Last week, I had the good fortune to attend a casual “practice” dinner featuring a handful of super scrumptious dishes destined to be on the restaurant’s final menu, all paired with delicious Benziger wines, of course. The couple’s goal is to take advantage of Sonoma’s spectacular goods – locally grown produce, meats and cheeses – many from the Benziger’s own property, and prepare them simply in the restaurant’s blazing hot wood-burning oven. For the practice dinner, the food was all beautifully and skillfully prepared. Classical technique was certainly employed, but the resulting dishes were all cozy and utterly comforting. A loaf of puffy pita bread was pulled from the oven, piping hot and steamy, and was served on a wooden board made from wine staves. Fennel, roasted to a state of perfection, the edges delightfully caramelized, was uncomplicated, but ridiculously good. A chicken breast – not typically my chicken choice – was roasted in a terra cotta dish of salt, resulting in what was easily one of the most deliciously moist pieces of chicken I have ever eaten. An earthy, green Chimichurri sauce was a bright and appreciated accompaniment. While difficult to put the Star’s cuisine in a specific category, I will just call it yummy! The space will be rustic and relaxed, with bare reclaimed wooden tables, a small food bar overlooking the open kitchen and glowing wood-burning oven. Lunch and dinner will both be served. Look for a mid-April opening. Visit glenellenstar.com for more information or to see a sample menu.

Local farm fun

Andrea Davis, local farmer-girl extraordinaire of Sonoma’s favorite little Quarter Acre Farm, has all sorts of news and fun, garden-y sorts of things happening to get you in the mood for another season of growing your own fruits and vegetables. Davis, who last year served as manager for the Tuesday night farmer’s market, has resigned from that position to focus more of her time on her farm, which is in actuality now closer to a full acre. Andrea, for the first time, is offering memberships to her Community Supported Agriculture program, where members will receive a weekly box of certified organic produce directly from the farm. The CSA will run for twenty-six weeks beginning June 28. Full and partial memberships are available. Contact Andrea for more information or to join at quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com. In more exciting Quarter Acre Farm news, Davis is also leading several classes that any backyard garden enthusiast surely should not miss. Her “Backyard Vegetable Gardening” class is this Sunday, March 18, from 10 a.m. until noon. She’ll discuss how to ensure your garden provides the most bountiful crop this year. On Sunday, April 1, from 10 a.m. until noon, her “Tasty Tomato Talk” is always incredibly informational and covers many unknown ways to ensure your tomatoes are the most delicious. The classes will be held at the Backlot Garden at 243 West Spain and the cost for each class is $10, which includes light refreshments. Reservations are necessary and can be made by emailing quarteracre.sonoma@gmail.com.

Say cheese…and more!

Sheana Davis’ lovely little Plaza shop, the Epicurean Connection, isn’t just a great resource for locally produced cheeses, artisanal products, cheese and charcuterie boards, and fabulous foodie finds. Davis is now serving the most delightful lunch, with seating at the shop’s gorgeous, long wooden communal table. Her menu is a compilation of exactly the types of things anyone in their right mind would really love for lunch. Pretty salads are made with locally sourced greens and homemade dressings, while creative sandwiches are served open-faced on rustic bread. Both feature Davis’ own excellent cheeses, of course, and fun condiments also sold in-store. A selection of soup is available and are all served in cute little canning jars, especially fun when paired with a basket of bread and the “Tasting of Butters.” Be sure to save room for a gargantuan chocolate chip cookie or Graham crackers and a glass of cold Organic milk for dessert. The Epicurean Connection is located at 122 West Napa Street, 935.7960.

On The Menu
Join Transition Sonoma Valley for a “Locavore Potluck, Movie & Presentation” today, Thursday, March 15, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Being held at the Grange in Boyes Hot Springs, this celebration of local food and farmers brings community members and organizations together for a wonderful evening focused on local food! Enjoy potluck fare featuring locally grown food, a thirty-minute film entitled, “Nourish” and a presentation by the farmer from Tara Firma Farms. As a special treat, attendees will get to see a sneak peek of “The Organic Life,” a documentary about a small Sonoma farm. For more information, visit trasitionsonomavalley.org.

Salt-Baked Chicken
Recipe inspired by Glen Ellen Star
Despite its name, this chicken is not at all salty. The kosher salt helps form an enclosed dome in which the chicken is sealed and baked, creating the most moist chicken I’ve ever tasted in my life.

1 to 2 boxes of Kosher Salt

1 six-to-seven pound chicken

1/2 lemon

Springs of thyme

Fresh ground black pepper

Spritzes of water

Preheat oven to 375. Unwrap chicken, remove giblets and pat dry with paper towels. Rub cavity with lemon, black pepper and thyme. Pepper the chicken skin as well. In a deep-sided casserole or roasting pan drizzle in about 1/4 of the kosher salt as a bed. Lay the chicken breast side down on top of the salt and use the rest of the salt to totally cover the chicken. Once properly covered with salt you should not be able to see the chicken at all. Using a spray bottle or just your fingers, carefully drizzle some water over the salt. This will help the salt form a hard cover when in the oven. Bake for one hour and fifteen minutes and remove from oven. Let rest ten minutes. Crack the top and the dome of salt should pop right off. Remove chicken and transfer to a cutting board. If any salt is stuck to the chicken you can simply brush it off. Carve as desired.

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.  Find her blogging daily as the Cook at thecardiganandcook.com or via email at foodandwine@sonomasun.com.