Quote of the Day

High-tech tomatoes.  Mysterious milk.  Supersquash.  Are we supposed to eat this stuff?  Or is it going to eat us? 

~Annita Manning

In-N-Out makes me happy

I had the distinct pleasure of taking a tasty detour to the only fast food I will ever consider, California's own In-N-Out Burger.

If you have ever eaten at In-N-Out Burger, you know that there are few burgers that can substitute this dietary staple. Fresh produce, meat and dairy make for a tasty if indulgent meal I only spring for every once in awhile. 

My friend Tom and I stopped in for a yummy treat last week and ordered the works: cheeseburgers with onions, fresh cut french fries and chocolate milkshakes. 

Americana at its finest. Yum yum yum!

Slow Food Nation in San Francisco

Sunday, Day 4 of my Sonoma Showcase Weekend and Slow Food Nation Tour was devoted to a day at Slow Food Nation in San Francisco at the Fort Mason Center. 

My intrepid tour guide and rock star cheesemaker friend Sheana Davis drove us into the city around 8:00 am to get prime parking (exit strategy in place). We met a new friend Susan Roth for early breakfast at Greens Restaurant -- they made me a truly de

licious and real Chai tea that hit that early morning hankering for me. 

We sauntered in to the Slow Food Nation staging area in the beautiful Fort Mason on the Marina. Slow Food Nation is meant to the birth of a broad and inclusive food movement to build an American system that is sustainable, just and delicious.

Sheana's cheese Delice de la Vallee was on showcase in the Cheese section of the event among 60 other artisanal fromage varieties. Sheana, with the help of Susan, offered 5000 samples of her cheese to people walking through the cheese section. Excited delights of 'Yum!" and "Wow, what is that goodness?!" 

       

Sheana's friends from Cheese School of San Francisco stopped by and the picture below is by far my favorite: the baby, eating cheese and looking as happy as a mini clam. So cute!

Sonoma Showcase Weekend -- Saturday August 30

The cheese and the weekend has finally digested -- what a time I had in Sonoma over Labor Day weekend, drinking the best beers and wines in the country and sampling some of the best food goodies of my life. 

MacMurray Ranch was the scene of the Sonoma Showcase. This beautiful ranch is set about 15 minutes west of the town of Healdsburg. Driving down the winding road between lush vineyards and simple homesteads, I felt transported back in time; this scene does not exist in mainstream America anymore. MacMurray Ranch was purchased by Hollywood actor Fred MacMurray in 1941, and sold to the Gallo family many years later. They have kept the ranch on it's original charming state, and you couldn't have asked for a more beautiful setting for the Sonoma Showcase Weekend. 

Saturday, August 30th started out as a very early morning; Sheana and I had to arrive at MacMurray Ranch sometime around 7:00am. Sheana's assistant Alexis arrived around 9:30 to serve 1000s of samples of fresh Sonoma cheeses to the happy attendees. 

Alexis manned the Epicurean Connection table in the center of the Sonoma tent. She served Delice de la Vallee to 1500 cheery folks on lovely fresh bread topped with a drizzle of saba, a super yummy concoction imported into the States made of concentrated, reduced grape juice. Wow. The Delice de la Vallee certainly pops on its own, and the saba adds that extra zing. The other cheese on the table was Franklin's Teleme, a rich complement to the Delice, indeed. The table was decorated with Mason jars full of culinary harvest items and even Mardi Gras beads, a tribute to New Orleans for the careful observers.