Best of 2010

Go with the grain. Brown rice, the earnest mascot for the all too fibrous health food movement, has somehow ingrained itself in my brain. Pun intended. Alas, not just any brown rice, but the certified organic, heirloom Kokuho Rose medium grain brown rice from Koda Farms, located in the dusty heart of California’s Central Valley. It has a pale golden color, subtle nutty texture and a somewhat sweet, floral aroma. Each grain remains individual, with a slightly sticky texture that amazingly improves in the refrigerator over time. When milling brown rice, only the outer hull is removed, leaving the nutritious bran intact. Brown rice is not only much higher in fiber but also in B vitamins and many other nutrients. White rice simply pales in comparison. Find Koda Farms rice locally at Sonoma Market. kodafarms.com

Wake up and smell the biscuit. For many Saturdays I have been jumping out of bed thinking, BISCUIT! The Fremont Diner’s fluffy, buttery biscuit topped with thinly sliced salty southern ham, grainy mustard and a spicy-sweet homemade ginger jam might just make a morning person of you too. Nirvana, paired with a never ending cup of Taylor Maid Farms dark roasted brew. I’ve also had naughty thoughts recently of the little skillet full of creamy, cheesy grits and the perfect little, light-as-air ricotta pancakes. If you have not yet dined at the charming roadside eatery, you are missing out on food sourced and prepared with a great deal of love and served with a sparkling, genuine smile. Breakfast daily from 8 a.m., 7 a.m. on the weekends. 2660 Sonoma Highway, 938.7370.

Go Fish. Whole fish. Are you a fan? I would easily put dining on a well-prepared whole fish up there with, say…getting kissed by George Clooney! Is that weird? There is just something about eating a fish whole. I think it is the same premise as enjoying meat on the bone, which simply is divine as well. Or, maybe it’s something in our very being, something cave man that remembers when fish and meat didn’t come sealed in plastic, sitting on a little piece of styrofoam or possibly it’s just fun to be allowed to eat with our fingers in public? The cooking method is less important than the fact that it must not be overcooked. Deep-fried, whether it’s covered in a Thai Panang curry or served alongside a homemade New Orleans rémoulade, is the epitome. While steamed over lemongrass a la Vietnam or poached and served cold with a lively lemon-dill aioli sounds especially nice on a summer evening. My most recent memorable whole fish experience, which I continue to daydream about, was had at our very own La Salette. The Branzino – a European seabass – was skillfully prepared in the restaurant’s blazing hot wood burning oven, imparting a wonderfully smoky aroma and then doused in a brilliant sweet and sour sauce. When given the chance, I choose whole fish, but just don’t ask me to share it.

Oo la la. “What is Lillet?” you may ask? Well, it is simply one of the most heavenly beverages that you could possibly enjoy on a warm summer afternoon. It’s golden color shimmers like the late afternoon sun and the taste is nothing short of magical. Created in 1887 and pronounced leh-lay, it is a French wine-based aperitif, mostly Sauvignon Blanc, blended with citrus liquers made from a variety of oranges and matured in oak. The exact recipe is a long-guarded secret. The Lillet brothers first produced the intoxicating brew in southern Bordeaux when the port there was the main harbor for products being imported from the Caribbean Islands. Possibly the source of the mysterious spice? There are two flavors, white/blanc or red/rouge and I usually prefer the white. Traditionally served over ice and garnished with a slice of orange, the blanc tastes of a hint of exotic spice, a bit sweet from honey, flowers or candied orange, and a pleasantly bitter finish that leaves the tongue begging for another sip. Find it locally at our ever trusty Sonoma Market for about $18.

Playing Chicken. Are you like me and on a lifelong quest to make the perfect roast chicken? If so, you need to be aware of something that I very luckily stumbled upon about a year ago…air chilled chicken. Until that fortuitous day when I forked over my twenty-four bucks at Whole Foods, I previously tried every brand and sort of chicken out there: organic, local, special breeds and special feeds to no avail. This chicken was chicken intensified. Chicken-y chicken. Chicken probably the way it tasted in the good old days before factory farming and bird flu. Not a soggy, salty, waterlogged, grocery store bird. The term air chilled is relatively new in America, but in Europe – where not surprisingly the chicken actually tastes like chicken – this process has been popular for decades. Conventionally raised chickens are typically dunked in iced, chlorinated water to bring down their temperatures after slaughter. Air chilled birds are merely cooled rapidly in large, cold chambers. This process is significantly more costly, but the benefits are huge to the environment and the consumer. My preferred small, California producer, Mary’s Chickens, save more than 30,000 gallons of water per day and their chickens are safer, fresher and retain that tasty natural chicken flavor. Ask for Mary’s Chickens locally at Sonoma Market and Whole Foods, finally ending your lifelong quest for that perfect roast chicken. Just a warning: you will never be able to eat that other chicken again.

I’m a Picker. As I walk or ride my bike around Sonoma I am always astonished at the amount of fruit, nut and olive trees that go unharvested, causing such a mess, not to mention a waste…the fruit simply squishing under my sneakers. And, I must admit that I am an unabashed thief of wild, roadside berries and the unkempt branch laden with fruit hanging over a neighbors’ fence, so as you can see, this is especially hard for me. In other words, I am a “gleaner” same as my momma and my grandma before her – who was famous for saying that found fruit was always sweeter. Gleaning was first defined as the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers’ fields after they had been commercially harvested. Some ancient cultures considered gleaning as an early form of the welfare system. It now is a term used to describe a growing trend towards groups foraging for unwanted fruit and working together to preserve them, sometimes for a cause. A recent morning of foraging produced about 6 dozen figs, a six-gallon bucket full of plums and two cobblers worth of gorgeous, sweet blackberries. I would love to see all of Sonoma’s unwanted bounty going towards those who will enjoy it and possible to a good cause, and so I have created a group named Sonoma Fallen Fruit Project. If you are interested in joining in foraging adventures or if you would like to offer your fruits, vegetables, nuts or olives to be harvested, please contact me at Kristinviguerie@mac.com or 707.939.9065.