Sonoma Valley food & wine news from Kathleen Hill

Thanks to the creators of Thanksgiving, which has morphed into the Day Before Black Friday, which itself has morphed into Black Week. Best of luck to the merchants who want to get their accounts “in the black.” And please do shop locally.

And thanks to New York for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Or is it the Thanksgiving Macy’s Day Parade?

In any case, no matter how alone or depressed one might get on this or other holidays, we all have a lot for which to be thankful.

We who live here in Sonoma can be thankful for the beauty around us, especially this year. Just look out the window of your home or car, hike among the vineyards if you can, and suck in the sweet smells and colors of fall. We can be thankful for a friend or two, maybe even family. And thankful for whatever food we can muster.

If you are cooking, be sure to think of a friend or two who might be alone and invite them to join you.

HHH

The much-anticipated Delhi Belly Indian restaurant has opened at 522 Broadway. Reports are that it is good, and I will be sampling this week. Give it a try, especially since so many Sonomans have been lusting after more exotic foods and restaurant variety.

HHH

Heart of Sonoma Valley’s annual Open House comes this weekend, Friday, Nov. 27 and Saturday, Nov. 28 throughout Kenwood and Glen Ellen in case you want to go sipping instead of shopping, hiking, basking at the beach, or staying home.

Participating Wineries include B Wise Vineyards Cellar, Benziger Family Winery, Chateau St. Jean, Deerfield Ranch, Eric Ross, Imagery Estate, Kenwood Vineyards, La Rochelle, Ledson, Loxton Cellars, Madrone Vineyards, Manzanita Creek Winery, Mayo Family Winery, Muscardini Cellars, Orpheus Wines, Paradise Ridge, St. Anne’s Crossing, St. Francis, Ty Caton, VJB Vineyards & Cellars, and Wellington. 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

Advance tickets for the Two-Day pass are $45 per person (designated drivers are $10), $50 at the door. Tickets at heartofsonomavalley.com or call 431.1137.

HHH

While we are hearing news that Bay Area Dungeness crab might be showing lower level of toxins than most of the rest of the West Coast, giving us hope to enjoy that delicacy and relieve the financial woes of local crabbers, we now learn that the U.S. government has approved “Frankenfish,” or salmon created by modifying genes and creating Aldous Huxley salmon that won’t even be labeled as GMO farmed.

About the crab: Tests over the last couple of weeks have shown a drop to “safe” levels of domoic acid, a neurotoxin that can possibly kill people, in ocean waters around San Francisco, Half Moon Bay and Morro Bay, but not off the Oregon coast or Pacific coastlines south of here.

Dungeness crab has long been a Thanksgiving and Christmas treat for many families, many of whom have to try something else this year, although Sonoma Market was selling Dungeness crab from Alaska for $10.99 a pound. Often we substitute salmon when crab seemed too expensive or an arriving guest didn’t care for crab.

So now we have another dilemma. Last Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that they had approved GMO salmon, meaning for the first time the government approved a genetically engineered food animal for sale in the U.S.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, this salmon will be “produced from eggs engineered by the American company Aqua-Bounty at a facility in Canada, which will then send it to be raised in specific land-based fish farms in Panama.” Officially called AquaAdvantage salmon, its detractors have dubbed the scary creatures as “Frankenfish.”

The new GMO salmon reportedly eat a quarter less and grow twice as fast as farmed and dye-injected “Atlantic salmon.”

The new “salmon” will hit the market in about two years and what’s worse, it will not need to be labeled as GMO, on which the FDA decided in favor of the producers over consumers. The Center for Food Safety is preparing to sue the FDA.

Supposedly Costco, which in June said they would sell the GMO salmon, apparently changed their minds after hundreds of thousands of consumers protested. Now Costco, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target and Safeway have all said they are not planning to sell AquAdvantage Salmon “at this time.” “At this time” does leave them an out to change their minds and purchase and sell it later.

HHH

Yes, Carol Doda had a small (ahem) connection to Sonoma. Jeff and Jeanne Lyons used to give a holiday party every Christmas Eve. Jeanne was a longtime board member of what is now called California Pacific Medical Center and the Lyons knew restaurateur Doidge Baldwin from their San Francisco days.

Baldwin lived here in Sonoma with his dogs from the time when Maya Angelou lived on Country Club Drive with her son. He was also a good friend of Carol Doda.

When our son and daughter were 11 or 12, we were on our way home from San Francisco one evening and son saw the flashing nipples on the Condor Club sign and asked what they were. We explained. Soon we were all at the Lyons’ Christmas Eve party, along with party regular Doidge Baldwin, and as I arrived at the deviled eggs on the buffet table, Carol Doda was going for them at the same time. I found son in the living room and told him the flashing nipples were at the deviled eggs in the dining room. He blushed and went the other way.

So shocked were the hosts that they vowed never to host their Christmas Eve party again. And they didn’t. May they all, including Carol Doda, rest in peace.

HHH

Loved the New York Times “Style” section story on Nov. 18 called “Thanksgiving at Julia’s.” Typical of generous and gracious Julia Child, every time her unlisted phone rang on Thanksgiving, including during dinner, with someone’s question about cooking turkey, she would happily jump up and answer their question. The person recounting this annual experience was Sheryl Julian, Food Editor of The Boston Globe who has also been my editor there. Actually, cookbook author Paula Wolfert introduced me to Julian right here in Slownoma at the Sunflower Caffé.

HHH

Both Tra Vigne in St. Helena and Applewood Inn near Guerneville are closing. Restaurants have a shelf life too.

HHH

Campbell’s Soup is introducing some healthier chicken broth based soups, heart be still. Imagine: the new version of chicken noodle soup only contains 20 ingredients instead of its standard 30 ingredients. The new soup labels will be decorated with Star Wars figures.

HHH

Let us take a moment and think quietly about the tragedies of last week in Paris, Beirut, Germany, Brussels, and other endangered places.

Until a couple of weeks ago, the most talked about national problem in France was the recent theft of 100 wheels of Comté cheese from the Napier dairy in the eastern French town of Goux-les-Usiers.

Those of us who have been to Paris, remember it for different reasons and favor its different charms. Among those are unique medium priced restaurants and cafés, night life, museums, architecture, music and, for some people, shopping.

Last year, a few of us who went on Sarah Anderson’s Chateau Sonoma trip went to Paris after our week at Chateau Dumas. As it happens, we stayed in a hotel a block from the restaurants that were attacked and spent a little time in one of them.

All of us can remember where we were when a president was shot (if you were alive for those of Kennedy, Reagan and the attempt on Gerald Ford) and during the 9-11 attacks on New York. Let us not forget the good parts of all of those places, and especially the people who were killed.

HHH

Next weekend happenings:

Wild Thyme will cater the reception to honor Sonoma Treasure artist Barbara White Perry at the Sonoma Valley Museum of Art on Thursday, Dec. 3.

White-Perry has created a fabulous service to Sonoma with her drawings of all of Sonoma’s important historic structures, which she has now assembled into an attractive book. (Great gift.).

Her husband, Fred “The Cookie King” Perry, will whip up a full array of his famous cookies to compliment Wild Thyme’s food. 5:30 to 7 p.m. 551 Broadway, Sonoma. Reserve your spot by Nov. 24 at 933-2218. $20. Make checks payable to City of Sonoma, No. 1, The Plaza, Sonoma 95476.

HHH

On Saturday afternoon, Dec. 5, I will bring some of the most interesting and newly acquired pieces from my Kathleen Hill Culinary Collection of antique kitchen utensils to Sonoma’s Williams-Sonoma to make holiday appetizer recipes from the new “Williams-Sonoma Cooking at Home” cookbook on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The whole event is free, with some tastes included.

HHH

Saturday evening, Dec. 5, Hamel Family Wines at Highway 12 and Madrone Road will celebrate the holidays with their second annual “Lighting of the Vines,” loaded with snacks, crafts, desserts and wine. The actual lighting of the vines will be at dark, around 5:45 p.m. Hamel asks for a donation of $25 for adults, with all funds going to the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation. The Hamel family will match admission proceeds dollar-for-dollar. A fun and spectacular event for a great cause, the education of our children. 4 p.m. Reserve at 996-5800.

HHH

Sonoma Valley Grange opens once again for its famous organic Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, Dec. 6 from 9 to 11 a.m. Enjoy freshly ground wheat pancakes, veggie frittata with free-range eggs, free-range sausage, fresh juices, organic dark roast coffee, tea, etc. 9 to 11 a.m. $12 adults, $6 children. 18627 Sonoma Hwy., Boyes Hot Springs. 935-1322.