Kathleen Hill: Chocolate crickets, cheese and beer-making classes and more

Vella Cheese makes 'New York Times'

Congratulations to Vella Cheese for making Florence Fabricant's 'Front Burner' column in the Jan. 9 Food Section of the New York Times.

Vella's Dry Jack and Cypress Grove's Lamb Chopper cheeses will be served at the 92nd Street Y with top cabernets sauvignon and zinfandels from Sonoma and Napa counties on Thursday, Jan. 31 in case you might be in New York then. The 92nd Street Y was founded as a Jewish community center of learning.

Cheese expert Martin Johnson and wine distributor Michael Whidden will give a talk called 'California Dreamin.'' What an original title! 93nd Street Y is on 1352 Lexington Ave. 92Y.org.

President Trump shares fast food with Clemson team

President Donald Trump tweeted this week, 'Great being with the National Champion Clemson Tigers last night at the White House. Because of the shutdown I served them massive amounts of fast food (I paid) over 1,000 hamberders (sic) etc. Within one hour, it was all gone. Great guys and big eaters!'

According to the Washington Post, Trump spent about $3,000 on burgers and fries from McDonald's Big Macs, Wendy's, Burger King Whoppers, and pizza from Domino's, all of which he proclaimed as 'American companies' and therefore good. The football players, dressed properly in suits and ties for a White House visit and luncheon, looked a little surprised by the common fast food, including White House paper cups loaded with French fries.

A widely circulated cartoon featured two football players saying, 'I wonder what second place got.'

The president also said he could have had 'the first lady and the second lady make salads,' but that he didn't think these were salad guys, with the implications that real men don't eat salads.

Trump rolls back healthy school lunch requirements

In keeping with his penchant for eating and serving fast food, President Trump's administration has rolled back Obama-era initiatives for healthier school lunches, giving the dairy industry a bigger presence in American cafeterias, according to CBS News.

The Obama administration pushed for more fruits and vegetables, more whole grains, lower sodium levels and fat-free chocolate milk, or no chocolate milk at all, which reportedly led to lower sales of milk, supposedly hurting the dairy industry.

On behalf of the dairy industry, the Trump administration relays that kids don't drink unflavored milk.

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, who was once a consultant to milk producers, announced the relaxation of the rules. Higher-fat chocolate milk is back nationally, along with more white breads and pizza.

The changes are considered a victory for food companies that count on schools as a steady source of revenue and an opportunity to shape the buying habits of future consumers. Lobbyists rule.

Cody Williams, food service manager of Sonoma Valley Unified School District, says that as a result of the relaxation of nutrition requirements, he will be 'reintroducing Basque Boulangerie sourdough rolls, regular Homegrown bagels instead of whole wheat bagels, and occasional white rice instead of brown rice.'

Suite D's 'Road Trip' dinner series

Suite D is taking us on a culinary road trip around the United States without having to leave home. Saves lots of packing and airfare, for sure.

Dinners will bring famous specialties from San Francisco, New Orleans, New Mexico, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, Kansas City and New England, for starters.

The series kicks off after proprietor Sondra Bernstein's New Year Open house with wine and nibbles Jan. 17 to 19 at the Rhône Room on Broadway.

Suite D's first culinary outing brings us to San Francisco for a crab feast on Saturday, Jan. 26 featuring crab bisque shooters and petite crab cakes; a papaya, crab and avocado salad, San Francisco-style cioppino with garlic bread, and a lemon curd tart. $55 or $46.75 for Suite D wine or social club members. 5:30 p.m.

Injected into the series is Suite D's next Sunday Supper on Friday, Feb 1. (Yes, Sunday Supper on Friday.) Expect an iceberg wedge salad with blue cheese, fried chicken with cole slaw and biscuits and banana cream pie. $38. Go after Martini Madness, which starts at 5 p.m. Fried chicken at 7 p.m. 21800 Schellville Road, Sonoma. Suite D reservations can be made at therhoneroom.com.

February brings a Mushroom and Wine Pairing dinner on Saturday, Feb. 9, and another Sunday Supper of antipasti salad, lasagna, garlic bread and tiramisu on Friday, Feb. 15. Tickets at therhoneroom.com

Highwayman wine and cheese celebration

Paul Giusto and Curt John celebrate the release of their 2017 Highwayman Reserve Chardonnay from local Sangiacomo Vineyards Home Ranch and Kiser Ranch, with sheep's milk cheese pairings on Fridays and Saturdays through January. They only made 180 cases, all new French barrel fermented.

Giusto says they are offering sheep's milk cheese pairings to 'complement this delightfully furry animal's historical significance in Carneros.' 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Cornerstone.

Feeding government shut-outs

José Andrés, owner of several restaurants in and around Washington, D.C., who pulled out of installing one of his restaurants in Donald Trump's hotel remodel of the D.C. post office because of Trump's insults to minorities and immigrants, was the first off the blocks to feed the 800,000 federal workers and their families during President Trump's 'proud' shutdown of some of the government.

An immigrant from Spain, Andrés' Central World Kitchen rushed to feed thousands and thousands of people desperate following devastating storms in Puerto Rico. Central World Kitchen also showed up in Texas after hurricanes, and Chico after fires.

And now Andres is feeding federal workers affected by the shutdown around Washington, D.C. with the following invitation: 'All my beautiful hardworking people of the Federal Government, come to any of my places with your families at the bar between 2-5 p.m. for a free sandwich. Every day until back to work!'

This week Andrés' Central Kitchen started 'Chefs for Feds' offering 'hot meals and to-go items' daily to shut-down federal workers.

His example led many other restaurateurs to offer food, from fast food to groceries and food banks throughout the country.

Even Canadian air traffic controllers are sending pizzas to American air traffic controllers to help sustain them, in more ways than one.

No wonder Andrés has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

New food trends from Fancy Food Show

Every winter the Specialty Food Association hosts its Fancy Food Show in San Francisco's Moscone Center. And every winter companies of varied sizes try to attract attention and orders for the supposedly irresistible newest chip or crisp, newest cracker or biscuit, newest chocolate, newest tea, and newest best cheeses.

This year, one floor up from the main south pavilion, were the foods of the future, also known as 'lost crops': the Bambara Bean, a plant-based protein that is indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa; Kuli Kuli Moringa vegetable powder, said to be better for us than kale; Jackfruit, drought and pest resistant from India; and Fonio, a gluten-free ancient super grain from West Africa. Keep your eyes peeled for these. Check out those Don Bugito Dark Chocolate Crickets with Amaranth Seeds, spotted by Sonoma baker Andrea Koweek.

Beer department

Valley of the Moon Garden Club will host hops aficionado and expert Ilya Faibushevich on Thursday, Feb. 7 who will show hops samples and talk about hops history in Sonoma County – how hops are used in brewing, and why you may want to grow them, always improving our appreciation of micro brews.

According to Bonnie Brown of the Garden Club, 'Ilya graduated college with dreams of being an economist. In 2010, while working on a two-year project to quantify the health impact of environmental policies in China, he got a side job working in a local brewery's cellar in a dark cold basement, transferring and carbonating beer, helping on brew days and, of course, cleaning. He was immediately hooked!'

Since then, she says, he has brewed for some of the country's most acclaimed beer makers, including Side Project, Perennial, Moonlight and Cellarmaker. His travels have taken him to brew in Europe and France, at Brouwerij De Ranke and Brasserie Thiriez.

He is now the sales manager in Northern California and Nevada for Yakima Chief Hops, the biggest supplier of American-grown hops in the U.S.

Free to members, $5 general. 7 p.m. Burlingame Hall, First Congregational Church, 252 W. Spain St., Sonoma. Bonniebrown08@comcast.net.

John Arends Brewing Class

John Arends will teach a 'How to Brew' class at the Cook Vineyard Management Store on Saturday, Feb. 9. Guests will sample and discuss beers and ingredients and demonstrate how to make a 5-gallon batch of beer. Free. Limited to 10 people. 1 to 3 p.m. 19626 Eighth St. E., Sonoma. Sign up at 938-7919 or cookvineyardmanagementstore@yahoo.com.

Cheesemaking classes coming up

The Epicurean Connection is holding cheesemaking classes on the first Friday of each month at Cook Vineyard Management ($40), and on the second Sunday of each month at the Sonoma Community Center ($75). Topics range from Black Peppercorn & Herbed Feta to Oaxacan cheese with jalapenos and Chocolate Crème Fraiche Fondue. For Cook Vineyard Management classes call 938-7919 and for those at Sonoma Community Center go to theepicureanconnection.com and sign up via Eventbrite.com.

More restaurant closures

While we've reported several restaurant closures locally over the past year, not all closures were in Sonoma Valley. They persist in the Napa Valley, the East Bay and San Francisco, the latter of which has perennial musical chairs of eating places.

In Napa Valley we lost the wonderful Terra and Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen. Terra closed to focus on other endeavors, and Cindy Pawlcyn sold her Backstreet Kitchen to the Gotts for more than she could refuse and left happy.

And of course we lost Shed in Healdsburg.

In Berkeley, Spenger's Fish Grotto, a Berkeley staple for 128 years, closed to tears of many of its older customers. (I would still like to recover one of the ship's wheels my McKelligon grandfather gave Spenger's that hung on the ceiling.) Across University Avenue, Brennan's sort-of-hofbrau and hangout closed after 60 years, and Ici Ice Cream closed after 12 years. Brown Sugar Kitchen closed its original location to move up Broadway in Oakland and open a spot at the San Francisco Airport.