Kathleen Hill: Cathy Fisher cookbook, Sonoma-Loeb and garlic fries

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Cathy Fisher’s plant-based cookbook

Glen Ellen resident Cathy Fisher, who for a year or so hosted vegetarian potlucks at Sonoma Community Center, is self-publishing a colorful plant-based cookbook.

Fisher (no relation to M.F.K.) really seems to know her stuff. As she puts it, her “longest employer during the last 10 years has been Dr. John McDougall,” of Santa Rosa, famous for his plant-based diets and books, a lifestyle many doctors are now recommending.

The Sonoma native and graduate of Sonoma Valley High School, also served as managing editor of Wine Business Monthly and North Bay Biz magazine.

Her new book will be hard cover, full-color and spiral bound and will contain her recipes that include no added salt, oil or sugar. She says, this is “no longer the weird path. It’s a hot topic.”

Self-publishing all sorts of books, especially cookbooks, seems to be the trend since major publishers have focused their investments on blockbusters and sure things. Sondra Bernstein achieved great success by publishing her second cookbook herself, and Emily Kaiser Thelin’s upcoming book about Paula Wolfert will be self-published thanks to a highly successful Kickstarter campaign.

Fisher is raising funds on Kickstarter for her book, “Straight Up Food,” as well. If you would like to help, or kick in, find her on kickstarter.com /projects/straightupfood/the-straight-up-food-cookbook. Or contact her directly at 343-1043.

Sonoma-Loeb Wines open house

The Chappellet family will host a reception Saturday, Aug. 20 at their Vine Alley tasting room to include their just released 2015 Sangiacomo Vineyard Chardonnay. Guests can enjoy “lite bites” by Chef Aaron Hodges, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark John Loeb started to grow grapes in Sonoma Valley 25 years ago to make chardonnay and pinot noir, and eventually asked Phillip Corallo-Titus of Chappellet Vineyards to make his wines, which they still do. The Chappellet family also took over Loeb’s vineyards, which led to Sonoma-Loeb. Noon to 4 p.m. 27 E. Napa St., Suite A, Sonoma. RSVP to trey@sonoma-loeb.com or at 934-8363.

Marin French Cheese Summer Picnic

Several Sonoma food and beverage producers will participate in the beautiful and bucolic Picnic Party at Marin French Cheese, formerly known as Rouge et Noir, a few miles out D Street west of Petaluma.

Marin French Cheese is the place with a large pond, ducks and other birds, and sloping lawns perfect for picnics.

On Sunday, Aug. 21, you can taste all sorts of cheeses from Sonoma’s Laura Chenel, Marin French, Nicasio Valley Cheese, and more than a dozen others from the California Artisan Cheese Guild. Beverages will come from Cline and Jacuzzi wineries, Carneros Brewing Company, Sonoma Portworks, Silverado Vineyards, and Tea & Trumpets.

Other available foods will include Angelo’s Smokehouse, Devil’s Gulch Ranch roasted pig, chocolates, jams, the Jimtown Store, charcuterie, cups of Rians crème brûlée, Rustic Bakery, Sonoma Harvest, Sondra Bernstein’s Fig Rig, and Ultra Crêpes’ food truck.

Kids of all ages will enjoy demos of cheesemaking, beekeeping, garden art projects, 4-H dairy animals, author Francis Rivetti, and display and discussion of my Kathleen Hill Culinary Collection items related to dairy and cheesemaking.

Rians, a French company with 11 small cheese factories in France, now owns both Marin French Cheese and Laura Chenel’s Chèvre. $12.50 admission, kids under 12 free. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 7510 Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road. Tickets at marinfrenchpicnicparty.eventbrite.com.

Red Grape changes

Executive Chef Todd Thompson has left the Red Grape to begin cooking for the Hilton group of hotels, starting in Santa Rosa. A real loss, even though Carol and Sam Morphy encouraged him to do what he thought was right for him. Miguel Soto-Arreaga, who worked under Thompson for four years, has been promoted to Executive Chef. Guests will notice a new menu with same great food.

Smashmallows?

Jon Sebastiani’s Sonoma Brands, is investing in Smashmallows, what he calls “a new confectionery category: gourmet snackable marshmallows.” He continued in a press release, “We’ve seen with brownie brittle or barkthins how iconic foods have been repositioned to create different usage occasions or to create entirely new categories, which is what we’re trying to do with Smashmallows.”

Smash Mallows are made with “organic cane sugar, less sugar and only natural ingredients and come in cinnamon churro, strawberries and cream, espresso bean, mint chocolate chip, toasted coconut pineapple, Meyer lemon chia seed, and root beer float” at Sprouts food stores.

Sonoma Brands helps expand existing brands into larger markets. Their other lines include Dang and their own Züpa Noma brand of bottled soups.

3 Badge’s Moobuzz’s new GSM

Meanwhile, August Sebastiani’s 3 Badge Beverage Corporation just introduced a Grenache Syrah Mourvédre (GSM) blend under its Moobuzz label, a line of Central Coast wines. The new wine is made from grapes grown from Paso Robles to the Santa Barbara Highlands.

Consisting of 70 percent Grenache, 26 percent Syrah and 4 percent Mourvédre, this bottling shows flavors of blueberry, raspberry and a touch spice on the finish, according to Sebastiani.

“Moobuzz is named after the land of milk and honey, has seen tremendous growth with sales up 75.5 percent over last year. We are confident that the addition of the GSM will only accelerate the success that we have seen over the past year with Moobuzz.”

Cochon Volant catering buzz

Recently Rob Larman and his Cochon Volant BBQ catered a party of 110 at the home of Joan and Sandy Weill to bring scientists involved with their Weill Institute for Neuroscience together at their elegant poolside for a relaxing afternoon of conversation.

On the buffet menu were 14-hour smoked carved prime brisket, baby back ribs, brined and smoked chicken breast, radish slaw, arugula salad with watermelon, olives and feta, smoky ranch beans, and Larman’s signature chili cheese cornbread. For dessert they delved into mason jars of strawberry shortcake parfait. All of this is available at Cochon Volant Smokehouse in Boyes Hot Springs.

Free the garlic fries

As most of you know, I almost never criticize a restaurant’s food. Opinion is so, well, opinionated. But McDonald’s Gilroy Garlic fries cannot escape comment.

On Monday, I stopped by McDonald’s to see if they had their much-touted Gilroy garlic fries.

I paid, waited 10 minutes for my medium “made to order” garlic fries to-go and nearly ran to my car to taste them in private.

Immediately I opened the bag for a taste and found the “medium” size to barely cover the bottom of the paper boat. The fries were soggy and hardly chewable. They got worse as I drove the few blocks to Sonoma Market.

After shopping there, I expected my car to reek of garlic. Nope. All I could smell was frying fat. When I opened the bag once safely at home, I thoroughly expected some of them to wiggle.

Hopefully others will have a better experience, but local restaurants and AT&T Park do a better job, in my humble opinion.

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