February 10, 2012
Blame it on Millie. She was the fawn colored Nubian goat that we inherited on the ranch we were care taking in the mid 1970’s – head-strong, vocal and capable of eating anything in her path – who subsequently proceeded to give birth to twins. What to do with all the milk? Make cheese, of course; a lovely farm-style, crumbly goat cheese that we ate on everything!
Fast forward 30 years, and we are still searching out little-known and interesting local cheese to serve to friends and clients at each wine tasting. No imported cheese in this household! With the plethora of rolling grassy hills and dozens of creative cheese makers locally, we are literally in cheese heaven when it comes to selections. Dozens of aged dairies in the North Coast of California have been resourcefully converted to family owned smaller creameries, and inventive family farmers are now raising sheep and goats as well as smaller herds of milk cows to create imaginative cheeses. Fortunately, they are also doing a good job marketing their wares, which can now be found in fine dining restaurants all over the Bay Area as well as locally owned markets who now flaunt extensive cheese selections; Sunshine Foods (St. Helena), The Oxbow Cheese Merchant (Napa), and Cal Mart (Calistoga), in case you need any options for your next Wine Country picnic. Local cheese with local wines . . . what a concept.
Here are some of our favorite artisan cheeses to pair with our locally-grown fruit and favorite wines; Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon.
We always offer a selection of goat cheese which we find is a great accompaniment to our Two Old Dogs Sauvignon Blanc. Goat’s Leap (from our own backyard in St. Helena) “Sumi” is an elegant ash coated soft cheese or try their aged “Carmela”. Any of Andante Dairy’s inventive goat cheese selections are successful pairings – “Acapella” soft-ripened, “Impromptu”, an aged hard cheese, or “Minuet”, a triple cream goat cheese. Bohemian Creamery also makes a great tangy cheese called “BoDacious”.
Cheesemaker at Bellwether Farms
For sheep’s milk cheeses we go with Bellwether Farms’ raw milk farm-style “San Andreas” or the “Pepato” with small peppercorns that both pair beautifully with our HL Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. Or, if you can find it, the “Fat Bottom Girl” washed rind cheese from Bleating Heart. (Wine labels aren’t the only brands with entertaining names!)
For cows’ milk, we always start with “The Original Blue” from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, creamy yet pungent and always a winner! For a hard cheese, we like the Fiscalini Farmstead Cheese “San Joaquin Gold” or their “Bandage Wrapped Cheddar”. And we can always count on the selection from Cowgirl Creamery, from their triple-cream washed-rind “Red Hawk”, to the mellow, earthy “Mt. Tam”, or the seasonal Jersey cow milk winter cheese “Devil’s Gulch” which is lightly dusted with dried peppers. After several bites of cheese paired with sips of wine, suddenly the cheese has disappeared and the glass is empty!
There are dozens of books and guides about our local cheese, and even an interesting industry magazine called Culture (look for the cheese centerfold and join their cheese-of-the-month club!), which is akin to the early publishing of the Wine Spectator covering the fledgling wine industry in the early 1980’s. As members of the California Artisan Cheese Guild (which is a great reference for local cheese) and attendees of the annual Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma, we have been able to visit many of the creameries in Sonoma and Marin and speak with the farmers and cheese makers first hand. It’s a real treat to visit with cheese makers - sort of like casually meeting Napa Valley vintners in the vineyards and then touring the winery and tasting the end product . . . except that we don’t have as many cow pies to avoid in our fields. Millie would be proud.
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December 14, 2011
The holidays from Thanksgiving to New Years are usually times when we share celebrations with big meals, and lots of friends and family, paired with great bottles of wine from our cellar. But in our household, it’s time to collect the eggs, buy the gallons of cream and get the 3-4 bottles of assorted booze to make our friend Mike’s Famous Eggnog.
Mike is a local grape grower of great acclaim, with his vineyard name proudly displayed on several wine labels throughout the Napa Valley. But locally, he is best known as the creator of one of the best Eggnog recipes ever found. Others have tried to substitute ½ and ½ for the 2 quarts of cream (never!), or reduce the alcohol to only 4 cups per batch (an abomination!), but if you follow his recipe you will be a crowd pleaser every time. (We have another friend who is on his third batch already this season, as his hens just don’t lay enough eggs at once to triple the recipe!)
In his own words, here is the amusing story of the origin of Mike’s Eggnog:
“I never cook anything. Most of my friends and family are wonderful cooks so I try to be what every chef needs–an enthusiastic eater and kitchen helper. One thing I do prepare each Holiday Season is the eggnog. I first made this eggnog when I was in college and worked occasionally as a bartender for private parties. When a call came in to the student employment office for a bartender to mix large batches of eggnog for a Christmas party in Woodside I was the only one who claimed to have eggnog experience. I had, of course, lied about my experience and had never drunk a cup of eggnog. This extreme confidence in the face of total ignorance got me the job.
The first research I did was to buy a carton of dairy eggnog, pour it into a cup, and add a good dose of whiskey. It was terrible. It ruined the whiskey. I then indulged in some real research in the card catalog of the main library. After noting the Dewey Decimal numbers for the cookbook section (641.5) I plunged into the stacks and fumbled through all the dusty books until I recognized one from my mother’s kitchen–the Joy of Cooking. It had a drink recipe for “Eggnog in Quantity” and I was saved. I couldn’t check the book out because I had some unpaid delinquent fines so I wrote it all down (I still have that piece of tablet paper).
Two days before the party I called my employer and with all the authority I could muster gave her a specific list of all the required ingredients, stated that there could be no exceptions, and said that I would need to be at work in her kitchen three hours before the party to prepare properly. The eggnog was so well received that I was given a big tip and hired to do it again the following year. I have been making it for friends and family ever since.”
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November 22, 2011
Our family has traditionally split the holidays with Herb’s family in Napa for Thanksgiving, and Jennifer’s family in Pasadena for Christmas. For over 30 years, at Thanksgiving all we had to do was make a salad or bring the green beans and the wine and show up at grandmas for football and a full turkey dinner!
Turkey dinner with Sarah and Duncan
Although it was easy, eating at the grandparents’ meant that our house never had the wonderful cooking aromas associated with Thanksgiving. So we were delighted when we were finally able to cook an entire traditional turkey dinner many years ago for a winemaking couple from Central Otago, New Zealand, whom we hosted for two months during their harvest internship. For the first time our house filled with the earthy/herbal smells of the turkey and dressing, the spicy aromas of the pumpkin and mince-meat pie. We feasted at our own table with our new friends for a full-blown Thanksgiving dinner, albeit in October, the bird looking remarkably like the cover of the latest Saveur magazine!
Since Herb’s parents are now getting on, (91 and 95 years old respectfully), we have started the last few years to cook almost the entire meal at our home and deliver it, as in meals-on-wheels, to the grandparents’ home for all to enjoy. Herbs’ love of all things seafood, even though only his dad will join him and everyone else lifts their nose to the smell, has led him to create his own version of the traditional dressing – Oyster Dressing.
Using Jennifer’s Herbed Sausage Dressing recipe, Herb suggests adding about a cup of chopped fresh oysters with a little of their natural juice. (If you can’t find fresh, the next best option is to purchase from the supermarket locally grown oysters in glass jars, not cans.). Chill the Two Old Dogs Sauvignon Blanc (you may have to sample some while cooking) and get ready for a meal to remember!
*Herb’s Oyster/Jennifer’s Herbed Sausage Dressing
(Stuffs one medium sized turkey with extra for left-over turkey sandwiches all weekend long!)
As with all recipes, feel free to add more or less of any of these items per your taste.
Ingredients:
6-8 cups cubed sourdough or French bread
*6-8 fresh, or one small jar of processed oysters – chopped into small bites
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 pound ground bulk sausage of your flavor choice (or Italian-type sausage with casings removed)
1 cup chopped celery, some leaves also
1 large tart apple, cored and diced
1 cup chicken stock (preferably home-made)
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup minced flat leaf parsley
2 teaspoons dried (or fresh) diced sage
2 teaspoons dried (or fresh) rosemary
2 teaspoons dried (or fresh) oregano
1 teaspoon dried (or fresh) thyme
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees – cook the bread cubes in a single layer on a sheet pan for 5-7 minutes, or until evenly toasted. (This can also be done days in advance by putting them into an oven that has been turned off after you’ve finished cooking a meal. Save in a plastic zip-lock container.) Dump into a large bowl.
In a large pan, melt the butter and cook the onions, celery, apples, parsley, and herbs, adding salt and pepper to taste, over medium heat until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add to the bread crumbs in the bowl.
In the same pan, cook the sausage until browned and cooked through, breaking it up into smaller pieces as it cooks, for about 10 minutes. Add to the bowl of bread cubes and vegetables.
Add the chicken stock and cranberries to the mix. (At this point, you can also add the finely chopped, cooked gizzards and liver from the turkey if you like). *Add chopped oysters here, folding into the dressing.
Mix all ingredients lightly but well and loosely stuff the turkey cavity. (The oyster dressing should probably be cooked in a separate pan, unless you are sure that everyone around the table likes oysters!) Extra dressing can be baked in a bread or pie pan about 30 minutes or until browned on top. (Cover with foil the last few minutes if it gets too brown.)
Serve with a chilled bottle of Two Old Dogs Sauvignon Blanc (if there’s any left!)
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