Margaret’s Mendocino Kitchen

My friend Mike and I ate a couple of great meals while in Petaluma for the cheese festival. By late Saturday afternoon, I was reeling from the amount of rich cheeses I had been consuming all day. Mike, however, had taken a long bike ride and wanted a Real Dinner, so a Petaluma local gave us recommendations. For dinner we dropped in at Tony Najiola’s Central Market on Petaluma Blvd., in the center of downtown. Service was extremely attentive and we were delighted by the food. Mike’s lamb shanks were succulent and my salad of olive oil-poached ono and potatoes satisfied me without being overwhelming. I successfully veered away from anything with cheese. Tony came by to chat briefly and treated us to sublime little chocolatey meringues with a thin layer of mocha buttercream. I left them in the car overnight and the next afternoon, after a less-than-satisfying meal in Healdsburg, we sat and each enjoyed a warm cookie in the car. It sweetened the day in more ways than one.

For breakfast the next morning, we went to Della Fattoria Cafe, just down and across the street from Central Market. Oh my, this is a place that would see me daily if I lived nearby. It felt so right from the minute we walked in, and reminded me of breakfast at Cafe Beaujolais in the ’80s–local, personal, warm and inviting. Golden-yolked poached eggs on their Della Fattoria toast with homemade raspberry jam…sigh. It was really good. The prices seemed in line for high-quality, organic ingredients; besides, I never mind paying more for things that are done properly. We didn’t have a chance to try anything from the appealing and sparkling bakery cases, but that’s on my list for the next visit.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the 2nd Annual Artisan Cheese Festival in Petaluma. I’ve jumped into the world of cheese at Harvest Market, where my job descrption of Culinary Director recently grew to include cheese buyer. Lucky for me, this is a fascinating subject, so when I heard about the festival, I signed up.

It was well worth the weekend. Not only did I attend seminars with the engaging Laura Werlin, whose session “Cheese Essentials” provided a hand’s-on approach to her well-written and informative new book of the same name (a must-have for anyone with an interest in cheese), but I also sat in on sessions with noted cheese makers themselves. These included Mary Keehn, Cypress Grove; Jennifer Bice, Redwood Hill Farm; Liam Callahan, Bellwether Farms; Mariano Gonzalez, Fiscalini Cheese Co., passionate souls all.

The next day, I roamed in the large outside tent where many cheese producers offered samples of their wares. Meeting people who love what they do is something that means a lot to me. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur….I can’t imagine a cheese maker feeling ho-hum about the job. It’s just too demanding to be blase. A couple of my favorite tastes were from Mt. Townsend Creamery (just now being distributed in California from Port Townsend WA) and Pedrozo Dairy and Cheese Co. in Orland CA. I’ll certainly be ordering from both of these companies soon.

Alice Medrich is one of my idols. Her Berkeley shop, Cocolat, made an impact on the dessert scene and on me in this country from the second it opened in the 70s. She has written several books, all essential for anyone interested in desserts, especially (but not exclusively) chocolate. Her most recent book, Pure Dessert, came out a few months ago to glowing reviews.

Recently, I wandered into Mendocino’s Gallery Bookshop on Main Street and bought a copy. You may have heard that the historic building that houses the shop was the site of a fire last month, but never fear–the store is open daily and, except for the faint odor of smoke, it’s business as usual.Curling up with a new cookbook is a huge treat, and I enthusiastically delved into this one.

Alice has outdone herself this time. The recipe selection is excellent, but what I really love is her approach to recipe development. She’s a mixture of scientist, poet and pastry chef. I whipped up the Quark Souffles with Berry Sauce, just a few ingredients that emerged as a satisfying and beautiful dessert. I actually used fromage blanc instead of the quark. The next morning, my friend Geoff and I finished off the leftovers which had a light cheesecake consistency.

Last month my friend Mike and I drove to Southern California for a short stay. San Diego was the destination, the site of the three-day Fancy Food Show that I was planning to attend for Harvest Market. We wended our way along Highway 101, not encountering too much traffic. Our first night was in Santa Barbara, a beautiful city. All the clichés proved true-the blue sky, the palm trees, the warm weather (69 degrees in January!) I thought, “I could get used to this.”

Mike returned from his early-morning bike ride with the discovery of a Danish bakery on State Street, The Andersens Restaurant and Bakery. Wow, was it ever fabulous! Authentic Danish pastry, made from scratch daily, and served on an elegantly laid table.

The pastry was perfection. Mike got a croissant while I perused the other offerings.

Making up my mind was a challenge until I saw the marzipan-raspberry slice of heaven (that’s my name for it). Flaky pastry wrapped around that luscious filling and the level of sweetness was restrained, very European. As you can see, the generous slice covered the plate.

It was very easy to eat the entire thing. I recommend a visit if you are in the Santa Barbara area. The menu for the restaurant looked fascinating too. I could eat here daily for a week, no problem.

Last Saturday, I cooked off a great many crab cakes. 507, to be exact, silver dollar-sized, crusty morsels, served with a squiggle of intensely lemony-chive sauce. I was participating in the Crab Cake Cookoff at Noyo Harbor, an annual fundraiser on behalf of the Mendocino Coast Clinics. Over a dozen Mendocino County wineries poured and 12 creative souls cooked their hearts out for a good couple of hours in a gigantic white tent. I figure about 6000 cakes were made during that time! Here’s my recipe, which took first place in the Professional category in 2006: