Chef John Fink at Heritage Fire. Photo: Laiko Bahrs

• Juicy Loins, Tender Rumps
• Bacon, the Gateway Meat
• Needs Salt
• Smells Good in Here
• Ms. Delicious
• Pigs are Magic

And let's not forget my very favorite bit of meat geekery, Bacon Gives Me a Lardon.

What is it about studly-butcher culture that loves a pun? (The fondness for bacon needs no explanation.) Whatever it is about long days spent with a knife and cleaver, or all-nighters tending the smoky maw of the barbecue pit, the t-shirt slogans that result are always worth wearing. Especially if you've stained it, proudly, with the ducky goodness dripping off something as mind-bendingly awesome as a handmade duck hot dog piled high with duck confit, chicharrones, diced duck egg and duck foie gras.

Sausages from Smoakville. Photo: Laiko Bahrs

But even if, like me, you arrived just a little too late to snatch up one of those already legendary duck dogs, there was plenty of meat for the munching on offer at last Saturday's Cochon Heritage Fire in St. Helena. Cochon 555, the parent organization, is known for its celebrity chef spectacles celebrating the pig across the country ("cochon" is French for "pig"). But once a year, in Napa, the all-pig menu is diversified to celebrate heritage breeds of beef, lamb, goat, and poultry, many of which are staked whole and slow-cooked outdoors over a wood fire.

Perhaps the setting--the shady emerald lawn, complete with fountain, fairy lights and gazebo, of the very posh Charles Krug winery--inspired a little more decorum in this year's organizers and chefs. Participants couldn't really wander from roasting goat to spitted feet-dangling chickens as they could at last year's slightly more rustic event (then called Primal Napa). Whole beasts were definitely being cooked, but their funkier bits weren’t so much in evidence. No pumpkins filled with pork liver, no skewers of heart, no smoky lamb jawbones (tongues included) for Neanderthal gnawing. The offerings were a little more restaurant-refined, the gluttony a little less greasy. The butchering demos, by Dave the Butcher (Marina Meats, the pork happy hour at Fatted Calf) and Joshua Applestone (Fleisher’s), were held upstairs at the tasting room, not with the meaty carcasses strung up on a rock-star stage in the middle of the feast.

Whole animals cooking at Heritage Fire. Photo: Laiko Bahrs

That said, the meats on offer were absolutely delicious. What did I love best, the pink, tender slices of lamb cupped in Boston lettuce leaves with fresh mint and pickled red onion, or the succulent Indian-spiced lamb masala patties? The crackling skin sliced off the enormous chanterelle-stuffed porchetta, as good as any I’ve had at farmers' markets in Italy? The moist chunks of fennel-rubbed rabbit? John Fink of the Whole Beast's treyf special, roasted tandoori-spiced goat with goat yogurt? The snappy, ruddy Italian sausages from Smoakville BBQ in Napa? The long, slow chew of Woodlands Pork's country Mountain Ham, made from forest-reared, terroir-expressing pigs rooting through the hollers of West Virginia? According to Woodlands' Irish-born president and ham obsessive Nicholas Heckett, this is no dainty appetizer ham. Said Heckett, "I like it after dinner, with whiskey and a fine cigar." The finish is so long, and the taste so concentrated and intense, he explains, that it would knock out any less robust entrée to follow. Like the famous French chef Joel Robuchon, who frequently included a plate of utterly unadorned jamon iberico as part of his tasting menus, Heckett staunchly believes that high-quality ham needs no adornments. (Then again, Robuchon, sad man, has probably never had a warm Southern-made buttermilk biscuit, split and stuffed with slivers of country ham and a dab of homemade peach chutney.)

Rabbit menu from Heritage Fire. Photo: Laiko Bahrs

We end up, as one does at these events, lying under the trees, drinking wine out of GoVino’s reusable plastic cups (picture a Riedel stemless wine glass, reimagined for picnicking), conjuring up the outrageousness of meats past. "Remember those bacon eclairs?" says one friend, dreamily. They were thumb-sized, she said, filled with something bacon-fatty, with a crunchy slice of bacon on top, where the chocolate glaze would otherwise go. Another friend toyed with recipe ideas for the twine-wrapped package of lamb liver that he’d begged off the crew doing the lamb butchering demonstration, using a whole lamb from local Stemple Creek. (The various cuts of meat from each demo were raffled off at the end of the evening.)

This being a chef event, the eating and drinking had to continue at an after-party held down the street at Farmstead. And naturally, there had to be a fire, in this case a roaring bonfire built in the sand pit out back by Heather Shouse, a red-headed, Southern-twanged food writer on hand from Chicago. Shouse, the author of Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes from the Best Kitchens on Wheels, is criss-crossing the country as a Cochon camp follower as she works on an upcoming Cochon cookbook. Before becoming a writer, "I worked in restaurants all my life," she said, and she has the tattoo sleeves to prove it. One chef brought out a plate of salmon he'd smoked the day before; another crew arrived bearing a deep hotel pan filled with bite-sized chunks of pork, juicy and sweet, carved off the last animal left over the coals. A bright full moon shone down. There was meat, beer, cigars, and a ring of sweaty, smoky men and women kicking back after doing what they do best: taking care of the people who love to eat.

If you're purchasing a sparkling wine this holiday season, it's easy to keep it local. After all, some of the finest American choices are produced in our own backyard. Following is a list of my top-ten local sparkling wine choices. Half of these wineries are set in Carneros, an area that covers parts of both Sonoma and Napa Valley that is perfectly suited for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grape growing (the two varietals most commonly used for sparkling wines). The other half are located in other parts of Napa, Sonoma and the Anderson Valleys.

As you'll see, some of these wineries are large and well-known, while others may not be as familiar to you. While creating this list I tried to include a variety of vintners, from multi-nationally owned estates to smaller family-owned wineries. When the information was available, I've included Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast ratings, as well as any major prizes won. For comparison's sake, you'll also find the least expensive bottle from each vintner listed. These are officially priced between $20 - $30, but I've seen many in stores for around $15. Obviously more expensive varieties are also available if your budget allows.

So keep it festive and local this New Year's Eve, but most of all, stay safe.

Note: I'm avoiding using the term "champagne" as it's only allowed for French wines made in the Champagne region. All the wines below are produced in the same way that champagne is created -- by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of the wine to effect carbonation.

Sonoma

Gloria Ferrer
Gloria Ferrer is a standard-bearer for California sparkling wines. According to Wine Spectator, “Gloria Ferrer reliably produces some of California's best sparkling wines.” I had some on Christmas day and can attest to its festiveness. The Sonoma Brut, which is dominated by Pinot Noir, has a 90 2009 Wine Spectator ranking and is priced around $20.

Domaine Carneros
Established in 1987 by Champagne Tattinger, Domaine Carneros is an organic certified winery. They focus on making three traditional styles of sparkling wine: Brut, Brut Rosé and Blanc de Blancs. With consistent rankings in the 90s from both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, Domaine Carneros provides reliably excellent sparkling wines. Their 2006 Brut Cuvée Sparkling Wine made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay gets a 91 Wine Spectator ranking and costs $26 a bottle.

Iron Horse
A small family-owned winery, Iron Horse has been producing sparkling wines for over 30 years. Wine & Spirits Magazine named them Sparkling Winery of the Year nine times and their wines have been served in the White House since Reagan first had it served to Gorbachev. Their Classic Brut, which is 3/4 Pinot Noir and 1/4 Chardonnay, sells for a little over $30 a bottle with typical Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast ratings in the 90s.

J Vineyards & Winery
I like this winery for a few different reasons. The first (and biased) reason is that it is owned and run by a woman (Judy Jordan), which seems like a rarity in the wine industry. They are also dedicated to sustainable farming practices. And, because taste does matter, it's good to note their Brut Rose was the Sparkling Sweepstakes Winner at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition earlier this year. Their J Cuvée 20 Brut NV sells for $20 a bottle.

Schug Carneros Estate
Founded in 1980, Schug is a family-owned winery. They are dedicated to sustainable winemaking practices, finding the most environmentally friendly and efficient way of growing the grapes, and creating habitats for various bird species (which I really love). Their Rouge de Noirs Sparkling Pinot is $30 a bottle.

Napa

Domaine Chandon
If you're looking for something distinctly French, Domaine Chandon is a great local choice. Founded in 1973 by Moët -– the champagne winery -– it was the first French-owned sparkling wine venture in the United States. Consistently ranked in the 90s by both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator, Domaine Chandon provides a classic sparkling wine choice. The Brut Classic, which has a 90 point Wine Enthusiast 2009 ranking, is priced at about $20.

Mumm Napa
Located in Rutherford along the Silverado Trail in the Napa Valley, and started by the French G.H. Mumm company (one of the largest champagne producers in the world), Mumm Napa is one of the largest local sparkling wine producers. Their Brut Prestige, priced at about $20, ranks 89 for Wine Spectator and 90 for Wine Enthusiast.

Schramsberg Vineyards
Located in Calistoga, Schrambsberg Vineyards is the oldest sparkling wine vineyard in California and is also a certified Napa Green winery. Consistently ranking well for both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, Schrambsberg is a great local choice. A bottle of Mirabelle multi-vintage brut costs a bit over $20.

Anderson Valley

Scharffenberger Cellars
Scharffenberger Cellars is one of the largest sparkling wine producer in the Anderson Valley. With a history that includes being previously owned by John Scharffenberger of Scharffenberger chocolate fame. Scharffenberger Non Vintage Brut received a gold medal from the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition earlier this year. Their Brut is 2/3 Pinot Noir and 1/3 Chardonnay grapes and sells for just under $20 a bottle.

Roederer Estate
Set in the Anderson Valley, Roederer Estates is the California branch of the French company Champagne Louis Roederer, which has been making champagne for over 200 years. In 2009, Wine Spectator Magazine gave their Brut NV a Recommended – Top Wine ranking. It sells for about $20 a bottle.

At gala events you expect to see top chefs preparing bite-sized nibbles for guests. But at StarChefs events working chefs are not just preparing the food, they are the ones being celebrated. StarChefs is all about the chefs of today, and the rising star events are a great way to get a taste of what's hot at the moment.

If you're not a chef, it's possible you've never visited StarChefs. The web site offers recipes, community features, publications and articles that are geared for the restaurant professional. Roughly every other year, they also hold an event in our neck of the woods. For the first time, this year they held a Rising Stars Revue™ in Napa and toasted the up and coming chefs of Napa and Sonoma at the historic Charles Krug winery in St. Helena.

Fifteen chefs, sommeliers and a mixologist were honored with food, wine and prizes to boot. Interestingly there were several husband and wife teams, one of whom had to close their restaurant in order to attend. Some favorite dishes from the evening were:

Ubuntu Fregola in Caramelized Vegetable Juices with Salsa Maro from Jeremy Fox of Ubuntu

Poached Poussin with Summer Vegetables from Christopher Kostow of The Restaurant At Meadowood

Ricotta Gnocchi, Salsa di Pomodoro della Nonna and Pecorino from Nick Ritchie of Bottega

Chicken Fried Sweetbreads with Green Bean and Mushroom Casserole from Matt Spector of Jolē

Sauteed Maryland Wild Striped Bass, Ragout of Salsify, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Bloomsdale Spinach and Spinach Vin Blanc from Restaurateur Award winner John Toulze the girl & the fig, fig café, Estate

Lemon Verbena Parfait with Summer Stone Fruit from Pastry Chef Deanie Hickox-Fox of Ubuntu

Long Ranch Goat Two Ways: Grilled and Braised with Rancho Gordo Beans and Salsa Verde from Host Chef Richard Haake of Winery Chefs

At the event guests got a chance to vote for their favorite dish. I had a hard time choosing between intensely herbal and fragrant fregola dish and the delicate yet crisp striped bass but in the end, the winner was Matt Spector and his decadent sweetbread dish. Looking at the recipes that were in the program, it's clear why we love eating out. With complicated techniques, multiple preparations and long ingredient lists, these were not dishes you would likely make at home!

One of the most beautiful dishes was this plated dessert from Deanie Hickox-Fox. Basically an unconstructed tart, it featured a bit of crunchy crust, sweet apricot with lemon verbena cream accented with a fruit puree, and garnished with edible flowers and a thin wafer cookie.

To make at home, I'd recommend the cocktail presented by Scott Beattie, the Bella Ruffina, a pretty rose colored cocktail perfect for warm Summer days or nights...

Bella Ruffina
4 ounces Braquetto di Aqui
1 ounce Carpano Antico Vermouth
1 dash orange bitters
1 Amarena cherry, for garnish

Combine the sparkling wine, vermouth and bitters in a champagne flute and stir gently. Drop the cherry in the bottom of the glass to serve.

Recipe reprinted from Artisanal Cocktails by Scott Beattie, published by Tenspeed.

Hey y'all -- there is a story on wine in Napa on QUEST tonight that you won't want to miss. QUEST is KQED's new TV, radio, web, and education project about science and environment in Northern California, and their latest science story has taken them to Napa Valley. The story is titled "Napa Wineries Face Global Warming" and explores the potential effects of climate change on the unique ecology and climate of Napa Valley.

The Napa and Sonoma microclimates produce world famous wines, but what happens if the climate changes? Scientists are predicting that global warming could increase the number of super-hot days in the California wine region, interfering with the way grapes ripen. Local scientists and wineries are beginning to look at how to prepare.

Post by Craig Rosa, Interactive Producer, QUEST

Shuna Lydon & Sherry Yard, both on team #1.

A number of months ago I received an email from an old pastry chef of mine, Stephen Durfee, who is now an instructor at The Culinary Institute of America, Greystone campus in Napa Valley. He was letting me know I would soon receive an invitation to The Fifth Annual Worlds of Flavor Baking & Pastry Arts Invitational Retreat.

But I thought I would have to respectfully decline, because I am not currently working for a specific establishment. The only name on my chef's jacket is my own. I could not be more grateful that Stephen talked me out of my no.

For 3 1/2 days at the end of April I breathed, thought, emoted, questioned, hypothesized, puzzled over, laughed about, informed, taught, learned, listened, typed, photographed, argued and dreamt pastry and dessert making. {I also "live-blogged" it. Find the blow-by-blow by clicking on this link.}

Notes from the Ideation Session before we went into the kitchen to start creating.

The dessert ideas and chef teams that were formed our team's Ideation Session.

From 8:30 am until near 8 pm every day our 70 plus pastry chef and industry representatives' gaggle went from demonstration, to lecture, to lunch, and then at night many of us went out to dine and commiserate. On the last day and a half we were broken up into 5 teams on the basis of various themes and asked to create 4 desserts each.

Team #1, my own, was themed "Health and Agriculture." In the one hour Ideation Session Sherry Yard and I threw out a lot of excited ideas, were reigned in, we all picked partners and then walked into the palatial kitchens that make up CIA's kitchen classroom. For the 'fruit dessert' my cohort/teammate was Master Bread Baker Mark Furstenberg from Washington DC.

The idea was we would showcase one ingredient, rhubarb. Although rhubarb is not a fruit, it's what's most in season right this minute, and I wanted to show off a special method I have of cooking/treating it, so as to preserve its original integrity, its rhubarb-ness. I like to hot-sugar poach the stalk in such a way as to keep it's crunchy, sour nature. {For a full explanation and recipe, order the Spring 2006 issue of Edible San Francisco, where I went into great detail about osmotic reciprocity and why rhubarb always turns into mushy, stringy baby food when it's introduced to heat.}

Verbena from the Julia Child Gardens at CIA, infused cream and rhubarb juice.

Mark made a slightly savory biscotti of cornmeal and toasted almonds, and besides the rhubarb I wanted something to mediate the textures and flavors of the rhubarb and cornmeal cookie. Plated dessert making is about balance. Pastry chefs are always thinking about texture, flavor, presentation, sweetness, acid, production, size, plating speed, accessibility, temperature, and the food you ate before eating our courses. The best desserts are the ones not made on autopilot. Don't get me wrong, I like my lemon bars, chocolate eclairs and creme brulee, but I want the pastry chef to be paying attention to all the ingredients to produce the best possible taste sensation.

Because of rhubarb's high acid content, it likes to be married with fat. I ate at Gary Danko recently and was not surprised to see rhubarb paired with foie gras. Rhubarb likes butter, cream, creme fraiche, and eggs. But the actual flavor of rhubarb is fairly subtle. If I want a diner to really taste it, I try and make pairings that are of complementary, not competitive flavors.

To this end, I made a light and aromatic, herbaceous sabayon. Instead of wine or alcohol, though, I juiced rhubarb raw through an extractor. If you have time for all these steps I can guarantee you an elegant and voluptuous, seasonal dessert.

David Winsberg of Happy Quail Farms said that he'll have rhubarb through 'til August, but Sabayon is a perfect foil for most fresh fruits, especially berries and stone fruit.

RHUBARB-VERBENA SABAYON

Large Egg Yolks 4-6 each
Sugar 1/4 cup
Honey 3 Tablespoons + (2 Tablespoons: later)
Sea or Kosher Salt Pinch

Rhubarb Juice 3/4 Cup

*Verbena, fresh The leaves from 3 stalks
Heavy Cream, not ultra pasteurized 2 Cups (I use Clover Organic.)

*Knoll Farms has some of the best Verbena available in the Bay Area.

1. Infuse cream and lightly crushed Verbena leaves and stems in a non-reactive pot by heating with low flame until hot. Shut off heat and let steep for at least one hour, preferably more. Do not allow mixture to boil. You can sprinkle in a little sugar to help with infusion.
2. After cream has steeped, turn flame to medium until hot to the touch and strain through a fine meshed sieve. Chill cream in ice batch until very cold. (This step may be done 1-2 days before making Sabayon.)
3. Combine first four ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk yolks to break apart before adding sugar and salt.
4. Set bowl over a pot of boiling water. Bottom of bowl should not touch water. The steam is what's cooking the Sabayon.
5. Whisk thoroughly and rapidly, without pause, and, using your other hand, pour rhubarb juice into yolks a little at a time, letting custard thicken a little before adding more. When all liquid has been added, whisk until mixture holds a visible "trail" and has become quite thick.
6. Place bowl on stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and set speed to medium. Add extra 2 Tablespoons of honey now. If it looks like honey spun to attach itself to the side of the bowl, stop mixer and scrape down Sabayon with a spatula to combine.
7. Increasing speed incrementally, whisk until custard is light and voluminous.
8. Whisk Verbena infused cream until soft peaks form.
9. When Sabayon is ready, transfer into a larger bowl.
10. Using the most pliable spatula in your kitchen, fold whipped cream into Sabayon in three distinctive additions. Fold intentionally, from the inside of the bowl to the outermost edge. Each stroke counts. If you over mix these two ingredients your Sabayon will deflate to the point of liquidization.

Rhubarb-Verbena Sabayon with Crunchy Poached Rhubarb, Corn-Almond Biscotti and Marshall Farms Star Thistle Honey. Pastry Chef Authors: Shuna Lydon & Mark Furstenberg.

Sabayon keeps, refrigerated, for 1 day, but it is best the day it is made.

I've done a lot in my effort to learn more about wine. I've drunk and I've drunk and I've drunk, but to be honest I haven't read all that much until now. Just recently several wonderful wine books have really caught my attention. A Moveable Thirst Tales and Tastes from a Season in Napa Wine Country is one of those books.

The premise of the book is that a journalist and a wine buyer decide to visit all 141 public tasting rooms in Napa over the course of a season. Part of the book is really an in-depth guide to the wineries with details like service, wine availability, picnic prospect and even "intangibles and extras" that includes things like "this winery is worth the effort to find" or "this room is aimed at novices".

The "quest" portion of the book will have you laughing out loud. As Kushman bemoans his lack of spitting ability he is made to feel like an expert when he overhears other tasters ask, if the wine tastes like apricots does that mean they put apricots in the wine? And why do they call it a finish?

Napa is a region you could spend years getting to know. The authors of this book have done a lot of the legwork to help you make the most of your time in Napa. But those who plan no trips to Napa will enjoy it and learn something too. The information in the book ranges from the useful, like which Napa vintners are making Old World style wines to the trivial---did you know that one out of ten bottles of wine sold in America is White Zinfandel?

Another book that features the pairing of a novice and an expert is Educating Peter.

For my review of Educating Peter by Food & Wine editor Lettie Teague, head over to Cooking with Amy.