No need to cross a bridge to go holiday shopping, all you lucky folk in Marin: you've got lots of great gifts right here at your local farmers' markets. Here's a few favorite seasonal treats for sale at the Sebastopol and Marin Civic Center markets this week.

Newcomers Joel and Carleen Weirauch of Weirauch Farm & Creamery are already generating a buzz about their small-batch cow's-milk cheeses. Now, you can serve them in style on the handmade, one-of-a-kind oak cheeseboards they're selling this month. The boards are made from oak salvaged from a 100-year-old Kentucky tobacco barn, finished satiny-smooth with olive oil and beeswax ($35-55). Get to the market early enough, and you might be lucky enough to pick up a block or two of their flower-embossed soap, made from sheep's milk and local olive oil in scents like rose geranium, lemongrass, lavender, and star anise. The Weirauchs are raising a herd of dairy sheep in Petaluma; come next spring, once lambing starts, they'll be making their own farmstead sheep's milk cheeses, too. Find them on Sunday at Sebastopol and Thursday at Marin Civic Center.

Also at the sweet Sebastopol market: Terra Savia's bright, peppery new-crop olive oil, made from organic olives grown along the Mendocino/Sonoma border and pressed just last month at Terra Savia's olive press in Hopland. This luscious olio nuovo is a Tuscan-style treat that's perfect for dipping into with a chunk of fresh, crusty bread. Terra Salvia also offers several single-varietal olive oils as well as wildflower honey, olive-oil soaps and a soothing botanical salve for moisturizing winter-dry skin.

And while you're there, don't miss the snappy, poinsetta-red boxes from Sonoma Chocolatiers, filled with handmade, chocolate-dipped salted caramels ($20). You can also put together a chic assortment of truffles ($2.25 each) in nifty flavors like fig-cardamom, holiday spice, smoky chipotle, and tequila-lime, or pick up a stocking-stuffer bag of crunchy chocolate-covered organic almonds, sugared or cinnamon-spiced.

Feeling a little DIY? Believe it or not, you can still turn out a few gift jars of homemade, local strawberry jam using Tomatero Farm's late-crop, Watsonville-grown organic strawberries ($3.50/pint), sold at the Marin Civic Center market. Or pick up a mix-and-match assortment of low-sugar, big-flavor berry jams made by Swanton Berry Farm, in flavors like tayberry, olallieberry, strawberry, and blackberry ($7-$9). They're all made using the farm's organic, union-grown berries.

Tea drinkers take their brews seriously, but they're often outnumbered by the coffee geeks. Show your tea-drinking friends that you respect their cuppa with a gift from Sky Tea at the Marin Civic Center market. Tea lover Jeni Quigg started her luxury tea company a little over a year ago, travelling around the world to source rare, small-batch, artisan-grown teas--what she calls "legendary teas." Her personally blended masala chai, which she also sells brewed by the cup, has a bright, clean spiciness to it, thanks to cardamon and peppercorns that Quigg picked herself on the Malabar coast. Even decaf drinkers can find something to love here, thanks to several blends made with rooibos or decaffeinated teas, including a rooibos chai and a seductive cinnamon plum sprinkled with saffron, flax seeds, and marigold petals.

Known for their rustic, rough-hewn hearth breads, Della Fattoria bakery also has a popular side line of pastries, including gift bags of biscotti and chocolate-chip cookies ($6) sold at the Marin Civic Center market. This year, they're offering an Italian holiday specialty, panforte ($16). Dense with dried fruits, honey, nuts, and spices, this chewy confection has a history stretching back centuries. "It was the Crusaders' little powerbar," says owner Edmund Weber. It has a deep, winter-spiced taste, lovely with a cup of Sky tea or a glass of dessert wine, the perfect reward for shopping local this season.

A note to shoppers: Both the Sebastopol and Marin Civic Center markets will be operating this Sunday, December 18. The Marin Civic Center market will be operating on Thursday, December 22. Both markets will be closed on Sunday, December 25.

Check, Please! Bay Area Season 6: episode 6 airs Thursday September 15 at 7:30pm on KQED TV 9. View other airtimes and channels.

You can watch individual restaurant segments as well as view the entire episode online. The website also provides restaurant information not specified on the show, written reviews from the guests and restaurant recipes. If you have opinions on the restaurants featured please feel free to share your thoughts. This season, Leslie Sbrocco will be sharing wine tips with each episode.

The sixth episode of the season features these restaurants: Rhea's Market and Deli (San Francisco), Sauce (San Francisco) and the girl and the fig (Sonoma).

Leslie Sbrocco: Wine Tips -- Think About Texture when Pairing Food + Wine

It's summertime, and we might just be the one place in the country actually enjoying itself, rather than wilting under an onslaught of brain-melting heat and humidity. So get out of the house! Some of our favorite bloggers have already told you where to eat outside this summer. Still, maybe you'd like to find yourself some green, rather than spending it. Forget the food trucks for a minute; let's go hang out with the farmers!

Getting on the electronic mailing list for Marin Organic, promoters and advocates for sustainable agriculture in Marin, is a great way to keep on top of tours, talks, and special events happening just across the bridge. Coming up next month are a dairy tour of Straus Family Creamery, an orchard walk through the olive groves of McEvoy Ranch, and a discussion with bakers Chad Robertson (Tartine Bread), Celine Underwood (Brickmaiden Bakery), and David Muller (Outerlands) about their adventures in sourdough. You can also go to Sonoma Farm Trails to downloads maps and farm guides and plan your own tour of that area's rich agricultural offerings.

CUESA, the Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture, is best known for running the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market, but they also organize periodic tours of local farms and producers. On August 10, you can join CUESA for an Organic Greens & Blue Cheese Tour featuring County Line Harvest, growers of excellent lettuces, strawberries, and more, and the family-run Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company.

Chez Panisse is planning a series of pricey fundraisers for the Edible Schoolyard in conjunction with its 40th birthday next month, but there is one free, family-friendly OPENeducation event happening on August 27 at the Berkeley Art Museum. (Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance.) The day is planned as a series of "interactive cooking installations" between museum-goers and a posse of farmers, educators, and artists, using corn, beans, and squash planted in the outdoor spaces of the museum.

And speaking of family fun, devoted Bay Area Bites readers may know Devil's Gulch Ranch as one of our favorite sources for locally produced rabbit, but they're more than just bunnies. They also host a ranch camp for kids, with three more weeklong sessions remaining.

Apples in August? For anyone born and bred on the East Coast, where apples mean autumn, the idea of this can seem a little bizarre. However, our California-grown heirloom apple, the Gravenstein, is a early ripener, ready for pie by mid-August. Celebrate its yellow-and-red striped delights at Sebastopol's down-home Gravenstein Apple Fair on August 13 and 14. You can even go up against this one-time grand champion in the Apple Pie Contest.

Most small producers have their hands full just getting their day-to-day chores done, especially when there are animals in the mix--which means your favorite cheesemaker or farmer is rarely available for drop-in visits. On August 7, Bay Area Green Tours is planning a daylong "Tomatoes, Peaches, Corn, and More" tour of Brentwood, with stops at Frog Hollow Farm, Dwelley Farm, and Smith Family Farm. (Don't forget your sunscreen and sun hat, as Brentwood bakes in the summertime. Good for the peaches and tomatoes, a little shocking to fog-dwelling San Franciscans.) On August 18, take a One Valley, Three Milks tour and get a behind-the-scenes peek of Bellwether Farms (sheep), Two Rock Valley Cheese (goat), and Valley Ford Cheese Company (cow).

You can also sign up (for free) as a member of Weirauch Farm, a small sheep dairy and creamery, and save the date for their next members-only tour on Aug. 13. The setting, in the rolling hills of Petaluma, is beautiful, and the sheep (pictured above) are as friendly and inquisitive as puppies. While owners Joel and Carleen Weirauch finish up their sheep-milking parlor (they're hoping to have it completed in time for next spring's milking season), they're making some delectable cows' milk cheeses, available after the tour for tasting and purchase.

But what if you want to stay closer to home, enjoying the flavor of local farms without getting mud on your shoes? Then head over to Potrero Hill's sweet, sunny Plow. Look for the metal pig hanging outside, or the many happy diners inside, all grooving on lemon-ricotta pancakes or (my favorite) dreamy French toast gobbed with mascarpone and topped with thick wedges of brown sugar-and-butter roasted Summer Zee peaches from Blossom Bluff Orchards.

The menu shifts daily, but a recent meal included breakfast and lunch offerings like a soft scramble with lambs quarter greens, mushrooms, and goat cheese; housemade yogurt and granola with fruit and Potrero Hill honey; cucumber-buttermilk gazpacho; green bean and Sungold tomato salad with purslane and fresh mozzarella; and a BLT stacked with Nueske bacon and glowing, gorgeous heirloom tomato slices. Farms, orchards, ranchers, bakers, and producers are thanked in four lines of small type at the bottom of the menu, name-checking all the purveyors we know from markets around the Bay Area: Mariquita Farms, Dirty Girl Produce, County Line Harvest, Hamada Farms, Frog Hollow, Straus Family Creamery, Marin Sun Farms, Acme Bread, and more. Happy summer!

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.

Grass-fed Steak Tartare: with raw egg, caperberries, chives, lavender sea salt, and toast

I love brunch. With an intense passion. In fact, it may just be my favorite pastime. When else are you given full license to sleep in late, ease into a leisurely day with a light cocktail, and indulge a little, because after all, you are eating through two meals. Why not have something sweet to go with that savory?

The girl & the fig in Sonoma has perfected brunch. And that is no hyperbole. It's my newest happy place (too bad it isn't closer).

Sunday Brunch

The restaurant is ridiculously charming with a Frenchy-bistro-meets-wine-country vibe that extends from the décor to the menu. I couldn't stop oohing and ahhing over all the cute little touches, and virtually everything on the menu was calling my name.

Salon de Fromage

The salon area well accommodates those waiting to be seated, with a "Salon de Fromage" station where you can sample some artisan cheese and house-made charcuterie, floating servers who can help you get started with a tasty drink, and even a gift shop selling all sorts of figgy goods (both edible, like Ficoco, a fig and cocoa spread, and home/bath products, like Fig & Orange Blossom Body Butter).

Balsamic Bloody Mary

My drink of choice on this joyful morning? The Balsamic Bloody Mary, a phenomenal twist on the classic, made with house-made Bloody Mary mix and a splash of balsamic vinegar, garnished with a briny caperberry, green olive, and celery stalk. All the vegetables I really need on a Sunday.

For our starter, the Grass-fed Steak Tartare caught my eye. When it arrived, the presentation was almost too pretty to eat. And yes, I just called raw beef "pretty." The steak was succulent and sweet, and even more sumptuous with the egg mixed in. The flavor of the caperberries carried over nicely from the Bloody, and cut through the richness of the meat. The shower of chives brought a splash of color and touch of onion, and the lavender sea salt bloomed when sprinkled over each bite. The dish was well-conceived, well-constructed, and fun to dig into.

Duck Confit & Potato Hash: with poached eggs, applewood smoked bacon, and mixed greens

Next up, Duck Confit & Potato Hash with a side of fresh mixed salad greens. It wasn't quite what we were expecting, which was larger pieces of duck confit over potato hash. Rather, it was a hash made of duck confit, applewood smoked bacon, and potato. The duck was overshadowed by the bacon, but nevertheless, it was satisfyingly savory and crispy. And the eggs were poached precisely, with luxurious yolk flowing out as we cut into it.

Stuffed Brioche French Toast: with sweetened Bellwether Farms fromage blanc, meyer lemon and huckleberry compote

And, the crowning jewel, a gigantic piece of Brioche French Toast stuffed with sweetened, meyer lemon fromage blanc (from Bellwether Farms) and huckleberry compote. Gorgeous. Sweet and tart, full of bright citrus-berry notes, creamy and decadent, but incredibly light at the same time.

The girl & the fig, it's as if you've dived into my soul and materialized every brunch wish and want I've ever dreamed. Now if only you could do something about teleportation…

the girl & the fig
110 W Spain St
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 938-3634
Sunday Brunch: 10 am - 3 pm

Ramekins Cooking School and Inn in Sonoma

We pulled up to the quaint Ramekins Cooking School and Inn in Sonoma, and knew I'd like this place as soon as I laid eyes on the spork and spoon handles on the front door.

I was invited by Ramekins to check out one of their many cooking classes and stay at their 6-room bed and breakfast. Cooking classes include both demonstration and hands-on classes, and are geared toward food enthusiasts and home cooks. Well, I'm always saying how I really need to make it up to wine country more often than I do, and this sounded like the perfect excuse!

Joyce Goldstein

Plus, I saw that the esteemed Joyce Goldstein would be teaching a Regional Tour of Italy: The Veneto with this mouth-watering menu:

• Warm Scallop and Mushroom Salad
• Crab and Fennel Risotto with Meyer Lemon Gremolata
• Pork with Chestnuts served with Pumpkin Polenta
• Blood Orange Marmalade Tart

Yeah, let's recap.

1) Weekend getaway in Sonoma. (Check)
2) Adorable B&B. (Check)
3) Cooking class with a culinary legend. (Check)

Right. Sign me up.

Cooking class at Ramekins with Joyce Goldstein

Since this was a demonstration class, there was no actual hands-on cooking by us students, however, there was plenty of Q&A, discussion, and of course, tasting.

Warm Scallop and Mushroom Salad

Joyce was full of knowledge about Italian cuisine, tips and tricks when preparing the dishes on our own, and stories. As we nibbled on succulent seared scallops and gorgeous chanterelle mushrooms, she lectured us on proper and humane tomato care ("once you refrigerate a tomato, you commit murder"), gave us tips on how to select a good salad dressing-quality balsamic vinegar ("if the first ingredient is 'caramel' or 'vinegar', put it down; look for 'grape must' as a primary ingredient"), and warned us against overcooking the scallops ("they should be quivering in the middle").

Crab and Fennel Risotto with Meyer Lemon Gremolata

As we tucked into the brightly flavored risotto made with sweet crab meat, fennel, and a gremolata of meyer lemon zest, parsley and garlic, we learned that the Venetians actually prefer their risotto on the soupy side.

Speaking of Venetians, I asked Joyce, why the Veneto? She replied that while this meal actually borrows from various regions of Italy, she originally wanted to highlight Venice because of its interesting culinary history born from its unique location. One of the first cities in the spice trade, the food of the Veneto was influenced by goods traded by merchants traveling in and out of the port (like Marco Polo, Venice's most famous traveler). The food and drink of the Veneto includes an abundance of seafood, game meat (an influence of Yugoslavia), artichokes, radicchio, rice (rather than pasta), lighter wines, and grappa.

Pork Stew with Chestnuts

All this edification got me hungry. Good thing the pork stew was ready.

Originally prepared with wild boar, Joyce first had this dish at a farro farm in Abruzzo. Farro was the earliest wheat that was cultivated in Europe. It tastes like barley, is sweet and hazelnutty, and puffs up when it is cooked.

With a few adaptations made, our stew featured pork shoulder rather than boar, and a delicious pumpkin polenta rather than farro. The pork stew was rich and hearty, slow simmered with red wine (Pinot Noir and Valpolicella), aromatics, sage, and warm spices (juniper berries, cloves, and cinnamon). It also contained chestnuts, which added a superb sweetness and richness to the stew. They were delicious, and I don't usually even like chestnuts!

We used vacuum-packed cooked chestnuts, but if you're shelling fresh ones, Joyce let us in on a little secret she discovered to save your hands, and time. Cut an "X" on the flat side of the chestnuts, cutting through to the brown skin, then microwave them for a bit. The hard outer shell and bitter inner skin should easily come off afterward.

Pork with Chestnuts served with Pumpkin Polenta

Oh, and let's not forget the polenta. The pumpkin polenta was heavenly. Granted, I may be biased, since as you may already know, I am a pumpkin/butternut squash/sweet potato freak.

But really, what is there not to love about this savory-sweet, rich combination of pumpkin, cornmeal, and parmesan cheese? Other than being utterly delicious, polenta is also pretty forgiving. Unlike risotto, which needs to hit the table as soon as it's ready, "Polenta, you can baby," as Joyce puts it. (Brands recommended for polenta: Giusto's and Gold Pheasant.)

Also, a great trick we learned to avoid lumps in it was to start with the polenta in cold water rather than streaming it into boiling water like most recipes call for. Brilliant. Why didn’t I think of that before?

Joyce Goldstein, laying lattice

Now for my favorite part…the course that clinched it when I signed up for this class -- the Blood Orange Marmalade Tart, which needless to say, did not disappoint. It was fragrant, perfumed by the gorgeous blood oranges and Grand Marnier (two of my favorite ingredients of all time), and had a perfectly buttery, flaky crust.

As Joyce so aptly describes, a blood orange tastes different from other oranges, it is really floral, “like an orange mixed with a rose.”

This tart is adapted from a recipe served at the Vineria Cozzi in Bergamo Alta. It is called Crostata di Marmellata delle Suore Trappiste, a tart filled with jam made by the Trappist nuns. The recipe takes a homemade orange marmalade and binds it with eggs and cornstarch. Fitting. It tastes divine.

Blood Orange Marmalade Tart

A few tricks of the trade when making this:
• Use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove all the zest from the oranges. It is the quickest way I've ever seen zest removed. After you have all the peel, chop it finely.
• Remember to discard the bitter pith.
• Blood oranges are small so you don't need to really segment them, especially since it is all being cooked down anyway for the marmalade. Just chop them up into 1 inch pieces.

Other than this tart -- which I've been thinking about ever since -- what struck me was a comment that someone made towards the end of the class. She was a woman who was an old fan of Joyce's restaurant, Square One, before it closed in 1996. She was not alone, as it seemed that the class was filled with devout fans. The woman used to come in from Central Valley for a night out at Square One, and wrote in once after being particularly taken by a certain apple tart. Joyce wrote her back (she answered every letter that came in), and said they make it en masse, so the translation may not be perfect, but nonetheless, here was the recipe. It worked beautifully, and this was the first chance the woman had to thank Joyce personally. The room burst into applause.

Ramekins Inn, apple art

This story got me thinking about food and how our best memories of particular dishes or meals are inextricably tied to the people who made them special. It is not only about the food, but about the stories and the shared experience. Maybe that is why places like Ramekins make me so happy. Places that get it. They get the love of food (it's written on the apple-adorned walls and asparagus-lined railing), and they get that people are looking to share that experience.

Ramekins Inn, asparagus railing

Blood Orange Marmalade Tart (Crostata di marmellata all’arancia)

Recipe and notes courtesy of Joyce Goldstein, from Perfect Pairings.

"Jam filled lattice-topped tarts are popular all over Italy. In Rome they prefer cherry jam. Some tarts are prepared with apricot or berry preserves. At the Vineria Cozzi in Bergamo Alta they serve a crostata di marmellata delle Suore Trappiste, filled with jam made by the Trappist nuns. This recipe takes a home made orange marmalade and binds it with eggs and cornstarch. Blood oranges, now available at our markets, would add their special perfume and color, to the tart."

Serves: 8

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta Frolla for two crusts:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
pinch salt
4 to 6 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water, as needed

Filling:
3 large navel oranges or 5 to 6 blood oranges
1 1/3 cups sugar
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3 eggs
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other orange liqueur

PREPARATION:

For the Crust:
1. Put the flour and salt and sugar in the container of a food processor or mixing bowl. Cut in the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Gradually beat in the ice water. Turn dough out onto work surface and form into 2 flattened discs, one slightly larger than the other. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least an hour.
2. Roll out the large disc between very lightly floured sheets of baker’s parchment until you have a circle that is 13 inches in diameter. Carefully ease it into a 9 inch pie plate or 10 inch tart tin with a removable bottom. Chill the crust.

For the Filling:
1. Wash and dry the oranges. With a sharp peeler carefully remove all of the zest from all 3 oranges and chop finely. Separate the oranges into segments and put them in a medium saucepan along with the chopped zest, 1/3 cup sugar, the lemon juice and the water. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring form time to time. Let the mixture cool to room temperature. The filling can be made a day ahead of time and left at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
3. Place remaining sugar in a mixing bowl with the cornstarch and mix with a fork. Add the butter and beat until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the cooled marmalade and the Grand Marnier.
4. Pour the filling into the pie crust. Roll out the remaining pastry between lightly floured sheets of baker's parchment into a rectangle about 9 by 12 inches. Remove the top piece of parchment and cut into strips with a pastry wheel. Moisten the edge of the crust with a bit of water and then arrange the strips like a lattice on top of the filling.
5. Bake 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue to bake the tart for 30 to 40 minutes or until filling is set and crust is slightly colored.
6. Cool and serve with whipped cream.

More Recipes Courtesy of Joyce Goldstein:
Warm Scallop and Mushroom Salad, from Antipasti: Fabulous Appetizers and Small Plates
Crab and Fennel Risotto with Meyer Lemon Gremolata, adapted from Back to Square One
Pork with Chestnuts served with Pumpkin Polenta, from Italian Slow and Savory

Upcoming classes at Ramekins that caught my eye:

03/25/10, An Evening of Food and Wine Pairing (Demo, $85) with Joyce and her son, Evan Goldstein, a James Beard Award-winning master sommelier and career wine educator. Way to keep it in the family.

04/03/10, Top Five Desserts (Hands-on, $85) with Joy Wilson, author of Joy the Baker. Small world, I ran into Joy as we were leaving Ramekins…thought I had smelled something good baking downstairs! She's returning to teach another class in April.

04/29/10, Perbacco Restaurant (Demo, $75) with Staffan Terje, chef/owner of Perbacco. Chef Terje will be showcasing fresh seasonal ingredients and cooking techniques that are the basis of haute cuisine. Which means, you can expect a haute Italian dinner from one of SF’s finest.

Ramekins
450 West Spain Street
Sonoma, CA 95476
Map
(707) 933-0452

Disclosure: Cooking class and accommodations provided by Ramekins.

For more Joyce, check out Check, Please! Bay Area: Season 3: Joyce Goldstein Special, where she profiles three Bay Area restaurants: Medjool, B44, and Da Flora.

I should have known that when my ultimate food friend, Melanie, invited me to her house in Cloverdale this weekend that the days would be filled with chowing my way through Sonoma County. When not hanging out at her house chatting by the fire and drinking delicious wine, we were cruising the county having nibbles and bites in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale and the surrounding areas. I reported on Part I of my trip last week, which included Downtown Bakery, Willie Bird Turkeys and Matos Cheese Factory.

Friday night, we went to dinner at Scopa -- a small restaurant on the square in Healdsburg that focuses on Northern Italian dishes. Melanie did a great job of reporting on our meal on Chowhound, but a few highlights: deliciously light polpette with an addictive tomato sauce, perfectly textured papardelle with duck ragu, and a remarkable side of bread that we used to dip in anything and everything. We sat at the bar, which I would highly recommend. Scopa serves a small list of wines by the glass, but I would recommend skipping wine for a bottle of Pliny the Elder beer. Crafted by Russian River Brewing Company, this strong, double IPA has botanical overtones and a scent of elderflower. I daresay it changed my point-of-view with regards to beer, as I had never experienced the exact flavor combination I had in Pliny the Elder. William Brand's blog has more tasting notes about Pliny the Elder.

I had never been to the Santa Rosa Farmers Market and was excited to check it out on Saturday morning. This market is really the best of all worlds -- it's a small, mellow feeling market that attracts top-notch vendors. Those who attend the San Rafael market on Sundays will recognize several vendors: County Line for gorgeous vegetables, De Santis and their wonderful citrus, and Black Sheep Farm who used to attend the San Rafael market with their delicious meats. Middleton Gardens attends this market with their perfect vegetables -- farmer Nancy Skall is well known for selling to restaurants such as The French Laundry and Chez Panisse (you can read more about Middleton Gardens on Eggbeater).

I can't emphasize enough that this market is well worth a visit. Close to closing time, we picked up a couple fish tacos from Nellie's Oysters and enjoyed them at a long communal table adorned with hot sauces and condiments. The taco was made from fresh rock cod and topped with a sweet salsa. While the fish was delicious, the star of the taco was definitely the homemade tortilla which was pretty close to perfect in texture and flavor.

Headed back to Cloverdale after our afternoon adventures, we stopped by the Windsor Green Grocer. North Bay locavores had been mentioning Windsor Green Grocer to me since it opened eight months ago. Owner Joe Rueter and his wife are producing delicious prepared foods with a goal of using products from within a 150-mile radius, and doing an excellent job at it. While I am obsessively concerned with where food is coming from, it doesn't register with me unless it actually tastes good too -- and Windsor Green Grocer is achieving great flavors with local foods. We shared a pastrami sandwich made from Zoe's pastrami and chatted Joe up for a few minutes. I am really excited about what he is achieving with this small grocery and cafe.

Just when I thought I didn't have room for one more bite, we popped into Snow Bunny frozen yogurt on the square in Healdsburg. Snow Bunny is making small batches of frozen yogurt using Straus organic milk, and the tart creations are delicious. We shared a vanilla yogurt with olive oil and fleur de sel. While that flavor combination was good, my favorite taste at Snow Bunny was of the plain-flavored yogurt.

A week later, I feel like I am still recovering from the food coma of this trip -- I can't wait to go back and further explore what this area of Sonoma county has to offer.

Scopa
109A Plaza Street
Healdsburg, CA
707-433-5282

Santa Rosa Farmers Market
at the Veteran's Building
1351 Maple
Santa Rosa, CA
8.30 am - noon on Saturdays

Windsor Green Grocer
434 Emily Rose Circle
Windsor, CA
707-837-8113

Snow Bunny Yogurt
312 Center Street
Healdsburg, CA
707-431-7669

I should have known that when my ultimate food friend, Melanie, invited me to her house in Cloverdale this weekend that the days would be filled with chowing my way through Sonoma County. When not hanging out at her house chatting by the fire and drinking delicious wine, we were cruising the county having nibbles and bites in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Cloverdale and the surrounding areas.

"Can you leave work at 2:30," she asked via email late last week, "I'd like to get to the Downtown Bakery in Healdsburg by 4:30pm for the half-price markdown."

On the way to Healdsburg, we exited Highway 101 to avoid traffic and came to our first stop: Joe Matos Cheese Factory. The Matos family sells their St. George's cheese to many cheese stores and restaurants in the Bay Area and their unassuming "retail store" (consisting of a wheel of cheese and a loud bell announcing customers) is located in Santa Rosa. The cheese is a bargain at $7 per pound, and I bought a large $10 slice for our weekend. This is a delicious cheese. Cowgirl Creamery's Library of Cheese describes the St. George as a "full-flavored cow milk cheese with a cheddary depth and a rich texture."

Next, we stopped at Willie Bird Turkeys to pick up some bones for stock. Many of you know Willie Bird as the purveyors of a large number of sustainable turkeys around the holidays. Their retail store is worth a stop and many bargains can be found inside. The bones were seventy cents a pound, and we bought a flat of 20 delicious turkey eggs for $4. I left the store noshing on their peppery turkey jerky and we were on our way.

We pulled into Healdsburg at 4:40 pm, and Melanie was in a hurry to get to Downtown Bakery. "I've never gotten here this late," she mentioned as we quickly walked to the bakery. Each weekday from 4:30 to 5:30, Downtown Bakery marks down many of their items to half-price. We walked in and took a number (18 people were ahead of us!) and perused the mark-down menu to make our decisions. What followed was an oddly stressful ten minutes as we watched item after item be completely sold-out by the earlier customers. Still, by the time it was our turn there were many items left and we bought a large bag of baked goods (a lot for freezing) for $15. I've always loved Downtown Bakery's croissants, which I purchase at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, and happily had one for breakfast the next morning. The highlight of our purchases was a delicious almond tart which was quite sweet, full of nuts, and perfect when toasted.

Next week, I'll let you know about the rest of our trip which included a trip to the delightful Santa Rosa Farmers Market and more Sonoma county wanderings.

Joe Matos Cheese Factory
3669 Llano Road
Santa Rosa
9 am - 5 pm
707-584-5283

Willie Bird Turkeys
5350 Highway 12
Santa Rosa
707-545-2832

Downtown Bakery
308A Center Street
Healdsburg
707-431-2719

On Labor Day weekend there are a myriad of culinary experiences to choose from including Slow Food Nation in San Francisco and further north, the Sonoma Wine Country Weekend. While this tremendously popular annual event consistently sells out, there are still a few tickets left to some of the winemaker lunches on Friday, August 29th, winemaker dinners on Saturday, August 30th and a chance to attend a high rolling wine auction on Sunday, August 31st.

What: Sonoma Wine Country Weekend

Where: Events take place at wineries in Sonoma County

When: August 29 - 31, 2008

How: Buy tickets to attend, tickets range from $75 to $750, depending upon the event.

Why: Get up close and personal with winemakers, chefs and local producers from our own backyard. My pick is the Taste of Sonoma a local food and wine tasting showcase event on Saturday at the historic MacMurray Ranch, that's rarely open to the public. There will be chef demonstrations, wine seminars and more.

Whichever events you choose to attend, you'll be helping to support local charities that serve the students, children, farm workers and those in need.

Local restaurants and chefs will be participating all weekend. Here are two terrific recipes courtesy of Duskie Estes and John Stewart of Zazu and Bovolo Restaurant and Farm.

Peach Bellini Sorbetto
1 1/4 pounds ripe peaches
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup iron horse sparkling wine

Combine the peaches, sugar, and lemon juice in a food processor. Stir in the sparkling wine. Freeze in ice cream maker according to its directions.

Redwood Hill Goat Yogurt Gelato
4 cups plain goat yogurt
1 cups sugar
3/4 cup water

In a small sauce pan on high heat, bring the sugar and water to a boil to melt the sugar. Cool. Mix the yogurt with the simple syrup and freeze according to your ice cream machine’s directions.

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