From Maggia to Nicasio - A Cheese Tradition

This past May, during our family vacation in Sonoma, our friend Sheana Davis from the Epicurean Connection stopped by to provide a fantastic wine and cheese tasting. Among the cheeses that Sheana introduced us to that day was a recent entrant into the Marin cheese scene - a mild bloomy-rind table cheese named "Formagella" produced by the Nicasio Valley Cheese Company. It was a big hit.

The Lafranchi Dairy was founded in 1919 by Fredolino Lafranchi who immigrated to America from Maggia, Switzerland. However, it was only recently that Fredolino's descendants decided to establish the Nicasio Valley Cheese Company to start producing cheese to cope with fluctuating milk prices. When they did so, they turned to their roots and sought the assistance of Swiss master cheese maker, Maurizio Lorenzetti, from their ancestral town of Maggia.

This past Friday Andrew, Connie, Alex, Cassie and I decided to drive up to Nicasio and visit the company's production facility which is located on the outskirts of the town of Nicasio on Nicasio Valley Road.

The company's tasting area is modest but they provide samples of all six of the cheeses they are currently offering.


We picked up a wide selection. Although the cheeses are not very complex, they are extremely tasty and versatile. They can now be found in many retail outlets in Marin, Sonoma, San Francisco and the East Bay, as well as at the Sunday farmers market at the San Rafael Civic Center.

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BBQ in Sonoma - Lolis Eric Elie and Smokestack Lightning

One of the most enjoyable events during our recent family vacation in Sonoma this past May was a wine and cheese tasting arranged for us by our friend, Sheana Davis of Epicurean Connection. Sheana went far out of her way to organize a fantastic evening which all of us will long remember.

We knew that Sheana spent a good deal of time in New Orleans in addition to Sonoma, and when we saw her in May we discussed the new HBO series, “Tremé,” named after the Faubourg Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans. The series had kicked off in April and I had quickly become an avid fan.

During our discussion Sheana mentioned that she had a friend in New Orleans named Lolis Eric Elie, a former reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune who had been working as one of the writers for the series. Lolis had earlier directed a movie named "Faubourg Tremé: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans” about the long and rich history of the area, one of America’s oldest black neighborhoods. Needless to say, he sounded like a very interesting guy.

Not long after we saw her in Sonoma in May, we heard from Sheana that she was helping to organize a dinner in Sonoma to celebrate a visit by Lolis. We initially assumed it had something to do with Tremé, but learned that the dinner would instead feature the showing of a movie based on a book about barbecue written by Lolis with Frank Stewart entitled “Smokestack Lightning: Adventures in the Heart of Barbecue Country” (a reference to the Howlin’ Wolf blues song). Nancy, Alex, Cass and I decided to attend, and this past Sunday evening drove up to Sonoma to the event site of Wild Thyme Catering which was hosting the event.

Happily it was a bit warmer and sunnier in Sonoma than in Sausalito. Tables had been set up in the courtyard and we had a chance to meet and chat with Lolis and some of the other guests during the reception that preceded the dinner while we listened to the Sonoma-based blues band, The Hellhounds.

Here are a couple of pictures from the reception - the first of Lolis with Sheana and Keith Filipello (who, with his wife Joanne, owns Wild Thyme), followed by us with Lolis and with Sheana.


In addition to some light snacks, wine and beer was served during the reception. Happily the wines included a selection from Highway 12 winery, which has become one of our favorites since Sheana served some of their wines during our family event during May.

In addition, I had a chance to meet Alec Stefansky with Uncommon Brewers who had come up from Santa Cruz for the event with some of UB’s brews. In the spirit of the evening, Alec suggested I try one of their relatively new products, Bacon Brown Ale which is, in fact, made with bacon. It was probably something I would not have tried, but it had a beautiful color and a pleasant smoky flavor with an aftertaste that reminded me of “mugicha” - a Japanese barley tea drunk cold during the summer.

Before long it was time for dinner and we all formed a line in front of the incredible buffet spread that Sheana and the Wild Thyme folks had prepared for us.

In addition to the dishes prepared by Sheana and Wild Thyme, we were also fortunate to have Bob Cantor and his crew from Memphis Minnie’s in the Haight there with their Memphis-style pastrami. Although Smokestack Lightning focused on the South, Lolis mentions Bob in the book and has also reviewed Memphis Minnie’s favorably in the past, so it was a very appropriate local representative.

In addition to some of their own dishes, as you will see from the menu, Wild Thyme also prepared a number of dishes based on the recipes in Smokestack Lightning. Here is a shot of my plate after I managed to get it back to the table.

Of the dishes prepared from Smokestack Lightning, the Arkansas Trav’ler barbequed beans (very much like a cassoulet - see the recipe that follows) and Lolis’ mother’s potato salad were my favorites.

Memphis Minnie’s pastrami and Sheana’s pulled pork were also both excellent.

As dinner wound down and the sky darkened, The Hellhounds played their final number and Sheana moved to the stage to introduce Lolis. Lolis talked a bit about his book and the movie, and also told us about the Southern Foodways Alliance, an institute of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. The SFA’s mission statement is as follows:
“The SFA documents, studies, and celebrates the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. We stage symposia on food culture, produce documentary films, publish compendiums of great writing, and—perhaps most importantly—preserve, promote, and chronicle the region’s culinary standard bearers.”

Before showing his own film, Lolis showed us two short barbecue-oriented documentaries produced by the SFA, both of which can be viewed on the SFA website. The first, the first “Cut/Chop/Cook” profiles Scott's Bar-B-Q in Hemingway, South Carolina, which was also the focus of a New York Times article. The second, “Capitol Q,” features the Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina, which National Geographic recognized in 1988 as the “barbecue capital of the world.”

There is a wealth of information on the SFA website, including a site entitled “The Southern Barbecue Trail”. They also host an annual symposium each year in October in Oxford. Who knows - I may have to try to attend some year!

We thoroughly enjoyed the dinner, the company and all the films, and learned a great deal. It was an evening very well spent.

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Sonoma Day 4 - North to Healdsburg

Tuesday was a rainy day here in Sonoma. After a lazy morning around the house, we drove over to drop in on Sheana Davis at her Epicurean Connection shop on Highway 12 just outside of Sonoma (look for the Rocket Cafe sign) where Sheana introduced us to some local celebrities, showed us around the shop and treated us to coffee cake and coffee.


Then Sheana had to kick us out since she need to rush off to give some advice to a new cheese maker in the area.

Sadly, Olivia had to head back home so we said our goodbyes and she and Patrick headed south for San Francisco. The rest of us drove north to Healdsburg, about an hour’s drive from Sonoma.

It was still raining when we got to Healdsburg, so we took a quick walk around the Square then ducked into the Kendall-Jackson tasting room where we sampled some of their offerings while we waited for a table to open up at the Charcuterie Restaurant next door.

Then it was back to Sonoma.

In the evening we stopped by the somewhat soggy Tuesday farmers market in the Square for some veggies, then walked over to the Red Grape to pick up some pizza and pasta to take home (including, at Sheana’s suggestion, the Pasta Dagmar - Caggiano's spicy Italian sausage, fresh tomato, mushrooms, provolone and parmegiano with pasta shells). We consumed it all while watching a very satisfying Suns victory over the Lakers, and, of course, Cece.


Today looks like it will be a much nicer day weather-wise and we will see what it brings.

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A Culinary Plunge into Sonoma County with Sheana Davis

We first met Sheana Davis in mid-2008 when Alex, Cass and I took a class that Sheana taught at the Cheese School of San Francisco on “Cheese and Wine of Sonoma County.” It was a great class and gave us an introduction to a range of wonderful cheeses and wines that were produced within a drive of an hour or so from San Francisco. Sheana – a fourth generation Sonoma resident - has a tremendous knowledge of the history of the area and who is producing top quality food products. Our class – together with a couple of more we subsequently took with her with a locavore focus – was like a culinary tour through the county.

At the time of our first class, Sheana was just getting started with the production of her Délice de la Vallée cheese blending cow and goat milk, and we have enjoyed that cheese ever since (as have many others – among Sheana’s customers is the French Laundry!).
When we decided to spend this week vacationing in Sonoma, one of the first people I contacted was Sheana. She not only gave us a wealth of suggestions about things to do during our week here, but also offered to come over to the house where we were staying and cater a wine and cheese tasting for us. Needless to say, we jumped at her offer.

So, yesterday after our return from our brunch at The Girl & the Fig, we girded ourselves for Sheana’s arrival with a bit of whiffleball, lounging and hot tub time.

Around 3:00 Sheana’s heavily-laden car came up the drive and the event kicked off. Sheana had decided on the following cheeses for our tasting:

~ Délice de la Vallée – cow and goat
~ A bloomy rind cheese by a mystery producer - sheep
~ Formagella - Nicasio Valley Cheese Co. (Lafranchi family) - cow
~ Estero Gold - Valley Ford Cheese – cow
~ Sonoma Toma – Bleating Heart Dairy (Seana Doughty) - cow
~ Shamrock (Ana Cox) – Crottin – goat

As always a very interesting selection including many cheeses we had not had before, and a couple that were so new that they still do not even have names. In keeping with her enthusiasm and knowledge about Sonoma County, each item was presented with a story about exactly where it had come from and who had produced it.

In addition to the cheeses, Sheana brought a number of accompaniments and other treats:

~ Duck rillette
~ Romesco paste (a roasted red bell pepper based paste)
~ Marcona almonds
~ Dried fruit
~ Strawberries (the kind that let you remember what strawberries really taste like!)
~ Glen Ellen honey
~ Bread and crackers

Below: Estero Gold, Sonoma Toma and Crottin cheeses; a combo - Délice de la Vallée, duck rillette and Romesco paste; the amazing strawberries.

And finally there were the wines - and more wines – two whites and four reds:

~ Highway 12 – Sauvignon Blanc - 2008
~ David Noyes (Pagani Vineyards) – Tocai Friulano – 2008
~ B.R. Cohn – Panel Wagon – Pinot Noir - 2008
~ Spann Vineyards – Mo Zin – 2007 [Zinfandel 57%; Mourvèdre 30%; Petite Syrah 10%; Syrah (3%)
~ Unti Vineyards – Petit Frere – 2007 [Syrah 44%; Grenache 38%; Mourvèdre 18%]
~ Rimerick Ridge (Smothers Brothers) – Cabernet Sauvignon - 2001

Do we look like we had a good time?

Since we had been a bit concerned that we might still be hungry after the wine and cheese tasting, we had also asked Sheana to bring along a bit of dinner. And so after all that had gone before, before she left Sheana assembled the following to tide us over until breakfast:

~Ravioli Stuffed with Délice de la Vallée cheese with Swiss Chard and Basalmic Vinegar
~Roasted Gleason Ranch Chicken with Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
~Fresh Sausages simmered in Mo Zin and Verjus
~Oakhill Farm Green Salad with Green Garlic Aioli Dressing
~Fresh Baked Butter Cookies

Just in case we might be feeling a bit of Sheana-withdrawal, we have made arrangements to stop by here Epicurean Connection store tomorrow morning for some coffee and pastries! See you then Sheana, and thanks again!

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An Evening with Some Queens of the Cheese World

On Saturday evening, still a bit full from our Calabrian cooking class the night before, Alex, Cass and I made our way back to the Cheese School of San Francisco for a tasting program held in conjunction with the 8th Annual Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference. The Conference was being hosted by Sheana Davis of The Epicurean Connection, with whom we have taken a number of classes at the Cheese School. In addition, Sheana is the producer of Délice de la Vallée, a wonderful blend of cow and goat milk.

We arrived just before the 6:00PM starting time which was wise since the room filled up quickly.

After grabbing some glasses of wine – Highway 12 blends were being poured, together with some beers – and saying hello to Sheana and the Cheese School gang, we got in line and began to make our way through the gauntlet of temptations.

There was quite a lineup of producers and importers represented at the tables lined up around the room, including:

~ Carr Valley (Wisconsin)
~ Cypress Grove Chevre (Arcata, CA)
~ Délice de la Vallée (Petaluma, CA)
~ Daphne Zepos (New York -- importer of Comté from the Jura Mountains in France)
~ Harley Farms (Pescadero, CA)
~ Landaff Creamery (Vermont – aged at the Cellars at Jasper Hill)
~ Roth Käse (Wisconsin)
~ Upland’s Cheese (Wisconsin)
~ Von Trapp Farmstead (Vermont – aged at Jasper Hill Cellars)
~ Widmer’s Cheese Cellars (Wisconsin)
~ Zingerman’s Creamery (Michigan)

Alex, Cass and I were most excited to have the chance to meet Dee Harley of Harley Farms and Daphne Zepos since we love Harley Farms and their Monet cheese, and the Comté that Daphne imports is probably our #1 favorite cheese – especially when served with a glass of Rivesaltes Ambré from Domaine Fontanel, a fabulous combination introduced to us by Janet Fletcher at a class at the Cheese School a couple of years ago.

Here are the cheeses we enjoyed (apologies to Sheana, but somehow I did not get a picture of the Délice de la Vallée station). Of the aged cheeses my favorite remains Daphne's Comté, although the Carr Valley selections were also particularly good.










l drought coming up over the next few weeks – we will not be back until our “Springtime Cheeses, Loire Valley Wines” class on April 23.

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