Sebastopol Weekend
  Gastronomy Tour
      (and more)

with our friend Laura graciously taking care of the little man for the weekend,

we made the six hour drive to visit our friends 

 for their annual

Groundhog Day cassoulet dinner.

part of the gorgeous drive was along the coast, 

and we crossed the Golden gate Bridge

Friday evening on McGregor Rd started with 

 cocktails based on our host's own

homegrown bergamots

(the flavoring in Earl grey tea) 

first group attempt

delicious!

(bergamot juice, Sonoma County gin, sweet vermouth, and 

a touch of Grand Marnier)

second group attempt

equally delicious but oh, so fancified!

(a sugared rim, bergamot peel and

a Maraschino cherry for color)

followed by dinner at the local restaurant

Peter Lowell's.

that's roasted bone marrow

with garlic and lardon and 

crusty bread.

there was no need to eat anything else.

ever.

Saturday morning started with

a VERY Sonoma breakfast at 

brown rice bowl with kale, roasted carrots

 a coconut/peanut sauce and poached eggs

(so perfect)

followed by a farm visit

 to a colleague from a previous life

gorgeous girls (and boys!)

 a Grade A operation

(literally)

a pitstop at

WildFlour Bread Bakery

for a couple of loaves of sourdough

that perfumed the car for the rest of the day

a drive through

 Bodega, California

where we saw the iconic church

St Teresa of Avila

first made famous by Ansel Adams in 1953

and along with Potter School House,

made famous again in 1963 by 

Alfred Hitchcock in his film The Birds

and a drive through 

Bodega Head State Park

"crowded" with whale and comet watchers

reminiscent of the Connacht coast

in Ireland

(but with sun)

and the day ended with

our host's 

cassoulet dinner....

a mache salad from their garden

with fennel and blood oranges 

and borage blossoms

(all also from their garden!)

a foie gras terrine

(OMG)

(with Wildflour Bread)

 the pièce de résistance,

best darned cassoulet ever!

(lamb, duck, pork, beans.....)

and insane wine

(there were 10 of us)

what I failed to capture 

due to my eyes rolling back in my head

was the dessert of

bergamot curd

with whipped cream.

I thought we had gout..... 

until Sunday morning when we

poached eggs in the 

foie gras "butter"

(the yellow parts of the terrine in the photo above)

then I KNEW we had gout....

we even helped harvest the citrus

kumquats

Meyer lemons,and blood oranges

If California broke off and floated away tomorrow

I know we'd survive just fine.