MOUTHFUL
Eat out and do good
Published: Thursday, November 22, 2012 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at 9:29 a.m.
Dining Out for Life, 2012: Next Thursday, Nov. 29, plan on going out to eat for at least one meal. If you can go out for two or three, all the better.
Dining Out for Life is a major fundraiser for Food For Thought, Sonoma County's AIDS and HIV Food Bank. To support it, all you need to do is enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner at one of dozens of participating restaurants.
Some restaurants will donate 25 percent of the day's profits; others will donate 50 percent. One restaurant, California Thai in Santa Rosa, is donating 75 percent of the day's profits.
A volunteer will be on hand at each location to greet diners and provide information about Food For Thought's programs.
Restaurants in Bodega Bay, Cotati, Forestville, Graton, Healdsburg, Kenwood, Monte Rio, Occidental, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Valley Ford and Windsor are participating. For a complete list, with details and contact information, visit diningoutforlife.com, a nationwide event.
Craft Fair Watch
Today from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Studio 428 (428 Moore Lane, Healdsburg) hosts a holiday show and sale featuring works from more than a dozen local artists and designers. You'll find works on paper, photography, jewelry, ceramics and more, all beautiful and unique.
To preview the artists and designers, visit studio428.blogspot.com.
If you can't make it to this weekend's show, Studio 428 will be open by appointment through Christmas. For information, email info@jmartinart.com.
Got olives?
On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Olive Press (24724 Arnold Drive, Sonoma) hosts a community press day, one of just two community days each year.
Here's how it works. Harvest your olives and bring them to the press. Reservations are not required, but you need to have a minimum of five pounds.
Olives must be picked no more than 24 hours before they are delivered to the press, and they must be in top shape. All olives will be examined before they are accepted. For complete guidelines, visit theolivepress.com.
Cost is 75 cents per pound, and you'll end up with your own “estate oil,” with the quantity based on your quantity of olives. The oil will be available a week or two after pressing.
Deborah Rogers, co-founder of the Olive Press, will be monitoring pressing throughout the day.
A second community press day will be held on Sunday, Dec. 9.
Snowmen in Sonoma
On Saturday, Cornerstone Sonoma hosts its eighth annual Lighting of the Snowmen, beginning at 4 p.m.
The celebration includes all manner of holiday activities, from an opportunity to decorate a gingerbread house and sip hot chocolate to games, crafts, roasted chestnuts, face-painting and more. There's a beer garden, pet adoption stations, photos with Santa in the huge blue chair, a performance by the Sonoma Ballet Conservatory, children's films and more. Tasting rooms — there are two — will be open and Chef Bruce Riezenman's Park 121 Cafe will be serving pizzas hot from the new outdoor oven.
The heart of the event is, of course, the lighting of the snowmen, about 300 of them, on a rolling hillside adjacent to Arnold Drive/Highway 121. The lighting takes place towards the conclusion of the evening.
Admission is free and tickets for activities, raffles and foods will be available for purchase. An arm's length of tickets is $20.
By last year, the event had grown so big that parking was a huge problem. This year, the difficulty will be mitigated by complimentary parking and shuttle service at nearby Jacuzzi Winery, beginning at 3:30 p.m. If you want to park at Cornerstone, you'll pay $5, all of which will be donated to Pets Lifeline, the beneficiary of the evening's proceeds. The Highway Patrol will be assisting with traffic control.
Cornerstone Sonoma is located at 23570 Arnold Dr., Sonoma. For more information, visit cornerstonesonoma.com.
The Day After at DaVero
DaVero Tasting Room hosts its third annual Day After Thanksgiving Party today from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Rosso Pizzeria will join in the fun with their mobile pizza oven, offering slices, whole pies and side dishes for purchase. DaVero wines will be available by the glass and bottle.
Kids are welcome, there will be horseshoes, Frisbees and a chance to simply hang out and relax. We suspect you may see a dog or two, as well.
Admission is free.
DaVero Tasting Room is located at 766 Westside Road, Healdsburg.
Oysters and chardonnay at Amphora
From 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today, Amphora Winery (4791 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg) is open for fun, with a no-host oyster bar and chilled 2008 chardonnay to enjoy alongside.
The oysters, shucked while you wait, will be available for purchase, the winery will be pouring tastes of several wines and more will be available for purchase by the glass and bottle.
There will be special discounts on wine all day.
If you want to be sure to get some oysters, arrive early.
Avoid shopping malls
On Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can celebrate the holidays in German style at Hermann Sons Hall (860 Western Ave., Petaluma).
Christkindlmarkt will feature traditional needlecrafts, woodcrafts, quilting, candles and more from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. In addition, there will be baked goods, chocolates and other foods, along with traditional music, entertainment and an appearance of Saint Nicholas for the kids.
Traverso's raviolis
If, like many of us, you are suffering Traverso withdrawals, we have a bit of help. The raviolis that Traverso's carried, so popular during the winter holidays, are available at Bill and Deb's Downtown Deli (621 Fourth St., Santa Rosa, 636-2200).
Currently, the deli has beef raviolis for $5.99 a box, Traverso's price. They are also selling the Bolognese sauce that many customers serve with the ravs; it's $5.99 for a 12-ounce container.
The popular cheese raviolis will be in stock as of next week. Bill and Mary Traverso have a standing order.
Bill Thompson worked at Traverso's for 10 years. Debbie Schulze was at the beloved market for six years before it closed last November.
Michele Anna Jordan hosts “Mouthful” each Sunday at 7 p. m. on KRCB 90.9 & 91.1 FM. E-mail Jordan at michele@micheleannajordan.com. You'll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/
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