Mouthful: From olive workshops to crab feeds around Sonoma

Got Olives: On Sunday, January 11, Don “Olive Don” Landis hosts a workshop at B. R. Cohn that focuses on curing olives without lye.

Landis hosts several such workshops throughout olive season, perfect for anyone who has olives and doesn’t want to turn them into oil. This workshop takes place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and includes a discussion of the history of the olive in California and an exploration of the Greek method of curing olives.

Cost is $15 for members of the wine club and $20 for the general public. Participants receive a 10 percent discount on olive oil and vinegar in the winery’s gourmet shop.

To snag a seat, call (800) 330-4064 ext. 124.

B. R. Cohn Winery is located at 15000 Sonoma Highway in Glen Ellen.

For more information about Landis’s work with olives, visit donsolives.com.

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Crab Feed Season: Two crab feeds are on the radar for the upcoming week. First up is the Cinnabar Third Annual Crab Feed, taking place in a heated tent at Lagunitas Brewing Company (1280 McDowell Blvd., Petaluma) next Tuesday, January 13. Things get started at 5:30, with crab at 6 p.m.

In addition to crab, there will be cole slaw, pasta salad, bread and dessert, along with Lagunitas brews and local wines. Cost is $55 per person; beverages are not included in the price.

This fete also includes a silent auction. All proceeds benefit Cinnabar Theater.

To join in, you must buy your tickets at cinnabartheater.org by 4 p.m. Friday, January 9. And don’t forget to bring your own crab crackers and picks, a good idea at any crab feed. Some people also bring their own preferred condiments, though lemon wedges, cocktail sauce and horseradish are typically provided.

Next Saturday, January 17, is the Sebastopol Masons Crab Feed, taking place at the Masonic Center at 373 North Main St. The all-you-can-eat crab feed has two seatings, one at 5:30 and one at 7 p.m. In addition to crab, admission, which is $50 for adults and $25 for kids aged 6 to 12, includes salad, pasta, garlic bread and one beverage. Additional beverages and desserts will be available for purchase.

For tickets, visit sebastopolmasons.org and follow the prompts.

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Anchor Brewing Dinner: On Sunday, January 25, Hopmonk Tavern (230 Petaluma Ave.) in Sebastopol hosts a special beer master and brewery dinner featuring Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco. The evening’s special guests are Mark Carpenter, brew master, and Keith Greggor, president and CEO of Anchor.

Greggor became the head of Anchor in 2009 when the legendary Fritz Maytag transferred ownership to him and his partners. The last time the pub featured an evening with Anchor, Maytag himself was the special guest.

The evening opens with a duck and wakame (a seaweed) amuse bouche, accompanied by Anchor California Lager. Next comes a smoked duck egg with hop oil, with Anchor Winter Wheat alongside. Anchor Saison accompanies a soup course of duck and ginger pho, followed by spicy duck wings with fried vegetables, Maytag blue cheese and citrus with Anchor IPA

Where’s the steam beer, you ask? It wraps up the evening, with a vanilla-pecan fritter, orange duck bacon and maple syrup. Cost is $65 per person, which includes tax and gratuity.

Things get started at 6 p.m. and if you want to join in you should make reservations right away at hopmonk.com.

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Reminder: On Wednesday, January 14, Shed (25 North St., Healdsburg) will screen Agnes Varda’s film “The Gleaners and I,” an extraordinary exploration of gleaning, from the specific and concrete to the abstract. Things get started at 6 p.m.

Melita Love, founder of Farm To Pantry, a local gleaning non-profit organization, is the evening’s special guest. Admission is a donation of any amount to Farm to Pantry.

Ms. Mouthful says do not miss this film.

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Book Signing: Writer Karen Page and photographer Andrew Dornenburg, authors of “The Vegetarian Flavor Bible” (Little, Brown, 2014) and several other books about food and wine, will visit three North Bay Whole Foods markets next week.

Their first appearance will be on Wednesday, January 14, at the Petaluma store, located at 621 East Washington St., from 4 to 6 p.m., where they will host a discussion of the book. Sharon Brown, healthy eating specialist for Whole Foods, will present a cooking demonstration inspired by the book and offer samples of cider and mead, as well. This event is free and registration is not necessary.

On Thursday from 7 to 9 p.m., the duo will visit the Coddingtown market, where they will host a vegetarian wine tasting dinner featuring wines from Balleto Vineyards, Benziger Family Winery, Hook and Ladder Vineyards and Winery and Mazzocco Winery.

To join in this event, you must register in advance. To do so, email maria.clementi@wholefoods.com. Cost is $35 per person and space is quite limited.

The final event takes place at Napa’s Whole Foods (3682 Bel Aire Plaza) from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, January 16, where there will be a cooking demonstration by Maria Clementi, a healthy eating specialist for the market, and a discuss. This event is free and you do not need to register.

Books will be available for purchase.

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Qu’est-ce que c’est Tasting: On Saturday, Laura Hagar Rush of Sonoma Aperitif, one of our newest and tiniest bonded wineries, will be at Community Market in The Barlow center from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., offering tastes of her wine-based aperitifs.

Because California law requires aperitifs to contain spices, Hagar Rush had to quickly come up with a proprietary name for her delicate concoctions, some of which include just fruit. She chose “Qu’est-ce que c’est,” French for “what is it?” a nod, in part, to the beverage’s 700-year-old French roots.

At Saturday’s tasting, Hagar Rush will be pouring Chinese Quince, Feijoa, Bosc Pear, Grapefruit and, maybe, Tangerine.

Community Market is located at the corner of Morris St. and Highway 12, just east of downtown Sebastopol.

For more information about Sonoma Aperitif, visit sonomaaperitif.com

Michele Anna Jordan has written 18 books to date, including the new “More Than Meatballs.” Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com