Fall Colors on the Market in Ashland, Oregon

On a calm October morning I walked a few steps uphill from one beautiful Victorian of The Winchester Inn to another – for breakfast. The sky was powder-blue, the air was crisp, and some red foliage just started peeking here and there over the roofs. Ashland and the entire Rogue Valley region in Southern Oregon enjoy mild Mediterranean-type climate – a reason for bourgeoning wine industry and a cornucopia of locally grown produce I was yet to discover on a trip to the local market, scheduled later that day…
A fat calico sat on the front porch, waiting for the Inn guests to share some bacon bits, perhaps. The Inn’s restaurant, set up for a linen-napkin breakfast, was sunlit and decorated in Fall colors.
Luscious meals are a tradition at the family-owned Inn. Breakfasts, included in the room price, usually offer three choices: pouched eggs with gourmet sauces, frittatas/omelets, and waffles/pancakes/French toasts adorned with fresh berries. Attentive staff will bring a delicious house-made scone or muffin to the table in any case, along with a large cup of coffee or a gourmet Tea forte silk pyramid.
Attention to detail and genuine hospitality make The Winchester, a member of Unique Inns, a destination of choice with its loyal return customers. Year after year anniversary couples, theatre lovers, and vacationers come here to relax in its individually designed rooms with luxurious beds and royal amenities (winchesterinn.com).
A short walk away is a cozy downtown with boutique shopping, an array of good restaurants, full-service spa salons, and unique art galleries.


Ashland Creek flows past wild and wooded Lithia Park with velvety green lawns – and don’t forget the lithium-rich natural mineral water – go ahead, try it from a drinking fountain on the Plaza!
There is also a fascinating story to be heard about the city’s past and some pipe dreams of the new Karlsbad, presented by The Imagine Project, Home of Ashand Audiowalks in one of their many historic audiotours (ashlandaudiowalks.com).



State-of-the-art theatre district – home to Oregon Shakespeare Festival is also nearby (osfashland.org). It is safe to go to a stellar performance of Macbeth at Angus Bowmer Theatre and then walk back through the lively streets, filled with leisurely retirees and Southern Oregon University students.
If a perfect little town really exists, it might very well be Ashland.




My trip to the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market was a revelation of sorts. First, I discovered an amazing bounty of the land - from beets and sorrel to lobster mushrooms, and then the entrepreneurial spirit of local farmers who produce in-house everything from bison and goat sausages to hand-made pasta and wild berry preserves. I learned about creative collaboration between vendors and chefs, and about THRIVE, The Rogue Initiative for Vital Economy that promotes this collaboration and publishes Rogue Flavor, a layman guide to fresh locally grown food (thriveoregon.org, rogueflavor.org).
It became immediately clear how an unbelievably talented 29-year-old Chef Chandra Corwin at Cucina Biazzi (cucinabiazzi.com) comes up with her antipasti di stagione, and why Larks lunch menu is simply called, From the Market.
I won’t soon forget Larks peak-of-the-season heirloom tomato salad with fresh herb vinaigrette (larksrestaurant.com).
Good restaurants are abundant in Ashland, be it a French-cuisine Chateaulin (chateaulin.com), or a casual yet deservedly famous lunch place, Allyson’s Kitchen (allysonskitchen.com).
Downtown is studded with great places to indulge in gourmet food and high quality local wine. While some compare Southern Oregon to Napa (as it used to be years ago, before the tourist boom) regional wineries, like Weisinger’s of Ashland, located just outside downtown on Siskiyou Blvd (weisingers.com), or Cowhorn Vineyards in nearby historic Jacksonville (cowhornwine.com), are fully capable of creating a tourist boom all their own.
And then there is beer (introduced by Ray Cato, Brand Manager of Caldera Brewing Company). Caldera is the first brewery in Oregon to craft and can its fresh whole flower hops beer on premises. Caldera’s 14 beers (to date), including seasonal specialties, have won 35 medals in prestigious North American and international competitions. It would be hard to pick a favorite among its ales, stouts, and lagers, but my personal best is a refreshing and delicious IPA – “an American-style India Pale Ale brewed with plenty of body and an assertive hop profile” (calderabrewing.com).
On the last day of my short but sweet visit to the perfect town, The Winchester Restaurant & Wine Bar served its trademark decadent dinner. What seemed like a quintessential taste of the season, came to the table in a white porcelain bowl, and enticed me to beg Drew Gibbs, Restaurant Manager, for a recipe. Lo and behold, my dear readers - the ultimate taste of Ashland in the Fall:
Truffle Butternut Squash Soup
Serves 4-6
2 Medium Butternut Squash
2 Cloves of Minced Garlic
1/2 Cup of White Truffle Oil
1 Chopped White Onion
1 Stalk of Celery
2 Whole Carrots
3 Cups of Mushroom Stock
3 Cups of Heavy Cream
1 Teaspoon of the following spices:
Ground Mustard
Cayenne
White Pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Salt and Pepper
Oven roast quash with olive oil, salt and pepper for about 30 minutes at 450 degrees or until tender
Sautee up the onion, carrots, celery and squash with truffle oil and garlic then add spices. Add cream and stock
to cover then simmer for 15 minutes. Place everything in a blender and puree. Add any extra seasoning to taste.
For more information, visit ashlandchamber.com, southernoregon.org). Photography by Emma Krasov. Caldera beer photo courtesy of Caldera Brewing Company.

Food for Filmmaker’s Thought at Sabor of Spain

Supporting Mill Valley Film Festival came naturally to the Sabor of Spain restaurant owner Scott Scheidt, born and raised in Marin County and involved with the community affairs, and to Chef Jayson Valencia, not only a native here, but also a filmmaker himself. The restaurant served celebrities and the “tenth muse” lovers coming to the 32nd annual MVFF Oct.8-18, while a large part of the festival program was showing at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael, just a couple blocks away. At a special foodie media dinner last Wednesday, local reporters and editors were invited to celebrate the wine and food of the event, and to experience some amazing pairings, put together by the Scheidt-Valencia creative tandem. Innovative and traditional Spanish tapas, made with the freshest California ingredients and paired with upscale wines from all imaginable Spanish-speaking countries, were eye-pleasing, and utterly enjoyable. Small-plate delicacies appeared tempting even to those picky eaters around the table who tend to “never eat ham” (or red meat, or blue cheese, or… you name it. I admit I had to wonder myself on many nights in Barcelona and Madrid how Spaniards manage to consume all that jamon and manchego, and stay seemingly cholesterol-free). A menu, constructed for the table of people who know their food, consisted of:
1. Gold beet, fennel and red onion salad with sweet sherry vinagrette - wine - Altas Cumbres Viognier 2007 Argentina.
2. Lemon infused bosc pear wrapped in jamon serrano and a basalmic reductiion - wine - Pares Balta Blanc de Pacs 2008 Spain.
3. Chicken/chorizo/ginger won tons with sweet sour pimenton dipping sauce - wine - Monte Oton Garnacha 2008 Spain.
4. Spicy marinated skirt steak with basil oil and cabrales blue cheese - wine - Terrapura Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 Chile.
5. Venganza de diablo - espresso chocolate mousse with rosemary infused strawberry coulis/marscapone cream - wine - Favaios Moscatel de Duoro Portugal.
The restaurant’s warm and cozy ambience, dark wood and red/orange décor color scheme, and impeccable service rounded up the memorable experience. Sabor of Spain also has a wonderful bar; a wine club; a retail shop that carries Spanish wines and specialty foods, and holds live music and flamenco dancing events. Located at 1301 Fourth Street, San Rafael. Call for reservations 415-457-(VINO)8466 or visit saborofspain.com. Photography by Yuri Krasov.

Ask Emma

Question: My boyfriend has this habit of taking his friend along when we go out with my girlfriends, and even when we are invited to other people’s houses. He says that the guy is his only friend and he feels responsible for him. Last time we were at one of my girlfriends’ birthday party, his friend sat in a corner all night, talking on his cell phone. What kind of a friend would do that, and why should I tolerate him and his rude behavior?
Answer: Whether the friend in question is being painfully shy around new people, or simply bored in the company of your girlfriends, you don’t have to tolerate his rude behavior. Your boyfriend’s feelings for his friend are obviously going a little beyond a conventional friendship. It’s too bad that your boyfriend feels responsible for entertaining his antisocial friend when he is out with you and your girlfriends. You probably should talk it through with him as soon as possible. It might be, there is more to their friendship than meets the eye. In that case, save yourself any future trouble and leave those two alone.

Guest Contributor: Margot Kenney, Chef’s Lover Catering

Last month my lover Alex Placencia and I launched a catering company called Chef's Lover Catering. Alex has been a top chef in New York, San Francisco and briefly Las Vegas for over 15 years. He was trained in New York in classical French cuisine and went on to work for some very exciting restaurants such as Mad 61, Monkey Bar and Windows on the World at the top of the late World Trade Center. When he came to San Francisco in 1997 he was one of the opening sous chefs at Farallon. He stayed there for 7 years before moving on to work at Boulevard with Nancy Oakes. Since then he has been very active in the community opening celebrated restaurants such as Colibri Mexican Bistro and Nectar Wine Lounge as Executive Chef.
Between Alex's exciting culinary background and my experience in restaurant PR and business we decided to take the plunge and create Chef's Lover Catering. Our focus is local, sustainable California cuisine and we believe in the integrity of our product. Our presentation is very interactive and fun. Alex cooks and plates on site. We talk to our guests, educating them on the products that we use and the companies that we work with such as Aloha Seafood who provide only Environmentally Safe and Sustainable Seafood Product (ESSSP). Good food and flashy presentation is something that is lacking in the catering industry and we are here to raise the bar in the industry. We also provide cooking classes for corporate team building, couples, singles and friends. As a small business owner I believe that we can do our part to protect the environment, reducing our carbon footprint and using sustainable meat and fish. Please check us out at chefslovercatering.com or at our blog thechefslover.blogspot.com. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Photo 1. By Yuri Krasov. Margot and Alex. Photo 2. Courtesy of Margot. Alex at work.

It’s Noodle Revolution, Stupid: Tofu Shirataki Noodles

Aimed primarily at Berkeley students, a fun nutrition education event was amply called, “Boost Your GPA Not BMI,” and presented during lunch hour on Cal campus on Wednesday. Mai Pham, chef and owner of Lemon Grass Restaurant in Sacramento and a recognized authority on Southeast Asian cuisine, prepared on-stage her original recipes created specifically for House Foods America Corporation – a producer of Tofu Shirataki.. These magic (“white waterfall” in translation) spaghetti, linguini, and angel hair noodles are pure godsend for all of you, pasta lovers out there who are still trying to stay within the normal range of human body sizes. With 20 calories per serving, no sugar and no cholesterol, Shirataki maintain the smooth and silky texture of a beloved comfort food, and thanks to its absence of a distinctive taste, easily absorb the flavors of various sauces, herbs, and spices. To complement the exquisite Chef Mai’s presentation, Dr. Melina Jampolis, a board certified nutritionist and “Fit TV’s Diet Doctor” (among her many titles) gave a short yet persuasive lecture on dieting, healthy lifestyle, and balancing busy schedules and nutritional needs in the least challenging manner. In the course of the presentation, all participants were able to sample Chef Mai’s delicious dishes made with the magic noodles – salad, stir fry, and soup – all suitable for a home preparation and loaded with fresh vegetables and herbs. Shirataki noodles are sold in Whole Foods, Lucky, Safeway, and other grocery stores in the refrigerated section next to tofu. Find recipes at Hungry-Girl.com. To learn more about the product, visit house-foods.com. For more info on Chef Mai Pham, her cookbooks and her restaurant, go to lemongrassrestaurant.com. More info on Dr. Jampolis can be found at drmelina.com. Photo by Emma Krasov. Chef Mai Pham at the presentation.

From Etouffee to Parfait in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana

There is more to Louisiana’s art and culinary scene than New Orleans. Modestly defining their place on the map of state’s premier tourist destinations, the twin cities of Shreveport-Bossier market themselves as Lousiana’s Other Side. Rest assured, on the other side of The Pelican State mudbug is still king, and pralines are still pecan, but rush hour traffic is refreshingly over in 15 minutes time, and in the Louisiana Boardwalk outlet paradise you can shop both Banana Republic and Gap for a total of $30. You know you are in the South when your every question is met with a smiley yes. ma’am [sir], and a young mother seated across from you at an open air festival communal table apologizes for her baby “staring at you.” Politeness, propriety, and hospitality are genuine here, and therefore come naturally to local residents.

We came to Shreveport-Bossier for its annual Red River Revel Arts Festival – an annual weeklong nonstop food and art extravaganza, complete with big-name bands and small-town jubilant crowds. That’s where we met Chef Saul Williams of Guillaume’s Gourmet whose etouffee is prepared with local crawfish, and whose rum-soaked bread pudding is a perfect excuse for consuming alcohol early in the day.
Three vendors’ booths down we looked at a strange concoction in a clear plastic cup. Layers of pulled pork, smoked beans, barbecue sauce, potato salad, and coleslaw were topped with a dill pickle. What’s this? A parfait, said the vendor. Pardon moi? My previous parfait back in the Bay Area consisted of tasteless fat free yogurt, fresh organic berries, delivered from a farm within a 150-mile radius, and cardboard-like sugarless bits of granola. Apparently, the sky is the limit to perfection… It gradually downed on me that while in Louisiana it’s better to forget restrictions and just indulge.
Ever heard of Armadillo Eggs? Those are firm little torpedoes of jalapeno peppers, stuffed with Jack cheese and deep fried in premium draft beer batter. Texas Toothpicks (we are close to the Texas border, remember?) are slices of fresh onions and jalapenos battered and deep fried. Both delicious appetizers are served at Silver Star Smokehouse in Bossier City along with an array of smoked meats and creamy cheesy potatoes au gratin. Not exactly what we call healthy here in California, but undeniably yummy.

Wine Country Bistro and Bottle Shop in Shreveport is a spacious upscale dining establishment combined with an amazing wine shop, selling good brands from all over the world at dreamlike prices. Chef Michael S. Brady turns up traditional dishes like shrimp and grits and cornbread with whole kernels as well as creative fennel soup, game du jour, and moules frites.


Indulging in Cajun cuisine is easy at Big O’s, located in an unpretentious strip mall on Captain Shreve Drive. Odis and Drenette Johnson, and their family members serve catfish and shrimp platters with their famous homemade tartar sauce. You can have a second helping of it, but the recipe is secret.

Family businesses in the area are unique, diverse, and thriving. At Fertitta’s Delicatessen, a.k.a. Home of the Muffy and the last historic Mom and Pop grocery store on Sam R. Fertitta Drive, Muffy sandwiches of deli cold cuts are served with Papa Fertitta's house-made olive mix made of green and black olives, chopped and mixed with peppers, herbs and spices.


The Chocolate Crocodile on Louisiana Boardwalk, owned and managed by a husband-and-wife team of Cyndi and Jim Ragon prides itself in making affordable chocolates and caramels on premises. The store supports local high schools' football teams, various community endeavors, and boasts 20 kinds of caramel and chocolate covered apples among many other delights. "We like dipping things in chocolate. Don't stay here too long," warned Cyndi. "We might dip you..."


At Plantation Gourmet Coffee Company in Mooringsport, you can learn from the owner and enthusiastic coffee purveyor Stanley Schikowitz that everything you knew about coffee drinking before was wrong. No more dark as midnight, hot as hell, sweet as a kiss. Mild, tepid, flavorful, devoid of bitterness and never ever spoiled by sugar or cream (not to mention soy) coffee is supposed to be sipped and thoroughly enjoyed like wine, or even more so, considering that there are over 400 different isolated chemicals in the former, and only 250 in the latter.
In a first for the Shreveport-Bossier area winery, On Cloud Wine, Debbie Keckler and her all female staff pour light, sweet, and refreshing Penelope Peach, Blueberry Moon, and other blends of whites and reds with fruit and berry juices.


A bustling culinary scene in the twin cities is greatly complemented by a West Edge Arts District in Shreveport. Southern University Museum of Art on Texas Street showcases its exquisite collection of African art from different countries, time periods, and styles, displayed in cozy galleries. Public and school tours are accompanied by an enticing narration from the museum Coordinator Carolyn Coatney.
A surprisingly large for a relatively small city art center next door, called Artspace, presents local artists through juried exhibitions, annual shows, and art sales.


Across the street, Robertson Film Center (Christopher L. Jay, Director of Marketing and Programming) shows art house and foreign films and treats its viewers to an array of creative cocktails and light fare at its modern Abby Singer’s Bistro, designed in techno-industrial theme with film reel and celluloid elements.
A large and beautiful, surrounded by lushes gardens R.W. Norton Art Gallery houses a 1250-piece permanent collection of American and European art of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Visual art in Shreveport does not only stay indoors, and can be found in unexpected places. AT&T building on the corner of Cotton and McNeill Streets is covered top to bottom with a two-sided mural by Meg Saligman, called Once in a Millennium Moon. The artist was aided by the community in painting the grandiose artwork “by numbers.”
Thanks to short distances, most of the attractions are reachable from the centrally located hotels. Best Western Chateau Suite Hotel is comfortable, clean, nicely decorated, and as every single establishment down here, has hospitable staff, Southern-style. Photography by Yuri Krasov. To learn more, visit www.shrieveport-bossier.org.