Villa Rental 101: A Visit to Beautiful Places in the Sonoma Valley

If you're planning a couples' getaway or a family reunion, you might think about a rental villa as an alternative to a hotel.

The last time I traveled with a group was for a family reunion on the Jersey shore. The resort was lovely, but when we wanted to be together, we had to find space in the lobby with the other guests or break up into small groups to meet in our cramped hotel rooms. We missed having a private space where we could hang out and not deal with other people.

Recently my wife and I planned a weekend with four other couples. We were going to meet in the Sonoma Valley where we like its bucolic mix of small towns, cafes, vineyards, dairies, farms, and ranches.

For foodies, with hundreds of organic farms, world famous wineries, and access to fresh seafood, the valley is nirvana. We only needed to decide where to stay. At first we considered one of the luxury hotels in the area: Meadowood, Auberege du Soleil, or the Calistoga Ranch.

There's no question a hotel has advantages. Fresh towels every day. Someone else making up your bed. Room service whenever you're hungry. Little chocolates on your pillow at night. Those luxuries are a treat. So is having easy access to the hotel's restaurants, bars, pool, spa, and recreational facilities.

But for all that convenience there are trade-offs. As we learned at the family reunion, the public spaces aren't your own. Your room will be small. And with room rates ranging from $550-850 per person, per night, the cost of all those luxuries and conveniences can be pricey, even with the discounts many hotels are currently offering.

The other option was a villa rental.

Getting Started

Until you've taken your first rental-vacation, the idea can be daunting. Will you have to give up the ease and comfort of a hotel? How difficult will it be to find the right place? What about pricing?

The first step is to send around an email work sheet to your group and ask some basic questions.

Where do you want to go? In the U.S. or out of the country? Do you want to be in a big city, in the country, or somewhere in between? For how long? A long weekend, a week, a month, or longer?

How much do you want to spend a night? What amenities do you want at the house? A pool and a spa? What about tennis courts? What kind of activities do you want for the visit? Do you want to focus your vacation at the villa or would you rather use the rental as a jumping off point to explore the area's recreational, cultural, or culinary opportunities?

Once everyone is on the same page, begin your search. Go on line and look for "vacation rentals" in an area or city of interest. Or try one of the many web sites that arrange rentals. Each site has a different profile. Some focus on specific areas of the country or foreign locations. Some target upscale travelers.

For properties in the U.S., check out Zonder (www.zonder.com), HomeAway (www.homeaway.com), GreatRentals (www.greatrentals.com), and WeNeedAVacation (www.weneedavacation.com). Owners in the U.S. and around the world also list their homes at VRBO (www.vrbo.com) and VacationRentals (www.vacationrentals.com).

Beautiful Places (www.beautiful-places.com) specializes in high end properties in the U.S., Mexico, Italy, and France. Sanctuary Villas (www.sanctuary-villas.com) and In Villas Veritas (www.invillas.com) offer luxury accommodations in Europe and along the Mediterranean coast.

Prices are as varied as the properties. On a recent check of HomeAway, there were no-frills 1 bedroom houses for under $130/night, while luxury accommodations with 4-6 bedrooms were priced twenty times that amount. The location, number of bedrooms, and amenities will all affect price. You can find a house in just about any price range, but no matter what, traveling with a group, you'll save money.

When you go can also make a big difference. Generally speaking, you'll pay full fare during the high season, 10% less in the shoulder, and another 10% discounted in the off-season.

One region's high season is another's off season. In Napa and Sonoma in the California Wine Country, the Low Season comes at the end of the harvest (November - March). The Shoulder Season is in April and May. During the High Season (June - October) Napa and Sonoma are busy with activity as tourists fill the valley. For skiing areas like Aspen and Park City, their High and Low Seasons follow a reverse calendar.

Finding the Right Place

When you stay at a hotel you pretty much know what you're getting. Renting a private home is different because the house reflects the personality and taste of the owner.

Look carefully at the photographs you see on line or receive from the broker. Do you like the furniture? What about the art on the walls? Pay attention to details. They could affect the quality of your vacation.

If you can talk with the broker or the owner, ask questions. Is the pool heated? Are pets allowed? And kids? If you want to cook while you're there, ask about the kitchen. If you want to barbecue, does the property have a grill? What is the neighborhood like? Is the house close to shopping areas? Will you need a car? Get as much information as you can. The more you know, the happier you're more likely to be during your vacation.

Ask about support as well. Is a rental agent available during your stay? If there is a problem, will you get help or are you on your own? Some web sites offer reimbursement and replacement guarantees if you aren't happy, but that would be cold comfort for any group on a short visit. As a rule, the more you pay for the rental, the more services and support you can expect.

Where We Stayed: Villa Andrea in Glen Ellen

With the Sonoma Valley as our objective, we looked through the web sites that had listings for the area. We chose Beautiful Places because they had a wide range of properties, from smaller, idiosyncratic homes to large estates with vineyards, tennis courts, pools, and spas.

The agent at Beautiful Places asked how many bedrooms we wanted, were we bringing children or pets, did anyone in our party have physical limitations that should be taken into account, how long did we want to stay, did we want to be in town or in the country, what amenities did we want, and what was our price range?

As we considered several properties, we spent a lot of time on the phone and in emails with the agent. She seemed to understand exactly what would make us happy, but, of course, we would only know if we had made the right choice once we arrived and opened the front door.

On the web site, Villa Andrea (http://www.beautiful-places.com/winesearch/villa_andrea-3) looked amazing. Surrounded by a thirty acre vineyard, the villa had all of the amenities of a luxury hotel: beautiful grounds landscaped with native plants, an elegant pool, and a patio that overlooked the estate's private vineyard.

The description of the villa said that in addition to the outdoor jacuzzi, there was a spa with a steambath, sauna, and relaxation room. For entertainment, almost every room had a flat screen tv. Because the owner is a movie buff, we could use his state-of-the-art screening room. For exercise there was a bocce ball court and a tennis court fitted out with bleachers, in case we wanted to rally a crowd.

Three of the bedrooms were in the main house. The other two were in separate bungalows for added privacy. Since we wanted to cook together, we needed a large, well-appointed kitchen. Beautiful Places promised us a "dream kitchen." We were told that there was an 8-burner stove with two ovens, two dish washers, and two plate warming drawers. Clearly the owner loves to entertain and he expected we would as well.

Besides brokering the rental, Beautiful Places offered concierge services. They would arrange any number of activities: hang gliding, a ride in a hot air balloon, a private tour of a winery, difficult-to-get reservations at well-known restaurants like the French Laundry or Ubuntu. They could arrange golf packages or a helicopter tour of the valley. Their goal was to make our trip memorable. Once, they told us, for a NASCAR fan's birthday party, they arranged for race car driving lessons at nearby Infineon Raceway.

Many of these activities would add to the cost of a visit but not all. Because of their relationships with local businesses, Beautiful Places arranged tastings and private tours at no additional cost.

They could also provide in-villa services: massages, wine tasting, or a chef to cook on the premises. Daily maid service was also available and, split five ways--another advantage of traveling with a group--added very little to our costs.

How We Spent the Weekend

In the hills above Glen Ellen we turned off the two lane blacktop onto a narrow private road. We drove for five minutes through stands of trees draped with Spanish moss interspersed with views of the valley below where the green fields were covered with brightly flowered mustard plants. As we rounded a turn, we were stopped by a wrought-iron gate. We punched in the security code, the gate swung open. For the first time we could see Villa Andrea on the crest of the hill.

Arriving at a property you've only seen on line is the moment of truth.

We were welcomed by representatives of Beautiful Places who took us on a tour of the property. Given that we worried the villa wouldn't live up to the on line description, we were very happy that the photographs didn't do it justice.

Everything about the house was both comforting and visually stunning. Balconies run the length of the house on the main and second floors, the better to enjoy the view of the pool and the mountain behind.

The living room furnishings were elegantly cozy. Newly installed European bathroom fixtures with spa-style showers added to the sense of luxury. By painting the dining room a deep red, the owner proved he wasn't timid about using color. Clearly, he had given great thought to every detail and he had done this for himself. Now we were the beneficiaries.

In the kitchen a fruit and cheese plate and a selection of wines were waiting for us. While we snacked and enjoyed a glass of Benziger Family Winery's Merlot, we reviewed the plan for the weekend.

Since part of our group wanted to spend the vacation enjoying the villa, their time revolved around reading, eating, watching movies, and spending time in the spa. For those of us who wanted to explore the valley's incredible culinary bounty, Beautiful Places put together a comprehensive itinerary.

We started our tour of the valley with a stop at the Sonoma farmers' market a few blocks from the town square. Then we drove out to the very organic Green Spring Farm (www.greenstringfarm.com) in Petaluma where chickens fertilize the fields and weeds control the insects.

At the Benziger Family Winery (www.benziger.com), Bob Benziger gave us a private tour of their Glen Ellen vineyard where he explained the principles of biodynamic farming which were similar to the techniques practiced at Green String Farm.

In Sonoma, we took our time walking around the amazing Sonoma Market (www.sonoma-glenellenmkt.com) looking through the extensive collection of local cheeses, wines, organic produce, dry aged beef, free range poultry, fish, and shellfish, including Dungeness crabs freshly cooked in the market's kitchen. We filled our shopping cart with food for the weekend and were tempted by the block long counter of prepared foods and the bakery with enough freshly baked breads and upscale desserts to satisfy an army of foodies.

At Jack London Village in Glen Ellen we had a really informative tasting of artisan cheeses at Raymond Cheese Monger (www.raymondcheesemongers.com). Next door at Figone's of California Olive Oil and Press (www.figoneoliveoil.com) we sat at the bar and tossed down shooters of the locally produced olive oils and balsamic vinegars.

Back at the villa, we unpacked our goodies. Everyone gathered in the kitchen. Those of us who wanted to cook, cooked. The others kept us company and were available to sample what we had bought.

A wine tasting happened spontaneously. We still had our welcoming gift of Benziger's delicious Merlot and, when we toured the winery, we picked up bottles of the Chardonnay 2006 (Sangiacomo Vineyards, Carneros) and Pinot Noir 2006 (Sonoma Coast, Quintus Vineyard).

We didn't cook anything overly complicated. With such fresh, high-quality ingredients, simple preparations were best. We started off with Hog Island oysters from nearby Tomales Bay. The body meat from two Dungeness crabs added sweetness to a parsley-tomato-avocado salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar we bought at Figone's. Freshly made tagliarini pasta from Wine Country Pasta was tossed with garlic sauteed kale raabe we picked up from Oak Hill Farm (www.oakhillfarm.net) at the farmers' market in Sonoma. A dry aged ribeye steak from the Sonoma Market found its way onto the outdoor grill. Dessert was a delicious wedge of Ig Vella's (www.vellacheese.com) locally produced Dry Jack and a jar of summer peaches from Green String Farm.

Beautiful Places suggested that we have a private chef come to the villa so we didn't spend all our time cooking. The cost would be the same as a dinner at a restaurant, but how much more fun to have Margie Tosch and Willy Brooke of Meadow Brooke Catering (www.meadowbrookecatering.com) prepare a wine-paired meal in the villa.

Adding to the evening, Beautiful Places arranged for a screening of Bottle Shock. The film dramatizes the 1976 competition in Paris when two California wines were judged better than their French counterparts. Marc and Brenda Lhormer, producers on the film, told us behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the film in the valley (and all the wine that had to be tasted along the way). They brought a selection of Sonoma wines for us to sample.

For our last night we had a private wine tasting with Garrett Day of Provino (www.provinowines.com) who introduced us to Sonoma Valley's smaller and very remarkable vintners.

Having a kitchen turned out to be the best part of the trip. Hanging out together where we could cook, eat, sample wine, and just talk made our vacation so much more memorable. We connected in ways we wouldn't have if we had stayed in a hotel.

With Beautiful Places' concierge services, we had much more fun, because we experienced the valley from an insider's view.

At the end of the visit we totaled up what we spent. Ultimately the weekend cost less than it would have if we had stayed in a hotel. We saved money on the room and by cooking most of our meals.

Staying in the villa we had all the advantages of a luxury hotel with the added privacy and spaciousness of a private home.

For more about our Sonoma trip, please check out:

Off Season Bargains in the Sonoma Wine Country

Sprouted Broccoli from Green String Farm in Petaluma, California

Summer Vegetable Risotto

With summer vegetables appearing in the farmers' markets, a vegetable risotto is a perfect way to feature the bounty of the garden.

This past Sunday at the Palisades Farmers' Market, we picked up several ears of fresh corn and some baby zucchini. We also bought carrots, spinach, Italian parsley, scallions, green garlic, squash, asparagus, English peas, spinach, and broccoli, any of which would be good in the risotto.

To make risotto requires a variety of rice--Carnaroli, Violone or Arborio-- with a high starch content, the source of risotto's distinctive creamy quality.

For the liquid, you have a lot of choices: vegetable, chicken, meat, or fish stock, wine, even water with a pat of butter added for flavor. You'll achieve the best results if you use homemade stock with its fresher taste and lower sodium content.

Risotto likes a steady hand, stirring frequently for 18-20 minutes. Because the rice both releases starches into and absorbs the stock, there is a window of a few minutes when the rice is simultaneously al dente and the broth creamy. Past that point, the grains bond together, becoming gummy like porridge, which still tastes good but isn't risotto.

Those last moments are crucial and the rice wants all your attention. Whatever you want to add to the risotto should either cook in a few minutes like spinach or be prepared ahead and added in those last moments.

Serve immediately because the rice will keep absorbing the broth even after you've removed the risotto from the stove.

Risotto with Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetables

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 large tomato, washed
1 small yellow onion, peeled, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled, finely chopped
1 ear of corn, shucked, kernels removed
4 baby zucchini, washed, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups risotto
3 1/2 cups homemade stock, vegetable, chicken, fish, meat, or wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sweet butter (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut out the stem part of the tomato. Put the tomato on an aluminum foil covered cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove, let cool to the touch, peel off the skin and discard, tear apart and reserve the pulp and juice in a bowl. The tomato can be roasted ahead and frozen. That way it is ready and waiting whenever you need it to spice up a sauce or stew or, in this case, a risotto.

Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil into a frying pan. On a medium flame, saute the onions, garlic, and corn kernels until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Drizzle the 2nd tablespoon of olive oil in the pan, season with sea salt and pepper, add the rice, stir and cook for 2 minutes, then add 1/2 cup of stock. The stock will deglaze the pan, adding the caramelized flavors of the vegetables to the rice.

Continue stirring. Add another 1/2 cup of stock as the rice absorbs the stock. Continue adding a 1/2 cup of stock at a time, stirring, and adding more stock. Do this for 18-20 minutes until the rice is al dente.

When the rice is almost cooked, add back the sauteed vegetables and roasted tomato pulp. Stir well, taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper, a drizzle of olive oil or a pat of butter.

Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Variations

To the saute add 4 mushrooms, brown or shiitake, washed, dried, thinly sliced

To the saute add 1/2 cup finely chopped Italian parsley leaves

Add 1 cup grilled chicken breast, cut into small pieces

Add 1 cup asparagus cut into 1/2" pieces to the saute

Add 1 cup grilled Italian sausage, cut into small pieces

Il Fornaio Heads South to Campania for May's Regionale

From May 4-17, Il Fornaio celebrates the food of Campania. One of the better known regions of Italy--home to Naples, Sorrento, Salerno, the island of Capri, and the Amalfi Coast--Campania enjoys a warm climate and a long growing season. Mario Lombardo designed the regional menu, pulling favorites from his mother's kitchen and the dishes his father prepared as a chef in Campagnia at O'Parrucchiano-La Favorita.

At Il Fornaio's Santa Monica restaurant (1551 Ocean Avenue across from the Santa Monica Pier; 310/451-7800), we enjoyed another tasting as we continue our exploration of Italy through its regional cuisines.

As befits a coastal region, the Campania menu features seafood. There were mussels with breadcrumbs (Tegamino e Cozze), linguine with clams (Linguine cu e Vongole), risotto with shrimp, mussels, and clams (Risotto e Amalfi), and seabass baked in parchment paper with shrimp, mussels, and clams (Spigula Dinto o Cuoppo).

Our starter was the cannelini bean soup (Menesta Schitana). The beans thickened and sweetened the broth, which was complimented by barely cooked fresh tomatoes and crisp pieces of pancetta. With the soup we were served the Fiano di Avellino, D'Antiche Terre (2007) a dry white with strong fruit notes. At first it seemed counter-intuitive to have wine with soup (who does that?), but they worked well with one another.

The second appetizer was a beautifully plated selection of heirloom tomatoes (Pummarole e Capri) with first-of-the-season Pineapple and Brandywine tomatoes, topped with soft cubes of mozzarella di bufala. With the Pummarole, we had the Greco di Tufo, D'Antiche Terre (2007), a white wine with a touch of sweetness to leven the acid of the tomatoes.

For our pasta course, we had crepes filled with ground beef (Cannelloni e Pascale), mixed with a trifecta of cheeses--ricotta, mozzarella, paremesan--and seasoned with fresh basil. Resting on top was a coating of tomato sauce and melted fresh mozzarella. When my Jewish mother cooked comfort food, dumplings were usually involved, which always made me very happy. I have to imagine that cannelloni have a similar effect on the children of Campania.

The menu offered a meat course of veal (Scaluppine a Caprese), a mixed grill of lamb, game hen, and sausage (Carne Mista 'Ncoppa a Griclia), or seabass in parchment paper (Spigula Dinto o Cuoppo). We decided to try the Scaluppine.

Thin slices of veal were sauced with lightly cooked chopped tomatoes and melted fresh mozzarella, accompanied by fresh English peas sauteed with pancetta and roasted baby Yukon Gold potatoes. A richly flavored Aglianico, Terredora (2007) was served with the veal. One of our friends described the aroma as "almost like you're drinking it inside a wine cask." Deliciously musky, the Aglianico was perfectly paired with the veal.

Well-known as a citrus growing region, for our Campanian dessert we had half-glasses of chilled limoncello and a serving of light-as-air lemon sponge cake with lemon pastry cream inside (Delizia a Limone). All too often lemon's tartness is counterbalanced with a heavy addition of sugar. Not so with the limoncello and sponge cake. Sweetness softened lemon's edge but didn't overwhelm its flavor.

One of these days we'll take a long postponed trip to Italy, but until then we look forward to Il Fornaio's monthly Festa Regionale.

For more posts about Il Fornaio's Festa Regionale check out:
Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad
A Tasting at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica--Trentino-Alto Adige
A Trip to Italy is Just Around the Corner at Il Fornaio--Calabria
Il Fornaio Heads South to Campania for May's Regionale
Il Fornaio Heads North to Lombardia
Abruzzo at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica
Friuli-Venezia Giulia at Il Fornaio

Green Garlic and Clams

Originally posted on bitten, Mark Bittman's New York Times web site, the dish is one of my favorites because it's on the table in 10 minutes.

Green Garlic and Clams

(David Latt makes a simple dish that can be amplified with any number of ingredients. –MB)
At the Wednesday Santa Monica Farmers’ Market — two blocks from the Pacific Ocean — we’re finding one of the treasures of spring: green garlic, thick as a leek and two feet long.
With fresh green garlic, everything is edible except for the outermost skin. The farmer I buy them from swears that even the roots are edible. With some trepidation I nibble on a root strand and am pleasantly surprised that it has heat and an intense garlic flavor.
Next to the stand with the green garlic is Carlsbad Aqua Farm where we buy our fresh mussels, oysters, clams, and scallops. The idea was obvious to me: green garlic and clams.
I have made it several times over the last couple of weeks, and the combination is always ready in ten minutes and infinitely flexible. Served with broth and sautéed garlic-parsley toast it’s the perfect appetizer. Add pasta or cooked rice and the dish becomes a complete meal. Stir in roasted tomatoes and you’ve got the beginnings of an excellent cioppino.

Green Garlic and Butter Clams

Yield 4 servings

Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 green garlic, washed, outer skin around the bulb removed, thinly sliced, bulb and greens
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon sweet butter
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 pounds butter clams, washed

Method

• Sauté the garlic and parsley in the butter until lightly browned. Season with black pepper, add water and clams. Cover and cook 5 minutes over high heat. Transfer the clams that have opened to a serving bowl. Continue cooking any clams that haven’t opened for another 2-3 minutes. Discard any clams that haven’t opened.
• When you pour the broth over the clams, do so slowly so any sediment is left behind to be discarded. Serve with fresh bread.

Variations

• --Substitute white wine for the water
• --Along with the green garlic, sauté 2 thinly sliced shallots.
• --Tear apart 2 roasted tomatoes, remove the skins, add the pulp to the broth.
• --Add 2 cups cooked pasta to the broth.
• --Add 2 cups cooked rice to the broth.

Cioppino with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic-Parsley Toasts

Cioppino is said to have originated among fishermen who made their dinners out of the fish and shellfish they couldn't sell in the morning. Although it has evolved into a pricey item on upscale menus, at heart cioppino is comfort food.

Traditionally cioppino features fresh crab, reflecting the origin of the dish in San Francisco where Dungeness crabs are plentiful. When crab isn't available or affordable, shrimp works just as well. Clams and mussels are essential to the dish, as are cubes of fish fillets. Flounder sole, tilapia, salmon, or halibut all work well.

Find a reliable supplier of seafood. To ensure we're getting the freshest ingredients, we buy our clams and mussels from Carlsbad Aqua Farm at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market (Wednesday and Sunday) and our flounder sole from Tropical Seafood at the Pacific Palisades Farmers' Market (Sunday).

Tomatoes are as important to making cioppino as is good quality seafood. If the tomatoes are roasted, the soup has a beautiful sweetness edged with the tomato's natural acidity.

One of the helpful aspects of this dish is that many of the elements can be prepared ahead and frozen for later use. I pick up overly ripe tomatoes at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market when they're discounted. I'll buy several pounds, roast them, freezing some whole in an air tight container and turning the rest into tomato sauce, which I also freeze.

The clams and mussels can be cooked, taken out of their shells, and frozen. If the meat is submerged in the broth, there's no danger of freezer burn. The fish fillets can be cut into 1/2" squares, tossed in olive oil, and frozen in a Ziploc bag. That way all the essential parts of the cioppino are waiting in the freezer whenever you want a taste treat.

Cioppino with Roasted Tomatoes

While serving cioppino with shellfish in the shell is more picturesque, my vote is to take the clams, mussels, and crab out of their shells so eating the dish is easier.

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 30 minutes plus 45-60 minutes for the tomatoes

Ingredients

6 large ripe tomatoes, washed
8 cloves garlic, skins removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup Italian parsley, washed, finely chopped, leaves and stems
1/2 pound mushrooms--shiitake or brown--washed, thinly sliced
1 pound Dungeness crab legs, cooked, washed, cut into 1" pieces or 1 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined, cut into 1" pieces
2 pounds butter or little neck clams, washed
2 pounds mussels, washed, beards removed
1 pound fish fillet--sole, salmon, tilapia, or halibut--washed, cut into 1/2" cubes
Olive oil
Black pepper

Method

Roasting the Tomatoes

Remove the remnants of the stem at the top of the tomato and discard. Put the tomatoes on a Silpat or aluminum foil sheet on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with sea salt and pepper, and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45-60 minutes.

Transfer the tomatoes to a large bowl, reserving all the liquid on the bottom of the baking tray. When cooled to the touch, remove the skins and discard. With your fingers, tear the tomatoes into small pieces. Set aside.

Parsley-Garlic Toasts

To make the parsley-garlic toasts, heat 1/4 cup olive oil, seasoned with half the garlic and parsley. Make two slices for each person. Saute the bread on each side until lightly browned.

Cioppino

In a large stock pot, drizzle olive oil on the bottom, heat on a low flame, saute the remaining garlic and parsley until softened. Add 1/4 cup water, the clams and mussels, turn the flame to high, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove all the clams and mussels that have opened. If any are still closed, put the cover back on and continue cooking another 5 minutes. Any clams and mussels that still haven't opened at that point should be discarded.

Slowly pour the broth into a large bowl. Discard any grit remaining in the stock pot. Return the pot to the stove, drizzle more olive oil, and saute the mushrooms over a low flame until lightly browned. Add the broth and roasted tomato pulp and sauce. Simmer 15 minutes.

Add the fish fillets, stir well, and cook 5 minutes. Add the crab or shrimp and cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add the mussels and clams, stirring them into the broth, being careful not to break apart the fish fillets. Simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Place 1 slice of garlic-parsley toast on the bottom of each bowl, add the cioppino, then place the 2nd slice on top.

Variations

Instead of garlic cloves in the cioppino saute, use 1 whole green garlic, outer skin of the bulb and root end removed, white and green parts thinly sliced

Add 1 cup cubes of cooked, peeled potato, preferably Yukon Gold or fingerlings, unpeeled and quartered

Add kernels from 1 grilled corn on the cob

Substitute cilantro for the parsley

Saute thin rounds of Italian sausage or chorizo, add to the broth

Use 1/4 cup white instead of water

Rosemary Fried Chicken

What a beautiful day! Perfect for taking a walk at the beach, shopping at our local farmers' market, cooking, and eating outside.

We've cleaned off the deck. Arranged tables outside for lunch. Prepared a carrot salad and a couscous with grilled vegetables, made kosher pickles and a pasta with braised beef and watercress, soaked chicken and onion rings in buttermilk for fried chicken, and baked a custard with chocolate.

Today will be a good day.

For me the fried chicken with onion rings is the centerpiece of the meal. I have strong childhood memories of my mom making fried chicken when we went to Will Rogers State Beach in Santa Monica. Nothing Colonel Sanders ever made came close.

Rosemary Fried Chicken

Yield: 4 servings
Time: 45 minutes to prepare, marinate the chicken overnight in buttermilk

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, washed, cut apart, wing tips and bones reserved to make chicken stock
1 quart buttermilk
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 quarts safflower or canola oil

Method

When you cut up the chicken, separate the two parts of the wing and cut the breast meat off the bone. Keep or discard the skin as you wish. The breasts can be left whole but will cook more evenly when cut into strips or tenders.

Toss the chicken pieces with olive oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Put the pieces in a container, add the buttermilk, 1 tablespoon of the rosemary, stir, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Using a wok or deep frying pan, heat the cooking oil to 325 - 350 degrees or until a piece of parsley browns immediately when dropped in the oil. Before you begin cooking, prepare your counter. Have a slotted spoon or an Asian style strainer ready. Lay two paper towels on top of a piece of brown grocery bag paper on a large plate.

Reserve 1 teaspoon of the rosemary to use just before serving.

In a brown paper bag mix together the flour, sea salt, pepper, rosemary, cayenne (optional), sugar (optional), and onions (optional). Remove one piece of chicken at a time. Shake off the excess buttermilk, drop it into the paper bag with the seasoned flour, close the top of the bag, and shake. Repeat with all the pieces, assembling them on a plate or cutting board.

Cook the chicken in batches. Gently drop each piece into the hot oil, making sure it doesn't don't touch the other pieces so each one cooks evenly.

Turn over when browned on one side. Remove when golden brown and drain on the paper towels. The pieces will cook quickly: chicken tenders (breast) 2-3 minutes; wings 7-8 minutes; thighs & legs 10-12 minutes.

Just before serving, lightly dust the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of rosemary, sea salt and pepper.

If you are making deep fried vegetables like onion rings or broccoli florets, they cook even more quickly: thick rings cook in 30 seconds, thin rings in 5-6 seconds; broccoli in 30 seconds. Soak the vegetables in the seasoned buttermilk for a few minutes, then process like the chicken pieces.

Off Season Bargains in the Sonoma Wine Country

Spring is the perfect time for an off-season weekend in California's Sonoma Valley. Premium rates don't begin until just before the Memorial Day weekend.

Off-season extends from the end of harvest in November through mid-May. In December, January, and February there can be a bit of rain, which is good for the grapes. Even for visitors, the inclement weather adds to the valley's charms, especially with so many restaurants serving comfort food and great wines.

During March and April, day time temperatures hover in the mid 60's to low 70's, with the nights still in fireplace-cozy mid-40s. Only a few buds appear on the vines, but brilliantly colored wild flowers are already in full bloom.

Fields of bright yellow mustard plants spread as far as the eye can see. Tall green grasses wet from the coastal air surround mile after mile of still dormant, grape vines. The lifeless looking vines mask the vitality that will burst forth as the day time temperatures climb into the 70's.

To attract visitors, you'll find many hotels have lowered their room rates during the off-season. The Sonoma County Tourism Bureau's web site is a good guide to lodging, restaurants, and recreational opportunities. Calling around you'll discover who has discounted their rates.

Recently we enjoyed a long weekend with family and friends in Glen Ellen. We much prefer to stay in a rental home rather than a hotel. We have more privacy that way and because we can make our own meals, we save money in the long run.

With four couples we rented a house offered by Beautiful Places. The off-season rate for our weekend stay at Villa Andrea was discounted 20%. At some of their properties, stay three days and the fourth day is free.

Besides saving money, you'll also have a more relaxing time. Right now, you'll have Sonoma, Petaluma, Glen Ellen, Santa Rosa, Kenwood, Healdsburg, and Sebastopol and all their wineries pretty much to yourself.

With only light traffic on the main roads, there are no lines in the tasting rooms at popular wineries like the Benziger Family Winery, B.R. Cohn, Loxton Cellars and Tin Barn Vineyards. Fewer visitors means a wine maker like Bob Benziger has time to talk about the wines and even lead some of the tram rides through the vineyard himself.

Summer in Sonoma is glorious. But after this trip we discovered the pleasures of an off-season visit. We had better access to the wine makers. We had more leisure time because we weren't stuck in traffic jams and we were happy about spending less.