Sonoma County Food Festivals

Only in Sonoma could chefs create an array of intriguing dishes from such unlikely ingredients: hot dogs and tomatoes.

Not the two ingredients together, thankfully (and besides, that would be just a wiener with ketchup, wouldn’t it), but as separate themes for two annual North Bay culinary events.

For the dogs, the impetus was the third annual B’nai Israel Jewish Center Kosher Cook-off competition in Petaluma earlier this month, where five teams comprised of Center members had 90 minutes to prepare an appetizer, entrée and dessert featuring Kosher hot dogs as the main ingredient.

For the tomatoes, it will be the 13th annual Kendall-Jackson Heirloom Tomato Festival being held in on September 12. That’s when nearly 50 of Sonoma’s top chefs will gather to present endless edibles centered around the more than 175 varieties of heirloom tomatoes that are grown in every size, shape and color imaginable in the culinary garden of K-J’s Wine Center in Santa Rosa.

While such antics can be a test of a chef’s talents, for the dining public, they’re a lot of tasty fun.

Think it’s tough to make hot dogs haute? Even more challenging for the Kosher cooks, all 15 dishes had to be grilled on a barbeque. But the B’nai Center’s Sisterhood team, led by captain Marsha Harris along with Phyllis Feibusch and Jeanne Straus, took home top honors for their Corny Pickled Pepper Pup Muffins and hot dog pineapple upside down cake (as weird as those recipes might sound, keep in mind that others were even more odd: mango sorbet surprise — yep, surprise equals hotdogs — hot dog paella, hot dog unstuffed cabbage and Mom’s kosher hot dog apple pie).

At the K-J tomato fest, culinary creations will be decidedly more upscale, yet no less creative. Consider some of last year’s delights, like tomato snow cones, tomato cotton candy, tomato macaroons, tomato crème brulee, a bevy of BLTs, Pop Rock-tomato ceviche, and sparkling tomato water glittering with cucumber “pearls” (all surprisingly delicious).

But then, these dishes will be crafted by some of our very best talents, with chefs from John Ash & Co, Cyrus, Peter Lowell’s, Syrah Bistro, Hana, Mosaic, Restaurant Eloise, and many more. It’s not uncommon for celebrity chefs themselves to do the grunt work in their demonstration booths: last year, even as temperatures soared past 90 degrees, Cyrus chef-owner Douglas Keane slaved over boiling oil making fried green tomatoes.

Too, the sheer sumptuousness of the tomatoes themselves give the chefs an inspirational edge. With names ranging from elegant (Brandywine, Blue Fruit) to precious (God Love, Peace Vine) to bizarre (Ding Wall Scotty, Mortgage Lifter, Olga’s Round Yellow Chicken, Pink Ping Pong), the tomatoes offer a virtual candy box of ravishing flavors and textures. Guests can browse the parade of display tables and eat the raw fruit out-of-hand like apples.

Adding an extra spin, competitors from Bravo Channel’s “Top Chef Season Five,” including the winner, will compete at this year’s Tomato Festival Chef Challenge. Champion chef Hosea Rosenberg (Jax Fish House in Boulder, Colorado) will be matched against his former cheftestant Jamie Lauren (Absinthe Brasserie in San Francisco).

Plan on making a day of tomatoes. With the event running from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., there are also wine and garden seminars, wine tastings, a tomato growing contest, live entertainment, and tours of K-J’s 2-1/2-acre sensory garden with plantings that mimic the flavors of wines.

Details: Tickets for the perennial sell-out are $65 and can be purchased at 800-914-7511, or online.