They may not be the beauty queens of the food world, but beneath their other-worldly exteriors there's a lot to love about mushrooms.

Here in California, there are hundreds of edible species of funky fungi (some tastier than others). As fall's first rains hit, the madness sets in with local foragers hunting for golden chanterelles, porcini, black trumpets and candy caps in the damp forests of the coast.

With a prime season in the late fall and into the spring, chefs look forward to back-door visits from trusted foragers bringing whatever bounty they've found. But it's not all up to chance: Here in Sonoma County we're fortunate enough to have one of the largest and best organic mushroom growers in the world, Gourmet Mushrooms Inc., offering seven varieties of mushrooms year-round. Not the white button mushrooms you've probably learned to hate, but more exotic fare. A favorite of chefs since the late 1970s(and credited with being the first company to grow shiitakes in the US, GMI has a large organic cultivation facility in Sebastopol with seven specialized varieties, many of which are now available at higher-end grocers under the Mycopia label.

Feeling the 'shroom love? Here's where to get 'em... Continue....

Like learning the metric system or flossing daily, pairing wine with food is one of those things you know you should do, but it just seems hard. And tiring. And confusing. I mean, what kind of food do you pair something with notes of pencil shavings and eau de barnyard?

Which is why you leave such things to the professionals. Really, take the stress off.

This weekend, dozens of wineries throughout Dry Creek, Russian River, Green Valley, Alexander Valley, Chalk Hill and Rockpile (aka the collected wineries of the Wine Road) host two days of eating and drinking in perfect synchronicity, aka A Wine and Food Affair, Nov. 7 and 8, 2009 from 11am to 4pm.

Top chefs from around the county are matched up with wineries to create delish dishes served up with wines that you'd think are their long-lost soul mates. Like Zinfandel-braised duck and mascarpone polenta with Carol Shelton's Karma Zinfandel, braised lamb stew at Locals; Braised Short Ribs at the Kendall Jackson Wine Center or Pumpkin soup at Camellia Cellars. See a full list of wineries and what they're serving (PDF).

Exactly which chefs have been paired with which wineries remains a closely-guarded secret until the last minute, when the annual cookbook "Tasting Along the Wine Road" is released in conjunction with the event. And this year's a doozy, with nearly 100 recipes from many of Wine Country's Top Toques. But you'll need to carefully plan your attack, whether you're going for the whole weekend or just on Sunday.

Wanna go? Tell me you perfect pairing...no worries if its not sommelier-worthy. Just a food you love to eat with a favorite wine. Or, stump us with your most challenging food to pair wine with. Your comment gets you entered to win.

Not that hard, right? Now go floss your teeth.

From the Totally Unconfirmed But It Would Make Sense Department:

Rumors are buzzing around that that the Food Network is putting out feelers on turning the defunct Copia into a West Coast studio. Sunset magazine shot out the gossip in this month's magazine and Napa insiders have been buzzing for a while.

With the imminent arrival of Iron Chef Morimoto, Marin's nice-guy chef, Tyler Florence opening ventures all over Northern California, Michael Chiarello's Bottega and Napa Style empire in Yountville and FN Golden Boy Guy Fieri all hanging out in Wine Country, it seems like a no-brainer. A friend of Fieri told BiteClub upon hearing the gossip that it would totally make sense for the coast-hopping chef/family-man to be able to tape a little closer to home.

Now if we could just get one of them to sponsor Taste3 again.

A second rumor is that the Culinary Institute at Greystone may also be looking at the luxe space as an annex to their St. Helena digs.

With all the hubub, it seems there may be a tasty reincarnation of Robert Mondavi's dream culinary destination yet. Stay tuned... 

Ladies and gentlemen, start your burners. The cooking season has begun.

The good news: Whether you're a seasoned pro or breaking in your first set of pans, a new crop of cookbooks (just in time for the holidays) are designed to help you navigate the stormy seas of at-home cooking.

Because as much as we all may love watching the Food Network, buying chef-quality kitchen gear (we'll never use) and drooling over glossy food porn magazines, decent cooks are a dying breed. Blame it on take-out menus, overworked moms and the lack of home-ec questions on standardized tests, but for people obsessed with food, most of us draw a blank when it comes to scratch cooking.

So dust off those whisks, strap on an apron and vow to put an end to boxed, prepared or even half-homemade dining. The truth is, anyone can cook if they've got a good teacher and a little inspiration. Here are three books to get you started...

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WARNING: SOME OF YOU SEEM TO THINK THERE IS A SPOILER HERE. I DISAGREE, BUT READ WITH CAUTION IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE ABOUT SUCH THINGS.

Healdsburg is abuzz with the news that Cyrus restaurant was temporarily closed last Thursday and Friday to accommodate Season 6 "Top Chef" contestants staying at the Le Mars Hotel along with Padma and Tom.

No word on exactly what they were doing, but locals said there were television trucks parked around the building and that the Michelin-starred eatery may have been the site of a post-Las Vegas taping.

Several cast members were also reportedly seen at Brix in Yountville last week bussing their own dishes? What's that about...

Atlanta-based finalists Eli Kirshtein and Kevin Gillespie return to Wine Country this Saturday to do some collective back-patting with fellow southerner Hardy Wallace, (Murphy-Goode Winery's dream job winner). The three are old friends who've recently found their 15 minutes of fame in the culinary world. They'll do a meet and greet Sunday, then cook  for local big-wigs on Monday and Tuesday.

Media have been warned, however, that the chefs will not be doing official interviews since the Bravo show still has several episodes left to air before the winner is revealed.  

Who's your money on?