Ask Jeeves: The Big Red Bus Has Arrived!

Are you ready for the 3-day weekend? There's so many fun things going on around town- Chalk It Up!, the Sacramento Greek Festival and of course- the Norm Lopez Pub Crawl. I love that Sacramento is always poppin' with fantastic community activities. Last Sunday, I was able to check out Music in the Park at Curtis Park. What a wonderful event! There was free music and a pretty big turn out. Lots of Sacramentans, kids and dogs came out to enjoy the festivities.

For those who had the munchies, there was easy accessibility to the food trucks. The first shift was done by Wicked 'Wich and the second by The Big Red Bus. What? You haven't heard of the Big Red Bus? It's the latest addition to the Sac food truck scene. The brainchild of the folks over at The Street of London, TBRB has already been seen at several popular venues around town. At the helm of the rowdy group of rapscallions is the executive chef of SOL- Martin Hutton.

According to the chef, the TBRB will be serving a global fusion of nibbles. During my visit to Music in the Park, I had the opportunity to taste the curry fries (crispy French fries with the perfect amount of curry flavoring) and the Carnasian. The Carnasian is a large wrap packed full of spiced shredded beef, fresh Asian slaw, cheese, a slightly spicy sauce and fries. The fries are actually inside the wrap giving each bite a nice crunchy texture factor, kind of like fried wontons. The Carnasian was quite delectable, although I wish the wrap part was slightly softer (mine was a bit dry and hard)...a lavash might make a good substitute. I would order it again though, I loved the mélange of flavors.

The other menu item that caught my eye was the Fat Elvis. If you are jonesing for a juicy burger made with Track 7's Delta King Saison ketchup, cheese, produce and some lip smackin' peanut butter glaze--- then this burger is for you, it's fit for a king! For those who have their heart set on some UK fare, TBRB offers up the Moby- Icelandic cod in a Newcastle beer infused batter with a serving of fries.

Sound good? To get your grub on, all you have to do is look for Jeeves, the big red "bus".
Today, you can find Jeeves at New Helvetia on Broadway until 4pm. Cheers!

FB page: The Big Red Bus
(916) 233-9267

Real Pie Company Is Making a Comeback!

Received the email below today and for those of you who used to order Kira's pies and picked them up at Corti's back in the day, you know how delicious her pies, galettes and quiches are.


Dear Valued Customers and Friends:
 
It is with immense happiness that I announce the rebirth of the Real Pie Company.
On Friday, August 30th, I will begin offering a limited menu of Real Pies two afternoons a week to my customers. The pies will be available on the 30th at East Sac Mercantile (http://eastsacmercantile.com) from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. The pies will then (after the 30th) be available every Thursday and Friday afternoon from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. The Mercantile is located at 3257 Folsom Boulevard in East Sacramento, and has ample street parking. I plan to expand my baking days in October to include Saturdays.
 
(*Note: I will NOT be baking Thurs/Fri, September 19/20).
 
(* Note: I cannot take credit cards until the first week of September! Cash or checks only on the 30th. Sorry about that).

As always, our menu will change weekly depending on the produce we are able to source from our region's wonderful small family farms. Each week, I will send out the menu of available pies to subscribers of my email list. (Important: If you would like to be removed from our email list, please unsubscribe below).
 
In addition to our ever-changing seasonal pies, tarts and galettes, “staple” items that will (usually) be on the menu include our Jumbleberry pie (packed with blackberries, blueberries, cherries and raspberries) and some version of our rustic apple galette (or pie), simply because there’s always such a high demand for these items.
 
Unfortunately, I cannot take pie reservations at this time due to my limited production. Sorry about that.
 
I look forward – with much joy – to be baking for you again. If you have any questions or comments, please email me at kira@realpiecompany.com.
 
Warmest regards,
Kira O’Donnell
Real Pie Company
East Sac Mercantile
3257 Folsom Boulevard
Sacramento, CA 95816

www.realpiecompany.com (website under construction at the moment!)

Midtown Cocktail Week : Welcome to the Show

The 6th Annual Midtown Cocktail Week has started. Unless you've been living under a rock in Sacramento, you're probably familiar with the event. This year though the Midtown Business Association and the local bars and restaurants are going big with several days of tastings, events, classes and merriment. The festivities started off today with a Educational Vendor Expo at the Citizen Hotel. I tagged along with two of my favorite people from Berryessa Brewing, Clint and Jenni, to sneak a peek (and a few tastes) of some lovely libations. We taste tested some tequila from Don Julio, bourbon from Buffalo Trace and Kahlua Midnight (a rum and black coffee mix) amongst several other spirits. Hey, no judging...sometimes I girl needs to get her drink on...at 1pm...on a weekday....

Out of all the vendors, my favorite liqueur ended up being from a company I had never heard of before- Pavan. The gorgeous art nouveau bottles initially drew me to the table, but the drink itself proved to be superb. We tried it straight and then in a simple cocktail. Pavan (18% ABV, distributed by Suntory) has an intoxicating floral scent and tastes like a wonderful mixture of sweet fruit and delicate flora. According to the rep, Pavan is crafted from a base of white muscat grapes from the south of France and a subtle touch of orange blossom. You can drink it straight, on the rocks as an aperitif or use it in your favorite cocktails. The rep suggested mixing it with sparkling wine, using it to make sangria ( just add some Perrier and fruit) or just mixing it with some vodka. Currently in Sacramento, you can only buy it online through K and L, but according to the rep some of the local bars like Shady Lady will soon be offering cocktails made with Pavan. Can't wait!

My second favorite, was the Kahlua Midnight (35% ABV). Being a coffee-junkie, I was excited to check this one out. Although it smelled a bit like acetone as I was raising it to my lips, the Kahlua Midnight tasted great. It had a deep, robust dark roast flavor with a smooth rum undertone...and a hint of something...maybe almonds(?) in the aftertaste. The Midnight is much darker and less sweet than the original Kahlua, which appeals to me. It tastes a bit more polished. I could definitely see turning to this liqueur in the winter months, maybe mixed with some Peppermint Schnapps (or Irish whiskey) and my favorite coffee.

To cleanse our palates, we stopped by the only table offering a non-alcoholic drink. The folks at Tea of a Kind were offering tastes of their Citrus Mint Green Tea, Pomegranate Acai White Tea and their Peach Ginger Black Tea. Jenni and I tried the pomegranate tea and I really liked it. It was light, natural and best of all only 20 calories a bottle. Also, their patented nitrogen bottle cap keeps the drink fresh so that they don't have to add any chemical preservatives. You just twist the cap and it infuses the tea. It goes from white to brown before your eyes. It's pretty cool. You can buy Tea of a Kind at Bevo currently but it will also be carried at Raley's grocery stores this fall.

Midtown Cocktail Week : http://www.midtowncocktailweek.org/

Summer Events: Berryessa Brewing, The Pour House & Good Night Market

Mark Your Calendars

 

www.berryessabrewingco.com

 

 

www.pourhousesacramento.com

 

www.gooddesignmarket.com

 

Day Trip: Passport To Farms

Cruising along the Delta roads, with the river on one side and bountiful pear orchards on the other...I was ready and amped for the Passport to Farms event by the time this weekend rolled around. However, it didn't quite turn out how I thought it would. My friend and I had a pleasant enough time but I'm not sure if I'll attend this particular event next year. I found it to be a bit disorganized which is surprising because it's not the first event the Sacramento River Delta Grown Agri-Tourism Association has put on.  I was able to buy my ticket online- no problem, but when we showed up to check in at our designated location on Sunday at 930am, nothing was set up and the doors were locked. We had to hunt down someone to help us, who in turn had to hunt down another person who knew what was going on with the event. What was odd was that the event (according to the website and our tickets) was supposed to run from 9am to 5pm (???). Anyhow, we got a quick rundown from a friendly gentleman and were finally on our way. Unfortunately for us, we weren't familiar with our way around the Delta and the maps that we were given were a bit unclear so we got slightly lost. After taking the "scenic route" which involved several U-turns and a recrossing of a bridge, we were able to reach our first destination, Delta Islands Organic Farm. The two nice young ladies working the stand gave us 3 lbs of beautiful, ripe heirloom tomatoes. We even got to choose which ones we wanted from the several varieties on display. Then we were off...the flyer had stated there would be a tomato tasting but we didn't see anything set up.

Next, we headed to Steamboat Acres where there some tables set up, displaying organic pears, pear butter and fresh honey. We bought some delicious looking green Bartlett pears and then inquired if would be okay if we could walk around the orchard a bit. (Here too there were no tastings or offers to show us the grounds. What a bummer.)

 

From Steamboat Acres, we hopped over to the Double M Farms/McDowell Hunting Preserve. One of the owners was kind enough to show us these baby pheasants and let us wander around.

Aren't they adorable? I had to restrain myself from scooping them up and snuggling them. After we got our daily dose of cuteness, we grabbed a complimentary pear and headed out to look at the pear orchards, the corn and alfalfa fields and the larger pheasants.

We closed out our tour with a stop at Vierra Farms in West Sac where we were given a free Imagination melon (a seedless watermelon with an almost black rind). I'm looking forward to cutting this sucker open and seeing if it really is as sweet as the guy working the stand proclaimed it to be. (I'll let you know.)

So all in all, I guess the ticket cost ($15) wouldn't have been so bad if we had partaken in any of the wine tasting at Bogle, Scribner or the Sugar Mill but quite frankly it was too early, too hot and I didn't think it would be a good idea to be driving under the influence on unfamiliar, twisty river roads.  I have to admit, I was a bit letdown by this event. I guess from the event descriptions I was anticipating something a bit different. I felt like we ended up just visiting produce stands and what I really wanted was to see the farms. I think the event could be greatly improved if samples of the produce were offered at the various stops (not just Sugar Mill), there were a few farm tours and maybe even some cooking demos at a location or two. Something to get the attendees interested and engaged.  I would have loved to learn more about the Delta farms and their produce. Anyhow, even though the day was a bit of a bust, one thing I would like to point out is how super sweet and friendly the farmers and workers at each stop we went to were. Great folks!

67th Annual Japanese Food & Cultural Bazaar

Were you able to stop by the Japanese Food and Cultural Bazaar this weekend at the Sacramento Buddhist Church? Mr.S. and I went (it's a tradition with us and he likes to get his BBQ chicken on). This year we took Kidlet #1 with us for the first time. Although it was a bit warm under the giant tent, we all left with big smiles and happy bellies.

 Live music

 

 

Somen with shiitake, green onion & beni shōga

 

Ribs, slaw and onigiris

 

The infamous BB teriyaki chicken

 

The church offers Japanese language classes for both children and adults.

For more info, contact the Sakura Gakuen (916) 542-0557



Happy, Happy! Joy, Joy! Farrell's Opens In Sacramento

Last night, Mr. S., the kidlets and I were fortunate enough to attend one of the sneak preview nights for the new Farrell's opening up in Sacramento. The event was a soft opening and proceeds were donated to the Firefighters Burn Institute, Shriner's Hospital and UCDMC.

Although it appeared that the staff was still working out a few operational glitches, everyone was in good spirits and smiles were abound. There was a lot of singing, clapping and festive cheer throughout the restaurant. We had a blast! Here's a few snapshots from our evening:
(click on photos to enlarge)

Newspaper type menu

 

Americana décor, lots of old-fashioned candy & even a player piano

 

 

The Fabulous French Dip, The All-American Burger, The Reuben

 

In the upper right is our waiter, Alex, he loves to sing & tell really bad jokes. The waiter on the bottom left, bangs that drum like nobody's business! ☺

 

 



The Mt. Saint Helen, The Oreo Bliss and a ribbon Kidlet #1 won for eating all of his Mt. St. Helen. Our waiter made him yodel before he would award it to him.

 

 

 

* I was not compensated for this post other than receiving 4 complimentary tickets to the event mentioned.  All opinions are completely my own.


Event: Japanese Bazaar This Weekend

Photo Source

 

The 67th Annual Japanese Food and Culture Bazaar will be held this weekend at the Buddhist Church of Sacramento. There will be tons of homemade Japanese food and treats, games, and cultural events such as traditional dancing, Taiko drumming and bonsai demonstrations. You can also tour the church and check out some lovely ikebana displays.

Where: Buddhist Church of Sacramento, 2401 Riverside Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95818

When: 12-9pm, Saturday & Sunday,  August 10th and 11th

Parking:  There is free parking at W & 7th Streets and shuttle service is offered

Admission: Free

Misc: Be sure to try their BBQ'd chicken. It's Mr.S's favorite. Just follow the delicious aroma (and the smoke) to the left side of the festival.

Pushkin's Bakery

1820 29th Street, Sacramento, CA 95816.
(916) 376-7752
http://www.pushkinsbakery.com/

Mr.S. and I have a ritual, on weekends we like to duck out of his house before all the crazy chaos begins and grab a cuppa joe at Temple. The large patio is great for people watching and gives us some time to wipe the sleep from our eyes and gather our bearings. Awhile back we noticed that a small bakery had opened in the plaza that houses Temple Coffee and Revolution Wines, called Pushkin's Bakery. The husband and wife run bakery was said to be dedicated to being wheat/gluten-free and dairy free. Music to my lactarded ears! Anyhow, we kept trying to pop in there to grab a little somethin' delish to nosh on but for some reason it was closed whenever we'd stop by. Bad timing, I suppose. Last weekend we finally scored. We were able to purchase several baked treats and enjoy them on the patio as we savored our hot cups of coffee.

 

When we entered the store, we were immediately greeted with the delicious aroma of fresh pastries baking. It was intoxicating and caused my stomach to growl in anticipation. The woman in front of us in line was busy bombarding the (very) patient gentleman working the counter with a million and one questions, so we had plenty of time to peruse the various baked goods in the display case. There was a nice variety of gluten and dairy free choices- cookies, cupcakes and breads. We settled on vegan zucchini bread, vegan banana walnut bread, a peanut butter cookie and one strawberry scone. The zucchini bread was wonderful; it was toothsome, ever so slightly sweet and extremely moist and spongy (I know a lot of you absolutely abhor the word "moist," but it's the best way to describe this bread). The zucchini was grated quite finely, making this a perfect treat if you're trying to sneak some veggies past your kidlet's eagle eye and picky palate. The homemade banana bread had nice big juicy bits of banana that you could see; however, the bread part itself tasted very sugary and had a gritty texture. I may have just gotten a bad one but not sure if I'd order that particular bread again. I did, however, like that the breads came in individual mini-loaf serving sizes- just the perfect amount for snacking.

Now Mr. S. fancies himself a connoisseur of peanut butter cookies. He gave Pushkin's crunchy PB cookie a thumbs-up and declared it "solid." I was able to wrestle away a crumb from him and agreed that the cookie exhibited a lot of peanutty flavor. The price was a bit steep for one cookie ($2.75) but we did appreciate that Pushkin's uses all natural ingredients solely from gluten-free manufacturers. My strawberry scone was the only clunker of the morning. It was extremely dry and I felt like I was munching on a thick dough brick with hard icing. Also, there was only one minute bit of strawberry in the whole scone.

Service there is terrific. Both owners were very friendly, helpful and willing to offer product recommendations. I noticed that they didn't rush customers even though it was busy and were happy to answer questions (no matter how many or how absurd).

Most gluten-free, dairy-free and/or vegan baked goods I've come across have tasted like cardboard or have been so dense that you could seriously maim someone if you lobbed it at their head. Not Pushkin's...but don't take my word for it, give this small business a try yourself. On my next visit, I think I'd like to try one of their delicious looking vegan chocolate-banana-peanut butter cupcakes (try saying that one really fast!)...and perhaps a salted pecan one too or maybe one of their "dudes" (mini pb cookies with chocolate chips and chocolate ganache). Ahhh, decisions, decisions.... ☺

* Note: the hours are a bit funky. They're only open Tues-Sat and don't open until 9am. So no Sunday/Monday or early morning pastry pickups here.

* Pushkin's also does catering and makes full-size wedding cakes.

* Get there early for the best selection, they do tend to run out of things quickly.

New Southern Cuisine Restaurant to Open in the Southside

Just last week I was grousing that there were no good Southern restaurants in Sacramento...and lo and behold, my friend Janine posts on FB today that there's a restaurant opening up on 6th Street (near Southside Park) that plans on serving contemporary Southern cooking. Who says the universe doesn't grant small wishes? Anyhow elated, I checked out their website, got an address (1915 6th Street) and went to investigate. Apparently, the new joint will be called, "South Restaurant and Bar," and will be occupying the building that used to house the Sacramento Tofu Company before it relocated.

The owners are a husband and wife team, Ian and N'Gina Kavookjian, who have extensive experience in the restaurant business including most recently a catering company and Eight American Bistro in Granite Bay. According to their website, they're looking to make South into an energetic neighborhood joint and serve, "...traditional family food, unpretentious, with no gimmicks, and no crazy science. At South we are not trying to reinvent the wheel, we are just trying to express 200 years of our family’s story on a 12” plate." Sounds good to me. The menu currently is divided into "new school" and "old school" dishes and shows some of my favorite Southern plates- fried green tomatoes, chicken and Andouille gumbo, shrimp po' boys, crispy fried chicken and beignets. I can't wait!

When I contacted the owners by email, I was advised that the tentative opening date is scheduled for September 10. In the meantime, you can peruse their menu here:  South Menu. It appears that South plans to be open for brunch, lunch, happy hour and dinner. ☺

Event: Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour Sneak Preview - Aug 5th and 7th

After 40 years, Farrell's is returning to the City of Trees and by all the excited buzz I've heard, Sacramentans are pretty dang excited. The old-timey ice cream parlour/restaurant chain is set to open up shop on August 8th at 1625 Watt Avenue; however you can experience the magic early by participating in one of their Sneak Preview VIP days scheduled for August 5th and August 7th.  All proceeds from the Sneak Preview days will go to benefit the Firefighters Burn Institute, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and UC Davis. It's for a good cause, so come for the frosty treats and stay for the upbeat songs, lively dancing and some 1890's fun.

Where: 1625 Watt Ave, Sacramento 95864.   Tel #(916) 972-8000

When: Tickets can be purchased for lunch, 11am – 1pm, or dinner, 5pm – 8pm for either Monday, August 5th or Wednesday, August 7th. Tickets are limited and once sold out no other dates or times will be added.

Cost: $20 per person. Tickets must be purchase in advance online. Ticket price includes entrance to Farrell's location before it's open to the public, a thirst quenching soft drink or coffee and one delicious entrée of your choice. For a party of two, each guest receives a drink, an entrée, and one of Farrell’s Famous two-scoop sundaes to share. A party of four will receive all the previously mentioned deliciousness plus one appetizer to share and an additional two-scoop sundae.

For more info and to purchase tickets:  Farrell's Ice Cream

Additional info:

* The Sacramento Farrell's location will be bringing 200 jobs to the city.
* The ice cream parlour employees/entertainers dress in 1890's Americana period garb and sing, dance and tell jokes.
* Loud, fun atmosphere- sirens, drums and singing. Perfect destination for kid parties, celebrations.
* Dessert favorites: The Gibson Girl, Zoo and The Pig's Trough.
* The first Farrell's opened for business on Friday the 13th of September, 1963 in Portland, Oregon.

Mo Du Rang

9545 Folsom Blvd., Suite #2, Sacramento, CA 95827. (916) 363-8505.

About a week ago, my friend Rose and I found ourselves headed to a local Korean restaurant that we've dined at before for lunch. En route, for some unknown reason we decided to make a U-turn and pull into a squat strip mall and check out a (new to us) restaurant called Mo Du Rang (loosely translated to mean, "With Everyone"). I was a bit apprehensive at first about eating there as there was a big sign proclaiming, "Teriyaki and Korean Cuisine." (I tend to be a bit skeptical of places that arbitrarily pair different Asian cuisines together, my past experiences haven't been too great). Additionally, the area was a bit sketchy but the restaurant proved me wrong. It turned out to be a delightful little neighborhood joint. It was clean and family friendly. The decor was simple and the dining room was separated into sections by small decorative screens to give some privacy and there was no K-pop blaring from the TV or sound system (thank god). Our waitress double-dutied as the hostess and sat us at a nice spacious table for 4, even though there was only two of us. As we settled into our table, we were handed large laminated menus. Large, very extensive and intriguing menus. Mo Du Rang has the traditional Korean dishes of galbi (Korean BBQ ribs), bulgogi (marinated BBQ beef), doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and Jaengban Guku (cold noodles with veggies in a spicy sauce) but it also has some more daring dishes like Gopchang jeongol (a fiery guts and tripe casserole), golbaengi muchim (a hot and spicy sea snail salad with noodles) and hong au hwe (raw skate and veggies mixed with hot sauce). The menu was a pretty interesting read.

Choosing what to eat was hard. I love Korean food, I would eat it more often if I could drag Mr.S. to eat it more. Korean food--- spicy, stinky, sweet---I've been working my way through it for decades now. I've eaten masochistic Korean food (so scorching hot, I felt it burn it's way through my digestive system), amnesic Korean food (where I drank so much soju, that I couldn't recall anything I ate at the restaurant), mediocre Korean food (aka what I like to call McKorean food) and of course good ol' amazing Korean food. After some lengthy pondering, I finally decided to play it safe and ordered my favorite Korean comfort food dish- dolsot bibimbap. I know it's not very exciting, but I figured it'd be a good barometer (and I could seriously eat this dish every week, year round). It's simple, tasty and for the most part pretty healthy. I love the mélange of seasoned veggies (in this case carrots, mushrooms, sautéed greens, mung bean sprouts and gosari), bulgogi and an over-easy egg atop a mound of steamed rice-- all nestled in a hot stone bowl with a little sesame oil mixed in. Throw in a hefty squirt of the gochujang (spicy pepper) sauce and I'm good to go. My favorite part though of dolsot bibimbap is the faan jiew (the bits of crispy rice nestled at the bottom of the bowl).  It's like rice cracklin's! Mo Du Rang's version of dolsot bibimbap was delicious, my only beef was with the bulgogi. It was tender, just not very flavorful. Next time, I think I might skip adding the meat and just opt for some tofu or go sans supplemental protein.

My friend Rose ordered a dish I wasn't familiar with- mool naeng myun. In all honesty when it came to the table, I thought it kind of looked like a bowl of dirty dishwater. Rose was kind enough to give me a taste and it tasted great!  Mool naeng myun turned out to be long buckwheat noodles mixed with sliced beef and a smattering of vegetables in a slightly tangy, chilled broth. The broth itself is very light and the sharpness of the vinegar is tempered with a whisper of sweetness and spiciness. It's served in a chilled stainless bowl and is quite refreshing. A great summertime dish!

Mo Du Rang also turned out to have some great banchan (small, free side dishes). Everything from your customary kimchi and pickled spicy radishes to stir-fried fish cakes. I think when we went at lunchtime we had 8 or 9 small plates but I heard they give out a bigger array at dinnertime.

Now visiting Mo Du Rang isn't going to be some transcendental dining experience but they do provide a good spread and offer up some wonderful, authentic Korean dishes for the gastronomic adventurer and for the traditionalist. Their food is definitely better than some of the other popular Korean eateries I've visited on Folsom Boulevard. Also, the service we had when we popped in there was fantastic. Our waitress was absolutely terrific- something I usually don't say when I dine at Korean restaurants where getting ignored or getting a cranky server is the norm. It usually goes with the territory. This waitress though was super friendly, happy to answer any questions we had about the dishes on the menu and attentive to our dining needs. It made for a pleasant dining experience to not be getting the stink-eye from across the room.


Note: The restaurant is in a rougher part of the Rancho Cordova-Rosemont corridor (Folsom Blvd. between Butterfield and Bradshaw), so just keep that in mind if you're going after dark. When we were leaving the restaurant we passed a woman of the meth-head persuasion who was screaming into her phone, "I'm going to beat that baby out of you!" Um...yeah...we got in the car pretty quickly.

Food News in the City of Trees

Go Farm to Basket

Photo Source

You know how I love going on daytrips... well, I love going on picnics too- to the beach, the wine country even just down to McKinley Park. There's something just so romantic and timeless about it. Whenever we picnic though, I always think about how great it would be if someone else could pack the food for me so I could just relax and enjoy the day fully. Well, now there is! Sacramento Picnic Company is launching later this month. Their elegant baskets will be packed with fresh produce, tasty gourmet dishes and delicious local meat and artisan cheeses. I took a peek at their website and saw homemade jams and pickles listed, smoked salmon and chipotle deviled eggs with Osetra caviar, and creamy banana pudding listed amongst other goodies. This creative company offers "theme" baskets with prechosen items or you can customize your own basket. Baskets run roughly about $60. In addition to the food, the basket rental includes a picnic blanket, plates, silverware, napkins, glassware, wine opener, sparkling or still water and a map of some their favorite picnic spots. SPC will not have a brick and mortar location, instead they'll be cooking out of a local commercial kitchen and coordinating with local businesses, florists and vineyards to serve as pickup locations for the preordered baskets.

* I think this would also work great as a gift for new moms and dads. They're usually too exhausted to cook. What better than a romantic picnic basket full of tasty goodies so that they can picnic with their new bundle of joy?

More info: Sacramento Picnic Company
Phone: (916) 477-8269


Step Back in the Past

Remember The Coral Reef, Stan's Drive-In and The Hong Kong Café? These are just a few of the nostalgic food places that will be discussed next Wednesday. Time Tested Books in Midtown will be holding a reading, book signing and multimedia presentation of siblings Maryellen and Keith Burns' new book, "Lost Restaurants of Sacramento and Their Recipes."

The event is free and open to the public. July 17, 7pm. 1114 21st Street.
The book will be on sale at the event for $19.99.
More info: Time Tested Books


Vive la France!

Bastille Day is just around the corner and the folks at Matteo's/Supper Club have put together a pretty amazing French-inspired wine dinner to honor it. The menu will be offered on Monday, July 15th from 630pm-9pm and includes mouthwatering items such as crispy leg of Muscovy duck confit, classic steak au poivre with peppercorn crusted filet mignon and garlic butter basted escargot nestled in crimini mushroom caps.
Reservations are required so make yours now, before they fill up!

Location: Matteo's, 5132 Arden Way Carmichael
Cost: $58/pp + tax and gratuity

For more info, contact:
(916) 779-0727 or email: wineshop@pizzamatteo.com

For full menu & wine pairings: Matteo's Bastille Day Dinner


Pickle Me This

Photo Source

By now, most of us have heard about (or tasted) the awesome pickled products from local company, Preservation and Co. From pickled habanero chips to horseradish dilly beans, these Sacramentans are rockin' the house with their tasty preserved foods. Currently their products can be found at The Sacramento Natural Foods Co-Op, local Williams-Sonoma locations, and Amazon.com. They make a crazy-delicious zesty Bloody Mary mix that I received as a gift from a friend and used to make crockpot Bloody Mary chicken. Loved it! Supposedly, they're planning on coming out soon with a All-Natural Bloody Mary Mix soon that will be Gluten Free, Non-GMO, and preservative free. Can't wait!

Product Website: Preservation and Co.
More info: Jason@Preservationandco.com

Muffin Tin Croque Madame

108 degrees! Ugh! I dunno about you all but I was sweating like a pig all weekend. We had a Catholic school graduation to attend Friday night and it was balls hot in the church. They said the AC was on, but I have my doubts. On the bright side, maybe I sweated off a pound or two. Saturday night, I ended up at the Endurocross racing at The Sleeptrain Arena (is that what the name is this week?) with Mr.S. and the kidlets. I know, I know...you all can't picture me at an event like this but I ended up having a good time. Endurocross is a super fast, intense, high endurance sport. It's similar to motocross racing but instead of just speeding around, they race over large rocks, logs, tires and even through a water pit. I especially liked watching Wally Palmer race (unfortunately, he didn't win).

Sunday cooled down considerably, thank god! Mr. S. took me to Green Acres Nursery to buy some veggie plants for the raised garden bed he made for me. How awesome is he? What was really impressive was that he made the whole thing from scratch. I absolutely love it. We planted peppers, cherry tomatoes, Japanese eggplant, cucumbers, basil and squash. Kidlet #1 wanted a watermelon plant so we planted that too. Now if they'd just grow overnight, I'd be a happy camper. (I'm soooo impatient!) Grow! Grow! Grow!

Lately I've been watching Rachel Khoo's show, "Little Paris Kitchen" online. I had checked out her new cookbook from the library recently and found that I liked the simplicity of her French recipes and how she gives each one a neat twist. (Plus she's a hapa like me and cooks in a teeny-tiny kitchen, gotta love that!) This morning I made one of her recipes for breakfast for Mr.S. and the kidlets, the Muffin Tin Croque Madame. The snack-sized savory treat got an enthusiastic thumbs up all around from my favorite little taste testers. I made some small modifications to the recipe to suit my taste but followed the recipe as is for the most part. You can see the original recipe here:  Croque Madame Muffins. By the way, the leftover Mornay sauce is absolutely delicious on a side of grits or as a dipping sauce for biscuits.

"Muffin Tin" Croque Madame

Ingredients

For the Mornay (cheese) sauce:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tbsp milk, lukewarm (whole or 2%. Skip using nonfat, soy, almond, etc. for this recipe)
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup grated Gruyère cheese
• 3 tbps grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

• 6 large slices of bread, no crusts (I used sliced wheat bread, but you can use whatever suits your fancy)
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 1/2 oz ham, cut into cubes or thin strips or 3-4 strips of bacon chopped into small pieces
• 6 small eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a small saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add your flour, and beat together until smooth.

3. Gradually add your milk, whisking the entire time. Add your Dijon mustard and nutmeg. Let it all simmer together for about 10 minutes. Give it a whisk every few minutes so it doesn't burn.

4. Add about 90% of your Gruyere and all of your Parmesan. Continue whisking the ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Remove the crust from the bread slices and flatten each slice. You can brush both sides of the bread with melted butter, but I found just doing one side was fine.

6. Spray your 6-cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Press each slice of bread in the muffin hole. You can used the bottom of a drinking glass but I found it just as easy to smoosh it down with my fingers.

9. Place a few pieces of ham or bacon in the bread "cup". Followed by one egg on top (you may have to pour out a little of the egg white before adding the egg, so that it fits). Top with 2 tablespoons of the Mornay sauce. Sprinkle with your leftover Gruyère. Season with some black pepper, if you wish.

10. Place the muffin tin in the oven. And cook for 20 minutes (a few minutes less, if you like your eggs on the runnier side).

11. Remove tin from oven. Use a fork or knife to pop the croque madame out. Serve while hot.