Hawaiian Baklava

August 27, 2017 0 Comments
Repost from 2015

 Last month when I was in Hawaii I tasted some extraordinary honey.  It's from the ohia lehua flower and the honey has a tropical sweetness unlike any mainland honeys. Then last week I had a bit of inspiration on using some of my macadamia nuts. Why not make a Hawaiian baklava with macadamia nuts, coconut, and Hawaiian honey? Not only did it make perfect sense, but it made delicious baklava!


 Roasting the macadamia nuts

 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Scatter about 1/2 pound of macadamia nuts on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the nuts are a golden brown.  Remove and cool.  Chop finely for the recipe
Hawaiian Baklava

 1 (16 ounce) package phyllo dough
2 cups chopped roasted macadamia nuts
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Hawaiian honey

 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

 2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon and coconut flakes. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cut stack to fit pan. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.

 3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

 4. Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

 5. Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up.
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Joe Marty's hits a home run due to Sampino's takeover

June 27, 2017 0 Comments
chicken piccata
I might live only three blocks away from it for the last 12 years, yet I never did go to the old Joe Marty's or the new until this last week. I'm probably better off for waiting that long. After all, the old Joe Marty's struck me as mostly a sports bar with typical bar type food. Then it burned down and the spot lay vacant for a number of years. When new owners opened hoping to ride the wave of nostalgia, it seemed to do OK business. Then earlier this year Sampino's took it over and I am feeling pretty lucky to have it so close now. And, to be clear, the official new name is Sampino's Kitchen at Joe Marty's. 

 For a little history, Joe Marty's was opened in 1938 by an ex-baseball player and his friend. At that time Edmunds Field occupied the site of today's Target. You can see what the area looked like thanks to a giant photograph adorning a wall. 
"In the bar, almost every square inch of wall space is covered with autographed pictures of baseball greats and not-so-greats. There are quite a few of Joe DiMaggio, who played with Marty on the San Francisco Seals. The 1936 Pacific Coast League batting champion with San Francisco, Marty also played in the big leagues for the Cubs and Phillies, then played for the Sacramento Solons. Marty opened his namesake bar-cum-pizza joint in 1938 and it was the place to see and be seen through the ’50s and ’60s. It was then owned for many years by Marty’s long-time friend Noboru Keiunji, who can still be found most nights at the bar."  Liz Kellar 2002
The above description (pre-fire) pretty much explains the decor today, just fresh and new because of the rebuild after the fire. 

We came in after seeing a movie at the Tower and because I knew Sampino'shad taken it over. Now when it comes to Sampino's, I'd only ever been once due to its location and its hours, but I knew its reputation. Their location at 16th and F has been known for its fine Italian delicatessen, house made cannoli and tiramisu, and their Friday night dinners. I was looking forward to trying the food now at Joe Marty's. 

It's no surprise that the menu is Italian focused now. Better yet, good Italian.

We ordered two entrees and they came with a choice of salad or minestrone. No brainer here. You need to order the minestrone. This soup was hearty and robust, full of flavor. The tomato base is tangy and rich. No watery soup here. Within is a load of vegetables. I didn't happen to notice if the minestrone can be ordered a la carte, but it would certainly be a great meal on its own.

I'm pretty much a sucker for Chicken Piccata as soon as I see it offered on a menu. This was also packed with flavor with a thicker sauce than some. I loved it with just two reservations. The chicken arrived sliced and I would have preferred my chicken filet be left whole for me to cut. Mostly because chicken can be dry and I'd prefer it be left alone to help retain juices. The other is the lack of many capers. I love capers and so when I order piccata I like to have them. They were there, and I think they were blended into the sauce more than whole, but I need me some capers. 


My friend ordered the Eggplant Parmesan. I've never been a chicken or eggplant parmesan fan and so I did not try it. It did look just as well prepared as the soup and my piccata though. As you can see, entrees came with garlic bread and a vegetable side. 

 We didn't have dessert, but they do offer those famed cannoli and tiramisu I mentioned earlier. 

I  mentioned to my friend how lucky I am to have such great food within walking distance from me now. With Masullo's, Selland's, South, Iron Steaks, and all the other nearby R Street/Southside additions, I'm in foodie heaven. Now to have Sampino's Joe Marty's added with its fine Italian, I'm stoked!

 Addendum 7/7/17
I was told recently by a chef that used to work there that they do not really cook at the Joe Marty's kitchen. It is reheated items from Sampino's. While I can understand this to some extent, the amount the practice goes to is questionable. And is the stuff made at Sampino's made from scratch? I have to assume it is. But I found this news a bit troubling, especially just after having posted this positive review. I felt I needed to add this statement to the bottom of this post else I be called out as a fool for this review. 






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Louis Basque Corner celebrates 50 years in Reno

June 13, 2017 0 Comments
Reno, like many cities, has seen its ups and downs. Finding a restaurant that can survive past a few years, yet alone a few decades, is hard to do in any city. In the case of Reno's Louis' Basque Corner, it's a restaurant that has been a local favorite for decades and occasionally gets a tourist who's not interested in casino buffets or chains. 

 Established in 1967, they are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year. I have yet to see any kind of announcement on their Facebook page or website, but I'm sure they'll be celebrating the accomplishment somehow this year.

Louis' reminded me of Poor Red's up in Shingle Springs in that it features long communal tables and a set menu that includes soup, salad, appetizer, and dessert along with whatever entree you choose. They are also similar in that they are famous for a signature cocktail. 

Louis’ signature drink the Picon Punch, which is known in some corners as the "Basque cocktail" is based on a bitter orange spirit called Amer Picon made of bitter oranges, gentian and cinchona. It was invented by a Frenchman named Gaëtan Picon in 1837, and the drink evolved from a French aperitif and stomachic on its own into the punch through the hands of the Basques, especially in the earlier Boarding Houses and the Basque-American restaurants. 
I, of course, did not drink that (allergic), but we did enjoy the friendly service by the attentive staff and the very young owners! The original owners, Louis and Lorraine Erreguible, have apparently retired and sold the business to two young men, Chris Shanks and Brian Elcano. Turns out they were serving us and I only discovered this when reviewing their website tonight.

You can tell this place is a local favorite as it was packed with people. We had ended a long drive up from Sac and arrived at 8:15. Large parties had just left and so most tables were now empty, but we were seated at a table that already had two other couples enjoying their meals. 


As to the food, there were hits and misses. First we were served a vegetable, beef barley soup. This was a hit - hearty with ingredients, it could easily be a meal in itself. There was plenty of bread to sop it up as well. 


The salad was on par with Olive Garden or a crab feed. Not memorable. After that we were served the first course of mussels and rice along with the included Basque beans and our entrees. The beans were the hit with meaty flavor from the stock and pork. Turns out the owners shared the recipe back in 2005 and you can find it here.

The mussels were the disappointment. Basically steamed and thrown on some rice with no seasoning. It would have been nice if they had been served with a nice wine and herb jus from the steaming.


The entrees, though, were winners. Basque are eaters of offal and being that I host Have an Offal Day, I had to have the sweetbreads!  I've always had sweetbreads as an appetizer, not as an entree, so I was a bit overwhelmed by such a generous serving! I had mine with peppers, onions, and garlic. It also includes mushrooms, but I'm not a fan and asked for those to be left out. The sweetbreads, though, were wonderfully tender and fried up crisp. 

As an FYI, they apparently also occasionally serve tripe and other offal dishes as specials, but the sweetbreads are on the regular menu.


My friend ordered the lamb chops and was served two very thick chops, grilled to his preferred medium rare.

Dessert is cheese and fruit plate or vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. Since we were stuffed, we passed on dessert.

I recommend Louis' if you keep in mind the communal tables and family style dining are both hits and misses. You never know if you'll get friendly dinner companions at your table and the quality of the courses will be as mentioned above. But it's good value for your money, service is friendly and attentive, and a piece of Reno dining history that looks to continue on for another generation.



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Need Some Dim Sum Help?

June 11, 2017 0 Comments

If you enjoy Chinese food then there's a very good chance you've gone to enjoy dim sum. Dim sum, a selection of bite size morsels of deliciousness, has been a part of Chinese cuisine for many centuries. Dim sum are the small snacks served at teahouses, offering variety and the opportunity to eat as little or as much as one wants.


Lately there has been a lot of discussion about cultural appropriation of foods. That (usually) white people are taking on and becoming experts of cuisines from countries that they have no connection to. Prime examples are Rick Bayless and Mexican and Andy Ricker with Thai food. One person that might fall into that controversy would be Carolyn Phillips with Chinese food. Towards the end of our event Phillips makes a very profound comment - that the younger generations throughout China are moving toward Western diets and soon thousands years of culinary history will disappear if it isn’t documented. So really, is it so bad that some people have taken enough interest to thoroughly respect it, research it, and document it?

Carolyn Phillips has been researching Chinese cuisine for over 30 years. She’s written several books and has been nominated for a James Beard Award for All Under Heaven. She’s also known as Madame Huang, appropriate since her husband is author J.H. Huang.

In her book, All Under Heaven, Phillips "divides China's food traditions into five major regions that share the same geography and climate, as well as similar basic ingredients, cooking styles, seasonings, and interaction among the cuisines. These were then further narrowed down into 35 unique food traditions."

I was joining her and a roomful of other hungry diners at Peony Restaurant in Oakland’s Chinatown. The event was a Dim Sum Sampling with a dose of education. Phillips has another small book, easy to take to dim sum with you, called The Dim Sum Field Guide. In it she goes over each piece of dim sum you might encounter and she gives you the area of origin, ingredients, and variations. She also tells you the proper way to eat it with which sauce. Each one is illustrated by Phillips’ own hand.


Before we start, Phillips gives a short talk on dim sum etiquette. Start with the steamed selections before moving to the heavier fried selections. Always serve the person(s) of honor and eldest first. When the bill comes, fight over it or lose face.

Phillips chose the Peony Restaurant because she considers it the best in the Bay Area. The owners have hired and imported cooks from China that specialize in a style or selection of dim specialties. Everything is made fresh in house. Phillips explains that nowadays many restaurants get their dim sum frozen from centralized kitchens that produce thousands. (See below video showing Peony.)
swan puff w/ roast duck and chive/shrimp dumpling
shrimp dumplings w/ XO sauce and siu mai (middle)
I'm definitely looking forward to a future road trip with friends to enjoy the offerings of Peony Restaurant again soon.
sweet dim sum: white sponge cake and black sesame rolls

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First Taste of Yolo on June 10th

May 31, 2017 0 Comments

It's time to cross the river to Yolo County and enjoy some great food at the first ever Taste of Yolo event on June 10th. Instead of focusing on just one city, Taste of Yolo features the bounty of the entire county. The first of these soon to be annual events takes place in Davis. Future plans will have the event moving to other locations in the county - Woodland one year, Winters or Capay in the future.

 Food, of course, is the draw and the focus. After all, Yolo County is filled with fertile farmlands supplying not only our region, but the rest of the country. Taste of Yolo will include cooking demos, food sampling, wine tasting, and local food purveyors.

Nearly 90 exhibitors from Davis, Woodland, Winters, Clarksburg, Capay Valley, and West Sacramento will have booths, with each community represented by a specific cluster of vendors. “There will be restaurants offering bites from their menus, wineries, breweries, olive oil, nuts, honey, fresh produce, and more, all from Yolo County producers,” says Mo Stoycoff, Events and Marketing Coordinator for Visit Yolo. “Visitors will also be able to buy products on site and take them home in our complementary tote bags.”



The Nugget Market culinary stage will be headlined by Chef Tanya Holland, owner and executive chef of Brown Sugar Kitchen in Oakland and author of Brown Sugar Kitchen cookbook. Also, appearing will be Chef Patrick Mulvaney of Mulvaney’s B&L in Sacramento, and Chef Fred Reyes of Buckhorn Steakhouse in Winters. 
TICKETS
General Admission ($15) ticket holders receive admission to the park and food tasting. Wine/Beer Tasting ($35) ticket holders will receive a glass and a wristband (must be 21 or over and be able to show valid I.D.) for wine and beer tasting, in addition to food tasting.

DO/DON'T BRING
No outside food or drinks are allowed. No bottles, coolers, chairs or shade umbrellas. No dogs or bicycles inside the park (bike valet is available on 5th and C). Bring your I.D., sunscreen, hat or whatever makes you comfortable. 


To purchase tickets, go to www.tasteofyolo.com For more information about the festival, call Visit Yolo at (530) 297-1900 or email info@visityolo.com.

 Photos courtesy of Taste of Yolo
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A Visit to Park Winters

May 31, 2017 0 Comments

As you travel down the road you might be concerned that your GPS is wrong. After all, there is nothing around you but farmland and the occasional farm house. Eventually you come across one farm house that stands out among beautiful flowers and shading trees. You've arrived at Park Winters.

Park Winters is a renovated farm house that is now a Bed and Breakfast Inn. It's become popular for the weekend getaway or the intimate wedding. I'm here by invitation to enjoy one of their farm dinners, al fresco. 
Love the door to the pool

 We've arrived earlier than expected and take the time to stroll the grounds. The owners have taken the time to enhance the property with a swimming pool and event building. There's a sunken garden and the old water tower has been converted into a three story "room" available to reserve. Inside the house are an additional four rooms.


 Park Winters offers farm dinners throughout the year, no overnight stay required. The six course dinner is $125 per person. They've just introduced an Al Fresco Farm Dinner with four courses for $85. Chef John Iocono prepares wonderful dinners featuring items from the property's garden. 
GARDEN HUMMUS
Algonquin soil - Radish - Cucumber - Carrots - Flowers
EMERALD FARM CURRY
Asparagus - Alliums - Carrots - Fingerlings - Cilantro
BRICK OVEN ROASTED CORNISH GAME HEN
Mustard Frisée - Arugula pesto - Arugula greens - Green grapes
FRENCH CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Caramelia chocolate - Citrus - Whip - Pistachio crumble

 Take the time to stroll off dinner before the drive home. From downtown Sacramento it took us about 45 minutes.

 For more information and dinner tickets go to https://parkwinters.tocktix.com/.
Part of the garden

Artichokes

Sunken garden

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Great weather this weekend for the Sacramento County Fair

May 25, 2017 0 Comments

We all know how miserable hot days can be for attending fairs and events at CalExpo. You can rejoice, though, as this weekend promises to be very nice weather to take the family to the fair.

The fair starts today and runs through Memorial Day. Some of the fair fun you can enjoy includes over 40 free events, performances & activities every day of the fair! Fair admission is only $6 and children 12-and-under are admitted free every day!
Deep fried chocolate covered marshmallows, S'mores funnel cake,
Deep fried oatmeal cookie. Chocolate covered frozen cheesecake, 
At a media event last night we got to try some latest fair food and check out some of the attractions. You can see some of the sweet treats above, but I have to give a shout out  to the Elote corn we tried from Noel's Food. That was the winner of our taste contest in the savory category. Very good! The cheesecake above from The Ice Cream Company won the sweet category.

A post shared by catherine enfield (@munchiemusings) on

The Ramos Bros motorcycle trick was fun to watch close up.
- Ramos Brothers Circus (Big-Top style) performs 3x per day every day of the fair.

 - Walk on the Wild Side – exotic animals up close and personal (free with admission)

 - Great American Petting Zoo
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- All Alaskan Racing Pigs—Each show has four pig races. 

 - Other premium (separate admission required) events include Lil’ Monster Trucks (Thursday and Friday), Stars and Stripes Bull Riding (Saturday), Gran Jaripeo (Mexican Rodeo & Fiesta) (Sunday), Tractor Pulls (Monday).

- 6 different live musical groups on both the community stage and the main stage throughout the fair (listed below), plus juggling acrobats (Something Ridiculous), hypnotists (Steve Bayner), a pirate (Capt’n Jack Spareribs) even a dinosaur (Charlie the Velociraptor)!

 - Midway of fun! Over 30 rides to choose from

 - All the Fair Food you come to expect, including a 2-story pizza truck!

 - Awesome Shopping with over 100,000 square feet of vendor space

 For more information on the Fair and a daily schedule visit www.sacfair.com and #ShareTheFair on:

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SacramentoCountyFair/, 
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/saccountyfair, 
and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sacfair
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Discovering Ripple

May 10, 2017 0 Comments

I actually love dairy products, but know that I should cut down on them. Can't really get rid of cheese, but I have stopped buying milk for some time. This has led me to try many milk alternatives, like soy, almond, cashew, etc. I've found one that I'm really enjoying — Ripple.

Rippleis a pea protein milk. It's high in protein, low in calories, high in nutrients. It also tastes good. I bought it for a quick, after workout drink, but have found that I really like it over my cereal as well. Keep in mind I was the person who put a couple of tablespoons of sugar on my corn flakes. Now I can eat my high fiber cereal with just some Ripple.

 I needed to do better with upping my after-workout protein. I work out and then jam to work and so often I neglected eating protein, thus depriving my muscles of necessary nutrients. I now blend up a glass of Ripplewith a raw egg and it's like a quick, healthy, protein filled eggnog.
PROTEIN
I also do a super healthy "tapioca" by just adding two tablespoons of chia to the chocolate Ripple, shaking it really well, and letting it sit overnight. 

 You can find Ripple in the refrigerated dairy section of most supermarkets. If you are looking for a good, non-nut, non-dairy alternative, then give Ripple a try.
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Wine! Food! Amador Four Fires is Saturday!

May 01, 2017 0 Comments

Are you a fan of the wineries of Amador County? Then you might want to schedule a road trip for Saturday for the Amador Four Fires Festival. 

 The Four Fires refers to four regions with open fire cooking. Traditional foods of Spain, Italy, France, and Heritage California will be paired with wines of the region. Five great chefs are participating as well: 
  • Beth Sogaard Catering – Chef Beth Sogaard
  • Hotel Sutter – Chef Chris Martin
  • Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort – Chef Matthew Broucaret & Chef Darius Somary
  • Taste Restaurant – Chef Mark Berkner
  • Vendage & Co. Catering – Chef Carolyn Kumpe


 The day includes lots of food, lots of wine from 40+ wineries, demonstrations, a live recording of the BottleTalk podcast with Rick Kushman and Paul Wagner, seminars, and music. 

 Here are some of the seminars:





TICKETS 
Amador County Fair and Event Center
18621 Sherwood St, Plymouth, California 
May 6th from 11am to 4pm
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Food Truck Cinema starts Saturday

April 18, 2017 0 Comments

It might seem unlikely, but the weather report says it will be 78 degrees on Saturday. Yay! Perfect timing for outdoor movie season to start. And what could be better than pairing outdoor movies with food trucks so that you don't have to worry about bringing food.
Food Truck Cinemas take place throughout the summer at Woodcreek Golf Club in Roseville. Gates open at 6 pm and the movie shows as soon as it's dark enough. Saturday's sundown is scheduled for 7:50, so expect it to start 8:15 or after. Pets are allowed and there is a season pass available for $49. Otherwise, the tickets are priced for adults/children at $10/5 or there is preferred seating (front and center) for $13/6.
Food Truck Cinema is more than an outdoor movie it’s a comprehensive experience combining gourmet Food Trucks, local live music, and pop culture films. We are bringing back the community atmosphere of neighborhood movie houses.  Food Truck Cinema is creating a combined atmosphere that will make the audience want to return. All of this on the lawn in a safe, comfortable, cozy, picnic atmosphere. Food, Music, and Movies independently have worked for years put them together and you have a spectacular night of entertainment. (A killer combo if you will!)! 


The musical entertainment this Saturday is Thunder Cover, from Sacramento, CA. They are an energetic and fun cover band. In an area that is full of cover bands, Thunder Cover separates themselves with a high energy show and a unique set that features some of the biggest hits of all time. Everything from The Beatles to Foo Fighters. From Michael Jackson to Maroon 5. From Tom Petty to Justin Timberlake. From The Eagles to Nirvana. And the list goes on and on.

This year's schedule:

April 22 - Pitch Perfect
              - featuring Turnt Up Tacos, Gyro King, Drewski's Hot Rod Kitchen, A Honest Pie
May 20 - Mission Impossible
             - featuring Chando's Tacos, Flavor Face, Tailgater44, Cowtown Creamery
June 17 - Toy Story
             - Cousins Main Lobster, Turnt Up Tacos, Kado's Asian Grill, OMG Yogurt
July 3 - The Secret Life of Pets
July 22 - Pretty Woman
August 19 - The Goonies
September 23 - The Raiders of the Lost Ark
October 28 - Hocus Pocus


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