As if we foodies needed more excuses to dine out – well, we’ve now got 40 reasons during Sacramento’s Regional Restaurant Week when 40 of the region’s best restaurants celebrate dining out. For the first two weeks in October, from the 1st to the 14th, participating restaurants will be serving special price-fixed, three-course dinners ranging in price from $15, $30 and $40.
Join Biba’s, Paragary’s, Café Bernardo on K Street, Fat’s Asia Bistro in Roseville and Folsom, Esquire Grill, Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Sacramento, all Mikuni Sushi locations, De Veres’s Irish Pub and many more during this once-a-year opportunity to enjoy greater Sacramento’s diverse dining options.
Visit www.sacregionalrestaurantweek.com for more information and a sneak peek at the menus.
Shrimp and Mango Salad
For our recent SacFoodies potluck, the group voted for a color category theme – yes, you guessed it, dishes selected by their dominant color, from red, orange, green, purple and brown (for good measure). I took to the web for inspiration and found the perfect recipe for a light, no-cook, orange-colored Shrimp and Mango Salad, thanks to MyRecipes.com and Sunset magazine (March 2008).
Not only is the recipe easy to prepare, it can be made a day or two in advance and can be quickly doubled to accommodate a large group. Paired with my newly-acquired, island-inspired salad servers from a recent trip to Bermuda, I served the salad atop a bed of butter lettuce to extend the portion sizes for the masses.
Next time I make this dish, I plan to serve it individually in dessert glasses for Caribbean-style Shrimp Cocktails. I can’t wait!
Ingredients
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil or vegetable oil (Tip: I used grapeseed oil even though it’s the pricier option, because it provides a lighter, crisper taste)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 large firm-ripe mangoes (2 lbs total) (Tip: Check the pre-cut fruit section in your grocery store for mangoes and save yourself some time, or click here to learn how to slice a mango)
2 medium firm-ripe avocados (1 lb. total)
2/3 cups each thinly sliced green onion and chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon minced fresh hot red or green chilies or 1 tsp. of dry red chile flakes. (Tip: I didn’t add either in my version and I still felt this dish had a ton of flavor!)
1 pound (70 to 110 per lb) peeled, cooked shrimp. (Tip: I thawed frozen shrimp the day before, and then marinated them in a lemon, rosemary dressing the day of preparation. The marinade added a bit more zest to the recipe and probably made up for the lack of chile spice.)
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk together lime juice, oil and sugar until sugar dissolves.
Dice mangoes and avocados into ¾-in. cubes; add to bowl. Add green onion, cilantro, chile and shrimp. Mix gently. Cover and chill for up to 1 hour.
If making in advance, prepare all the ingredients – except for the avocado – and store each separately. Cut the avocado when you’re ready to mix everything all together and chill the final mixture for up to 1 hour prior to serving.
Last Tip: Leftovers keep surprisingly well for about 2-3 days because the lime juice helps protect the avocados from turning brown. And, yay for leftovers!
Makes 6 servings.
Sangria Offers Creative Summer Sipping
It seems like Sangria is popping up on menus everywhere this summer – and rightfully so with an invitation to enjoy cool, refreshing wine along with the summer’s ripest fruits. The cocktail’s recent popularity inspired me to make my own Sangria this past weekend as a fun, yet easy contribution for a friend’s birthday BBQ.
To get started I selected two crisp white varietals from Mirassou Winery (client), the Chardonnay and the Pinot Grigio. To bring out the aromas and flavors of stone fruits in this Chardonnay, I choose to add sliced peaches and a few handfuls of blueberries. And, for the Pinot Grigio, with its already intense aromas of peach, pear and citrus, I combined oranges, limes and lemons to add to its lively acidity.
Both blends were superbly refreshing and added brightly colored accents to the bar. The beauty of Sangria is that you can add any fruit combination you’d like: strawberries, raspberries, kiwis and even cucumber would make for gorgeous pops of color. But, no matter how you slice it, Sangria is the perfect sip this summer. The best part: each was made in about 5 minutes.
Ingredients for each pitcher of Sangria:
1 bottle of white wine (Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, or Sauvignon Blanc)
2/3 cup of white granulated sugar
3 oranges; 1 cut in half to squeeze into the wine and 2 sliced for garnish
1 lemon sliced
1 lime sliced
½ liter of ginger ale
(An optional suggestion from About.com is to add 2 oz. of brandy to your mixture. Or, for a less sweet combination, you can also try using club soda instead of ginger ale.)
Directions:
Open and pour your wine into a pitcher. Then, squeeze both halves of the one half-cut orange into the pitcher. Add the sugar and stir. Next, add all of the sliced fruit. If you’re making the Sangria ahead of time, I would suggest chilling overnight to let the fruit infuse into the wine, and then add the ginger ale before serving. If serving right away, like I did, be sure to use chilled wine, add ice and stir well.
A “Best of the West” Food Fest is Back!
Looking for some foodie fun this weekend? Well, look no more! The Stockton Asparagus Festival is here! This three-day extravaganza in Downtown Stockton will feature fresh California-grown asparagus – 36,000 pounds of it were served last year – in many unique dishes, such as deep-fried asparagus, asparagus tri-tip sandwiches, asparagus burritos and asparagus pasta dishes, just to name a few.
The Asparagus Festival is rated one of the best food festivals in the west and is a crowd-pleaser for all ages. Adult tickets are $12, seniors (60+) and teens (13-17) are $7, and children under 12 are free. Food and drink tickets vary, so click here for more information on pricing and to purchase tickets online. The great thing is 100% of the festival proceeds go to local charities – eat local, give local.
Fun fact: Much of the asparagus is cut fresh daily and served right up from the delta to you. For more information on California Grown (client), take a peek at California Grown’s new video series featuring farmer profiles, recipes and more.
Stockton Asparagus Festival
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 27-29
Downtown Stockton
221 N Center St.
Stockton, CA 95202
A Culinary Surprise
A good friend recently decided to mix up our regular monthly bunco-playing tradition by hosting our group of gals at Silva’s Sheldon Inn for dinner. The Elk Grove eatery, just five miles in from Hwy 99 on Grant Line Road, is dubbed as my friend Pam’s “favorite neighborhood dinner house.”
Her description is a perfect one as Silva’s is housed in a building that is more than 100 years old, and according to the website it was once a general store and busy town center back in the day. Once inside, this large farm house transformed into a cozy, warm environment with white-clothed tables on one side and a large bar area for more casual dining on the other.
Since we had a large party, we ordered in advance from a mouthwatering set of options – among them, petite filet mignon with jumbo prawns, almond crusted chicken breast, Niman Ranch pork chop and butternut squash pasta. I couldn’t resist the chicken breast stuffed with sun-dried apricots and cherries served with port wine cream sauce.It was immediately apparent that each dish was prepared with the freshest of ingredients, which I later learned includes some harvested directly from the Silva’s own garden.
This gem of a place was established in 1988 by Doug and Barbara Silva and features cuisine with French, Italian, Portuguese, Asian and American influence to surprise and delight almost any palate. In fact, the website boasts that it has been voted “Best Restaurant in Elk Grove” by Sacramento Magazine numerous times, and rightfully so.
I have to admit that I don’t get to Elk Grove much, so if you’re like me, you may need some extra nudging in the right direction down 99. I promise this dining experience is certainly worth the trip.
Silva’s Sheldon Inn
9000 Grant Line Rd.
Elk Grove, CA 95624
(916) 686-8330
Open Tuesday-Saturday for dinner