By Melinda McRae
Check out Kira O’Donnell and the Real Pie Company in today’s Sacramento Bee food page:http://www.sacbee.com/107/story/313154.html
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Today on “Good Day Sacramento” Chef David Katz and David Mirassou shared wine and food pairing tips with Julissa Ortiz. Chef Katz demonstrated his Cabernet Marinated Flank Steak with Italian Salsa Verde along with Marinated Shrimp and Citrus Salad while David discussed cooking with wine.
David Mirassou and Chef Katz prep for Good Day segment with Julissa Ortiz
David Mirassou with Good Day Spanish translator Flavio Soria
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We saw Shack owner and chef Gary Seppy last night at a “National Night Out” block party in East Sac and he shared that he’s going to build a pit, bury the food and slow cook it. Here’s the menu for this Thursday’s theme ~
It’s ‘Kiwi’ Night at The Shack – New Zealand Pit BBQ (yes, Gary is building a pit!)
“Buried” Chicken, Pork, Red Potato, Cabbage Meat Pies
Shrimp & Mango Salad
Mixed Fruit Pavlova
Section R will be playing on the patio.
The Shack – 5201 Folsom Blvd
Open at 6:00, dinner at 7:00
Breaking Bread
Can you judge a restaurant by its bread? Maybe not, but I haven’t dined at a good restaurant that didn’t serve good bread. However, I have had good bread but not enjoyed the rest of the meal. I’ve also had bad bread, bad dinner. Whatever the correlation, bread starts so many of our dining experiences and can make or “break” a meal.
Last month while I was in New York visiting the Food Network test kitchens among a number of other activities on behalf of my U.S. Potato Board client, two of my colleagues and I popped into an Italian restaurant near our hotel on our way to a Broadway show. You can’t go wrong with Italian in New York, right? Wrong. The first sign of the pending bad meal was the reheated rolls. Don’t let “warm” fool you. These chewy – on the outside and inside – weirdly “peaked” rolls were far from freshly baked. I was immediately disappointed and thought “what a waste of a New York meal.” I’ve learned this lesson before: Never trust a hotel concierge for restaurant recommendations. Thankfully, the evening was far from ruined; (good company makes up for bad meals!) but I do wish the bread was better.
My most memorable bread-dining experience is Bouchon in Las Vegas. It was the first time I’d ever had epi, a delightfully crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside twist-like loaf. You tear the pieces off into individual mini-loaves. I was fascinated when they placed it on the table and more fascinated to find out it had a name. They actually sell epi at Trader Joe’s now. It’s not nearly as good as the Thomas Keller treat, but it’s a satisfying accompaniment for a home-cooked meal.
My local favorite is the cheese loaf at Rio City Café: indulgent and delicious. The bread I usually love isn’t served in a bed of balsamic vinegar or loaded with cheese, but this is heaven sent. I’d recommend a cheese loaf and a glass of wine on the river-side deck this summer any night of the week.
The War on Treats
Healthy Snacking – Part I
So, I don’t know about other mommies out there, but my children are all about “treats.” Mommy, can we have a cookie? Mommy, can we stop for ice cream? Mommy, can I have a dollar for the Sugar Shack? What I’d like to know is when did snack time turn into treat time?
A long time ago, I subscribed to the concept that you are what you eat. Now, don’t get me wrong – on any given morning, I’m a proud coffee achiever and likely resemble a really high-flying balloon if I apply this theory correctly. On any given afternoon, you can catch me reaching for the cookie jar. Not exactly the model of good eating habits! But as a mom, I always want my children to make every bite count. So, while our family loves to indulge in the occasional treat, I declared war on regular snack time in our home. Out with the the empty calories and in with more healthful but equally tasty snack choices. My only concern was “selling” this new concept of snacking to my kids, and making them feel good about it—showing them that food that’s good for your body can also taste great. As any seasoned general—er, I mean mommy—might guess, such convincing was no walk in the park. I weathered more than a few mutinies, but over time (and a few battle scars) we found some snack strategies that worked for us:
Toss… the bad stuff
- Out of sight, out of mind (and out of reach, I might add!). Find healthy alternatives that work for your kids. I’m always surprised at what’s out there to choose from if I take the time to look at labels. Have the kids help, too. My older son is a great reader of food labels now, and often rejects an item because it’s “not a healthy choice.” Even my three-year-old is catching on: “Is this healthy, mommy?” I love it!
Grab…the good stuff
- Half the battle with kids is the “I want it now” syndrome, so plan a little. Load up the fridge with easy-to-grab items, such as part-skim mozzarella or cheddar cheese sticks, on-the-go yogurt tubes, and pre-cut fruit in plastic bags. I place these items in a plastic tub in the fridge, so the kids always know where the snacks are.
- Stock your pantry in a similar fashion – dried fruit, pretzels, baked crackers, cereal – all of these can be pre-measured into plastic snack bags for an easy-to-grab snack. And keep them in a basket or bin, so the kids know where to find them when a snack attack occurs.
Stash…healthy snacks
- Your car, swim bag, park bag, backpack, purse – all of these are potential places to stash healthy snacks for when you are away from home and a fast food mirage shimmering just past the next traffic light looks mightily tempting.
We still love to bake (and eat) cookies and brownies and, well, the list of desserts we love goes on and on. But the kids now know the difference between a treat and a snack.
Watch for Part II of our healthy snacking focus, featuring tips from a celebrity fitness trainer. Stay tuned!
For the "Love" of Lamb
Sampling chops, ribs, legs, shoulders and even bellies prepared by “cowboy” chef (and Iron Chef winner) Tim Love, this past Monday was a lamb-alicious day for me and colleague Kris Caputo Hurley. The American Lamb Board is a client based in our Austin office and we were asked to help with media and events in the Sacramento area. It’s a tough job escorting a celebrity chef and enjoying my very favorite delicacy, but hey, we are team players!
The day started in Dixon with Superior Farm’s “Culinary Day” which included a facility tour and a delicious barbecue prepared by Chef Love at the Dixon fairgrounds. Attendees included area chefs, local media and members of the San Francisco Food Society. Chef Love also participated in a video news segment where he demonstrated cooking techniques and shared tips for preparing and cooking lamb. After grilling pounds of legs, chops, ribs and sirloin, the group enjoyed lunch with Chef Love (by the way, I just love saying Chef Love – Chef Loooove!). The day could not have been better – it was a rare 80-degree July afternoon with a cool breeze that one would expect while in the L.B.C. rather than Lambtown U.S.A
The next event was a dinner at Mulvaney’s Building & Loan (homage to “It’s a Wonderful Life”). Owner Patrick Mulvaney is one of our favorite chefs – and people – in Sacramento, and he just happened to be one of the attendees at the Culinary Day. When we were charged with planning a dinner, we thought of Patrick right away because he is known to do a whole lamb and pig on spits for “All Saints Day” and pretty much invites the whole town. Since the goal of the American Lamb Board is to educate consumers about lamb preparation, and encourage people to buy locally, we invited members and friends of Slow Food Sacramento, as well as food writers and local farmers.
For those who have not yet had the great pleasure of dining at Mulvaney’s, it is in the old New Helvetica building on 19th near L Street. The menu is seasonal and Patrick is one of the few chefs in town who buys only locally grown produce and meats. He also owns Culinary Specialists catering company (which we used for our open house party last year – to this day, that’s what people remember – the awesome food!)
The weather continued to be spectacular and Mulvaney’s patio was set up beautifully with the lamb gently spinning on the spit. The Trefethen family provided wine for the guests and passed appetizers included smoked salmon on housemade potato chips with crème fraiche and chives, crispy fillo cups filled with summery delights, marinated lamb pinxtos, and mushroom risotto cakes with truffled cream. Chef Love created a surprise lamb “gnudi” (a.k.a. ignudi, nudi, or nude ravioli – a favorite of Kris’ and mine that we were introduced to by our grape commission client at the Spotted Pig in Greenwich Village. I swear, we really do work hard!)
Chef Love is the real deal. From the moment he arrived, he jumped right in – Patrick had told him earlier, “My kitchen is your kitchen.” There was something quite touching and sentimental in seeing these two very different chefs working in harmony, not speaking, but communicating in a secret chef language, it was like the most beautiful pas de deux I’ve ever seen.
Chef Love and Patrick carved the lamb together and then the show began – a parade of servers, along with Patrick and Chef Love, marched out with family style platters of various lamb cuts with Tuscan salsa verde, Ray Yeung’s heirloom tomatoes with handmade mozzarella, basil, and Apollo olive oil, Sloughhouse corn ravioli with fresh savory, Del Rio cherry tomato with grana padano, Uncle Bob’s potatoes, and grilled Full Belly Farms’ squashes.
We had planned to have an intimate gathering of 50, however, nearly 100 guests showed up taking every last one of Patrick’s stashed chairs. It was a great, eclectic group with farmers and chefs mingling with doctors, lawyers and politicos, us PR people and neighborhood foodies. As I took a moment to take it all in, I noticed how happy and relaxed everyone looked. People were passing platters to their neighbors, insisting they take the last ravioli and sharing bites of Chef Love’s smoked lamb belly from their forks. Good food and good wine truly are the great equalizer.
My husband made a new friend (you see, I was working after all) from Bear Flag farms, Tina Reikers, who supplied the peaches for the stone fruit strudels with lavender ice cream. Chef Love also made my husband’s night when he talked about his appearance on Iron Chef – he asked what the secret ingredient was, and when Chef Love replied, “chilies,” my husband shrieked like a Justin Timberlake fan, “I remember that episode – you beat Morimoto!” As the dessert plates were taken away, the place was still roaring with cheerful diners. As I made my rounds to say goodbye, people expressed how much they enjoyed the event and shared with me their favorite lamb dish of the evening. I’m sure all would agree that when lamb is on the menu at Mulvaney’s, they’ll be baaaaaack.
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
When I moved to Sacramento more than four years ago, one of the things I most looked forward to was warm summer evenings at the Rivercats’ games. As a die-hard A’s fan, it’s great to catch an exciting game and watch a few prospects or major leaguers on a rehab assignment, and still be within 15 minutes of home. But, what I also love is ballpark food.
The other night I had the pleasure of watching my friend throw out the first pitch and then before the first out was recorded, I was roaming the concourse of Raley Field figuring out what amazing delicacies I would try on this particular outing. With my eager dining partner (my husband Matt) and heavy wallet in hand (a trip the ballpark is never cheap), we headed out to the left field concessions where I came upon the Baked Potato with Pulled Pork.
For $5.75, I got a perfectly cooked baked potato topped with a generous amount of sweet and slightly spicy pulled pork. However, here’s my left field concession tip: ask for barbecue sauce early and often. The last few bites were quite dry and could have used barbecue sauce both before and after the pulled pork was added to the potato. Did I mention it was also Tecate Tuesday? Definitely the perfect complement to this first inning treat.
By the fourth inning, Matt and I worked our way around to the other side of the stadium. We first checked out the Solon Club which offered made-to-order Spicy Linguini, but it was too hot outside and I couldn’t really get into pasta at a ballgame. However, what I could get into was the Sactown Cheese Steak for $7.50.
This was absolutely delicious (the photo does not do it justice). The thinly sliced, chopped steak cooked with grilled onions and peppers topped with glorious cheese sauce and extra chopped onions (from the hot dog stand) on a fresh French roll was hard to share. I wanted every bite to myself! I’ve never had traditional Philly Cheese Steak, but would happily enjoy a “Sactown” version any day.
By the way, the Rivercats lost the game, but I didn’t notice. I was still talking about what we’d have try next time we came to the ballpark.