by Laurel Harrison
Happy Lunar New Year, foodies! The Year of the Pig is upon us and we’re celebrating in style with a new recipe and tradition from our friends at Food Literacy Center.
Food Literacy Center celebrates Lunar New Year with Yu Sheng, a Singaporean salad dish meant to bring good luck for the new year. A salad of fruit, vegetables and fish, the dish is made and shared to ensure a lucky, prosperous and healthy year.
Each ingredient in Yu Sheng symbolizes a specific hope or wish.
If You Don’t Like That, Then You Don’t Like King's Basketball
By Cheyenne Cameron-Pruitt
…and, in this case, the “that” is the Sacramento King’s official tequila sponsor, Milagro.
We had the opportunity (thanks Milagro!) to experience the King’s newly announced tequila sponsor during an awesome night filled with delicious food and drinks, once in a lifetime experiences and best of all, a W for the Kings!
We started off our night on the court, Swipa, Bogi and Giles were greeted by the smiling faces of these foodies (we’re pretty sure we were the night’s good luck charms!). Seeing the Kings up close and personal was such a fun experience that we will cherish forever.
After wishing the team luck and sending all the good vibes their way, we headed to the Milagro Tequila Bar on the Plaza level of the arena. Here you can find a slew of delicious libations featuring high quality ingredients and Milagro Tequila. One of the coolest things about the Sactown Margaritas is that they come in cups specially designed by three local artists!
The partnership between Milagro Tequila and the Sacramento Kings officially kicked-off with a local competition in September to choose the artwork for the SacTown Margarita Cup. With Milagro Tequila’s focus on local Mexican artists for content and the Kings’ emphasis on using local vendors, the two sought out to use Sacramento-based artists to bring a different element to the new Sactown Margarita. The three artists (Ernesto Cardens of SAVDESIGNS, Nick Jacoy aka Pasta Nick and Jason Vu of 13th Vision) had their designs featured in a campaign where fans voted on their favorite to be featured on the cup of the Milagro SacTown Margarita. The winner of the competition was Jason Vu of 13th Vision.
You might be thinking to yourself, a marg is a marg, there’s nothing that special. But think again, like everything else on the Golden 1 Center menu, a lot of attention to detail went into creating the SacTown Margarita. Our favorite part is that there is an element of Sacramento in the ingredients! Orange Liqueur made with Sacramento Oranges, Margarita Mix from Preservation and Co. pair beautifully with Milagro Silver for a classic drink with a garnish of home. ?
We ended our night with a delicious dinner prepared by the Golden 1 Center’s executive chef. Each course from the salad to the dessert featured Milagro tequila. We still can’t get over how beautiful (and delicious) these margarita cupcakes were.
Milagro is the King’s Official Tequila partner for the next two seasons, which gives you plenty of time to give the SacTown Margarita a try
J.J. Pfister Distilling Tasting & Tour
by Laurel Harrison
Last week, the SacFoodies attended a tour and tasting at J.J. Pfister Distilling, a recently-opened craft distillery in Rancho Cordova. The craft beer boom took Sacramento by storm, and we were excited to see a new side of the craft beverage coin – a family-owned and operated local distillery. Since launching their initial potato vodka in 2017, J.J. Pfister Distilling now makes and sells vodka and gin, with an additional gin variety, rum, bourbon and rye whiskey all on the way.
The visit opened our eyes to a whole new world of craft beverages, and it made us happy to know that we can enjoy a cocktail and support local business and innovation. A tasting at J.J. Pfister is also a great alternative for the non-beer lovers out there, or those of us who just want to try something new. Don’t we all have that one friend who doesn’t like beer, no matter how many fruity sours you throw their way? J.J. Pfister’s tasting room brings the casual, friendly vibe of a brewery while offering up spirit options that are downright delicious.
Gail and Kevin Keck, distillery owners and parents to the master distiller Brian Keck, greeted us warmly with a beautiful charcuterie board and signature cocktails made by Dru, the resident mixologist.
We enjoyed our first cocktail, which consisted of J.J. Pfister gin and vodka, fresh blackberries, lemon, pomegranate syrup and soda water, with local cheese and cold cuts. The gin and vodka combo really shined in this tart and bubbly drink, which was the perfect pairing for buttery and salty charcuterie.
With that, we were ready for our tour! Kevin Keck took us on a full tour of the distillery (you can do this for free if you go for a tasting!), showing us everything from the potato grinder to the copper, made-in-Italy, Willy Wonka-esque still. J.J. Pfister prides themselves on creating an organic product that uses high-quality, sustainable ingredients, and this level of care and detail extends throughout the space.
In keeping with their sustainable mission, the distillery sends their spent grain to an organic dairy in Elk Grove, uses barrels from a local producer and donates 1% of profits to the Klamath Basin Refuge, from which they source their organic potatoes.
It was incredible to see all the different components that go into making each craft spirit. From the quality of the ingredients to the type of wood of each barrel, the distillery pays attention to every small detail that affects the flavor and quality of the drink.
The distillery’s namesake, J.J. Pfister himself, is fascinating in his own right and the distillery has a fantastic exhibit on his work and family memorabilia. An innovator and knitting industry entrepreneur (you read that right), his legacy can be seen throughout the distillery, from the tasting room decor to the brand logo. Most of all, his company motto has worked its way into the distillery’s promise – to provide high quality product to customers at a fair price.
To truly absorb the full distillery experience, we highly recommend visiting for yourself! We had a wonderful time and Kevin and Gail were incredibly accommodating hosts. The bar was busy when we left for the evening and more tours were getting underway – this spot already seems to be a local favorite!
Thank you again to the whole J.J. Pfister team who took the time to show us their craft – we can’t wait to come back soon!
To learn more about J.J. Pfister Distilling, visit their website or stop by their tasting room at 9819 Business Park Drive, Sacramento CA.
You can also find J.J. Pfister vodka and gin locally at Nugget Markets Stores and Total Wine & More.
An Afternoon of Holiday Cheer at Séka Hills
This year, the FleishmanHillard and SacFoodies team left the big city and headed out to the Capay Valley to celebrate the holiday season. Séka Hills welcomed us with open arms for an afternoon of food, drinks and good cheer!
We started our afternoon with a tour of the surrounding Yocha Dehe farm land. The tribe grows 16 crops on over 2,000 acres including almonds, sunflower, olives, and walnuts. Plus, Yocha Dehe has a herd of 700 cattle in the hills and surrounding valleys. The tour was beautiful and a perfect way to kick off the afternoon.
We then indulged in a little charcuterie and Séka Hills Voignier on the patio! The weather was perfect and it was a nice treat for the office.
After our time on the patio, we headed inside to our table in the milling room, where olives from the farm are milled and transformed into award winning olive oil. The table was beautiful and the decor was so festive.
Yes – that sign says “Deck The Halls with Cheese and Wine”… you can see where our priorities lie!!
The menu was full of delicious local produce from start to finish, plus they were so accommodating to our team members with dietary restrictions. We started with a Tuscan Kale Caesar Salad with Olio Nuovo Dressing, Shaved Local Duck Egg, Crispy Bread Crumbs & Aged Parmigiana. This was served with a Séka Hills Sauvignon Blanc.
Next we indulged in a family-style spread of Red Wine Filet Mignon with Tuluk’a & Pomegranate Demi, Roasted Root Vegetables, Sous Vide Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Chicken Breast with Herb Jus, and Wild Rice Pilaf with Leeks. All of the dishes on the menu were cooked with Séka Hills olive oil and balsamic vinegar products! This course was served with Séka Hills Tuluk’a.
Last but certainly not least, we enjoyed some truffles and fromage with Séka Hills Tribal Reserve.
Overall, our day at Séka Hills was perfect. We got to experience the beauty of the Yocha Dehe farmland and the amazing farm to table food and wine that they offer. But don’t take my word for it! Enjoy these words of praise from the FleishmanHillard and SacFoodies team.
“Séka Hills was everything that I love about California rolled into one, beautiful scenery, farm to table food and delicious wine! Not to mention learning a bit more about the tribe and their traditions was amazing. I can’t wait to go back for the sunflower tour and perhaps a bit more of the Tuluk’a ;).”
“Such a beautiful getaway. I will definitely be going back in spring for the bloom tour.”
“The food was incredible with so many amazing local fall flavors, each pairing perfectly with Séka Hills wines. I can’t wait to plan my next visit and tasting.”
For more information on Séka Hills, visit their website.
Fall in Love with Lazy Dog
By Cheyenne Cameron-Pruitt and Jessi Gunn
There’s a chill in the air, leaves on the ground and the holidays are fast approaching; it is officially fall! I don’t know about you, but this weather makes me want to cuddle up and eat good home cooking, but the desire to watch Netflix all day sometimes outweighs the desire to cook. That’s where Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar comes in! You may remember us paying them a visit for brunch with our furry friends in tow this spring. That day we discovered what an amazing hidden gem Lazy Dog is, and our latest visit only solidified its place in our hearts!
We visited Lazy Dog to give the new fall menu a try and haven’t stopped thinking about it since! Their attention to detail with their special menus continues to amaze us, not to mention the quality of their ingredients. All of the Lazy Dog ingredients are sourced from local farmers! The fall menu is filled with all the best comfort foods but with a delicious twist.
As you can see the menu is AMAZING! So it was pretty hard to pick a favorite dish. If you told us before we went to Lazy Dog that we would have a dining experience where the Spaghetti Squash and Beetballs were among the favorites, we wouldn’t believe you. However, the Spaghetti Squash and Beetballs were truly amazing, all the flavors of one of our favorite childhood dishes and completely vegetarian-friendly!
We also got the chance to try some delicious starters like the Crispy Deviled Eggs and the Winter Veggies with Burratta.
Onto the mains, we indulged in the most delicious and perfectly cooked Cornish Game Hen. Oven-roasted and served with a fantastic stuffing, this was to die for! We also tried a delicious, and different, PB&J Burger! We were skeptical of the peanut butter at first, but the candied bacon and grape jelly swayed us, and it was delicious. Sometimes those unique flavors have a big payoff.
We finished dinner with a delicious gluten free dessert!
Next time you don’t feel like cooking, visit your local Lazy Dog for some truly amazing fall food. That’s our plan!
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