Get your grill on this Tuesday with master butchers and local chefs at Vande Rose Farms Meat & Fish in Granite Bay.
Who: Chefs Michael Fagnoni of Hawk’s Restaurant and Matt Nobriga of Pullman Kitchen are teaming up with master butchers from Vande Rose Farms Meat & Fish to present an “Outdoor Grilling & St. Louis Ribs” workshop.
What: Learn how to grill and enjoy a sampling of the finished dish, wine/beverage pairings and Vande Rose apron. The cost is $60 per person or $100 for couples.
When: Tuesday, Aug. 19, you must sign up by Saturday, Aug. 16
Where: Vande Rose Farms Meat & Fish in Granite Bay
Can’t make this workshop? Two other “Farm to Fork” workshops are being held in September and October!
Slow Food Sacramento Presents a Chocolate, Port and Coffee Tasting Soirée
Saturday February 23 – 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Old Soul Coffee Company
1716 L Street (rear alley)
$25 Slow Food Members, $30 General Public
GET TICKETS NOW
Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first. We at Slow Food Sacramento echo American writer Ernestine Ulmer’s sentiments and are pleased to partner with three local treasures: Old Soul Coffee, Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates and Bogle Winery to host an educational seminar to learn about the dynamics of chocolate, coffee and port pairings, and to meet some of our area’s finest food and beverage artisans. And, after dessert, port and coffee, why not have dinner at one of Midtown’s excellent eateries?
Image courtesy of the Sacramento Bee.
Chocolate.
Ginger Elizabeth Powers, purveyor of Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate in Midtown Sacramento, will discuss the different kind of cacao beans and the trees they come from, as well as how chocolate is made and how fine chocolate differs from regular chocolate.
See what others are saying about Ginger Elizabeth Chocolate:
Sacramento Bee
TwinSoup
Sacatomato
Vanilla Garlic
Port.
Winemaker Eric Aafedt from Bogle Vineyards and Winery in Clarksburg will share his port-making approach as well as the family’s history and winemaking style. Eric is responsible for crafting Bogle’s unique Petite Sirah Port, sourced from the Old River Vineyard, directly across Elk Slough from the Bogle homestead.
Coffee.
Jason Griest, expert coffee roaster and co-owner of the Old Soul Company, will host the educational seminar and talk about his philosophy of community, using only fair trade and organically grown beans.
Taste of COPIA
Last week I had the pleasure of finally experiencing a piece of wine country that I’ve been meaning to visit for years: COPIA, the American Center for Wine Food & the Arts, a nonprofit organization located in downtown Napa.
Fellow SacFoodie, Amy Kull, along with a small group from our San Francisco office (COPIA is a new and very exciting client for FH), came together for a day of meetings. We got to mix business with pleasure when we broke for lunch and joined the public for that day’s Taste of COPIA event.
COPIA describes these weekly lunches as “part cooking demonstration, part feast” and I would add that it contains equal part wine education with a pinch of comedy – it was a blast! Taste of COPIA is a lunch that is held every Friday and an occasional Saturday/Sunday, with a culinary theme that changes monthly. For the month of January the theme was From Here to the Next County: Sonoma.
We walked into the theatre-style room that features a beautifully staged demo kitchen. Each seat was set for a three course meal with three full wine glasses at each setting. The interactive cooking demo began with Jacquelyn Buchanan, director of culinary programs, who introduced the theme and various local ingredients that she would be using in that day’s meal. The full menu included:
- Dungeness Crab Bisque
- Cheese Tortellini with Roasted Butternut Squash, Goat-Cheese Walnut Sauce and Arugula
- Blood Orange and Campari Granita
While Jacquelyn began cooking we watched her via overhead flat panel TV screens that showed the view from cameras focused above the range. Lily Peterson, wine educator, introduced the wines and explained several different pairings that she would like us to explore during the meal. Like most of the ingredients, the wine also came from Sonoma Country: a sparkling J Cuvee 20 Brut, Landmark 2005 Overlook Chardonnay and Emeritus 2005 Pinot Noir. I was excited about the Emeritus because it was an inaugural vintage from the founder of Sonoma Cutrer: it was subtle and fruity and a fantastic complement to the walnut sauce in the main dish.
Jacquelyn prepared each dish as we were eating it; she answered questions regarding ingredient substitutions, cooking techniques, and where to find certain ingredients locally. At the same time Lily explained the wines in an approachable manner – why she chose the three varietals, how to pair wine with food, and how to identify certain characteristics in each – she also shared fun facts about the wineries themselves. Lastly, Nick Landino, the kitchen manager for Julia’s Kitchen, came on stage and prepared the Blood Orange and Campari Granita and accompanying Hazelnut Campari Biscotti while it was being served. Each attendee is given copies of the recipes to make at home. Our group loved it all: the food, wine, personalities, presentation – bravo!
Taste of COPIA is a great way to get to know wine and food and the relationship they have with each other. I can’t wait to take my next out-of-town guest, adding COPIA to the “Moravec special wine country tour.” Check here for the current month’s theme and menu; cost is $50 general/$40 member and well worth it. The theme for February is “A Mardi Gras Feast: Let the Bon Temps Roll!”
On a side note, COPIA grows ingredients in its on-site organic garden for use in the lunches, as well as in the menu at Julia’s Kitchen. It was raining the day we went, but here are a few fruit/garden shots:
This crazy-looking fruit is part of the citrus family. It smells fabulous and is called Buddha’s Hand.
Winter Citrus Fruit Bowl
East Bay Restaurant Supply Inc – Sacramento Winter Culinary Expo
Holy Tamale!
Tamale-making is an important ritual in the Mexican culture during the holidays. Women traditionally gather in the kitchen during the holidays to make dozens and even hundreds of tamales to be shared with family and friends at Christmastime. As Mexican immigrants brought their customs to the United States, many Americans have become interested in exploring this particular custom, especially because of the association of holidays and families.
Chef and culinary educator Carolyn Kumpe will discuss the significance of tamale making during the holidays as well as lead a hands-on demonstration of savory with meat, savory vegetarian, and sweet tamales. Two will be demonstrated and one will be created collectively to take home.
Slow Food Sacramento is partnering with the East Bay Culinary Center to hold the tamale-making seminar in the Center’s beautiful new demonstration kitchen on Saturday Dec. 1 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. Cost for participation is $25 for adults, $10 for children, and a discounted rate of $20 Slow Food members. Space is limited. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/24160 by Nov. 27th, 3:00 p.m.
East Bay Culinary Center‘s Demonstration Kitchen
522 North 12th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814