Archive for October, 2011

If you aren’t in the mood to tackle defrosting a 19 pound turkey and can’t think of making another dish of stuffing, then maybe dining out for the holiday is a better idea. I’ve put together a list of some of the restaurants that are serving Thanksgiving dinners. Take a look at some of the dishes online and you may just change your mind on hosting the holiday this year! Another plus: NO DISHES!   Remember: many of these restaurants REQUIRE a reservation. Don’t forget to book early!   – Blog post written by Bethany Heckman

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Frequenting our local farmers markets in the Sacramento Region is fun even in these cooler autumn days.  Seeing the pear harvest is exciting and delicious! Fruit farmers are bringing out their barrels of pears…but how do you know what type you want to purchase and consume? So many decisions! Pears are cousins of apples. American varieties come from Europe, where they migrated from central Asia. Early colonists brought the first trees to America where they thrived until blights became severe. Most pears are now grown west of the Rockies where diseases are less of a problem. In The Odyssey, the Greek poet Homer calls pears a “gift of the gods.” Asian pears are the oldest known cultivated pear. Pears come in so many varieties (10 that we know of – we have listed 8!) Here are a few to look for at the local farmers markets:
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SUGAR & SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE PRIVATE  BAKING CLASS! Sugar & Spice Specialty Desserts -  1201 F Street, Sacramento, CA  95814
Just in time to learn how to create amazing desserts for the upcoming holidays. Want to learn how to make buttery soft croissants, brioche and fluffy cupcakes?  
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The heat has dissipated, the crops are being harvested and the crisp air leads foodies out and about exploring festivals and great food events in the Sacramento Region.  We have found several festivals and food entertainment to go check out.  Go Explore your bountiful Northern California food friendly region!
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Ready to explore hidden gem restaurants and eateries in one of California’s oldest and most preserved Gold Rush mining towns, Nevada City?  Nevada City is famed for its church steeples that rise above the Sierra foothills and its gorgeous fall foliage.  Join our fun and trained tour guide as we wander through former gold assay offices, saloons, and foundries to find restaurants, wineries, and stores that maintain the look and character of the days when eager miners crowded the town, ready to find their fortune.

Come hungry!  This tour is ‘lode-ed’ with delicious foods from the best cuisine Nevada City has to offer.  Savor the tastes from 8 restaurants/eateries are on this food adventure!  We’ll try award-winning wines and dish after dish of foods made from fresh, local produce. Hear about how Chinese immigrants played a major role in the development of northern California’s agricultural dominance, and how without a few determined people, we might be speaking Russian today.
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The distinction of Chef vs. Cook probably got its real start back in the Middle Ages, when guilds of chefs were formed in France, each with different focuses. Eventually, these roles evolved into a proper way to set up a commercial kitchen in France, and many professional kitchens employ at least some of these roles today. You have the Executive Chef, who does menu planning, purchasing, quality control, and a lot of the business work. Saucier makes the sauces, Pastry Chef makes the breads and desserts, and so on all of these derived from the various guilds from France in the Middle Ages.  A chef is someone who is, or at one point was, paid to make food. If you’ve never cooked food as a career, it’s going to be difficult to convince people who really care about the difference to call you a chef.
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