Last Thursday, I got the opportunity to assist cookbook author Diana Kennedy with a presentation for her re-released cookbook The Art of Mexican Cooking It was originally published in 1989, but this new version is slightly redesigned to give more prominence to the area of Mexico from which each recipe comes.

Diana demonstrated three recipes that we all got to taste: Tamales de Flor de Calabaza (Squash Flower Tamales), Nopales Salad (Cactus Paddles), and Barbacoa de Pollo (Barbecued Chicken) with Salsa Verde. This is hardly similar to the overcheesy version of "Mexican" food we often get in the States. It was all bursting with color and flavor--rather than just fat. I immediately made a shopping list to prepare the nopales and chicken again this past weekend.

Diana has lived in Mexico for 50 years and has written and studied the cuisine extensively. So she's given to some pronouncements, such as, "Use pork lard, please; none of this fancy oil stuff." She was also heard to mutter, "Such a lot of waste" when talking about how people often discard cilantro stems and other perfectly usable (or compostable) parts of food. And she was full of tips and preferences, like her caution to ONLY use hot water when filling a tamale steamer and never to remove the seeds and ribs from fresh chiles. (Unless, of course, you want to make them more mild.)

Her recipes are not for the starter cook. You do need some sense of cooking times and textures. But I had great success with my versions of two of her recipes. So I thought you might like to know where her assistants and I bought some of the Mexican ingredients and cooking equipment.

Continue reading "Cooking with Diana Kennedy" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

As Northern Californians, we're pretty spoiled when it comes to wineries within 100 miles. I mean, that gets you to Napa and Sonoma--the wine meccas of the west coast. But since I moved to Sacramento, I've been a big fan of drinking more local wines, including those from Lodi and Clarksburg. Recently, though, I got to try an even more local wine, as in less than 2 miles from downtown. You can't get much more local than that, unless you're making your own.

The wines I sipped right next to their barrels, without even leaving the city, are from Rail Bridge Cellars. Sac native Jon Affonso is the owner and winemaker. He finally realized his dream of an urban winery last year when he opened Rail Bridge in an old car body shop (once again, a foodie use for an old auto shop) on N. 16th Street. His first two wines came about when he asked himself, "What does Sacramento want to drink?" Jon took his background in enology from Fresno State, experience making wines in France and California, and did some statistical analysis of the Sacramento market. Thus he chose to release his first two wines: a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc made with Dry Creek Valley fruit and a 2004 Lattice (a blend of 5 Bordeaux varietals) with Napa County fruit.

I'm no wine expert, but I drink my fair share and I know what I like. Dry whites are it for me--especially in the hot summers here--and the Rail Bridge Sauvignon is a terrific example. It's fermented in steel tanks and has citrus and green apple flavors. Since he first learned to make wine in France, Jon follows the French tendency toward wines that are great with food--not just for drinking on their own. He likes to pair the Sauvignon with Fish Tacos, Melon Ball Salad, Shrimp or Crab Louis Salad, and Chicken Enchiladas. The Lattice, on the other hand, is a hearty wine aged in French oak barrels (which are amazingly expensive and made by hand). It wasn't so robust that it would overwhelm food with its fruit, though, and Jon likes to serve it with Grilled Salmon, Roasted Chicken, and Grilled Rib Eye Steak with Fries.

I had a few questions for him after the tasting, and here's what he said:

Continue reading "You Can't Get More Local Than Rail Bridge" »

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Ack! I almost missed this: The 2nd Annual Sacramento Wine & Dine Week
It started last Saturday and runs through this Saturday. Many local restaurants are offering 3- and 4-course meals for a set price. Choose from high-end eateries like Biba to casual spots like River City Brewing Company. Click here for the full list of participating restaurants and their menus. You can reserve a table right from that site as well. Get to it to try some places you've been meaning to visit.

Coming up this Saturday, June 14: The 6th Annual Grape Escape
Sponsored by Raley's, this event will be held at Cesar Chavez Park, 10th and J Streets, from 4 to 7 p.m.
More than 100 restaurants and wineries from 8 nearby counties will have samples available. Tickets are $40 ($50 day-of) and you can get $5 off by visiting a Raley's store or their Web site. Sacramento's own Rail Bridge Cellars will be there, along with Clarksburg's Bogle Vineyards & Winery. Don't forget to eat something between sips of wine: Mulvaney's, Enotria, Hawks, and Sweetwater are among the tasty options for nibbles.

June 20 at the Sacramento Co-op: the Grill it Up! Tasting Fair and Movie Night
5 to 8 p.m. for the fair (Free); 7 p.m. for the movie ($5 donation requested)
1900 Alhambra Boulvard at S Street
As you know, two issues that always seem to be popping up in the news are food safety and the loss of farm land. These events address those issues. The Tasting Fair features organic meats and information on how to know that the meat you buy is safe to eat and gentle on the animals and the environment (it will also be a lot of fun with live music, kids’ activities, a hot dog stand, and more). The same evening, they're screening the acclaimed documentary "King Corn" as a benefit for the Good Humus Farm Preservation Project; Good Humus is a small organic family farm in Capay Valley that is raising money for an easement to make the land an organic farm in perpetuity--protecting it from development.

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In case you missed it, there was a really interesting article in the Bee the other day about the number of restaurants in Sacramento that used to be auto shops or car showrooms. They range from Zocalo to Suzie Burger (pictured above). What with the price of gas these days, we might just see more car businesses closing. Let's hope they have the forethought to put in bike racks with valet parking!

Posted by Ann Martin Rolke at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)