July 27

In Ireland, a Cooking Class Strikes Close to Home I just returned from a family vacation in Ireland. While there, my sister-in-law Susan and I took a cooking class at the famed Ballymaloe Cookery School near Cork, which I first read about in Gourmet magazine back in the 1980s. It’s run...

July 27

Recipe: Basil Zucchini Soup I'm overrun with zucchini. You don't watch the garden and poof! three and four pounders abound. This week I gave four of these big guys away and set out to cook up the rest. Besides a double order of zucchini brake, I made a funky Zucchini...

July 26

First Bite: Heat I had a knockout dinner last night at Heat restaurant, which specializes in Japanese fondue (shabu shabu). It's only been open for 10 days, but service was impeccable and the food was spot-on. I devoured the kitchen's "BBQ albacore,"...

July 23

Beat the Heat with a DavePop I stumbled across a delicious popsicle this week while shopping at the Cesar Chavez Plaza farmers market. This terrific market (on Wednesdays from 10am to 2pm at 10th and J streets in downtown Sacramento) showcases a number of food vendors in...

July 21

Apricot Madness I am a sucker for pretty stone fruit, and don’t seem to have much restraint when faced with a big, enticing pile of it. On Sunday I visited one of my favorite growers at the farmers market, and he was selling boxes of his gorgeous organic...

July 19

Chill Out at Hot Italian Hot Italian cranks out some terrific pizzas, but this time of year I am far more interested in its excellent gelato selection. When you’re too hot to think straight, head over to Hot Italian and belly up to the restaurant’s cute...

July 19

Recipe: Chocolate Covered "Bacon" I was doing my weekly post for Davis Life Magazine (called the “Early Girl Foodie Weekend”) and I covered the California State Fair, which opened last Wednesday. Every year they announce a new food item, usually a greasy, fried...

July 19

Fun with Tequila at Centro Cocina Mexicana Last night I braved the sizzling sidewalks of midtown Sacramento to visit Centro Cocina Mexicana, whose fruity tequila infusions lured me like a siren song. The restaurant’s “mixologists” combine tequila with an ever-changing...

June 2010

Wine: The Doctor Is In Retired oncologist Vincent Caggiano has another career: overseeing the 200-bottle wine list at Biba, the Italian restaurant in midtown owned by his wife, Biba Caggiano. Here, he talks about his approach to wine selection and explains why he has...

June 2010

Salt: The Magic Ingredient “Salt is everything. It’s the first thing I learned as a chef. I’ve got bricks of all different kinds of salt: sea salt, Italian sea salt, fleur de sel, Himalayan salt. Himalayan is the purest salt there is. How do I know how...

June 2010

Make It: Roasted Beet and Strawberry Salad 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 1 red onion, julienned 2 medium beets (red, yellow or both), washed and trimmed 2 tablespoons honey 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 3 cups strawberries, stems removed and quartered 1/2...

June 2010

The Dollar-Wise Gourmet: Farmers Market Fare Think the farmers market is just a place for pretty produce? Turns out it also happens to be a hot spot for prepared foods. That’s what we discovered at the Cesar Chavez Plaza farmers market at 10th and J, open Wed-nesdays from 10 a.m. to 2...

June 2010

The Dining Divas: TulÍ Bistro Guests: Kim Breitbarth and Dennet Cowan, representing Shelly Carlson of ABC Ready Mix in Elverta; Kim Cemo, homemaker and community supporter; Sammy Cemo, business owner; Diane Fishburn, attorney. (Leslie Stein was slated to attend, but a...

June 2010

Build a Burger The place: The Counter 1005 Galleria Blvd., Roseville Meat of the matter: Natural Angus beef, hormone- and antibiotic free; 1/3-, 2/3- and 1-lb. options Toppings and buns:  A mind-blowing 30 toppings, from basic to bizarre (how...

June 2010

Dining Review: Sake House While I love living in Sacramento, I experience some stirrings of mall envy whenever I go to Roseville. Recently, those feelings intensified when I visited the Fountains shopping center, which boasts not only fabulous landscaping and upscale...

May 2010

The Dollar-Wise Gourmet: Truck Stop Here’s a deal The Dollar-Wise Gourmet can’t refuse: tacos from a truck for a buck (or thereabouts). We’re in. But no two tacos are created equal, as this tour of local taco trucks reveals.  El Tigre del Taco 410 El...