Having been a vegetarian for 14 years, it’s usually easy to maintain the veg lifestyle. But it can get a little tricky around the holidays, especially Thanksgiving. I find myself tired of being teased for lugging along Tofurky, so some friends and I have decided to celebrate veggie style, with our own pre-party this Saturday. We’re having our second annual vegetarian Thanksgiving. This year’s menu will feature some classics like green bean casserole, but I’ll also be trying new recipes such as homemade sweet potato gnocchi with mushrooms and spinach, and butternut squash and cheddar bread pudding.

Here's the recipe for the sweet potato gnocchi, courtesy of Sunset magazine:

Preparation

1. Make gnocchi: Drain ricotta in a strainer over sink, stirring occasionally, 1 hour.

2. In a large bowl, combine 3 cups sweet- potato purée (save extra for another use), strained ricotta, sugar, cheese, salt, and nutmeg. Gently stir in flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.

3. Working on a floured surface, divide dough into 8 portions. Roll each portion with your hands into a 15-in. rope, then cut into 1-in. pieces, sprinkling dough with flour if it gets sticky. Transfer gnocchi to a rimmed tray lightly dusted with flour.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Working in batches of 15 to 20, drop gnocchi into water, stirring to prevent sticking, and cook until gnocchi are firm and float to top of water, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer gnocchi to a strainer and then to a lightly oiled rimmed pan to cool.

5. Assemble gnocchi: Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add gnocchi to pan and cook, stirring often, until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a large serving dish.

6. Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tbsp. oil in a second large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook garlic and shallots until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, butter, spinach, salt, and pepper; cover and cook until spinach wilts, about 3 minutes.

7. Spoon vegetables over gnocchi and pour in broth. Sprinkle with thyme and half of parmesan. Serve with remaining cheese.

*Leave whole any soft mushrooms such as oysters and slice or quarter large, dense mushrooms like the cremini and king trumpets.

Make ahead: Prepare through step 3. Cover and chill up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 weeks.

That was some good grub at the Best of Sac party last night. Sapporo Grill’s tempura shrimp were light and crispy, and I was impressed at the large nori seaweed cones filled with crab salad that Sapporo’s chef was making to order. Grange restaurant exec chef Michael Tuohy was serving lovely little cups of butternut squash soup garnished with pomegranate seeds. And I just loved Opa! Opa!’s hummus and pita bread. My favorite dish of all: the pulled pork and smoked brisket from Texas West. I made my husband go back and get me seconds.

As the former owner of Sacramento’s Real Pie Company, I have met many nervous people who would rather buy a pie than make one at home. Pie-making fear is rampant, and it seems to center around the crust production – people have had a bad experience or two in their past and are certain they don’t have the knack for preparing successful pie dough. However, if you follow these suggestions, I guarantee you can make a fabulous crust.

• Use whatever fat you like in your crust. There are endless debates about what’s “better” – shortening, butter or lard (or a combination of these) – but it all boils down to your own personal taste. And don’t forget salt in your dough – saltless pie crust is bland and yucky.

• Chill all your ingredients – including the flour – before you prepare the dough. Put ice in your water 5 minutes before preparation. It really does make a difference.

• If you are using your hands to make the dough, that’s fine – just work quickly. The heat from your hands can melt the fat in the dough, resulting in a greasy, tough crust. I prefer a food processor – it’s faster and easier.

• Don’t over-process/mix the dough. Leave lumps of fat in your dough the size of small peas. These are what will make your crust flaky.

• After you make the dough, form it into a disc or discs, and let it rest for at least an hour in the fridge. I guarantee it will behave much better when it comes time to roll it out.

• Roll the dough out confidently, with enough flour to keep it from sticking on the counter, then place it in the pie pan (you can put the pie top on a cookie sheet). Let it rest again in the fridge for 30-60 minutes before proceeding with the recipe (this is especially important for all-butter dough).

• And if you’re making a pumpkin pie, partially pre-bake the shell – this makes all the difference. I loathe pumpkin pie slices with sodden, uncooked bottoms. Partial pre-baking ensures a crispy bottom and thoroughly cooked shell (and happy dinner guests).

Here are two sites that discuss pre-baking (or “blind-baking”):

http://www.wikihow.com/Blind-Bake
http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--811/blind-baking.asp

Good luck, and happy pie-baking!

Starting Monday, Hot Italian will offer bike delivery of its pizza and other good stuff ($50 minimum order). I wonder: Is your Hot Italian order delivered by a hot Italian? To find out, call (916) 444-3000.

Pie may be a Thanksgiving tradition, but not everyone likes it. (Hard to believe but true.) So local baker Tessa Lindow of The Frosted Cake Shop came up with a perfect solution: a cake that looks like a pie (cherry or blueberry—your choice). She makes them to order in “fall flavors”—pumpkin spice, apple or mocha spice, with caramel butter cream or cinnamon cream cheese frosting. The cake costs $50 and feeds 10 to 12. Delivery is free within the Sacramento area (downtown, midtown, East Sac, River Park, Land Park and Arden). To order, call (916) 453-1981 or e-mail info@thefrostedcakeshop.com.

HuffingtonPost.com has a shocking story today about a new “rare delicacy” from China: a fish that is somehow kept alive while its tail end is deep-fried, then eaten while it’s still living and squirming on the plate. I didn’t watch the accompanying video, which comes with a warning that it might be too graphic for some readers. But I couldn’t avoid seeing a screen capture, and it made me want to cry. Yes, I eat meat. But I believe we meat eaters have a duty to ensure that the animals who give their lives for us don’t suffer unnecessarily. There’s nothing funny or clever about this cruel delicacy. On a related note, I read something this week that struck an extremely sour chord with me. Many media outlets reported the following quote from Sarah Palin’s newly published memoir, Going Rogue: “I always remind people from outside our state that there’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals—right next to the mashed potatoes,” she writes. Not funny, Sarah. Cheap jokes like that don’t honor the creatures who feed us.

If you’re a wine aficionado, I bet you’re looking forward to tomorrow – the day that the 2009 Beaujolais Nouveau is released. A very young red wine made from the Gamay grape, Beaujolais Nouveau is produced in the Beaujolais region of France, and is always released on the third Thursday of November. Providing the first taste of this year’s vintage, Beaujolais Nouveau is a light, fruity, celebratory quaff. Festivals and parties cheering the arrival of this frisky young wine occur throughout the wine-loving world, and Sacramento is no exception.

Come revel in the new Beaujolais at the Fete du Beaujolais Nouveau, sponsored by the Alliance Française de Sacramento on Friday, November 20th. Held at the Sierra 2 Center for Arts and Community, the event (which is open to the public) will include a complimentary glass of Beaujolais Nouveau, music, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction of “unique items with a French flair.” David Bienick of KCR-3 TV will be act as Master of Ceremonies, and Marc Feldman, Executive Director of the Sacramento Philharmonic, will give a short presentation about the wines of the Beaujolais region.

For more information and to purchase tickets contact the Alliance Française office at (916) 453-1723; or visit www.afdesacramento.org

Date: Friday, November 20th
Time: 6pm to 9:30pm
Location: Sierra 2 Center for Arts and Community, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento
Cost: $25 Alliance Française members; $30 non members; $35 at door.

Note: Even if you can’t attend a Beaujolais Nouveau party, consider putting a (chilled) bottle or two on your Thanksgiving table – it’s great with a turkey dinner.

In my job as SacMag’s dining editor, I spend a lot of time looking at local restaurant websites. So I think I’m qualified to say this: Many of them stink. You know which ones I’m talking about: They’re hard to navigate, take forever to load, blast music you don’t want to hear and, worst of all, hide the information you really want to know—namely, the restaurant’s address, phone number and hours. So I came up with a few rules for restaurateurs:
1. First of all, have a website. It’s amazing there are any restaurants left that don’t have one. But there are.
2. Don’t make me click on something to enter the site. I’m there, aren’t I?
3. Put your address and phone number on the home page. Seriously, people, this is the most important information we customers need. Don’t send us on a scavenger hunt.
4. Get rid of the Flash animation. It slooooooows everything down.
5. Turn off the music.
6. Update your menu. I want to know what you’re serving tonight—not last week, last month or (dear God) three years ago.
7. Use old-fashioned text instead of pdfs. It’s easy to read and you don’t have to load it.
8. Put your menu on one page. Don’t make me click around to find appetizers, salads, soups, entrées and desserts.
What about you? What do you think makes for a great restaurant website?

 

I enjoyed a brief and hedonistic weekend in Sonoma, the highlight of which was a stunning meal at El Dorado Kitchen (within the El Dorado Hotel). The kitchen makes a mouthwatering array of charcuterie, and I was blown away by the ham hock rillette (served atop a jewel-like mound of intense, just-sweet-enough pickled red onion and black pepper marmalade); another dazzler was the whisper thin paprika-cured pork loin. The meal’s accompanying Zinfandel was disconcertingly sharp-edged and restrained (when I had hoped for something more generous and jammy), but I had no problem polishing off the half bottle I ordered. If you have travel plans to Sonoma, don’t miss this popular, sophisticated restaurant (located on the town plaza) and its marvelous “farm-driven” cuisine.

http://www.eldoradosonoma.com

The newest member of the Selland restaurant family is “a great little eater,” reports proud new dad Josh Nelson. Owen Price Nelson weighed in at 6 pounds 9 ounces when he was born nine days ago, on Nov. 4. Today, he’s a whopping 6 pounds 12 ounces. “He’s got the appetite for this business,” says Nelson, who manages Ella Dining Room and Bar. “He’s ahead of the weight curve.”