Oct 13 2014

Sactoberfest Sunday

I feel very fortunate that I got to taste the delicious foods at the Sactoberfest preview event at Ten22, because Sunday’s Sactoberfest didn’t turn out as planned. The wind chose not to cooperate and combined with the dust made for unfavorable conditions for the food vendors. Unfortunately some had to pull out of the event because of it. We didn’t let that stop us from having a good time and the same goes for many others attending on Sunday.

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Bright white tent tops became beige in color due to the dust storms that kept blowing through. We headed directly to the beer tents to fill up our steins.

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Thug life beer servers… ha-ha. They had to endure some rather miserable conditions and they made the best of it. All day long we encountered very friendly event staff. Their main concern was that everyone was having a good time. The beer and cider helped.

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We checked out the food vendors next – this is when we found out that some had to pack up. Broderick was able to open with a very limited menu – they served Bratworst or Bockworst with fries.

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The German Deli had some menu items available too.

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We decided to start with a fresh baked pretzel with beer cheese sauce. We grabbed one and then made our way to the main tent to get out of the wind and dust. I tried to ignore the fact that there was a layer of dust on the inside of my beer mug. After one beer it didn’t seem to matter.

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Event staff announced that they were going to open the VIP tent to all attendees that wanted to get out of the elements. The VIP tent had walls and couches for families to chill out. It also had a full bar and they were selling $5 Jäger shots and $6 Jäger bombs.

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We checked it out, but ultimately decided we liked to be in the main tent with the band. First up was the Internationals. They welcomed us to the “Sactoberfest Dust Storm” – that made everyone laugh and they kept it pretty light throughout their performance. I’m sure the beer and Jäger shots made things easier for them. 🙂

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Next up was the Alpen Tanz Kapelle Band and the Nature Friends Schuhplattler Dancers. Until that point the dance floor was empty. It was covered in dirt/dust and they were concerned about that. The beer maidens in their dirndls jumped into action.

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 They all joined together and wiped down the dance floor to prep it for the dancers.

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All of these girls never stopped smiling. They were tired after two very busy days and they still managed to have a good time dealing with the situation. Several of them sat down at our table to talk about the different beer options and to visit with attendees.

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Once the floor was cleared and had dried,  the dancers put on a show. While watching them we were approached by event staff to fill out a survey. She offered us beer tickets, but because we’d already consumed giant steins full on very little food, we opted to just take the surveys. I thought it was important to let them know that event goers like us, really appreciated the staff’s efforts to not let the weather situation take away from the event.

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The gal came back to collect our surveys and she gave us two food tokens. Super sweet and perfect timing. I was starving.

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I got in line while Dan saved our seats. I wanted to take some more photos and it was the perfect opportunity to do that. I ended up getting us a second pretzel and a beer brat with sweet mustard. The line started backing up because the pilot lights kept blowing out due to the wind. The workers started handing out pretzels to people waiting in line.

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The brat was delicious and hit the spot. The 21 piece Chico Bavarian Band took to the stage next. The gal next to us was primed and ready for the Chicken Dance – she had the chicken hat and everything. We stayed for a bit and then decided to brave the elements to check out the carnival side of the event.

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I thought it was cool to see part of the Sac City skyline in the background. West Sacramento’s Bridge District is a really cool place and I look forward to all the upcoming improvements. The urban plan calls for three bridges to cross the Sacramento River. I’m also really looking forward to the Barn – projected to open in Spring 2015.

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Flying Bobs with the Tower Bridge in the background…

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Homer/Radioactive Man just hangin’ out…. Carnivals freak me out as an adult, but man did I love them as a kid. There was the county fair and local church carnivals and we even had carnival rides on our high school campus for grad night, it was awesome.

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Sactoberfest was a great close to a wonderful weekend – Prost!

foo

 

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=10180

Oct 01 2014

Sactoberfest Preview Event

I was invited to join fellow bloggers and media professionals Monday, September 29 for a special evening Sactoberfest preview at Ten22 in Old Sacramento.

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This event gave us a glimpse into what will make Sacramento’s big Sactoberfest celebration so unique.

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This was my first time at the restaurant, it’s been on my list to try, we’ve just never made it there. Ten22 prides itself in award winning cuisine and superior quality brews. Executive Chef and Central Valley native, Jay Veregge, offers a “New American” menu featuring locally sourced ingredients from regional farmers.

We had a special menu for the preview event, representing some of the foods that would be served at Sactoberfest. I look forward to going back to experience other dishes from their main menu.

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Guests were greeted by Emilie from 3fold Communications and Finrich Events staff.  Rich Clakeley, CEO of Finrich Events and his awesome bier maidens were some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met at a blogger/media event. Very genuine people that are passionate about what they do. I could tell that the success of this event and putting Sacramento on the “Oktoberfest” map is very important to Rich and crew. It was a treat to listen to Rich talk about the history behind Oktoberfest and the traditions that go along with it.

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I started the evening with a sampling of Bike Dog Brewing Co. Pale Ale from West Sacramento. I’m very far from being a regular beer drinker/aficionado, but I do enjoy an occasional light bodied pale ale and Bike Dog delivered – it ended up being my second local favorite of the evening.

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Ten22’s Chef Dennis Sydnor presented our amazing food on behalf of  Chef Jay Veregge and Jeneca Kretchman, working with Finrich Events, shared her food and beer pairing knowledge with the group.

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First up was Jägerschnitzel – Thin slices of pan fried, breaded pork loin with sautéed mushrooms and cream sauce. Let’s just say if I was home, I would have licked the plate. The beer pairing included my favorite of the evening – Jack Rabbit Brewing Hefeweizen of West Sacramento – A traditional wheat beer with a very mild wheat flavor.

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Ten 22 is not the only local restaurant participating in Sactoberfest. Local eateries, Fabulous Frickle Brothers, Broderick Roadhouse, The German Deli and more… will also be contributing German foods to the event.

O.k., let’s talk food photography.  I’m still in my full leg brace and I didn’t want to lug camera equipment with me, so I ended up just throwing my Canon in my purse, not realizing it still had my 60mm lens attached, whoops. So I only used my iPhone for the evening and THANKFULLY Sarah from CapCity Moms was there, because she’s a professional photographer and I’m sure her photos will be fabulous – so make sure you check out Sarah and Jill’s evening re-cap for good food porn once it’s up on their site. They are also hosting a ticket giveaway over there – so jump on that.

The evening took place in a very YELLOW, dimly lit room and she let me share her external light source with her. These dishes were works of art in person – not so much here in all of their iPhone glory. Squint and pretend my friends, squint and pretend. Thanks for lighting the way Sarah, they would be way worse without your glow.

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Rustic Cabbage Rolls – Brown rice and roasted root vegetables (carrots, celery and parsnips) with a cinnamon tomato sauce. Our beer pairing was Erdinger Weissbier of Erding, Germany. I often forget about stuffed cabbage as a meatless alternative, these were excellent.

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We were not only spoiled with food and bier flights all evening – we got to try our hand at some of the many games to be featured at the October 10-12 Sactoberfest event. Stein holding and beer pong.

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Sarah asked Jill to give her a scary face – LOL… they are both fabulous! The stein was heavy after 20 seconds.

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Arms were a shakin’, including mine. Thanks for taking my photo 3fold.

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The food kept appearing and our taste buds were up for the adventure.

Braised Pork Belly (our special treat of the night – unfortunately not included in the Sactoberfest event) – Braised pork belly on a yam cake with an onion marmalade. The onions were so good that we cornered Chef Dennis to get the low down on ingredients. Simple… red onion, red zinfandel, garlic and low and slow cooking instructions. While a fat source wasn’t mentioned, we agreed butter or olive oil would be a necessity. I think he was holding out on us.

Our conversation went from onion jam to pickling very quickly and next thing you know, Chef Dennis was running into the kitchen to spoil us with his Sacramento Burger Battle pickles. He explained that he went pickle crazy for the battle – calling up his source ordering more and more pickling cucumbers. We’re glad he did, because the pickles on the Braised Beef Rouladen were some of the best pickles I’ve ever tasted. The sweet to heat ratio was something I plan to recreate in my own kitchen.

The Braised Pork Belly was paired with Yolo Brewing Co. Nutty Brown Ale of West Sacramento. The Braised Beef Rouladen was tender slices of beef rolled with German mustard and pickles and the dish was paired with Bike Dog Brewing Co. Pale Ale. It was handy that I already had some, the glass situation was growing.

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Another star dish of the evening for me was the Beer Braised Thürsinger. The sausage was handmade from Morant’s Old Fashion Sausage Kitchen on Franklin Blvd. Served on rye toast with sauerkraut and German mustard. I may or may not have had 4 of them. The pairing for this dish was Spaten Oktoberfestbier from Munich, Germany.

The event will showcase smoked bratwurst, chicken apple sausage and beer brats from Morent’s. The beer brats will be braised in beer with sliced onions and spices. The sausage is then grilled to order before being dunked in a rich beer and onion broth, served on a fresh baked bun from Pure Grain Bakery of Vacaville. A broth with caramelized onions is then ladled over the top – similar to a French dip – sign me up!

7″ Bavarian pretzels will also be served fresh from the oven.

Fried pickles and fried green tomatoes with dipping sauces will be available from the Fabulous Frickle Brothers.

I’m really looking forward to trying the Spaetzle Mac n’ Cheese featuring a bier cheese sauce from Broderick Roadhouse and Capital Dime’s Chris Jarosz.

Dessert for the evening was Dark Chocolate Rum Balls paired with Sudwerk 3 Best Friends Doppel Bock from Davis. The German Deli will be providing the decadent chocolate rum balls and streudle at Sactoberfest.

2014_Sactoberfest_Logo2Taking over the West Sacramento’s Bridge District, Sactoberfest will draw inspiration from the original German Okotoberfest with its own unique twist. Revelers will hoist steins of authentic Oktoberfest premium biers from Spaten, Erdinger, Hofbrau and Franzikaner as well as local craft beers from Sudwerk, Yolo, Bike Dog and Jackrabbit with National favorites from Samuel Adams and Omission – all served by waitresses dressed in dirndl outfits under the massive bier tent covering 20,000 square feet.

Festival goers can listen to the many bands,  try their hand at stein holding, keg rolling, beer pong, wurst tossing, corn hole and more. If those types of games aren’t your thing – New to Sactoberfest this year is a full carnival – complete with more than 16 rides. So grab your friends and family and join in the fun.

 

Part of the preview included 2 premium tickets – Dan and I plan to attend, we’d love to see you there. If you plan to go, let us know and we can hangout.

The time honored tradition of tapping the first keg will start the festivities on Friday, October 10 at 3:00 p.m. This will be followed by a parade and live music.

Sactoberfest 2014

Friday, October 10, 2014 – 3 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Saturday, October 11, 2014 – 1 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Sunday, October 12, 2014 – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. 

Tickets:

  • $15 – Designated Driver/Under 21 General Admission tickets include complimentary water, soft drink, or coffee and raffle entry.
  • $55 – Designated Driver/Under 21 VIP tickets include complimentary water, soft drink, coffee, raffle entry as well as access to VIP lounge and restrooms, hors d’oeuvres, after-party nightclub admission, hotel discount, free event parking and souvenir photo.
  • $30 General Admission ticket includes one complimentary 16 oz. beer (21+ only)
  • $45 – Premium Admission ticket includes one complimentary 32 oz. beer and souvenir acrylic Sactoberfest stein (21+ only)
  • $95 – VIP Admission tickets include one complimentary 32 oz. beer and souvenir glass Sactoberfest stein as well as access to VIP lounge and restrooms, full service bar, hors d’oeuvres, after-party nightclub admission, hotel discount, free event parking and souvenir photo (21+ only)
  • Multiple Day Passes are also available (21+, good for all three days and non-transferable)
    • General Admission $55
    • Premium Admission $85
    • VIP Admission $185

Location:

951 Riverfront Street at The Barn – West Sacramento, CA, 95691

For more information about Sactoberfest – visit  www.sactoberfest.com.

A special thank you to Emilie, Rich, Ten 22, 3fold Communications and Finrich Events for hosting a great preview event, including me on the guest list and providing us with amazing food, spirits, swag and Sactoberfest tickets. I look forward to seeing you all at the event.

foo

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=10132

Sep 14 2014

My First Lentil Soup

It continues to be 100+° here in Sacramento and I’m still obsessed with making soup. Maybe because it’s comforting and it makes the house smell amazing, maybe because I continue to believe it’s the perfect lunch time solution for me. Cooking up a storm with the ceiling fan going, the AC on full blast in shorts and a tank top is a tad strange – but I’m going with it.

I decided that I would tackle making lentil soup. I’ve pinned quite a few lentil recipes as non-meat alternatives, but I’ve never really explored the nutritional value and where they came from. I hopped online and found a Mediterranean Snacks site that had some pretty cool info. Did you know that humans have been eating lentils since prehistoric times? Lentils were a staple for ancient Near-Eastern and European cultures, and were most likely the very first cultivated crop. Archaeologists have discovered lentils from the Paleolithic period (10,000 BC) in the Franchthi Cave in southern Greece and at the ancient settlement of Mureybet on the banks of the Euphrates. Lentils gradually spread out of the Middle East and became popular throughout all of Europe. I did not know that. I just thought they always came layered in designer glass jars for display in kitchens all over HGTV. 😉

Foodiddy - Lentil Soup

After searching quite a few sites, I found a recipe that peaked my interest from Dinner Was Delicious on tumblr. I decided to give it a try. The ingredient list seemed simple enough and I liked a few of the twists that I didn’t see in other traditional lentil soup recipes. I did tweak the measurements a bit and those will be reflected in my version of the recipe.

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The Ingredients – Serves 6-8

  • 8 Cloves Garlic
  • 1 Yellow Onion
  • 4 Carrots
  • 4 Stalks Celery
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 2 Cups Lentils
  • 1 Tablespoon Cumin
  • 2 Quarts (64 fluid ounces) Vegetable Broth
  • 1 Cup Water – if needed for desired consistency
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 6 Whole Sprigs Thyme
  • Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste

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This was a new method of roasting garlic for me. I set my dry dutch oven over medium heat on the stove and dropped in the garlic cloves with their peels still on. I let them toast for a few minutes (3-4) on each side, until the skins were browned and the cloves were fragrant.

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I then roughly chopped the onion, carrots, and celery.

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I added the olive oil to the dutch oven and sautéed the mixture until tender. I then peeled and smashed up the garlic with the side of my knife and added it back to the pot, along with the lentils and cumin. I made sure that the lentils were nicely coated in the olive oil before adding the broth.

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I then emptied both boxes of veggie broth into the pot and added the bay leaf and whole sprigs of thyme. I let the soup simmer until the lentils were tender, about 45-50 minutes. At one point I did add 1 cup of water as I felt the liquid had absorbed a little too much – this kept the pot on the stove for an additional 5-10 minutes. I hunted for the bay leaf and the thyme sprigs and fished those out of the pot before seasoning with salt and pepper. I served the soup piping hot with fresh thyme as a topper.

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I also cut a few pieces from a sourdough baguette and toasted up some garlic croutons that were a great addition to the soup. I’m a sucker for carbs, so in my world, toasted garlic bread pretty much goes with anything.

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This was a very hearty soup – the addition of the cumin really reminded me of a vegetarian chili I had tasted at a chili cook-off in college – which I loved. I liked that it didn’t have tomatoes like some of the other lentil soup recipes I found online and I also liked that as the days went on, the flavors really developed. The roasted garlic was one of my favorite ingredients in the soup – glad I doubled the amount suggested.

[yumprint-recipe id=’3′]I’m getting over my “dry beans are too much work” mentality. Lentils are a cheap and healthy source of protein, dietary fiber, iron and potassium and something I should eat more of. Lentils come in a variety of colors – brown (the color I used) green, red and all shades in between. I look forward to exploring more varieties and lentil recipes in the near future.

Are you a lentil fan? Have any good lentil recipes to share?
foo

 

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=10112