Jan 02 2011

Happy New Year

It’s so hard to believe that my two week vacation has come to an end. I sat at my computer today and organized a million photos into folders and smiled as I opened each and every one of them. 2010 was a big year for me. I accomplished a lot professionally and grew so much as a blogger. I went beyond my comfort zone and started documenting recipes, food findings, cooking classes, restaurant outings with friends, vacations and life events. I could not be happier with the changes I have made.

My friend Steph from Arizona came to visit for for a few days and I wanted to make sure we celebrated New Year’s Eve in style. I decided to host a small gathering. My inner event planner switched into high gear and plans went into motion.

Happy New Year decorations replaced Christmas decor…

Plastic champagne glasses were assembled and staged…

New Year’s babies were purchased at the Galt Flea Market…

… and placed into glass containers with noise makers/horns and other New Year’s Eve decorations.

Metal star confetti was placed just right…

Lights illuminated more glass jars filled with confetti, horns, noise makers, etc.

The card table was set up…

A fake martini was made for the photo shoot…

Thank you Hilly, Steph and Josh for teaching me how to play Texas hold ’em… I swear it was beginner’s luck 😉

Snacks were set out…

Food was prepared…

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies were made…

Snickerdoodles were plated – my favorite…

Good ol’ fashioned brownies…

Homemade chocolate/apricot filled cookies from the Statue of Deede…

and more cookies from Deede’s kitchen…

Hot corn dip – courtesy of Emeril Lagasse (my girlfriend Andrea turned me on to this stuff)…

The corn dip is very addicting and was a party hit…

Meatballs in BBQ sauce with a secret grape jelly ingredient – courtesy of Kristen…

Mini Crescent Dogs and spicy mustard for dipping… We also had veggies and dill dip, taquitos (Thanks Aaron) and homemade guacamole (Thanks Michelle and Marissa).

Cocktail options for the drinkers…

Sparkling cider for non-drinkers and the midnight toast…

Good times indeed. Happy New Year wishes to all of you. Let’s hope that 2011 brings us good health and happy times with family and friends.
Cheers!

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=3008

Dec 25 2010

Sassman Memory Farm

Every year I love to look at Christmas lights. My parents have some pretty amazing streets in their neck of the woods. The fab 40’s in Sacramento also have some Christmas wonder shared through their lights and displays – but Kristen found a magical place in Point Pleasant and she took me to see it after our High-Hand day. It felt like we drove into the middle of no where… then there were lights. Lots of lights glowing in the distance. We headed towards them and cars lined every inch of the surrounding street.

The owners of the Sassman Memory Farm string thousands of beautiful lights and display Christmas decorations all over their farm property for family, neighbors and complete strangers who come from afar. They open their magical outdoor home to all visitors – offering homemade cider, cookies and a seat by the fire. Santa even makes a special appearance some nights.

Judy and Earl Sassman started their display in 1993 after losing their beloved daughter Rhonda to cancer in 1992. Judy felt that by hanging a personal bell ornament on her memory tree, it brought the memory of her daughter a little closer during the holidays.  She later began to think of others that had lost loved ones and how hard the holidays must be for them too. They both felt that fond memories are part of the Christmas spirit, so every year they put out blank wooden bell ornaments for people to leave messages to their loved ones. Each ornament is hung from one of the memory trees in the memory forest – the display has really grown over the years. Judy passed away in 1997, but Earl has kept her vision going. I read that Earl put up over 100,000 lights in the front and back yards of their home this year. The displays include a pair of tractors, animated reindeer, a ski scene, giant lollipops, a nativity scene and a 5 foot angel on top of a 33 foot tree.

Even though there is sadness when looking at the huge number of bells that hang from the memory trees,  the love of this family and the community shine through. I can’t put into words the amount of magic I felt walking through this little farm. It’s not some crazy over the top Guiness Book of World Records display… but it sure does an amazing job of filling your heart with the spirit of Christmas joy.  

Thank you Kristen for bringing me to the farm. I’m thinking I might have a new Christmas tradition.

May all of your fond memories keep those that are no longer with us, close to your heart during the holidays. 
Merry Christmas,

Permanent link to this article: http://foodiddy.com/?p=2978

Dec 24 2010

The Perfect Day…

The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of “to do” lists, traveling and general anxiety over getting everything done. I found that I had forgotten to actually “ENJOY” myself during my vacation. All of that changed yesterday. My girlfriend Kristen and I decided to go on another day trip adventure. A friend of hers had been to the High-Hand Conservatory in Loomis, CA and she thought it would be the perfect place for lunch. We met at Starbucks, mapped out our plan, and headed out.

Our first stop was to the Galleria Mall in Roseville, CA. We both had a little last minute shopping to do. We were in and out and then on our way to lunch.

High-Hand has the Conservatory Restaurant, a gorgeous nursery and an art gallery. 

The Conservatory showcases items sourced from many of Placer County’s small farms. We had some time before our 1:30 p.m. reservations, so we toured the nursery grounds.

 

We walked under an archway and I immediately loved the sign that hung above us.

I was drawn to the beautiful colors that filled the nursery – through sculpture, plants and flowers.

Not thinking I’d like to have a seat there 😉

We finally made our way into the restaurant and it was a food blogger/photographer’s dream. Let there be light! Glass, glass and more glass.

We sat at a table that overlooked the outdoor patio area. I definitely would like to go back when the weather is warmer, the outdoor seating options were fabulous.

We looked over the menu and couldn’t decide what to get. We ended up both ordering the same soup, sharing an appetizer and 1/2 sandwiches – except I forgot to say 1/2 for mine, whoops!

First up – Warm Goat Cheese Toasts with Arugula Pesto, Almonds and Pickled Beets – OMG! The pickled beets were incredible. I could have eaten this dish for my main meal.

Second up – Soup was served… Chickpea with Chard, Orzo, Garlic and Fresh Rosemary – another score! The flavor was spot on and the garlic bread… oh yes!

I will be re-creating this soup at home.

Third up – I ordered the Slow Roasted BBQ Chicken with Sweet Onions and House-made BBQ Sauce. I had a side dish choice of a slaw, zucchini salad or potato salad. I chose the zucchini salad. Zucchini, feta, kalamata olives, shredded carrots and a killer dressing – topped with delicious homemade pickles.

I took 3 bites of the salad and two bites of the sandwich. Then I realized how full I was. I haven’t been eating very much this past week – mostly due to forgetting to eat because I’ve been running around so much. I ended up getting a “to go” box and Dan ate it for dinner.

Kristen ordered the Rotisserie Tri Tip Sandwich with House-made Blue Cheese Dressing and Avocado. She shared the same full factor – so she took hers home to have for dinner. I did get a small taste of the tri-tip and it was great!

After lunch we wandered back through the nursery and into the packing sheds to check out the store and art gallery.

Wandering through the art gallery made me miss my college days. The best part of my time as a studio art major was putting some of my work in student art galleries and getting to see all of my college art buddies doing the same. I spent hours and hours in the woodshop, at the foundry, in glass blowing, photography, life drawing, painting and jewelry making classes… Good times and great memories for sure. 

We left the art gallery and I realized that I had forgotten to grab a menu to copy down what we ordered for lunch. I made my way back through the nursery grounds, grabbed a menu, and headed back to the car. On my way back, I noticed the sign at the entrance had a different message on the back.

The garden and the day definitely grabbed me. It reminded me that there is so much more to life than the Christmas madness. Spending time with an amazing friend – surrounded by beautiful grounds and wonderful food –  was just what I needed. One of my New Year’s resolutions is going to be to slow down and enjoy life a little more. I tend to make a mental list each day and I’m more interested in checking things off than actually spending time soaking it all in. My camera is helping me realize just how much I’ve been missing.

Kristen and I exchanged gifts back at my house and then headed out to look at Christmas lights and stumbled upon a magical place. I’ll be writing about that in my next post.

Until then, I have some last minute wrapping to do and then I’m off to my Mom and Dad’s to celebrate Christmas Eve with my awesome family and a wonderful dinner.

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