Food fun in wintry Wisconsin

Anyone else out there miss the holidays?

I had a great Christmas vacation with Chris and his family out in wintry white Wisconsin. Lots of fun, lots of relaxing, LOTS of delicious food and beverages.

I want to share a few of my favorite flavors from the trip, with some fun photos by Chris (who, if you didn’t already know, takes and posts all kinds of great pics here).

The Badger State busts out some serious brews, and we enjoyed quite a few during our recent visit. I like everything I’ve tried from New Glarus Brewing Company, and wish they distributed out to California just like Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company does. My new favorite, discovered out on this trip, is O’So Brewing Company’s Hopdinger, a pale ale with a great hoppy flavor.

We were equally impressed with the beers and the appetizers at Hinterland Brewing Co. in Green Bay. Seriously, who doesn’t love a ginormous bowl of sweet potato fries?

The Packers’ hometown is also home to Kavarna Coffeehouse, where they make a mean white mocha. While visiting Milwaukee we got our morning caffeine fix from Alterra Coffee. We liked it so much we bought a couple pounds of their coffee beans to bring home.

If you ever visit Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward, definitely hit Cafe Benelux. Their Bier Book is ri-di-culous. And if you’re interested in some better-loosen-the-belt German food, definitely give Karl Ratzsch’s a try. Schnitzel, schnitzel everywhere, and you won’t want to put down your fork and knife.

Summer snapshots

September? Already?

We’ve still got a little bit of summer left here in Sacramento, but the season’s on its way out. I didn’t spend an awful lot of time dreaming up new recipes over the past couple months. Maybe it has something to do with wanting to stay as far away from the hottest room in our house (the kitchen) as possible. But just because I haven’t been cooking too much doesn’t mean I’ve been withering away for lack of a delicious meal.

So, with that, I’d like to share some summertime snapshots.

Hallelujah! sandwich (fried chicken breast, spicy coleslaw and lemon garlic aioli on a French roll) from Cato’s Ale House, Oakland

Kobe beef tartare with dijon mustard, capers, shallots, garlic and toast points at Chez Papa Resto, San Francisco

Chris and I both got some good mileage out of our beach cruisers over the past couple months. One of our more adventurous rides was a 20-plus-mile trek up to Folsom by way of the American River Trail. Our final destination? Samuel Horne’s Tavern for celebratory burgers and beers. Here’s the Tavern Turkey Burger with pepper jack cheese and serrano aioli

Chris had the Johnny Cash burger with bacon, cheddar, onions and a bourbon-espresso red-eye sauce

Mountain Nachos, Tahoe Mountain Brewing Company, Tahoe City

Too many good beers at Mellow Fellow Gastropub, Crystal Bay

Bakers Benedict (sausage patties and poached eggs atop a toasted English muffin, topped with Hollandaise sauce) from the Fire Sign Cafe, Tahoe City

Macarons, like these lovelies from Estelle’s Patisserie, always make me think of “Alice in Wonderland.”

Independence Day weekend full of delicious fun

Wanted to share some snapshots from my holiday weekend here in sizzling Sacramento.

We kicked off the three-day weekend Friday evening by checking out Concert in the Park at Cesar Chavez Plaza. I like to make it to Concert in the Park at least one time each summer because the beer garden always makes for great people watching. We sipped on some frosty IPAs, caught up with friends and hit up the Autentico Taco Azteca truck for some tasty pollo and carne asada tacos (four for $10).

Chris and I headed up the hill Saturday in an attempt to escape the heat. We spent the afternoon hiking the south fork of Silver Creek, which presents some pretty cool waterfalls as it makes its way down into the Ice House Reservoir. Deli sandwiches taste even better when you’re enjoying them on a huge granite slab overlooking a rushing waterfall.

I struggled through a scorcher of a run Sunday morning and rewarded myself with a chilly treat.

We bumped our Independence Day celebration up a day and had quite the Sunday Funday. A few friends came over for a good old-fashioned weenie roast featuring grilled hot dogs and all kinds of toppings. We had all the classics but also pimped out a couple condiments to create this hot little ’dog:

The relish (made by the special man friend) is a combo of diced sweet midget pickles (half of a 12-ounce jar) and 1.5 teaspoons sambal chili sauce. The ketchup gets a little kick thanks to curry powder (half a teaspoon per half-cup of ketchup).

Once full of Ball Parks, everyone headed down to Raley Field for a patriotic evening of River Cats baseball, some ice-cold brews and a dazzling fireworks display.

Oh, the sweet taste of a Super Bowl victory

I’m into the Super Bowl more for the food than the football, but this year’s game was quite exciting.

My Wisconsin-born boyfriend has opened my eyes to the wonderful world of the Green Bay Packers. We’re no sports nuts by any means, but he and I both have our fair share of Packers paraphernalia, including foam cheese hats, mini footballs, beanies and earrings (I have not one, but three pairs).

The first time I went back to Wisconsin for Christmas we saw the Packers destroy the Lions, which was quite the experience. Even in the dead of winter, we spotted plenty of fans in cheese-wedge bikini tops and others wearing not much more than green and yellow body paint. We were even on the same flight as Aaron Rogers on our flight out of Green Bay a couple days later.

Once the Packers beat the Bears, I started thinking about Wisconsin-inspired Super Bowl snacks. This recipe pays tribute to the land of cheese and beer, and comes from our friend Mike, who got it from a coworker who comes from Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Beer Dip
1 package ranch dressing dry seasoning
2 8-ounce containers cream cheese, softened
¾ can of beer
2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Blend beer and cream cheese. Stir in shredded cheese and ranch. Chill overnight. Serve with pretzels.

Mexico, delicious Mexico

I miss Mexico.

We got back earlier this week from a trip to the Yucatán Peninsula, where we spent nine glorious days exploring Playa del Carmen and the surrounding areas. We toured archaeological sites including Tulum and Chichen Itza, snorkeled among sea turtles, explored cenotes and soaked up plenty of sun while relaxing on the beach.

We also gorged on some delicious food and drinks.

On our first night in Playa del Carmen, our wonderful hosts Sev and Mitch took us to one of their neighborhood favorites, HC de Monterrey, for arrachera, Mexico’s tender, delicious take on flank steak. I liked it so much I ended up ordering arrachera a couple more times at different restaurants, but dinner that first night, served with a baked potato, lime, avocado, a grilled jalapeño and sour cream, was the best.

Other Playa favorites included pizza at Piola and some delicious shrimp tacos at Los Aguachiles. The cold Dos Equis Ambar was especially refreshing with my aguachidos tostadas (a shrimp tostada topped with onion, cucumber, cilantro and cabbage), shrimp popeye taco with creamed spinach, and shrimp taco al oro negro (with refried black beans).

We ate at the Turtle Bay Café in Akumal twice – lunch of arrachera quesadilla and chicken tortilla soup was great, as was breakfast a couple days later, when I devoured an omelet stuffed with shredded chicken, cheese and ranchero sauce. Heaven!

Other highlights included:

Piña coladas at a swing bar at Xpu Ha

A smoky chicken tamale at a café near the Cathedral of San Gervasio in Valladolid

I also enjoyed dorking around at Mega, a huge grocery store in Playa. While Sev took care of some shopping, Chris and I ran around the store, our cameras in hand, playing tourist.

The Squeeze Cheese actually comes from Wisconsin

Milk and eggs aren't refrigerated

The most hilarious name ever for toilet paper

Mega was the source for the only souvenirs I brought back from Mexico — queso jalapeño microwave popcorn, some creamy poblano soup mix and some tlalpeño, barbacoa and pibil bouillon cubes.

We spent the last couple days at the Hacienda Tres Rios Resort for the wedding of friends Doug and Shannan. This was my first experience at an all-inclusive resort, and the food was pretty good. The quickness with which they refilled our Tecates was even better. The all-inclusive dining plan might have made it a little too easy to order tequila all around at the reception.

It was pretty hard to get off the plane in foggy Sacramento, but the post-vacation withdrawal is well worth it for a wonderful time in Mexico.

An ode to delicious Oregon

Here are some tasting notes from our Oregon road trip.

Ashland was our first north-of-the-border destination, and once we checked into hotel, Chris and I walked into town for some late lunch at Standing Stone Brewery. I had the India Pale Ale and Chris opted for the Double IPA, and both brews packed a hoppy punch, and we split a blackened salmon sandwich (topped with coleslaw on sourdough baguette). At $14, this sandy was a little spendy, but it was quite tasty after the drive. After a bit of walking and a couple beers on the back patio at Caldera Tap House, we checked out Martino’s for dinner upon the recommendation of friend Colleen, a Southern Oregon University alumna. We split the Rigatoni al Pezzetto, a bowl packed with pasta, Italian sausage, onions, olives, red peppers and feta, and used bread to scoop up the pomodoro sauce. Yum.

The next morning we both went for a run — I spotted 12 deer in the span of nine miles! — packed up the car and then hit Morning Glory for breakfast. Morning Glory is a charming spot located across the street from the college. Hot coffee, huge mimosas and warm blueberry muffins got us off to a good start. The menu was jammed with tempting options, but I finally settled on rock shrimp cakes topped with poached eggs and perfectly sweet/smoky/tangy tomato chutney. I couldn’t stop eating, it was so good. Chris went for an omelet that featured artichokes and a little too much crab, served with white-cheddar polenta. Favorite spot in Ashland for sure.

Our first night of camping was at Crater Lake, and we woke up pre-dawn to the sound of raindrops coming down on our tent. We hastily packed up camp in the chilly rain and had breakfast at the Crater Lake Lodge before hitting the road in search of drier, warmer conditions (no joke, we got some snow on our drive out of the park). It felt good to hover over mugs of hot coffee in the lodge. Breakfast wasn’t mind-blowing — my bison hash was a little oily, but the meat had a good flavor — but anything was better than sitting in the rain at that point, and we both enjoyed the lodge’s historical digs.

Our original plan was to camp at Silver Falls State Park that night, but due to continued gray skies, we opted instead for a cheap, dry night at the La Quinta in Salem. On our way we made a couple stops to check out the gorgeous Salt Creek Falls (see soggy photo, below) and the Lowell Covered Bridge. We grabbed lunch in Eugene at McMenamins High Street Brewery, where a quarter-pound happy hour cheeseburger goes for $4 and you can get some crunchy Cajun tots for $2 and McMenamins pints for $3.25.

We found some great spots in Portland that still haunt me today. Dinner at Laurelhurst Market was truly a to-die-for affair. Bon Appetit recently named Laurelhurst one of the top 10 best new restaurants for 2010, and we could see and taste why.

Chris had the Grilled Niman Prime Ribeye topped with blue cheese butter and fried sweet onion rings, while I enjoyed the Thundering Hooves Grass Fed Flat Iron and sautéed chard.

Making the meal even more rich was a perfectly browned, gooey side of macaroni and cheese topped with a Tim’s Potato Chips crust.

The day we left Portland was a double-breakfast morning.

First stop was Voodoo Doughnut, where, even on a Thursday morning, the line for doughnuts with names like “Old Dirty Bastard” and “Maple Blazer Blunt” stretched out the door.

Breakfast part deux went down at Pine State Biscuits, otherwise known (by me at least) as “heaven.” Anyone who knows me is well aware of my love for biscuits and gravy, and this place takes it to a whole new level.

Imagine a sandwich that starts with a big ol’ fluffy biscuit, stacked with fried chicken, country gravy, cheddar cheese and bacon. That’s The Reggie, and it’s what Chris and I each ordered (mine without bacon).

Absolutely divine on its own, but The Reggie was even better paired with an icy jar of sweet tea and enjoyed while listening to some good tunes — our soundtrack that morning included some New Order (who doesn’t love some “Bizarre Love Triangle” with their breakfast?) and Dee Lite’s “World Clique.”

A trio of must-try locations

Craving classy pub grub?
Give Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery a try the next time you’re in San Francisco. I’m always excited by any place that makes their own sausage, and the night we stopped in there were a handful of different links on the menu (I enjoyed the chicken sausage, served with crispy potatoes), in addition to all kinds of other tempting entrée options. The seven-barrel brewery is located below the pub—their beers have names like Cole Porter and Wit Rabbit.

Headed to California’s Central Coast?
We were in Cambria recently for a friend’s wedding, and decided to delay the 300-mile drive back home by hitting up some Paso Robles wineries. Favorites included Zenaida Cellars, which makes a lot of killer reds, and Niner Wine Estates, which happened to celebrate their grand opening the Sunday we stopped in by pairing wines with some tasty snacks prepared by Trumpet Vine Catering (that’s a crab and mango spring roll paired with Niner’s 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, below). Learn more about Paso Robles wineries here.

Looking for a great brunch in Sacramento?
The next time you roll out of bed with a roaring stomach, head over to Orphan, located on 3440 C St. just a few blocks from McKinley Park. Their food is fresh, simple and fantastic, and their coffee is also amazing. On a recent visit I inhaled corn tamales covered in tomatillo sauce served with eggs (over medium, please), black beans, cilantro, tomatoes and cheese.

Chris thoroughly enjoyed his coconut French toast, which was one of the specials that day. While I’ve only tried Orphan once, their sister spot in Chico, Sin of Cortez, was one of my college dining splurges.