Gold Country Food & Wine

Not eating out; Cooking In!!!

2008-11-21T17:49:00.001-08:00

Wow! could this economy be any more trying? I really love to eat out and try new foods and yet we're stuck at home relying on our own resources for tasty food product.

Not really such a bad thing... I'm a fairly experienced cook and adventuresome cook and we are trying to eat our way though our freezer and pantry. Of course our pantry is a little weirder than most.
For example I took an inventory of the pasta department....seven different kinds of spaghetinni including brown rice and spinach...five different kinds of spaghetti... four kinds of fettuccine including squid ink and hot pepper/tomato (Who bought those?)....numerous boxes of shaped paste including orchiette (little ears), cortuna (trumpets and my favorite radiotorri (radiators).
We could eat past from now till the end of the year and still not eat it all.
Pickles: Green tomato pickles in four varieties, pickled vegetables including Brussels sprouts, artichoke hearts and garlic. Pickled peppers and pepper relish and plain old dill and sweet pickles.

Stock: I make all my own stocks because I really DO NOT like the amount of salt in most stocks. Lamb stock, Duck Stock, BBQ Beef Stock, Beef Stock, Rich Stock (includes potatoes) and Chicken Stock. It is not hard to make stock, you just simmer veges oar meats until they give up all their flavor. Preserving it is harder. I do not like to take up freezer space so I pressure can all my low acid foods. I bought a 20 quart canner at Orchard hardware for about $90.00 five ore six years ago and it's still going strong. I look for jars at thrift stores adn yard sales. I mainly buy new rings and lids.

Spices: Everyone loves to open my pantry and just inhale. I only keep an ounce or two of spices out on the cooking shelf so all the extras live in the pantry. Vietnamese Cinnamon, Dried mushrooms, Several kinds of dried pepper, Dried chiles and the Catnip I hide from the cat. It all smells amazing.

The usual vegetables and canned goods (although some one went a little crazy on anchovies). We keep about ten or so different cans of cooked beans of different kinds to use for soups, dips, etc.

Dried beans and peas make soups and salads.

There is the baking shelf with five kinds of flour, several kinds of baking mix, vanilla, brown and white sugar. Molasses, honey, light and dark corn syrup.

There is an entire box dedicated to Asian foods. Hoisin sauce, different canned coconut items, nori, dried noodles, fish sauce, chili paste, bean paste, and other spices.

The freezer is a weirder mix. I am trying up all the recipes I can find for dried cod. Somehow I have four different batches bought in different areas. I will take some photos of the next batch of attempts.

I have two gallons of duck fat and one quart of foie gras fat. I think we have eaten too much duck and now I need to buy more duck to use up the fat "confiting" it. You simmer or bake cut up duck in duck fat till it is done. It gets creamy and tender and amazing tasting. So not lo cal.

I also have a quart jar of bacon fat. More normal but I am saving it for a cookie recipe that uses bacon fat as the fat in a gingersnap. Tastes so good and you cannot figure out why.

We somehow we bought twenty pounds of chicken breasts and they are frozen. We've tried to use them up but I think they are multiplying in the freezer. The problem is we really don't like chicken breast; we like leg meat. I've made chicken curry, chicken enchiladas, chicken tamales and chicken soup... any other suggestions?

We have two large tri-tips that we will BBQ this weekend. They end up good for all kinds of things.

There is two pounds of chestnut meat, several boxes of phyllo dough and about six pound of smoked fish.

Some times it gets a little overwhelming and confusing to try to do something with all these varied ingredients.

Barbeque ribs and other smokey things

2008-11-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

This is a topic dear to my heart. I love good smokey barbecued ribs. Baby back ribs especially. I'm not talking about those nasty grey soggy ribs when people par-boil the rib racks then attempt to grill or smoke or oven BBQ them. I mean a full rack of tender ribs that the meat breaks off the bone when you pick up the rack. This has slightly crunchy edges where the fat has rendered out of the meat and an overall toasty and slightly crisp texture to the meat. The meat should be thick enough on the bone to have some tooth but not country rib thick. I like a little smoke ring on the meat but not overly smokey. This is all very difficult to achieve. I like to eat ribs with a little sauce on the side just for dipping. Not a vinegar sauce and absolutely no smoke flavoring in the sauce. I like a rich smokey yet tomatoey sauce with a bite.

Bad Ones:
Locally I tried all the permutations that set up shop at the driving range in Valley Springs and they were all uniformly terrible. Porky's, Lee's Pig Out and what ever the last one was called. Sad attempts at BBQ. Too tough of a cut of meat and too vinegary a BBQ sauce. Their beef ribs were particularly greasy.

Good ones:
Doc's Texas BBQ & Burger : 636 W. Stockton Street, Sonora 209 536 1362
This roadhouse BBQ joint serves authentic Texas BBQ. When you eat in, the food is served on butcher paper with a dill pickle and silverware. The portions are hearty (read that to mean Texas-sized) and will fill you up in a hurry. The side dishes are nothing to write home about but that is not why you are here. The BBQ is smoked and very flavorful. The brisket is tender and juicy. The ribs practically fell off the bone. The sausage was okay, I was expecting something more. However, Doc did urge me to get the jalapeno flavored sausage and I elected to get the hickory smoked sausage instead. Lesson learned. The walls are adorned with Texas license plates. The barbecue sauce sits on the table in an unmarked bottle. Love it.

Incahoots BBQ - Pizza- Grill & Catering
9486 Main Street, Plymouth 209 245 5544 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM
and at Davis Ranch, 13211 Jackson Highway, Sloughhouse 11:00 AM till Sunset
Bright yellow in downtown Plymouth. This place is kinda unfocused but rally good. We were there when there was an extremely larger group of motorcyclists and everyone got served fairly quickly. When one order got messed up the staff quickly made it right. The beer comes in frozen mugs. Sooo refreshing. There are racks of paper towels on the tables so you have all the napkins you need. The decor is farmhousey and everything is screwed or nailed to the wall to prevent theft. The bench booths are the most comfortable.

The menu has evolved from its original focus on Santa Maria tri-tip, but Incahoots still uses the signature red oak, the huge open pit and its own spice rub. Their sauce is not too vinegary and not too tomatoey and not too hot.

Totally succulent baby back ribs, steak, carnitas, pulled pork, beef ribs, chicken, links, chicken wings and tri-tip. Mexican food and sandwiches and burgers and pizzas.

Sides: Housemade coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad, green-leaf salad, chili and poquito beans

Eat your dinner and you get a Tootsie Roll

Special Event Restaurants with wonderful food

2008-10-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

When you have a birthday or other event to celebrate; have I got suggestions for you!!!
First and foremost;

Restaurant Taste in Plymouth. Truly amazing food. Organic, Sustainable, Beautiful, Inventive, and Satisfying. I've been three times. Two times we ate at the bar and once we had a table. The bar was a fun experience, people really talk and the party next to us shared tastes of the personal vintages they had brought in for dinner. On certain nights corkage is free or reduced in price. I have had some of the most succulent appetizers here. The mushroom cigars, the quail and any ravioli. Tasty much. It's kinda pricey but not too bad. Really inventive desserts. Very quiet, there is a seperate small private room and you absolutely NEED a reservation for a table. www.restauranttaste.com

Next, V Restaurant in Murphys. Inventive appetizers. Good size portions. The outside is where we always eat because the inside is entirely TOOOOO noisy. They really need something to baffle the sound. It can be hot or cold outside but they try to have fans and heaters.
The fried stuffed olive appetizer really serves the purpose of getting the juices flowing. When they did a foie gras appetizer it was rich and fresh all at the same time; I had never before had minced watermelon as part of the accompaniment but really good and refreshing. The green bean or asparagus plate with fresh cheese is another large and satisfying appetizer. They do really good lamb shanks and small lamb chop munchies. They have a really good hand at vegetables and often attempt new twists on old services. The bad part is that they bring you skinny bread sticks and cracker bread with a sun dried tomato based dipping sauce. It's too drippy with minimal flavor. Needs basil or garlic or hot peppers or something. Waste of calories. The wait staff is usually friendly and helpful. they are really good at helping people meet a theater time. Again reservations are strongly recommended. www.victoriainn-murphys.com

Mexican food in Calaveras County

2008-10-03T12:27:00.000-07:00

OK, So maybe I'm not an objective judge of Mexican food but I know what I like.

1) Clean, clear flavors and an appealing presentation.

2) A variety of choices of products that allow vegans and meat-heads to eat happily

3) Respect for the patron in providing "healthy choices" if they so choose

That stated let me say in the last five years that I have eaten or attempted to eat at every "Mexican" restaurant in Calaveras, Amador and Tuolumne Counties.

My all time FAV: the taco truck in Valley Springs. Jesse turns out the most amazing food in such a small truck. His Chicken Picata! Chicken breast in a light and tangy sauce with mushroom slices, served with beans, rice, salad and two tortillas for $5.00. Any time he has fish specials be sure to order them. He also makes flan and rice pudding. The flan is a one person serving but the rice pudding is enough for two to three people; dusted with cinnamon and sprinkled with raisins. Wonderful all for $2.50. Yes, it is windy and cold under the shade structure in the winter and darned hot in the summer. Get it "para llevar" and eat in comfort at your own home.

My greatest disappointment has been the new "El Papagallo" in San Andreas. I have yet to be able to eat there. The two times we have gone in the tablecloths were filthy and they would not change them and the second time it was entirely toooooo noooooisy. The wait person could not even hear us when we stated how many people. We left and went to Blue Street Bistro; not Mexican but good.

I had eaten at the previous incarnation of the restaurant when Sylvia from Cliffs Corner was actually cooking. Man that girl and her aunt could cook. One of the best chile rellenos I ever ate; light, fluffy with a creamy cheese filling and a light and satisfyingly hot green sauce. They stopped for health reasons. Too bad.

The other local Mexican restaurants:

La Pinata, Central Valley Springs
Goopy food, muddy flavors and TOOO much cheese on everything.

El Torrero, Burson
We only eat in the bar because the noise level of the other rooms with kids is way loud.
No food that is not fried or breaded. Why? Even the salads have chips. Again not clean flavors, the chicken tastes like the beef and vice versa.

Jose's, Jackson
What on earth is the appeal of this place? Sloppy service and again with too much cheese and red sauce on everything. Chile verde should not be red.

Don Jose's, Ione
Killer chile relleno. Can you tell we like them? Not a canned chile; fresh with the stem on and a light green sauce with white cheese. They have a good beer and wine selection (Negra Modela available) but no liquor. Kinda weird decor and cavernous place; it's a historic building downtown. Really good chicken enchilada.

Michiocan, Jamestown
Excellent food and service. Terribly uncomfortable chairs you wear out just sitting. Their chili verde and chili rellenos are wonderful.

Smoke Cafe, Jamestown is a shadow of it's former self. Best thing is the outside dining on the street. You can watch tourists while you eat.

The mexican restaurant in Twain Harte is merely pedestrian. Emphais on liquor.

The chain that is in Columbia, Murphys and Sonora. So-So.

Camachos, Sonora. I had great hopes. We had met the owners at Irish Winery and they had raved. We ate there after they moved from a little store front to the Sonora Hotel. NO BEER OR WINE! Again Huge stuffed burritos but overwhelmed by sauce. Muddy and messy.

Alfredos, Sonora on the main drag. Again goopy. All wait persons and cooks are ANGLO! What gives? How do they escape "A Day without a Mexican"?

Jackson at the entrance to Old Town. I don't remember the name. If you do not have liquor of any kind and don't serve it for religious reasons it should be posted on the front door. What do you do after you have eaten half a bowl of chips and salsa then find out that not only do they not have liquor they only have Pepsi not Coke. I don't even remember the food. I just hated the experience.

I have never eaten at the Blue Frog in Arnold. I like the owner, Carol Fleming, she also owns Wild Grape in Murphys. Anyone eaten there?

I have eated some absolutely fantastic mexican food in my time.
Blue Agave in Pleasanton; Amazing, Morelia style food.
Huarache in Oakland on International @ 45th. Sonora style with a peasant twist.
Any street food sold at the Dia de Los Muertos festival in the Fruitvale District in Oakland.
El Balazo; Killer Margaritas and choose your own ingredient burritos at several locations : Danville, SF, Pleasanton.

I would LOOOOOVVVEEE any recommendations!!!!!!
All disagreements and comments are enthusiastically appreciated.

Food and all such things.

2008-09-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

I have started this blog to talk about food and all things related. We moved to the Gold County in 2003 after having visited for many many years. I have always made a practice to learn as much as possible about an area when I live there.

Since I moved here I have been a member of the Calaveras Wine Grape Alliance, VSABA, Calaveras Chamber of Commerce and Rancho Calaveras Property Association. I have sponsored three different teams at Murphys Grape Stomp and made it to runner-up twice, eaten at every new and old restaurant in Calaveras County and many of the surrounding counties, catered several local events, belonged to three separate winery wine clubs at different times, gone on both the Ebbett's Pass Scenic Byway Events, several Passport Weekend and Presidents Weekend Wine Events and gone to as many local farmers markets as I can and bought many different kinds of food from local producers. I have tried to go and see and do as much as possible.

Now, I want to talk to others locally about all these items.

I really hate it when a new restaurant opens up and no one goes or when people are treated terribly at a local restaurant and no one else knows about it. I want people to know about all the local food related items that are going on. So, I'm gonna talk and chat and want you to read and chat back.