27th Annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction and Beer Garden, set for October 14th, 4-7pm
This year it will be SIX years since I met Andy at the Curtis Park Wine Tasting! It’s an event that is really near and dear to our hearts. We are really looking forward to taking our annual walk over to the Sierra 2 Center in a few weeks to enjoy food, wine and friends. 🙂
If you’d like to read how we met at this event, you can click HERE.
I am happy to share information on this event (which happens to be one of the BEST food and wine tastings of the year in Sacramento) put together by the Sierra 2 Center and I hope you will join us for the 27th Annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting! -cg
PS: The Curtis Park Wine Tasting Organizers are STILL LOOKING for the following (click the links below for more information!):
- Donations of items for auction or raffle (printable form)
or use this online form - Participation as a winery, brewery, cidery
- Participation as a restaurant
The 27th Annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden, one of SCNA’s largest fundraisers, brings local wineries, breweries and restaurants to Sierra 2 Center for tastings. Attendees enjoy delicious food and beverages along with the exciting silent auction and raffle drawings. Items available for bid include original art, spa packages, beach rentals, dance lessons and much more.
Tickets: Advance until 11:59pm, Oct.13th : $45 (SCNA Members)/$50 (Non-members) Membership can be purchased or renewed during your registration process.
Online ticket sales will close at 11:59pm on Oct. 13. After Oct. 13: $60 all. REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.
You can follow the Sierra 2 Center on twitter here and find them on Facebook here. They are now on Instagram here.
26th Annual SCNA Wine Tasting, Silent Auction and Beer Garden Event Set for October 8th, 2016
I can’t believe it’s been five years since I met Andy at the Curtis Park Wine Tasting and now we live here in Curtis Park together. We are really looking forward to taking our annual walk over to the Sierra 2 Center in a few weeks to enjoy food, wine and friends. 🙂 If you’d like to read how we met at this event, you can click HERE.
I am happy to share information on this event (which happens to be one of the BEST food and wine tastings of the year in Sacramento) put together by the Sierra 2 Center and I hope you will join us for the 26th Annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting! -cg
The 2016 Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden Event promises to be one of the best ever! In it’s 26th year, the event boasts more than 20 of the best restaurants in Sacramento, more than 50 wineries, and the always popular Beer Garden orchestrated by Pangaea Bier Cafe & Bottleshop. We will have special demonstrations by culinary students of American River College and Oak Cafe along with hundreds of silent auction and raffle items.
The annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden Event is the largest fundraising event for the Sierra 2 Center and Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association. Proceeds from the event help us fund artistic, cultural, educational and recreational activities at Sierra 2 Center and throughout Sacramento, including the operations of the Senior Center and community building events. Additional beneficiaries of this event include Bret Harte Elementary School and C.K. McClatchy High School. The event’s success helps fund many different important community activities.
Tickets: Advance until 11:59pm, Oct.5 : $45 (SCNA Members)/$50 (Non-members) Membership can be purchased or renewed during your registration process.
Online ticket sales will close at 11:59pm on Oct. 5. After Oct. 5: $60 all. REGISTER FOR TICKETS HERE.
Online tickets available until 11:59pm, Oct. 5. After Oct. 5, tickets available at Sierra 2 Center office and at the door the day of the event. Tickets are also available for purchase by visiting the Sierra 2 Center office at 2791 24th Street or by calling 916-452-3005 prior to 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 7, 2016. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door prior to the event.
You can follow the Sierra 2 Center on twitter here and find them on Facebook here.
Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction and Beer Garden Event 25th Anniversary, October 10th, 2015
I can’t believe it’s been four years since I met Andy at the Curtis Park Wine Tasting and now we live here in Curtis Park together. We are really looking forward to taking our annual walk over to the Sierra 2 Center in a few weeks to enjoy food, wine and friends. 🙂
I am happy to share information on this event (which happens to be one of the best food and wine tastings of the year in Sacramento) put together by the Sierra 2 Center, and I hope you will join us for the 25th Annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting! -cg
The tradition continues at the 2015 Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden Event on Sacramento, October 10th, 2015 4-7pm.
Building on the success of 24 previous years, this event showcases more than 50 wineries, 20 restaurants and handpicked craft brews by owner & operator of Curtis Park’s own Pangaea Bier Cafe.
The Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden Event is the biggest event of its kind in Curtis Park. Event proceeds benefit SCNA, Bret Harte Elementary School and McClatchy High School. The event takes place at the Sierra 2 Center, 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, California 95818
Bring your friends with you, or come meet some new ones. This year we’re turning 25 and we’re celebrating in a VERY big way.
Event Highlights:
• Raw Oysters on the Half Shell (Scott’s Seafood on the River)
• Dad’s Kitchen
• Freeport Bakery
• Lucca Restaurant & Bar
• Localis (apart of the Broderick Restaurant family)
• Sugar Plum Vegan Bakery
• Tower Café
• Tapa the World
• Taylor’s Kitchen
Event Sponsors: Cook Realty, McDonald Plumbing, Joseph F. Eschleman, Black Pine Communities, Melissa Heede (Remax)
Advance until 11:59pm, Oct. 7: $40 (SCNA Members)/$45 (Non-members) Membership can be purchased or renewed during your registration process. Online ticket sales will close at 11:59pm on Oct. 7. After Oct. 7: $50 all online tickets available until 11:59pm, Oct. 7. After Oct. 7, tickets available at Sierra 2 Center office and at the door the day of the event. Tickets are also available for purchase by visiting the Sierra 2 Center office at 2791 24th Street or by calling 916-452-3005 prior to 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 9, 2015. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door prior to the event.
You can follow the Sierra 2 Center on twitter here and find them on Facebook here.
Salmon with Hazelnut Shallot Butter and a Cauliflower Sweet Potato Mash
I love September and October in Sacramento. There are so many fun events to celebrate Farm-to-Fork and harvest time. There’s an intoxicating energy all around. The wineries are busy harvesting their grapes and there gets to be a little chill in the air in the mornings and when the sun goes down.
Though the Farm-to-Fork celebration has officially come to a close, it’s certainly not over. So many local restaurants and grocery stores have adopted this theme, and it’s exciting to see the concept take off locally just in the past two years. (Even though Alice Waters was practicing Farm-to-Table 40 years ago!! and Sacramento is not doing anything new.) 😉
I know that ever since I went Paleo (3 ½ years ago), I have made it a point to eat non-processed, local and organic foods when at all possible. I was extremely blessed to meet a partner who had adopted the same healthy eating habits as me and we have continued to be Paleo/Primal in the three years since.
We have made some incredible Paleo meals together with the best ingredients from two of my sponsors: Nugget Market and Whole Foods. We have also used other purveyors: Taylor’s Market and Sunh Fish for our meats and fish.
This Salmon dish is only an example of the kinds of things we prepare on a weekly basis. There is almost always something this special, so many times, it is more tempting to stay in than to eat in a restaurant. Don’t even get me started on all the eclectic wine that we have to pair up with whatever we make. 😉
The recipe was adapted from the Salmon Hazelnut Recipe from the book It Starts with Food by Dallas and Melissa Hartwig. The cauliflower and sweet potato mash was done on a whim and is all my own.
I hope you continue to practice Farm-to-Fork/Farm-to-Table at your house and when dining out beyond this month and celebrate this incredible agricultural paradise we are lucky enough to call home. 🙂
The star of this recipe is the compound butter that tops the salmon after it has been baked. You can use all or some of it, but we had a lot left over (even after using 1/2 of it on 20 ounces of salmon).
Make the compound butter ahead of time (recipe below) and use the freezer to re-solidify it if you happen to be short on time.
For the salmon
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp melted butter
salt and pepper to season
20 ounces wild-salmon (it was easier for us to portion after cooking)
Procedure:
Preheat oven to 400. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper and brush with melted butter, then sprinkle with salt. Place salmon in the middle, skin side down. Brush salmon with melted butter and season again.
Place salmon in oven and roast it about 10 min. Be careful not to overcook. To serve, portion your filets and top each with slices of hazelnut butter and additional toasted hazelnuts.
Hazelnut compound butter
Ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter
4 Tbsp hazelnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 small shallot and 1 garlic clove, finely minced
2 sprigs fresh thyme, finely minced
Procedure:
Toast hazelnuts over medium heat until golden, then set aside to cool.
Sauté shallot and garlic in 1 Tbs of melted butter until shallot is translucent. Remove from heat.
Then add shallot mixture to the toasted hazelnuts, along with the remaining butter, thyme, and some salt and pepper.
Place mixture into the freezer for about 10-20 minutes.
Then place a large piece of plastic wrap on flat surface and transfer the butter mixture (after it has set up a little in the freezer) to the center of plastic. Form a log shape like above. Wrap tightly in the plastic and chill until solid. This will take 2 hours in the refrigerator, or about 45 minutes in the freezer.
Spinach salad with red and yellow bell peppers, avocado, mushrooms, and salami from Taylor’s Market.
For the Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Mash
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower (cut into small pieces)
1 large white sweet potato (cubed)
1 shallot
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs chopped garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
Salt to taste
Procedure:
Cook cauliflower and sweet potato in boiling water until fork tender. Drain water and set aside.
Chop shallot into thin slices and sauté in melted butter in a small pan. Add the garlic. Cook until shallot is translucent.
Place cooked cauliflower and potato into a food processor with the shallot mixture.
Add the garlic powder and chicken stock and pulse until completely smooth. Season to taste.
Last but certainly not least was the wine pairing. A 2010 reserve Pinot Noir from one of our favorite (and super local) wineries, BellaGrace Vineyards. The grapes are sourced from Sangiacomo Vineyards in Carneros. It is a fairly ripe Pinot Noir, but with the distinctive strawberry flavors unique to the region. The wine is fairly acidic, which perfectly compliments the fatty characteristics of Pacific salmon.
You can find BellaGrace Vineyards on Facebook here or visit them in person at the winery (complete with a cave cellar) at 22715 Upton Rd in Plymouth from 11:00am to 4:00pm, Fri-Sun. They also have a tasting room in Sutter Creek (73 Main St, Sutter Creek) open from 11am-5pm daily.
Cheers! 🙂
Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association’s 23rd Annual Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden Event: October 5th, 2013, 4-7pm
It’s that time of year again, and I can’t believe it’s already here! The Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association’s 23rd Annual Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden event presented by Cook Realty, benefitting Sierra 2 Center for the Arts & Community, McClatchy High School Drama Club and Debate Club, and Bret Harte Elementary School will take place on Saturday, October 5th, 2013 from 4-7pm at the Sierra 2 Center.
If you are a wine lover and only attend one event per year, this is the one you should experience. Make it your mission to visit Taylor’s Market wine booth to meet Dick Ebert (wine guru at Taylor’s Market) and check out “Dick’s Picks.”
cavegrrl.com readers may recall this event as especially important to me because it is where I met Andy almost 2 years ago. If you don’t know our story, here’s my post from last year to get you up to speed 🙂
This year, the event boasts more than twenty of the areas finest restaurants, fifty wineries, and a dozen breweries will be sampling their culinary treats and beverages to nearly six hundred enthusiasts within the halls and courtyards of the historic Sierra 2 Arts & community Center. Attendees will spend an indulgent three hours sampling food and drink, vying for high-end auction items and ‘experiences’, and socializing with other guests. In addition to the usual tasting rooms and outdoor pavilion, the event features an outdoor Craft and Belgian Beer Garden orchestrated by Pangaea Two Brews Café and, as a unique offering, cooking demonstrations by Roxanne O’Brien’s culinary students from American River College’s Oak Cafe.
The Wine Tasting & Silent Auction committee has confirmed some of its favorites will return again, like The Supper Club, Lucca, Aioli Bodega, Tower Café, Chops Steakhouse, Espresso Metro, Taylor’s Market, American River College’s Oak Café, Dad’s Kitchen, Gunther’s Ice Cream, and Freeport Bakery.
Scott’s Seafood will also be returning with their fabulous oyster dish. Newcomer of Wicked ‘Wich mobile food truck fame is Chris Jarosz, introducing his brick and mortar restaurant, Broderick’s.
On the beverage front, the aforementioned Dick Ebert, is again coordinating the more than fifty wineries to bring the palate to a perfect state of seduction. There will be no shortage of ways to pair the food options with the beverages flowing from table to table, with representatives on hand to answer questions and provide suggestions.
As tantalizing as the gustatory elements might be, they’re not the only aspects of the event that patrons look forward to. Each year over one-hundred fifty items are put up for bid on silent auction or included in a raffle. The spa certificates, unique art and photography pieces, ceramic sculpture, “green building” consultations, fencing lessons, and musical instruments have no problems finding bidders. But the items that cause the most stir are the experience-based packages and the private group dinners. These ‘experience packages’ combine the best in educational and cultural outings, culinary and gustatory adventures, and outdoor recreation experiences. Vacation rental packages for Lake Tahoe, Santa Cruz, and Cabo San Lucas will surely get even the most reluctant bidder in the game.
In addition to the art, entertainment, and service donations, we have lined up such things as Date Night packages, Private wine tastings in Napa, Cut your own organic Christmas Tree outing, Create the Flavor of the Month at Gunther’s Ice Cream and more. Italian language classes packaged with Italian delicacies and Chianti, Date-night packages including restaurant and entertainment vouchers, private wine-tasting experiences at wineries, and the opportunity to create the ‘Flavor of the Month’ at Gunther’s Ice Cream are small representatives of what will be offered this year. Not to be missed!
One of the most fun and unique aspects of the Curtis Park Wine Tasting & Silent Auction event is the ‘neighborhood dinners’—privately hosted, themed events for six or more people, donated to SCNA for individual seat purchase by neighbors. This year, more than a dozen of these “dinners” will include themes such as southern-style Kentucky Derby Day brunch, a ‘Pub Crawl’, French and Indian cuisine, Specialty Wine and Cheese pairings, and more.
The Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community is a charming, Andalusian Spanish Revival-style stucco building built in 1923 as an elementary school.
Located on three lushly landscaped acres in the beautiful Curtis Park neighborhood within easy reach of midtown and downtown Sacramento, the historic site was saved from demolition by SCNA in 1979. SCNA’s members and community volunteers renovated the school, transforming it into a non-profit center for artistic, cultural and educational activities.
Included as a beneficiary of the event in 2013 are two groups that are as important to the development of young people in our community as any: the C.K. McClatchy High School Drama Club and the Debate Club. SCNA is proud to promote and support these two groups through our fundraising efforts. Additionally, local school Bret Harte Elementary has been gifted with $30,000 since 2003 for its participation in the event.
The remainder of the event proceeds goes to the upkeep and restoration of the Sierra 2 Center, and to support SCNA initiatives such as the operation of the Senior Center at Sierra 2, hosting neighborhood gatherings such as Music in the Park and children’s playgroups, the artisan festival in William Curtis Park-Curtis Fest, and enhancing general neighborhood quality of life.
Advance tickets thru 10/2: $35 SCNA Members; $45 Non-members. Tickets from 10/3 to event day are $50 for everyone. To purchase tickets or receive more information on the Sierra Curtis Neighborhood Association’s 23rd Annual Wine Tasting & Silent Auction, please call the Sierra 2 Center at (916) 452-3005. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.sierra2.org thru 10/2. The Sierra 2 Center is located at 2791 24th Street, Sacramento, 95818
You can follow the Sierra 2 Center on twitter here and find them on Facebook here.
RSVP for the 23rd Annual Curtis Park Wine Tasting, Silent Auction & Beer Garden on Facebook here.
Pistachio and Wasabi Crusted Ahi Tuna Steaks with Avocado “Mousse”
Sometimes the most simple ingredients and cooking methods can yield the most amazing meals. This was the case last night. Just a few ingredients and it was less than an hour from kitchen to table. Of course, you’ll need a food processor to make things easy, but you can also use a coffee grinder for the fish coating and a blender for the avocado mousse. Once coated, you can prepare the tuna in a skillet on a range top, or grill it. I know you’ll want to try it once you read how simple it is, so I will cut right to the chase. 😉 Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup raw pistachios
1 Tbs wasabi powder
1 large ahí tuna steak (about 20 ounces, perfect for 2 people)*
2 Tbs olive oil
Procedure:
Pulse the pistachios and the wasabi powder together in a food processor until they reach a finely chopped consistency (like toddy grind coffee).
Coat your tuna steak with the olive oil and roll it in the ground nut mixture, careful to cover all sides. Allow to marinade in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes.
No matter how you choose to cook your tuna steak, allow the meat to sear on all sides and get slightly warm in the center. It takes longer to cook on a charcoal grill, and a much shorter amount of time on a gas grill. I am very comfortable using a skillet, so I would heat 1 Tbs olive oil or avocado oil in a pan and get it very hot to sear on all sides. The time it takes to sear and cook through without over-cooking depends of course on the thickness of your steak. 🙂
Ingredients:
2 avocados
1 Tbs lime juice
wasabi powder (to your taste, 1 Tbs for moderate heat))
1/2 tsp salt
Procedure:
Place the avocados, wasabi powder, lime and salt in the food processor and blend until the mixture becomes mousse-like. Remove the mixture and place in a Ziploc or pastry bag. Place in the freezer and allow to firm (20-30 minutes). Do not allow to completely freeze. Pipe a design of your choice on a plate and top with the remaining pistachio and wasabi coating to dress up the plate.
*The fish Andy purchased came from Taylor’s Market. You can also go to Sunh’s Fish or Whole Foods to buy a similar cut. I recommend sushi-grade. It’s more expensive, but you won’t regret it! Have a great weekend!
The side dish pictured is a simple sauté of kale, onions, a portobello mushroom and bacon.
Me and You and One Year Later: The SCNA Wine Tasting and Silent Auction
The SCNA Wine Tasting and Silent Auction is just around the corner. It will be held on October 6th, 2012, from 4-7pm at the Sierra 2 Center in Curtis Park.
Just to let you all know, this event is kind of major for me. 😉 Last year at the tasting, I met the love of my life! 🙂
Now, I didn’t go WITH my love to the 2011 event, I actually MET him there. Like, he just so happened to be there! How weird is that nowadays? Until then, I had been meeting people via an internet dating website and not having much luck at all. Then all of a sudden, somehow, someway this guy (with all these things in common as me) happened to be single and in the right place at the right time…I am still sort of shocked at my luck!
I had two tickets to the event from promoting it last year on cakegrrl.com, and I didn’t have a date, so I asked one of my female friends (C) to join me. We drove separately, and met at the entrance (this detail will prove to be helpful a little later in the story). Once inside, we walked around the many food and wine booths, tasting some of the best wines (not only local but from around the world), and some great food from Chef Ame (formerly of L Wine Lounge), Dad’s Kitchen, and Scott’s Seafood. (PS: They’ll all be back this year!)
I precisely remember spotting RB for the first time. He was standing by a tall outdoor table and I was crossing the courtyard. He was kind of darker skinned (now I know this was from running outdoors), had dark hair, and a tall, thin frame. I was instantly attracted to him, and as I walked in front of him, our eyes met, but I quickly looked away (as I felt embarrassed he caught me glancing at him). I continued to have fun with my friend until the event was nearly over. Soon, she left to go home, but I stayed to close out the party.
On my way out of the Sierra 2 Center, I spotted a booth that was still pouring their leftover wine. It just so happened to be the Taylor’s Market booth. It just so happened to be run by Dick and Kathy Ebert. (Dick is the wine expert at Taylor’s Market). They just so happened to be pouring Ridge Cabernet. And the handsome guy I spotted earlier just so happened to be standing at their booth and chatting with them. That’s when I walked up to all of them and stuck out my glass. “Oh may I try some?” I asked.
Of course, at that point, everyone was very friendly. Kathy poured me almost a full glass and I looked up (sigh…yes, looked up–because I am so short) to see the handsome guy looking down at me. He smiled and we started chatting. To be honest, I am not sure what we started chatting about exactly. But, I know that it was about food and wine and Sacramento… and Taylor’s Market… and Curtis Park… and wine (I know, I mentioned that already)… and was I here by myself… and cars.
And then, I was invited back to his house in Curtis Park… to see the cars… his 2 older cars… if I was so inclined. I accepted. I felt comfortable around him already, and his neighbors were also headed back to have a look at the cars as well.
I sort of marveled over the relics in his garage. The giant of a black Chrysler Imperial, and the funky little blue Citroën. Soon his friends left, and I was standing there in the garage with him, alone.
We went into his house and I sat on the kitchen counter. We talked for hours. During our discussion, we discovered that we have many things in common. The biggest thing was wine, I think… followed closely by the Paleo diet!! Other things included running, jazz, love of architecture. I think I left his house finally around midnight. I headed back to my car (parked God knows where) without really exchanging contact information… I just didn’t know for sure if he was available or not… or if he even liked me. The next day, I found him on Facebook and sent a message along. I told him there was no pressure and if anything I liked him and would like to just hang out again if only as friends. Fast forward…a month of food/wine events/free media invites to movies/shopping at Total Wine together/pumpkin carving/grilling out and just spending time together… I sort of just turned him into my boyfriend… or as he likes to say, “I turned HER into my girlfriend.” But really, what did it for me was that he made me bacon wrapped dates one evening for dessert. The only reason he knew I liked them was because I mentioned them in passing. The fact that he remembered the details and made them especially for me really meant a lot. A man who listens AND can make you a Paleo dessert. Sign me up!
And here we are…a year later. And all because of the SCNA Wine Tasting and Silent Auction 🙂
Here’s the official press release from the folks at the Sierra 2 Center:
The Curtis Park Wine Tasting & Silent Auction event is always the talk of the neighborhood. It brings people together for a decadent three hours of sampling food from the area’s finest restaurants and wine from more than 50 wineries. Guests get into friendly competitive bidding in the silent auction and have high hopes to win a raffle item.
The wine-tasting gala is SCNA’s largest fundraising event, and it also benefits two organizations key to the neighborhood: Bret Harte Elementary School and McClatchy High School Drama Club.
Event planners expect to exceed 25 restaurants. Restaurant committee chair Carrie Sage will present in a super strong line-up to show off the city’s expanding food scene. 2012 Participating Restaurants: Tapa the World, Tower Cafe, Gunther’s Quality Ice Cream, AME Mean Eats, Mighty Kong Cafe, Scott’s On The River, Aioli Bodega Espanola, Chops Steakhouse, Enotria Restaurant & Winebar, The Supper Club at The Crocker, Lucca Restaurant & Bar, Casa Garden Restaurant, Espresso Metro, Mamma Susanna’s Ristorante Italiano, Freeport Bakery, Dad’s Kitchen, Taylor’s Market, Oak Cafe at ARC, Selland’s Family Restaurants, La Bombe Ice Cream & More, Pangaea Two Brews Cafe & Bottle Shop, Ambrosia Fine Food.
Wines and a Beer Garden: On the beverage side of the evening, Dick Ebert, our neighbor and wine guru at Taylor’s Market, is again coordinating more than 50 wineries to offer samplings. Winery representatives will be on hand to make suggestions in pairing wine with food. Beer drinkers will want to step into the Belgian Beer Garden. It’s organized by Curtis Park neighbor Rob Archie, who owns PPangaea Two Brews Cafe & Bottle Shop on Franklin Boulevard (across from Gunther’s).
Silent auction: For the silent auction and raffle drawings, we are again lining up Experience Packages, which encourage competitive bidding and make the auction items more interesting: educational and cultural outings, culinary and gustatory adventures and outdoor recreation experiences. In addition to the art, entertainment, and service donations, we have lined up such things as a Condo in Sedona for a week, a condo in Tahoe for a weekend, a special bottle of Montagia wine autographed by co-creators Joe Montana and wine maker Ed Sbragia, Date Night packages, Private wine tastings in Napa and the Foothills, Create the flavor of the month at Gunther’s Ice Cream, and more.
Tickets are $35 for SCNA Members, $45 for Non-members. To buy tickets to the event, click here!
We still need auction and raffle items to round out the selection so we ask neighbors and businesses to consider donating. We especially encourage donation of experiences: cooking, art, dance or photography lessons; share your favorite cookbooks or children’s books by bundling two or three together with a note. These donations make the event even more special. All donations are tax-deductible.
A popular and unique aspect of the event is the ‘neighborhood dinners’— privately hosted, themed events for six or more people, donated to SCNA for purchase by neighbors. This year we anticipate more than a dozen of these ‘dinners,’ to include themes such as Running of the Bulls with food from Spain, southern-style Kentucky Derby Day brunch, a ‘Pub Crawl’ that goes from host to host, French and Indian cuisine and more. Seats at these dinners will be sold during the event in Room 11, separate from the auction and raffle, on a first-come first-serve basis; they go quickly.
Parking: In order to offer the Beer Garden and expand the venue, we are once again closing the main parking lot at Sierra 2 Center. We encourage people to walk, ride a bike or carpool. Side street parking is available but limited.
To get involved:
Donations: Donations are needed and appreciated. They are tax deductible and are very important to the Silent Auction and Raffle. Call Melissa McKenzie at (916) 396-8490. Donations are accepted until Sept. 28. We are happy to make arrangements for pick-up.
Sponsors: Program Advertising opportunities are available until Sept. 18. Please call 452-3005 for sponsor information.
You can follow Sierra 2 on Facebook here.
Did I mention you can buy tickets to the event here?!
Happy #Cabernet Day! (and Espresso Rubbed Steak Recipe)
It’s Cabernet Day, and what better excuse to promote the latest wine from the (CK) Mondavi family… namely Marc Mondavi and his Divining Rod wines.
I was sent two bottles to try and I thought I would share with you my thoughts, along with a fab recipe to pair with the cabernet!! 🙂
The first was a bottle of 2010 Santa Lucia Highlands Chardonnay. In the shipment, I was also sent a set of divining rods. I haven’t tried them yet, but I have to say they look pretty cool.
The second bottle was 2010 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Both retail for about $17. Since I liked the Cabernet a lot more for the price, I thought I would choose today to showcase it here on cavegrrl. 🙂
It went very well with the grilled steak, zucchini & heirloom salad, and parsnip chips we made for dinner that evening.
Here’s the recipe for the coffee rub we had on the steak… BTW, the steak was grass-fed, French-cut, one-inch thick, bone-in ribeye from Taylor’s Market. It weighed in at about 28 ounces including the bone. It was sourced from Wintun Ranch.
Coffee Rub:
1/3 cup espresso (we used coffee from CoffeeWorks)
1 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Coriander
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Tbs Chili Powder
2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp sea salt
Blend all spices together in a small bowl and coat the steaks first with olive oil, then coat them in the coffee/spice blend. Grill them to desired doneness.
You can find The Divining Rod wines on Facebook here and on twitter here. You can find out more about Marc Mondavi here:
cavegrrl.com 
