Rachel Dunn Chocolate Workshop, Concord

My sister found this chocolate workshop on Travelzoo. It was a 1 1/2 hour workshop at Rachel Dunn Chocolates for $29/person.

There were 50 people in the class. We were brought to the production warehouse after we donned our aprons, washed our hands and put on hair caps. We were not allowed to take pictures during the workshop but essentially we were taught how to make chocolates and decorate them. The instructor is one of the 2 owners, either Rachel or her husband Mike. We were allowed to take our products home--chocolate covered strawberries, peanut butter cup, truffles, toffee, peppermint patties and sea salt caramel chocolates. Yes, we made all of these chocolates in our workshop! We were also allowed to taste to our heart's content in the retail store after the class. It was an informative and fun couple of hours--well worth the $29.

2015 08 01

Ice Monster, Walnut Creek

After lunch, we had some time to kill before our chocolate workshop (see post tomorrow). I found Ice Monster just a 10-minute drive from Pare Grill. Ice Monster is located at 2230 Oak Grove Road in Walnut Creek. They serve my favorite dessert--shaved snow!

Kid size Mango Snow Ice with Mango Jelly, Condensed Milk & Mochi Balls. The kid size portion was just the right size for 2 of us after lunch. $4.50.

2015 08 01

Pare Grill at Morning Star Cafe, Concord

I have to admit I've never eaten in a Filipino Restaurant. With Yelp's help, I was able to find one in Concord. The Pare Grill is located inside a restaurant named Morning Star Cafe at 4673 Clayton Road in Concord.

Pork Lumpia--12 pieces for $5.88. The skin was crispy and the homemade sweet chili sauce was delicious. The chicken lumpia came with one of our plates and I liked the chicken better. I thought the pork had a very porky flavor, which was a little overpowering. The chicken on the other hand was delicious. My sister thought the pork was much better though.

Longganisa (Filipino style sausage) Breakfast--served with garlic fried rice, fried eggs and fried banana. I loved the longganisa. They were so flavorful and not very greasy.

Apprentice Meal--$8.88. Charbroiled chicken, garlic rice & pancit bihon. The chicken was moist and full of flavor. The bihon was a little over salted but still good and the chicken lumpias were delicious.

Adobo Chicken served with Garlic Rice and Fried Banana--$4.88. The chicken was tender but it needed a little more flavor.

The owner brought out complimentary casava cakes with shredded coconut on top.

The owner also brought out Jasmin juice. He came up with the recipe just a few days before. It was delicious! Tasted like it had tamarind in it.

2015 08 01

Thursday Night Dinner

Here's this week's Thursday Night Dinner at Flavor Bistro in Santa Rosa. Another great meal for $24.95, including wine pairing.

Tortino Di Granchio--Sautéed Dungeness Crab Cake Garnished with Basil Aioli & Crispy Shoestring Sweet Potatoes, paired with 2014 Alexander Valley Vineyards Gewürztraminer (Organic), Mendocino. Delicious! The Gewürztraminer was delicious as well.

Pasta Al Savor--Organic Pasta Served in Prosciutto Sauce Finished with Fresh Ricotta & Parmigiano-Reggiano Topped with Walnut Gremolata, paired with 2013 Preston Farm & Winery Cinsault (Organic), Dry Creek Valley. Great pasta with a prosciutto cream sauce.

Brasato Di Maiale--Slow Cooked Pork Medallion Served in Sugo D'Arrosto Garnished with Creamy Polenta & Heirloom Tomato-Zucchini Ragoût, paired 2012 St. Francis Winery & Vineyards "Old Vines" Zinfandel, Sonoma. the pork was fork tender and the polenta was creamy.

Crostata Di Mele--Organic Apple Galette Layered with Almond Frangipane & Served with Vanilla Custard, paired with 2014 Vietti Winery Moscato d'Asti, Cascinetta D.O.C.G., Italy. This was a new moscato--loved it!

2015 09 10

Sapphire Hills Wine & Food Pairing

We purchased a 5-course wine & food pairing at Sapphire Hill from Living Social. Cost was $39 for 2. This was a great deal. They were good portions and it was more than enough for lunch.

We arrived at 1:30 pm and waited another 15 minutes for the rest of the group to show up.

Watermelon Salad, paired with Rosso Moscato--$25/bottle. The watermelon salad had pickled onions. The onion was pickled in a mixture of 1 cup Moscato, 1 cup red wine vinegar, 1 Tbs sugar, 2 tsp salt and hot sauce to taste. The Rosso is a blend of Moscato, Cincault and Chardonnay. The salad was delicious but I wasn't a big fan of the Rosso.

Pannini with Black Forest Ham, St. George Cheese, Arugula, Shallot and Pickled Onion, paired with 2013 Chardonnay--$28/bottle. Again, I liked the pannini but I'm not a fan of oaked chardonnay and this one was oaked.

Chicken Stew Over Polenta, paired with 2012 Cinque Gemma--$40/bottle. The cinque gemma is a blend of Sangiovese, Nero D'avolo, Barbera, Primitivo, Petite Syrah. The polenta was made with 1 cup polenta in 4 cups water and baked in the oven. Parmesan cheese was added after 30 minutes then baked for another 30 minutes. This was my favorite dish and pairing. The Cinque Gemma goes so well with the tomato sauce.

Pulled Pork with Apple Slaw, paired with 2013 Porky's 2.0--$29/bottle. Porky's is a sweet wine, a blend of old vine Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Alicante Bouchet. Residual sugar is 3%. It paired well with the spicy pulled pork. 

Chocolate Brownie with Salted Caramel, paired with 2011 Merleaux Merlot--$25/bottle. I loved the brownie.

Watermelon Sorbet

We got other pourings as well:

2014 Cinque Blanca--$24, a blend of Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, Gewurtztraminer and Chardonnay

2012 Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley--$40

2012 Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley--$29

2012 Rubineaux--$40, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, Nero D'avolo

2012 Samocha, Dry Creek Valley--$28, a dessert wine with 2% residual sugar. 

2013 Y, a blend of Barbera and Petite Syrah

2015 07 25

Panzanella

I love home-grown tomatoes in the summer and I love panzanella.

Panzanella

4 large vine ripened tomatoes, cut into large cubes or wedges

1/2 pound stale country-style Italian bread, cubed and tossed with olive oil 

2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup Italian extra-virgin olive oil

1 bunch fresh basil, stems removed, washed and spun dry, chiffonade

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spread the bread cubes on a roasting pan and toast the bread in 450 degree oven for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, bread, and onions.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, vinegar and oil. Pour the dressing over the bread salad and let sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. Add the basil and salt and pepper, to taste, and toss to combine.

2015 06 23

Packing for Greece

Since we were traveling on our own and by ferry, I carried a backpack. I figured it would be easier to get on and off the ferry if I didn't have to roll on a suitcase. Plus, I could keep my pack with me instead of stowing it in the luggage hold.

Yes, I traveled for 2 weeks in Greece with the small pack on my back plus my travel purse. Everything you see on me is all I brought. The backpack is a Granite Gear Vapor Trail--it is incredibly lightweight. My only complaint is that it had only 1 compartment so I had to pull everything out if something was on the bottom.

I love my Fit travel purse because it has a lot of pockets and is large enough for me to carry a guide book and a bottle of water in the main compartment. It is very old and I'm not sure they even sell it now.

My secret for packing in a backpack was to put each outfit in a ziplock bag. That way, I could easily pull everything out and not have to re-roll everything. I brought a beach towel because I wasn't sure if it would be available at the hotels. Turns out, beach towels were only available at our hotel in Mykonos and so I was glad I had it for the trip. For the first time in my travels, I chose not to bring an umbrella. I had checked the weather report and rain was nowhere in sight. Unfortunately, it did rain on us. I wish I had brought it.

I only brought 2 pairs of shoes. It's a Croc on the left. The sandals took me from beach to dinner without any problems. They were comfortable enough for me to walk all day without getting sore feet. I could rinse them off at the end of the day and they were like new for the next day. The water shoes on the right also worked for hiking. This was my 2nd secret to packing light--limit the number of shoes you bring.