Mikuni is dishing out the deals for today’s Tightwad Tuesday!

Happy Meal – Indulge in the special fixed price menu for two for only $40.  You and your dining partner can choose one appetizer, one meat dish, 2 rolls and one dessert from the Happy Meal menu for the fixed price of $40.

Kids Eat Free – Bring the family to Mikuni on Wednesdays and receive a free Kids Bento Box with every $15 in regular menu items purchased.

Game Day Party Platter Special – Have your next party at Mikuni between now and December 21^st when all Party Platters are only $50 every Sunday & Monday!

Monday Night Football Happy Hour – Get your fill of both sushi and football  with Happy Hour prices every Monday from 2 p.m. to close.

Monday Night Football Sushi Buffet – Visit the Roseville or Elk Grove locations every Monday night from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet!  Adults can enjoy the buffet for $25, seniors and children for $12, and kids under 5 are free.

‘Tis the season for turkey and all of the trimmings, holiday shopping and celebrating with family and friends. Our office is no exception – this year, we’re celebrating 20 years in Sacramento!

To commemorate our milestone and give back to the community where we live and work, we’re proud to announce our partnership with the Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services (SFBFS), an amazing organization that provides food to those who need it, as well as a host of other services that support families, including a clothing program, a mother -baby program, as well as educational programs.

You might remember back in July when we asked our readers to help us create a fitting slogan for our Sac Foodies t-shirts. You did, and we listened. The winning slogan, which came from KC in Sacramento, was simple: “eat. write.” And we felt it described us to a T (literally!).

Here are two ways you can support SFBFS right now:

• Donate directly by clicking here or by visiting the “Donate Now” link in our side bar.
• Purchase sacfoodies.com items by clicking here or visiting the Sac Foodies t-shirt shop badge in our side bar. 100% of the profits from sales will go directly to SFBFS. You’ll be kickin’ it in style and helping those in our community, too!

We’d like to extend a big thank you to the Cotton Shoppe, for printing the initial run of Sac Foodies t-shirts for our entire office and extending a significant discount which enabled us to make our very first donation to SFBFS!

It’s easy to “Eat. Write. Give.” We hope you’ll consider showing your love for Sac Foodies, while contributing to a great cause this holiday season.

One night a couple weeks ago I had one of those evenings where I left work absolutely starving but dreading the thought of facing anything having remotely to do with cooking. Since I’d never eaten at Lounge on 20, my dining partner in crime and I stopped by and tried a few dishes. Our favorite was the Fried Mac ‘n Cheese (just those three words together basically means it’s going to be good in my book). The perfectly-shaped squares were crispy on the outside and gooey with cheese on the inside. If you stop by Lounge on 20, I suggest you try this dish – I’ve already got my eye on the Fried Risotto for next time.

Lounge On 20
1050 20th Street, Suite 100
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 443-6620

By Liz Conant

In the fall of 1993 my mother made sure I went away to college with all my favorite recipes.  Today, her homemade cookbook is my most referenced amongst my collection of titles including names like Ina, Giada and Tyler.  This recipe is one of my favorites from mom because it’s easy and delicious (similar to a carrot cake).  I added the decorative sprinkles for the first time last weekend for a Halloween party that included six adults and six children – they’re a hit for all ages.  Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting (see below)

Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and sugar. Stir in beaten eggs, oil, and canned pumpkin until thoroughly combined. Stir in chopped walnuts. Spread batter into an ungreased 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Cut into bars.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 (3-ounce each) packages cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons butter OR margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Blend together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the powdered sugar.

By Kris Caputo Hurley

Are you gearing up for a weekend filled with ghosts and goblins?  So are we… and sometimes working with clients, like the California Raisin Marketing Board, we come across fun ideas we just can’t help but share. Case in point – this recipe for adorable Spooky Raisin Spiders. Aside from carving pumpkins, what could be a better way to get in the Halloween spirit with your kids than whipping up some edible spiders?

SPOOKY RAISIN SPIDERS

Cost per serving: $.40
Prep time: 15 minutes
Chill time: 15 minutes

1/2 cup California raisins
1/3 cup almond or peanut butter
3 tablespoons each: honey and unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups brown rice crispy cereal
1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
96 tiny thin black licorice strips
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
24 small candies or frosting for eyes

Place raisins, almond or peanut butter, honey and cocoa powder in a food processor and process until a thick paste forms. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in cereal, using your hands to mix in completely. Press mixture into 12 balls, then press lightly onto a foil or wax paper lined baking sheet. Spread a small amount of melted chocolate on the bottom of each and slide 8 small pieces of licorice under each to form the spider legs; refrigerate until firm. Stir a few drops of water into powdered sugar to make a thick mixture to “glue” eyes onto spiders.

Makes 12 servings

On Sunday, Sac Foodie Brittany and I decided to undertake the Big Nosh challenge: hit 25 Midtown Sacramento foodie locations on foot in just 5 hours time and try a bite, a beverage or both at each local. We were forewarned to skip breakfast and I was glad I did – by around our third or fourth stop I was already filling up. Our favorite stops on the crawl included: Paesano’s (they were so generous with the pizza), Sapporo (they had an entire sushi buffet out for us) and the Guinness and ice cream floats at Butch n’ Nellies Coffee Company. The best part was enjoying the beautiful weather and making new friends on our team which we dubbed “Sacramento 365.”

By  Liz Conant and Brittany Mohr

As the weather cools (although this past weekend was glorious!), my thoughts always turn to baking: bread, cookies, scones – you name it. I look for any excuse to pull out a cookbook and make a real mess in the kitchen.

Last week, my inspiration for baking was not only the weather, but some extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) from California Olive Ranch that we received here in the office.  It boasts not just a pretty bottle but a flavor profile that “delivers a distinct fruity nose, grassy and floral notes, with a smooth and buttery tongue, and a slight peppery finish.” This seemed the perfect excuse for a SacFoodies bread and olive oil tasting.

I narrowed the bread choices to three: rosemary/onion focaccia, an old standby that I’ve made many times, as well as two new recipes – fresh tomato-basil loaf and savory golden pumpkin. I used the California Olive Ranch EVOO in all of the recipes, and poured generous amounts for us to taste with the breads.

The rosemary/onion focaccia was by far everyone’s favorite pairing. The bread is flavorful and calls for sea salt sprinkled on the top, which really brought out the flavor in both the bread and the olive oil. The recipe actually calls for sage, but I’ve always used rosemary since it’s what I have in my garden. This bread is really beautiful and versatile – and always a crowd pleaser.

Onion Focaccia (Recipe Courtesy of The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Bread Machine Baking by Jennie Shapter)

Ingredients
scant 1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups unbleached white bread flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon rapid-rise active dry yeast
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
1 tablespoon chopped red onion

For the Topping
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
5 fresh sage leaves
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
coarsely ground black pepper

Directions
1. Pour the water and oil into the bread pan.  Reverse the order in which you add the wet and dry ingredients if necessary

2. Sprinkle the flour over, ensuring that it covers the liquid.  Add the salt and sugar in separate corners.  Make a shallow indentation in the flour and add the yeast

3. Set the bread machine to the dough setting.  IF your machine has a choice of settings use the basic or pizza dough setting.  Press start.

4. Lightly oil a 10-11-inch shallow round cake pan or pizza pan.  When the cycle has finished, remove the dough from the pan and place it on a surface lightly dusted with flour

5. Punch the dough down and flatten it slightly.  Sprinkle over the sage and red onion and knead gently to incorporate.

6. Shape the dough into a ball, flatten it, then roll it into a round of about 10-11 inches.  Place in the prepared pan.  Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Uncover the risen focaccia, and, using your fingertips, poke the dough to make deep dimples over the surface.  Cover and let rise for 10-15 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in bulk.

8. Drizzle the olive oil over and sprinkle with the onion, sage leaves, sea salt and black pepper.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool slightly.  Serve warm.

The fresh-tomato basil loaf was a tricky little recipe, albeit a great way to use up those final tomatoes and fresh basil from your garden. The loaf wasn’t as flavorful as the focaccia, although it makes a beautiful presentation. If I make this again, I would sauté the tomatoes with the fresh herbs and a bit of sea salt, which would make both the liquid for the bread and the tomato mixture more flavorful. I think this would be lovely with some fresh parmesan, too.

The savory golden pumpkin loaf was my least favorite – at least as a pairing with the olive oil. The texture of this bread is really lovely, thanks to the corn meal and pumpkin seeds (I omitted the pumpkin seeds, only because I didn’t have them on hand). It’s fantastic toasted with a little butter or even pumpkin butter. It also makes for great croutons atop a wintry soup.

The fresh-tomato basil loaf and savory golden pumpkin loaf recipes can be found in The Cook’s Encyclopedia of Bread Machine Baking by Jennie Shapter.

If you’re feeling inspired to bake this week – tell us about it! By leaving a comment, you could win a bottle of extra virgin olive oil from California Olive Ranch. We’ll choose a winner at noon on Wednesday.

By Maria Chacon Kniestedt

Ever wished you could do something you love and benefit a good cause at the same time? Well for this food-loving blogger, The Big Nosh for a Better Sacramento just might be the answer.

The Big Nosh is a food and pub crawl where participants can eat and drink their way through Midtown – and it’s happening this Sunday, October 25.  It’s not too late to buy tickets, either. They are $36 per person available at www.bignosh.com and will include an appetizer and drink sample at each participating location. Quite a few of our favorite Sacramento eateries are participating in The Big Nosh, including:

Brew It Up! Brewery and Grill

The Melting Pot

Azul Mexican Food & Tequila Bar

Kru

Hot Italian Pizza & Panini Bar

Aioli Bodega Restaurant

L Wine Lounge & Urban Kitchen

Bistro 33

The Big Nosh for a Better Sacramento is presented by the Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region benefiting Jewish Family Services, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Sacramento Area Emergency Housing Center, Save Ourselves Breast Cancer Resource Center and Wind Youth Services. A few of us SacFoodies are hoping to make it out, so let us know if you’re going!

For more information, follow The Big Nosh on twitter here or become a fan of The Big Nosh on Facebook here.

By Brittany Mohr

Fuzio’s weekly pasta and wine deals are pretty hard to beat, and some restaurants might stop the savings there.  Not this Italian hot spot.

In recognition of National Pork Month, Fuzio will be giving away their Firecracker Pork Fusilli all day tomorrow, Thursday the 22nd, with the purchase of one beverage.  That’s right, free pasta! Stop in anytime during restaurant hours tomorrow to enjoy this popular signature item on the house.

Sac Foodies Tip: We checked in with the restaurant and they recommend calling ahead for reservations.

Fuzio Universal Bistro
828 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 442-2310

139 G Street
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 753-3877

Everyone has one of those restaurants that they save just for those really special occasions.  Whether it’s a little too pricey or just too big of a production to enjoy on a regular basis, there’s always that one on reserve.

For me, that place has always been The Melting Pot.  The food, service and ambiance have never failed to impress, making it one of my favorite restaurants.  Unfortunately, I only make it there once or twice a year, quite possibly because I leave absolutely stuffed with my fill of fondue to last me a year!

However, I recently learned that I can officially take my favorite restaurant off reserve because, yes, even The Melting Pot has a great happy hour!

Stop by Monday through Friday from 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. for their great “2 for $22” special.  You and a friend can enjoy a pot of cheese fondue for two, plus two glasses of the featured wine or cocktail all for only $22.  And believe me, one pot of fondue will be plenty to satisfy both of your post-work appetites!

In case you can’t make it to their happy hour, I’d suggest stopping by The Melting Pot just for dessert.  With fresh strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, Rice Krispie Treats, marshmallows, pound cake and brownies to dip into one of the many chocolate fondue options, you’ll  satisfy your sweet tooth in a fun and unique way without putting too big of a dent in your wallet ($16 for the small dessert platter and $32 for the large).

Whether you’re planning a special night out, or just want a fun place to stop by with a friend after work, consider adding The Melting Post to your list. (Pictures courtesy of Flickr user _rockinfree)

The Melting Pot
814 15^th St.
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 443-2347

By Cecily Fuller