Food and Drink, Entertainment Guide 10.21.2022

Delicious soup perfect for the cooler season

ooler weather arrives just as prime entertaining season heats up. Those who will be hosting gatherings soon can expand their recipe repertoire to feed guests and keep them satisfied. Borrowing some flavors from the season can make entertaining festive and even more flavorful.

Pumpkins and winter squashes are popular in fall, and their versatility undoubtedly contributes to that popularity. However, when chilly days require something to warm you up from the inside out, nothing can beat a soothing soup. And soup recipes can be altered to easily feed a crowd.

Cooks can step out of their chicken soup comfort zones and try this recipe for “Roasted Pumpkin Soup With Pumpkin Crisps” from “The Complete Mexican, South American & Caribbean Cookbook” (Metro Books) by Jane Milton, Jenni Fleetwood and Marina Filippeli.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup With Pumpkin Crisps

3 to 3 1/2 pounds pumpkin

6 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

Pinch of cayenne pepper

4 cups vegetable stock

Salt and ground black pepper

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Fresh cilantro leaves, to garnish

For the pumpkin crisps

Wedge of fresh pumpkin, seeded 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prick the pumpkin around the top several times with a fork. Brush the pumpkin with plenty of the oil and bake for 45 minutes or until tender.

Leave until cool enough to handle.

2. Take care when cutting the pumpkin, as there may still be a lot of hot steam inside.

When cool enough to handle, scoop out and discard the seeds. Scoop out and chop the flesh.

3. Heat about 4 tablespoons of the remaining oil (you may not have to use all of it) in a large pan and add the onions, garlic and ginger, then cook gently for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the coriander, turmeric, and cayenne, and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin flesh and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes until tender.

4. Cool the soup slightly, then puree it in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return the soup to the rinsed out pan and season well.

5. Meanwhile, prepare the pumpkin crisps. Using a swivel-blade potato peeler, pare long thin strips off the wedge of pumpkin. Heat the oil in a small pan and fry the strips in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp. Drain on paper towels.

6. Reheat the soup and ladle it into bowls. Top with the pumpkin crisps and garnish each portion with sesame seeds and cilantro leaves.

– Courtesy of Metro Creative

Photo courtesy of Metro Creative Cooks can step out of their chicken soup comfort zones and try this recipe for “Roasted Pumpkin Soup With Pumpkin Crisps.”

Yucatan Chicken Skewers Harvest Salad

Double Cut Pork Chop

Duck Confit

Fall Harvest Salmon

Sparkling Bourbon Pear | Smooth & Smokey Rosemary Old Fashioned

PB& J Tiramisu

JAKE MENEZ

igger’s Diner in Brentwood may be best known for their extensive menu of diner staples, but its owners, sisters Yesenia Madrigal and Yolanda Gonzalez, also want their restaurant to be known for its place in the community.

“One of the most important things to us is being able to give back,” Gonzalez says. “Our community is so great and we just want to be able to say ‘thank you.’”

To this end, the sisters are involved in the community, whether sponsoring the annual Hometown Halloween celebration put on by the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce or making their food avail able at Brentwood’s high school football games.

ON THE COVER: Digger’s Diner owners, sisters Yolanda Gonzalez (left) and Yesenia Madrigal (right) pride themselves not just on their food but on their place in the community.

The staff at Digger’s Diner in Brentwood wants to stay involved with the local community.

Madrigal and Gonzalez took over the restaurant, located at 2261 Balfour Road, in 2018 after working there since 2008 and 2010, respectively. Madrigal recalls shedding tears of joy when the restau rant’s previous owner, DiAnn Lei, asked her if she and her sister would like to buy the restaurant.

“She had always said she wanted to sell it to us when she retired,” Madrigal says. “But we didn’t think that would be

for a long time. I just couldn’t believe it.”

The Brentwood diner, named for its original owner “Digger” Dave Sturgill, opened in 2008, following the success Sturgill and his wife Kathy had found with their original Concord location since opening in 1994. Lei, Sturgill’s niece, took over the restaurants around the same time the Brentwood location opened. When she retired, she sold the Brentwood location to Gonzalez and Madrigal and

the Concord location to another buyer. The two locations have different owners and run different specials, but communi cate with each other to maintain the same menu.

Gonzalez and Madrigal said one of the biggest challenges they faced after acquiring the restaurant was the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We just rode the waves,” Gonzalez says when talking about keeping Digger’s Diner successful during the early stages of the pandemic when restaurants were clos ing. “Our loyal customers are what kept us going by continuing to order through DoorDash and GrubHub.”

Now that they have weathered those challenges for their restaurant, the sisters are looking ahead. Digger’s Diner will once again serve as a sponsor for Brentwood’s Hometown Halloween this year on Oct. 29, where they also hope to win for best decoration for the fourth year in a row. Other plans in the works also include a Digger’s Diner food truck by next summer to make it even easier for customers to get their fill of the diner’s food.

“The best part of the job is seeing the smiles on people’s faces,” Madrigal says. “They see their food and know they’re about to have a great meal.”

For more information, call 925-2408958 or visit www.diggersdiners.com

Photo by Andrew Rulloda

Take Thanksgiving dinner to the next level with these wine pairings

JAKE MENEZ

Thanksgiving dinner is a chance to gather with friends and family and enjoy a hearty home-cooked meal.

It’s also a chance to enjoy a glass of wine that will elevate the meal. Whether you’re a guest bringing a bottle to the festivities or the host looking to improve the menu, the right wine pairing can tie together the whole meal.

♦ Before dinner: You don’t need to wait for the main course to come out of the oven before uncorking the wine. Wine can be an excellent aperitif to stimulate the appetite and get the taste buds excited for the meal ahead. The key to serving wine as an aperitif is to select one that is light-bodied and low in both alcohol and sugar, as anything heavier is likely to suppress the ap petite than stimulate it.

Two popular choices are Sauvignon Blanc and spar kling wine. Sauvignon Blanc, particularly those from the Marlborough region of New Zealand, have a grassiness that pairs well with appetizers like salad while also having a crispness and gentle acidity that can cut through the richness of other foods such as deviled eggs or the greasi ness of potato chips.

Sparkling wine offers the same light crispness while replacing the grassy notes with a gentler taste of apple or honeysuckle. Prosecco, the Italian style of sparkling wine, is a popular choice because of its general affordability and the subtle hint of sweetness that many have. ♦ Main courses: Determining the type of wine to pair with the Thanksgiving meal is dependent on the main course.

For turkey, try pairing it with a Pinot Noir, a lightbodied red wine that complements both the turkey and the cranberry sauce because of the notes of dark fruit found in the wine, such as cassis or black cherry. The mild flavor of Pinot Noir makes it a great crowd-pleasing wine, even among those who do not typically consider themselves fans of red wine.

Pinot Noir is still a strong pairing if ham is the main course, but a Zinfandel complements the flavors even better. Zinfandel has a wider range of flavors – ranging from peppery to fruity – than does Pinot Noir depend ing on the specific region it’s from. A fruitier Zinfandel complements the savory taste of ham and its subtle sweetness. Look for Zinfandel out of Lodi for this flavor.

Sweeter hams, like a honey glaze, can be paired with Riesling, a crisp white wine that cuts through the decadence of the dish.

Merlot or Malbec are perfect for pot roast or other beef dishes. Beef is a heartier flavor that can stand up to robust wines without being overpowered. Merlot and Malbec are both bolder than a choice like Pinot

Noir or Zinfandel without being as heavy as Cabernet Sauvignon. For guests who insist on Cabernet, those from Argentina offer an alternative that provides a more scaled back option to the bold Napa varietal without compromising flavor.

♦ Dessert: No Thanksgiving dinner would be complete without a slice of pie for dessert. Whether it’s pumpkin pie or pecan, fortified wine is the perfect pairing. This cat egory of wines includes Port, sherry and Madeira and get their name due to being fortified with the addition of a spirit – typically brandy. All three of these choices have a nutty sweetness that would complement either type of pie, although a tawny Port tends to be a better match than a ruby Port, which is less aged and tends to have a fruitier taste.

For those who would rather offset the decadence of dessert than lean into it, the leftover prosecco from before dinner would be an excellent choice or a moscato d’asti for those who would like more sweetness.

Enjoy Thanksgiving at Vic

Stewart’s invites family and friends to enjoy our beautiful restaurant and delicious traditional Thanksgiving dinner!  We are also offering a selection of steak, seafood and pasta for those who are looking for something a little different. We are accepting reservations from 3pm - 7pm. For more information, please go to our website or to make reservations call us at 925-240-2828.

How to throw a lastminute dinner party

Do you feel like having a party? A spur-of-themoment desire to host friends or family is not uncommon. Though it may be ideal to give yourself a few days to plan a dinner party and assemble what’s needed to be your best host, sometimes inspiration strikes and compels people to throw last-minute dinner parties.

In such instances, these tips for putting together a feast on the fly can be especially valuable.

♦ Keep it simple.

Build your menu around your own specialty, ideally one that is easy to prepare. Don’t try out that fancy new cookbook recipe right now. Single-pot casseroles or pasta dishes whip up in a flash and can feed a crowd.

♦ Stock essentials at home.

It’s easier to invite people over at the last minute if you don’t have to shop for supplies. Keep a running inventory

of foods that can be brought out at a moment’s notice, such as items that may go on a charcuterie platter. Olives, block cheeses, crackers, salad fixings, cured meats, and fresh vegetables can be arranged in a heartbeat. With a can of chickpeas, some garlic, lemon juice, and parsley at the ready, you can quickly create a homemade hummus, too.

♦ Consider a potluck.

Guests may want to help out if they are invited over on short notice. A potluck is a perfect way to fill a table with food with minimal effort, as everyone contributes a little something.

♦ Clean the visible rooms.

There likely won’t be time to clean your entire home before an impromptu party.

Therefore, focus on the kitchen, dining area and guest bathroom. Gather errant items from around the house and store in a bedroom behind closed doors. Close doors on other spaces that are off-limits during the party.

♦ Get the kids involved.

If you have children, give them jobs to help out. They can set tables, fill ice cube trays or run the vacuum over high-traffic areas. Removing some tasks from your to-do list can free your time for other needs.

SCAN ME FOR DIRECTIONS

PUT THE PLAY IN PLAYER’S CLUB

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Chavelita’s prospers with its food and in the community

Chavelita’s Taqueria opened its doors in 2019 and has prospered with its authentic flavors and quality ingredients stemming from the hard work of Jorge Garcia and his family.

Garcia named Chavelita’s after his mom and was inspired to open the restau rant after learning her recipes.

“I would always tell her, ‘Hey mom, you getting tired? You gotta show us your recipes and she would always show us how to make her food.”

Garcia says they are famous for their tacos and tortas, but their entire menu is filled with fresh options.

“It’s a small, simple menu,” Garcia said. “And before I opened anything up, I wanted to make sure everything was made fresh from the get-go. We get here really early to start, and we end up selling out of a lot of stuff.”

Chavelita’s has received a lot of love from the community, especially during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and having been open for less than a year at their location at 3664 Lone Tree Way in Antioch.

“Actually, it’s been great from the community. We had the support through word of mouth, and of course the food speaks for itself, so that kept us going through the pandemic. We get support through DoorDash from Discovery Bay, Brentwood, Oakley, Pittsburg – really from the whole community,” Garcia said.

Not only is Garcia’s restaurant an ode to his mother, his charity work is as well.

“I donate to STAND!,’ Garcia said. “It’s a battered women’s shelter. Before I opened my business I promised myself I would help out the people who helped out my mom, she unfortunately was with that organization for a couple years and they helped her out. So that’s why I help out every year. I do a car show, we hire a DJ, we raffle prizes out. When Christmas comes up, we donate our food and our time, I dress up as Santa and I speak to the kids and the moms that year. It hits home,” Garcia said.

They also conduct an annual toy drive, and this year’s drive is Sunday, Nov. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. It includes food, music and a raffle. Attendees will receive raffle tickets for every one toy or every five cans of food brought to the event at the restaurant and entry is $20 with a toy.

For more information visit www. chavelitas.comedited

RENE DE AMARAL

Photo courtesy of Jorge Garcia

Jorge Garcia relies on his mother’s recipes, fresh ingredients and hard work to make Chavelita’s an east county staple.

Planning a night out

You’ve checked your phone and your socials are blowing up with people interested in getting together. There are a lot of ideas flowing, from pre-gaming options to references to the newest restaurant that just opened in town. It’s exciting, but also a tad overwhelming.

While a night out with friends can happen organically, for a truly enjoyable and memorable time, it’s wise to put some fore thought into planning the night. But what does one do when there are several people with their own ideas of how the night should go? Groups can heed these suggestions.

Keep it intimate

It’s great to be part of a large crowd having fun, but the more cooks in the kitchen, the more difficult it may be to solidify plans. Stick to a core group of six to eight people. This reduces the likelihood that anyone will get separated from the group, and it’s easier to coordinate with everyone involved.

Adopt a leader

It’s a tough job, but someone has to step up and organize the night. You probably

know someone in your group of friends who is excellent at making plans or knows all of the top spots in town (it may be you). Enlist that person to help narrow down the possibilities and come up with a road map of what the night will look like. This includes choosing a time to meet, the guest list and how everyone is getting there and back.

Choose the location

Select a location that is convenient for most, if not all, of the people in the group. This could be a bar or club close to work, if coworkers are getting together, or a location in a neighborhood where everyone lives. An accessible spot, such as one that has public transportation or is near major roadways, also will be convenient. Be sure that everyone knows the exact address.

Create a group chat

Organize a chat group so that details can be shared collectively. Also, if someone is running late or hits a snag finding the place, it will be easier to offer them assistance.

Focus on the activity

Think about gearing the night out around an activity rather than just eating and drinking. Head to a driving range, an escape room, a paint and sip shop, or a hatchetthrowing business. Less focus on imbibing can make for a safer evening for all.

– Courtesy of Metro Creative

LOCAL BUSINESS PROFILE

Twin Rivers Insurance Agency

Twin Rivers Insurance Agency Principal Agent Dale Manning has over 45 years of experience.

“As brokers, our agency has many markets to choose from,” said Manning, who heads up the personal and commercial division. “In our business, we know customers like to do business with people they know and trust.”

Twin Rivers Insurance Agency offers a variety of insurance policies, including home, auto, boat, yacht, rental property, contents coverage, motorcycle, motor homes and travel trailers, umbrellas and commercial insurance for small business owners. www.twinriversinsuranceagency.com 925-777-2180