Winter 2022 – Issue #62

As I write on this crisp, foggy morning, I realize it’s my final publisher’s note before the end of 2022. Given the space for reflection, I feel honored to have an audience of fellow food, wine, and beer lovers, farmers, chefs, cooks, gardeners, and champions of local food reading the magazine. 

Last issue, I wrote about my milestone birthday coming up. Smears of icing on cake plates and empty Champagne bottles mean I am in a new decade club: The Fabulous Fifties! It was a noteworthy celebration that I will cherish for years to come. Since that day, the old adage of “age is just a number” has become part of my repertoire.

I always get excited this time of year as we enter the holiday season and welcome a new year. In our Back of the House feature (page 28) we asked several local chefs to share some cool season recipes with our readers. You may find yourself misty-eyed reading the meaning behind these recipes. We hope you enjoy trying some or all of them.

Our Edible Sacramento team and I have loaded this issue with recipes for these winter months, including one for my mom’s persimmon cookies (page 5). It is her version of a handwritten recipe my grandmother gave her in the 1970s, which has been taped inside her circa 1967 Joy of Cooking for my entire life. These recipes, ones passed down from previous generations, bring many people joy, or spark memories of special times spent with family and friends. 

My dad was a great cook. He could make just about anything, recipe or not. Dad could taste a recipe and nail the ingredient list almost every time. He taught me many of his homegrown kitchen skills, how to cook with my senses — taste and smell, by trial and error, and to enjoy it. I remember when he showed me how to make a roux for gumbo when I was in elementary school.

When I was a bit older, he taught me how to use wine when cooking. It was Thanksgiving morning — Dad and I were making the stuffing for the turkey. At the tail end of mixing all the ingredients, he gave it a taste and made a classic Dad face and said, “Something is missing.” He then added, “It needs wine.” He popped open a bottle of Champagne. After scantily pouring a drop (literally a drop) into the mix and retasting it, he exclaimed that it was perfect. This assessment was followed by, “Now that we have this bottle open, someone has to drink it.” That day, Dad and I shared an early morning bottle of bubbles, and I have never forgotten that cooking lesson: Always cook with wine, at least a splash, and my dad was awesome. I have expanded this lesson a bit over the years; many of my recipes include at least a drop of wine, beer, or liquor. Finishing the bottle, can, glass, or pour is always optional but highly recommended.

We are proud of the work we did this year bringing Edible Sacramento back to the community to tell its stories, and ever so grateful to our advertisers and subscribers for their support to make it possible. We couldn’t do it without them. Of course, we are thankful to our readers for continuing to consume our content and come to know those who make our hospitality industry so exceptional. 

Cheers and many more, happy holidays, and new year to you and yours from all of us on the Edible Sacramento team.