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Table Talk

Table Talk / By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill

What to Eat Monday, Friday and Until the Crab Runs Out

Hum Plate Roundup

(February 21, 2019) Crab it while you can Domoic acid and low weights have led to enough crab-less Christmases to keep us from taking Dungeness for granted. Crack 'em while we've got 'em, folks....

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Table Talk / By Steven Saint

Bottled Up at Tomaso's

Tom Pagano looks to sell the local sauce and distribution outfit

(February 14, 2019) When it comes to cooking, Tom Pagano is a homerun hitter. He not only helped start Ramone's Café & Bakery and the Plaza Grill, he's also built a local...

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Table Talk / By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill

Folie Douce's New Flavors

Change in ownership brings Lebanese and North African dishes to town

(February 7, 2019) After a 30-minute break and a glass of dark iced tea following lunch service, Reda Salhi was back at the prep counter, sharpening a chef's knife with a steel. Satisfied,...

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Table Talk / By Wendy Chan

Together for a New Year Feast

Chinese savory rice ball soup

(January 31, 2019) Chinese New Year is around the corner, falling on Feb. 5 this year. To celebrate the Year of the Golden Pig, my southern Chinese family's tradition is to have savory...

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Table Talk / By Simona Carini

Celery at Center Stage

Celery braised with leeks

(January 24, 2019) An ingredient of Italian soffritto, French mirepoix and the Cajun holy trinity, celery is rarely at center stage in a recipe. We'll change that in 2019. Celery has a long...

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Table Talk / By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill

Drag Me, Vegans

Failing less miserably at a plant-based diet

(January 17, 2019) Last week a sample of Milkadamia arrived at my office in artsy packaging that bore the competing slogans "Moo is moot" and "Cuddle in a cup." It looked like the...

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Table Talk / By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill

(January 10, 2019) Red sauce for the blues Pity those whose otherwise broadening travels render them unable to enjoy American immigrant iterations of their ancestral cuisines. I think of my old classmate returning...

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Table Talk / By Grant Scott-Goforth

Raising a Glass of Resilience

Breweries lend their taps to help Butte County

(January 3, 2019) Even for fire-wary and -weary Californians like myself, it's been hard to comprehend the destruction of the Camp Fire, the Nov. 8 wildfire that decimated the town of Paradise in...

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Table Talk / By Simona Carini

The Simple Pleasure of Lentils

A tradition for a happier New Year

(December 27, 2018) On New Year's Eve, a steaming pot of lentils with whole sausages and slices of traditional cotechino, large pork sausage, was always on the dinner menu at home in Perugia,...

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Table Talk / By Malina Syvoravong

Around the World, One Pot at a Time

Filipino singang — pork stew with tamarind

(December 20, 2018) Half the population of Humboldt has worked at Ramone's Bakery and Cafe at some point in their life, myself included. I worked as line cook, caterer and the occasional cookie...

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Table Talk / By Andrea Juarez

'Tis the Season for Tamales

Where to hunt them down right now

(December 13, 2018) Even though tamales can be found and eaten year-round, it's the tamales at Christmas that are rooted in the Mexican holiday tradition. Food anthropologist Mario Montano, a professor at Colorado...

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Table Talk / By Wendy Chan

Huckleberry Scones

Bake them while the picking's good

(December 6, 2018) The sun was still warm on a crisp November afternoon. With buckets and gloves, we were on our fourth huckleberry picking trip of the season. Surrounded by fresh air and...

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Table Talk / By Jennifer Fumiko Cahill

Hum Plate Roundup

Breakfast clubbing

(November 29, 2018) Waffling in Rio Dell Pull up to the Root 101 Nursery (770 Wildwood Ave., Rio Dell) and instead of soil you may smell waffles. Tucked in the corner of the...

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Table Talk / By Héctor Alejandro Arzate

Champurrado

And the season of atole

(November 22, 2018) As the weather gets colder, the drinks get warmer. While I do appreciate a good seasonal drink, I'm not talking about pumpkin-spice-anything. It's time to let atole warm up your...

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Table Talk / By Andrea Juarez

The Holiday Pie Divide

Make it sweet potato pie

(November 15, 2018) Like many of you, my family ate pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. But I never dug it. Pumpkin pie was typically bland and one dimensional, so I usually just skipped dessert...

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Table Talk / By Malina Syvoravong

Cambodian Community, Doughnuts and Prahok

And a Khmer eggplant and pork smoke-out

(November 8, 2018) Usually I'm more than excited when a fellow Southeast Asian has won an award for culinary prowess but, this time around, I wasn't amused. Humboldt residents, you voted for a...

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