Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 8, 2014

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 8, 2014 
8 FOOD & DRINK Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 8, 2014 
8 FOOD & DRINK 
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY 

First of all, let’s agree to agree, Valentine’s Day should be a full week. A single day is not long enough to 
fully express one’s love. What do you say about having an evening at home with a bottle of champagne 
and a candlelight table for dinner? You may wonder why a restaurant critic would dare such treason. 
In all truth, it’s an impossible night for restaurants. Service is less than optimal and even the guarantee 

of a reservation can lead to a long wait and the 
siphon of romance. 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills 
thechefknows@yahoo.com 
Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, 

and gifts are exchanged between loved ones. All in 
the name of St. Valentine, but who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate the passion of this 
holiday? The history of Valentine’s Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do 
know that February has long been a month of romance. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains 
vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did 
he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three 
different saints named Valentine or Valentines, all of whom were martyred.
One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When 
Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, 
he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice 
of the decree, 
defied Claudius 
and continued to 
perform marriages 
for young lovers 
in secret. When 
Valentine’s actions 
were discovered, 
Claudius ordered 
that he be put to 
death. His love for 
love lives on each 
February. 

I realize that the 
stay at home experience will not fly with everyone’s better half, so let’s go dining 

One of my favorite restaurants in Pasadena is The Central Park Café on S. Fair Oaks. The menu offers 
a variety of meats, poultry and seafood. I am a major fan of their crab bisque soup. 

(626) 449-4499 
Avanti Café, The restaurant like the owner is small and very charming. Nice pizzas and pastas and 
you won’t go broke eating at Avanti. (626) 577-4688 

How about Café Beaujolais in Eagle Rock, I dined there recently and was very pleased with the dishes, 
plus their prices are reasonable. The crème brulee will make the most stubborn woman swoon. 

(323) 255-5111 
Santa Anita Race Track is offering a special that includes a three-course meal on the Turf Terrace or 
the Directors Patio. Included is valet parking, admission, program and my favorite part, a glass of 
champagne all for $100 per couple, I priced this out to be double. Call quickly for reservations (626) 
574-6400 285 W. Huntington Dr. Arcadia 

Join me every Sunday Afternoon at 5 PM for Dining with Dills on KABC TalkRadio 790 AM 


FRIENDS OF THE SIERRA MADRE LIBRARY WINE 
AND CUISINE TASTING 

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, there’d 
be no better gift than tickets to the 44th annual 
Friends of the Sierra Madre Library Wine and 
Cuisine Tasting. Being held on Friday evening, 
February 21, 2014, at Alverno Villa, 675 West 
Highland Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA., the event 
will be an elegant affair featuring more than two 
dozen vintners providing superb wines and local 
restaurants offering delectable hors d’oeuvres and 
desserts. 

Tickets to the premier event are $80 and allow you 
early admission at 6:00PM. You will be treated to 
a wine tasting with a local sommelier, specially 
selected hors d’oeuvres, and a unique raffle. Tickets 
to the premier event are limited to 100 guests 
and are going fast so act quickly to enjoy these 
exceptional activities. Tickets to the main event 
are $60 and provide admission at 7:00PM. You 
will enjoy quality wines from a number of award 
winning wineries and tastings from many fine local 


A silent auction will again be offering lovely 

restaurants. We are limiting the number of tickets 

artwork, services, tickets to special events, 

sold to 400 to add to your enjoyment. Tickets to 

restaurant vouchers, and many other tempting 

both the premier event and main event are on sale 

items. An item of note is the original artwork 

at the Sierra Madre Library, the Bottle Shop, Savor 

created for the wine tasting by Victoria M. Randall. 

the Flavor, and Arnold’s Frontier Hardware. 

Ms. Randall was born in Athens Greece and has 
Throughout the evening you will enjoy live music lived with her family in Sierra Madre for forty-
as you stroll about the lovely grounds of Alverno two years. She has produced art in many different 
sampling the wonderful wines and appetizers. mediums including oil, water color, wax encaustic 
Magic Castle magicians will add to your on wood panels, charcoal, clay, stained glass, and 
entertainment and pleasure. Steve Silverman has bronze. She has sold many pieces of work to local 
performed nationwide in a variety of venues and and foreign buyers and is recognized as a natural 
his sophisticated sleight of hand has been enjoyed and classical Greek artist by her peers. 
by hundreds of people. He creates much of the 

For a delightful evening of enjoying fine wines, tasty 

magic he performs and his ideas and effects have 

food, and lively entertainment amidst the company 

been featured in magic books and periodicals. He 

of friends, joins us at Alverno Villa on February 21, 

will be joined by another long standing magician 

2014. The Friends of the Sierra Madre Library is 

member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood and 

a non-profit organization and all proceeds benefit 

a Sierra Madre resident, Steve Rockwell. Mr. 

the Sierra Madre Library. For more information 

Rockwell has a strong interest in sleight of hand 

visit our website at www.sierramadrelibraryfriends. 

magic and community support and this year will 

org, or call the library at 626 355-7186. 

mark his third appearance at the wine tasting. 

BASIL CREAM 
CHICKEN 
(A quick and sexy Valentine’s Day dish) 

INGREDIENTS 

hot cooked and drained fettuccine 
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 cup minced onion
3/4 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper 


DIRECTIONS 

Saute chicken, onions, and mushrooms in oil for 4 minutes. 
In lg saucepan, melt butter; stir in flour until smooth.
Add chicken broth, boullion and cream.
Stir in basil and pepper.
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
Combine with the chicken mixture. 
Serve over fettuccini. 


SAVOR BRINGS THE GOODIES! 

Foodie Tips and Tidbits for SavorThe Flavor -Sierra Madre* 

WHAT’S ROUND LIKE A MEATBALL AND GREEN LIKE A FROG? 

Karen and Denis Keegan and Madeline Romo, founders and owners of Savor the Flavor, have 
a wonderful sense of style, as evidenced by the atmosphere of their Sierra Madre-based shop.

 They also have an uncanny knack for finding the unique, interesting and most flavorful specialty 
foods and gifts to be had anywhere in Southern California. For more than 16 years, they have travelled 
around the country to food and gift shows, taste-testing a broad array of local and regional products.

 Most recently, Karen and Denis spent 3 days in San Francisco scouring the aisles at 
the Annual West Coast Fancy Food Show held at the Moscone Convention Center. 

A FANCY FOOD SHOW?! 

Twice a year, the specialty food industry gathers its 
members/purveyors/food entrepreneurs in a huge 
space like the Moscone Center in San Francisco or the 
monster Javitz Center in New York. 1500 exhibitors 
from Italy and France to Iowa and the California’s 
Central Valley compete for buyers’ attention. 

Miles of aisles give a buyer endless opportunities 
to sample exquisite chocolates from Switzerland 
and Central America; taste creamy and nutty Brie 
cheese from the Loire Valley; sip teas, wine or fruit 
vinegars from around the world. 

It’s a Foodies’ Disneyland. 

Roughly 80,000 different specialty foods are yours 
to taste--we have learned that attendees like us can New companies introducing their product to

us. Every 10 minutes is a new company for

only sample a very small fraction of what is available. 

3 hours. Like speed dating!

(The first show we attended was an education; 45 
minutes into it, our taste buds surrendered.) 

For the past several shows, we have participated in “Business Builders,” 3 hours of back-to-back, 30 
minute interviews with food purveyors wanting us to carry their products. For comparison, it’s like 
speed dating for foodies. 

Many food purveyors submit their products to the competition for the SOFI awards, the specialty 
food industry’s version of the Oscars. Winners in more than a dozen categories (cracker, condiment, 
cookie etc.) are selected by panels of judges. Winning products are virtually assured success and it is 
from this group that we pick many of what land on Savor’s shelves. 


Okay. So what did we find at this show? 
Lots of wonderful things. Here are a few 
that really stood out as exceptional: 

Sonoma Harvest White Balsamic 
Vinegars blended with fruit purée-blood 
orange, mango, lime, pomegranate 
and passion fruit. These go way beyond 
salad dressing. Incredibly bright flavors 
can top chilled fresh fruit, berries, 
melon or even ice cream. They can be 
reduced for a fresh and tangy finishing 
sauce for roasts. We tasted them mixed 
with cold seltzer water and immediately 
thought “What an amazing mixer for a 
refreshing vodka or tequila cocktail!” 

We also tasted two mustards we really 

were wowed by from Elki Foods. First 
is a Bacon Blue Cheese Whipped Mustard--simply wonderful on a cracker, but imagine topping a 
baked potato or mixed into your traditional mashed potatoes. The other was their Maple Bacon 
Whipped Mustard, awesome on a grilled ham and Swiss sandwich or on breakfast sausages. 

We’ll share more of our discoveries in Part II. Until then, come by the shop and ask to taste these and the 
other goodies we found at the Fancy Food Show. We are open 7 days a week; 11 Kersting Ct. 626 355 5153 

So, what’s round like a meat ball and green like a frog? 

Quite simply, Frog Balls, spicy dill pickled baby Brussels sprouts from the good folks at Black Sheep 
Gourmet of Anaheim. For sprout lovers, these will make a great snack and are perfect for your 
martini when olives and onions won’t do. Come try them. 

SAVOR THE FLAVOR 
Specialty Foods & Gifrs
11 Kersting Court, Sierra Madre 


626-355-5153 Facebook.com/SavorTheFlavor.ca Twitter @SavorFlavor