Within the expanding blogosphere is a small but growing galaxy of Sacramento food bloggers. Saturday, about a dozen of them gathered in the clubhouse of a Davis apartment complex for a potluck lunch. The food was terrific - no surprise there, given that food bloggers tend to be serious and impassioned students of their favorite subject. But just as much fun was the chance to meet the personalities behind the blogs and to get a better sense of the diversity and energy involved in food blogging in the Sacramento area.

Garrett McCord was the host. He's also the host of the blog Vanilla Garlic, where he posts frequently, offering candid insights on cookbooks and restaurants and his latest cupcake recipe. Everyone seemed disappointed that he hadn't brought his tomato-soup cupcakes, but no one complained of the Earl Grey and Murcott cupcakes he did bring. Other participating food bloggers were:

Elise Bauer, believed to be Sacramento's first food blogger. Her blog Simply Recipes is exactly what it says it is, an electronic cookbook of home cooking with photography so fine you'll be in the kitchen in minutes testing her latest post.

Kristy DeVaney, another frequent poster and keen photographer who already has posted photos of every dish at the event at her spirited blog Cake Grrl.

Jennifer Cliff, whose Web site Sacatomato is current and wide ranging in both geography and topics.

Melody Elliott-Koontz of Sacramento Food Forum, a new site whose goal is to engage food enthusiasts in lively discussions of various culinary topics.

Madeline Miller, whose blog Everything Rachael Ray generated the most conversation at the party, with the consensus seeming to be that regardless of whether you admire or abhor Rachael Ray she is getting people to cook. The site, incidentally, isn't affiliated with Ray's growing franchise.

Kim Rutledge, whose fresh and witty blog TV Dinners is about both television and food.

Fernanda Guimaraes Rosa, whose blog Chucrute com Salsicha is almost entirely in Portuguese.

Brendon, a Davis guy whose last name I failed to get, is another astute food photographer whose shots, recipes and essays are aptly summed up in the name of his blog, Something in Season.

Fethiye, another participant whose last name I didn't get, tends the blog Yogurtland, devoted largely to Turkish cookery.

Check 'em out.