Maple Bourbon Butter Broccoli with Apples and Onions Recipe

I got a nice two pound bag of broccoli florets on sale today so this is what I did to it. Half the broccoli I blanched and froze and the other half was used for this recipe. I saw someone on TV do a recipe for maple bourbon sweet potato pie so those flavors were on my mind and was the inspiration.

I’ll tell you that this recipe is easier than it sounds because I used Watkins Maple Bourbon Rub. It’s not too sweet and it also is spicy, smoky and salty. Believe me there is not much to it.

Just one tablespoon and only a few other ingredients makes something impressive. My idea of serving size may differ from your idea of serving size. For me this made around 6 side servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 pound broccoli florets

a palmful of salt to boil water for the broccoli

6 apples peeled, cored, cut into thick slices

1 red onion – peeled, cut in half, sliced very thin on a mandolin

1 Tablespoon Watkins Maple Bourbon Rub (I found mine at Walmart Grocery)

5 Tablespoons of sweet butter cut into thin slices

4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

sea salt – to taste

black pepper – to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

The apples, onions, Watkins Maple Bourbon Rub, butter slices, and apple cider vinegar go on a covered dish or pan in the preheated oven for an hour.

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil. Add a palmful of either kosher salt or sea salt to the boiling water. Add the broccoli florets. Boil only 2 1/2- 3 minutes. Pull them out with a strainer or slotted spoon. Keep to the side.

After an hour the apples and onions will look like this.

Remove half the apple onion mixture and blend it smooth so it can be the base of your broccoli dish. Mix the other half of the apple onion mixture with the broccoli.

Maple Bourbon Butter Broccoli with Apples and Onions

Finish with a little bit of fresh grated sea salt and black pepper. You have something delicious that is not too heavy that will go well with a Holiday meal or a roasted chicken or turkey dish.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

The Forking Truth

NEW WeIRD diffERENT Limited and Special Edition Foods Out There November 2023

There is ALWAYS something new, weird, different, limited edition, and special edition in the wonderful world of food. These days we never know WTFork we will come across when we shop for food.

Up above is –

WEIRD – Kellogg’s NEW SHAPE Fruity Rainbow Krispies with natural and OTHER? natural flavors. I don’t know WTFORK to think about this….They don’t resemble the normal Rice Krispies in anyway or flavor. But with all them colors I’m sure they can make you FART a rainbow.

NEW – Kellogg’s Special K Strawberry Cheesecake flavored flakes and dipped flakes……What are the dipped flakes? This one just doesn’t seem right…..

NEW or LIMITED EDITION – Kellogg’s Fruit Loops that turns milk berry-licious. I was hoping that this would be Snozberry flavored……..Oh well no snozberries here or chocolate from the chocolate factory..

DIFFERENT – Kellogg’s Froot Loops Cereal straws…looks fun for children!

WEIRD – General Mills Hot Wheels Cereal…..Well why didn’t they make the cereal look like the wheels? or cars? Bet this cereal gives you GAS if you eat it.

NEW – POP-tarts naturally and artificially flavored Banana Bread tarts……..Maybe some people will go bananas for it?

NEW and WEIRD – POP-tarts naturally and artificially flavored frosted apple cinnamon Apple Jacks flavored tarts. ???? hard-core weird.

picture from www.todayshow.com

WEIRD – French’s Yellow Mustard Skittles – NoooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOooooooooope!

DIFFERENT – Emperador Pecan Flavored Sandwich Cookies. Sounds a little nutty but tasty if good.

LIMITED EDITION – Hershey;s Popping Candy Bars These look like leftovers from the 4th of July? Looks like they might make you explosive farts. Be careful where you eat them.

This one you have to buy on-line only.

WEIRD – Digiorno Thanksgiving pie…..Gobble Gobble lol

DIFFERENT – Taco Bell Hot taco shells….?????

DIFFERENT & maybe WEIRD & maybe LIMITED EDITION? Paqui Haunted Ghost Pepper Chips……..Maybe they get haunted ghost peppers for Halloween?

LIMITED EDITION – Lay’s Cheetoes Cheese flavored Chips……I don’t know? Could go either way?

NEW – Pringles Harvest Blends that are potatoes and other stuff blended with sweet potato…Sounds good but don’t know yet?

DIFFERENT and maybe Limited Edition….Pringles Enchilada Adobada Chips…..Now that’s different!

DIFFERENT – Brad’s Vampire Killer Crunchy Kale……..I tried them…….They are very different…..Not partially garlic-ee or spicy……More citrus-ee, nutty, and sort of raisin-like in taste.

NEW – Cheese Bites Mozzamini Pearls in original and wasabi….Did I see that right? Yes…wasabi…That’s FORKING strange…..

DIFFERENT – Tabasco Sriracha..???? Is it made of tabasco peppers? Is it sriracha? I’m confused.

DIFFERENT – Cholula in chipotle and sweet habanero…UMMM might be good!

NEW – Cholula in tequila and lime flavor…That sound good for fish or chicken to me…..and

DIFFERENT – Cholula in a green pepper variety….Might be tasty?

This next one is FORKING WEIRD

FORKING WEIRD
FFFFFFOOORRRKKKINNNG WWWWWWWWWWWWWEIRD

WEIRD – Bubble Lick in natural bacon flavor. Bacon flavored bubbles for dogs and kids. This will make your dog and kids farts smell like bacon. Watch Out!

And there is usually something OREO.

maybe WEIRD? – YoCrunch – yogurt with Oreo Crumbs in it……(Ick!)

Well that was the New! Weird! Different, Limited & Special Edition Foods Out There for November 2023. Who know WTFork we’ll come across next month!

The Forking Truth

Dining Out With DOGS in North Las Vegas NV – November 2023

Dining out with DOGS is just a “FLUFF” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all really started with my late dog Louie. He always enjoyed going out to eat. When he got elderly and came down with aggressive cancer we were told that Louie only had about three months to live and maybe up to 6 months. I took Louie out to eat as often as possible and he made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when the weather is right and when I can.

We went to Hawaiian Barbecue in North Las Vegas Nevada. They serve Hawaiian Lunch Plates……It’s usually an enormous amount of food served in a Styrofoam container usually served with rice and macaroni salad. They don’t have their own patio but a community patio is only a few doors down.

Today I went for the MINI Machiko Chicken……

.This “MINI” meal is not so mini and also came with a side cup of macaroni salad.t’s a lot of tender flavorful dark meat chicken that might be marinated and it’s coated in a slightly sticky crunchy coating. This really is an enormous amount of food and it only cost $8.99.

The dogs are thrilled with it.

The dogs also enjoyed my husband’s Bento Box. (BBQ beef, BBQ chicken, fried fish, and Spam, with double rice and macaroni salad.

The dogs and us enjoyed dining out at Hawaiian Barbecue #1.

#1 Hawaiian Barbecue – 5870 N Losee Rd North Las Vegas NV – 702-642-4600

www.HawaiianBBQLV.com

The next weekend it was too cold to dine out so we did take out from SNS Diner BBQ.

My husband and dog are very found of the gumbo there.

My husband (and dog) also enjoy the hot link and macaroni and cheese.

I like (and the dogs like) the bbq pastrami from SNS Diner BBQ but I do note that the pastrami I tried here in June was spiced and smoked and hand cut a little better than today’s…..Don’t get me wrong todays is still good but what I tried in June was phenomenal.

Picture of June Pastrami.

June Pastrami

It taste different than the thin sliced pastrami.

Both dogs are interested in the pastrami and the macaroni and cheese.

The dogs always enjoy SNS Diner BBQ

3229 Losee Rd North Las Vegas NV – 702-269-9696

www.SNSDiner.com

The next day during the day we thought it was warm enough to treat the dogs to an In-And-Out-Burger. So we did that real fast.

The dogs never complain about In-And-Out-Burgers……There are close to 400 locations of In and Out Burgers out there and this chain is growing too so one might be near you soon.

That was Dining Out With DOGS in North Las Vegas. We Hope you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.

The Forking Truth
In Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017

Taverna Costera Las Vegas NV – Restaurant, Bar, Art Gallery, Music Venue

Taverna Costera is a restaurant, bar, art gallery, and music venue located in the arts district of downtown Las Vegas Nevada. They call themselves a Mediterranean Restaurant but they offer an artsy type of food menu that is pretty much fusion everything and or non-traditional. For appetizers they offer things like hibachi ribeye fries, gyro fries, and pork adobo fries, kalua pig nachos, Japanese corn, and minestrone couscous soup. You can also find things like various pita sandwiches, Hawaiian plate lunches, and Taverna/Dragon bowls and plates.

For seating they have indoor seating, bar seating, patio seating and rooftop seating.

We decided to share the (non-traditional) arancini (here they are fried rice balls made with pretzels and topped with pesto).

They do differ from traditional arancini but still are kind of tasty.

For my main I tried the ahi salad.

It’s furikake coated tuna, mixed greens, mango, onion, tomato, wonton crisp noodles, and miso ginger dressing. It’s reasonably good……..Not bad but can use a punch of something……maybe a drizzle of wasabi? or more ginger?

My husband tried the Hawaii meets Philly steak pita with Swiss cheese, peppers, and onions with wasabi mayo on the side and fries.

It’s reasonably good. The beef is tender and has some developed flavor. The cheese is nice and melted. The fries are fresh and hot.

Or for something different they also offer weekend brunch things like………

That was my trip to Taverna Costera – 1031 South Main Street Las Vegas NV

702-749-0091

www.TavernaCostera.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Via Focaccia at Ellis Island Las Vegas NV – AMAZING Artisan Sandwiches – Worth a Fork!

Via Focaccia isn’t an ordinary sandwich shop. It is by chef Ismaele Romano who became the 2021 Sandwich champion from the 2021 International Pizza Expo. The fast/casual Artisan Sandwich shop is located in the Ellis Island Casino Hotel in Las Vegas Nevada. My husband got to try one of these focaccia sandwiches recently at the “Unstripped” food festival.

He kept talking about how great this sandwich was…………..This particular sandwich was not for me but they offer several other sandwiches at the restaurant that I wouldn’t mind trying….so….Off we went to Via Focaccia.

It’s a very small food stand. I see only maybe three small high top tables to sit at…….

Not much is in the case.

I already decided on what I’m getting.

I have to try the (non-traditional) brisket pastrami from an official sandwich champion. (brisket pastrami, caramelized onions, mushrooms, fontina cheese, honey mustard aioli)

We wait a little while till our order is ready……

WOW!

WOW! This is FORKING GREAT! The pastrami sandwich has been reinvented. The pastrami is full flavored, tender, and the right amount of fat for this sandwich. Never in a million years could I imagine pastrami on bread like this but somehow it does work in a magical way. Usually I find mustard that is too strong to go with the bold flavors of pastrami but the honey mustard aioli is a perfect embellishment that doesn’t compete with the flavors. It enhances. All the flavors and texture are perfect together.

My husband enjoyed the sandwich called Classica (ham, mortadella, cappicola, provolone, olive spread).

He said that this was a really great sandwich. He also thought that the meats were high quality. He liked it so much he said, “I’ll go here anytime you want.”

Via Focaccia is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Via Focaccia (at Ellis Island Casino Hotel)

4178 Koval Lane Las Vegas NV – 702-733-8901

www.EllisIslandCasino.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Easy Delicious Rye Crisp Bread Recipe

Here’s a pretty easy and quick way to make a delicious rye crisp bread. I played around and came up with this. This makes three flat breads that you break into more servings. This make at least 6 servings

Ingredients for at least 6 servings

1 cup bread flour

3/4 cup dark rye flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil + plus extra to either spray or brush the tops of flat breads

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

flake sea salt to taste to sprinkle on the tops of breads after oil is applied

Directions

Set oven to 475 degrees F and use only the middle rack.

In a medium-large bowl mix together the flours, baking powder, course sea salt, water, oil, and caraway seeds by hand using a fork. You don’t want this well mixed. You want it mixed enough to hold together but not perfect…….(this is how you get the layers) Divide this into three dough balls.

Take one dough ball and flatten it with your hands sandwiching it between a heavy duty parchment type baking sheet and plastic wrap.

Roll it flat.

Place dough on sheet on a baking sheet.

Remove plastic.

Either spray or brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle flake sea salt.

I forgot to photo this rolled out but it looked similar to a different flavored one in the picture below.

This goes on middle rack till lightly browned. In my oven this took 10 minutes but your oven may differ.

Repeat with the other two dough balls.

FORKING Easy Delicious Rye Crisp Bread

ENJOY!!!!

Rye Crisp Bread
The Forking Truth

Thanksgiving Recipes on www.TheFORKINGTruth

Here’s a sampling in no partial order of recipes that would be FORKING GREAT for Thanksgiving. Up above is Milk Street’s version of Vivian Howard’s Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding. This is really incredible……….I really mean it!

Parmesan and Potato Mousse with Parmesan Crisps
Potato Cannoli
Potatoes Anna Style
Duchess Potatoes (The Special Occasion Potato)
Sous Vide Turkey Breast

(By the way – I insist that you must brine your turkey…..or do what I do for Thanksgiving…CHEAT and buy an already brined turkey from Trader Joes either wet brined or kosher dry brined…It’s really worth it!) (Who has room to brine at Thanksgiving time?) I FORKING KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT….after all I did get paid to cook Thanksgiving for 500 people back in the day…..I did the turkeys, potatoes, sauce, and vegetables all by myself too…..This sous vide turkey is perfection……..nuff said.

Forking EZ Oven Fried Turkey Wings

So tasty it could be favorite part of the turkey.

Crispy Turkey Skin
Turkey Stock

Turkey legs with thighs – I normally just stew them…….till they fall apart. Then I pull the meat.

This is a masterpiece….The turkey is glistening full of turkey juice…..I don’t mean to brag but this is masterfully incredible.

It really is this juicy cold.

Balsamic Cipollini Onion and Cranberry Gravy (this is cold in the picture)
Acorn Squash with Cranberry Mango Habanero Sauce and Blue Cheese
Spiced Custard Filled Acorn Squash with Maple Bourbon Walnuts
Cranberry Mango Habanero Sauce
Cranberry Sauce with Hibiscus
Moist Fresh Herb Turkey Stuffing
Zippy but Delicious Corn Bread Stuffing
Mushroom Chestnut and Fig Bread Stuffing
Chanterelle Bread Stuffing
Gochujang Roast Chicken with Kimchi Rice Stuffing and Crispy Skin (The same can be done with turkey)
Brussels Sprouts Baba Ganoush
Momofuku STYLE Brussels Sprouts with Fish Sauce Vinaigrette and Shivhimi Togatashi Pop Corn
Five-Spice Butternut Squash in Cheesy Custard
Butternut Squash and Fondue Pie with Pickled Peppers
Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Green Onions, Calabrian Chili, Figs with Reduced Balsamic
Sweet Potato Ravioli with Beet Puree
Kabocha Squash Cake with Chocolate Drizzle and Chestnuts
Onion Rolls
Four Ingredient Rolls
Butternut Squash Cinnamon Rolls
Purple Sweet Potato Blackberry Pie with Coconut/Almond Crust

Enjoy your Thanksgiving and gobble!

The Forking Truth

Spiced Sweet Potatoes with Tangerine Zest Recipe

Sweet potatoes are delicious and sweet already. I hate when people add a lot of sweetener to them like maple syrup, marshmallows, and brown sugar. I love those things but those things are for dessert and not a side dish in my opinion. ANYWAYS- I came up with just plan roasted with oil, salt, and pepper. Then I got the idea that cumin would taste good so I sprinkled some on. Then you have to add coriander…..Then I’m thinking Aleppo (a medium-ish almost mild pepper)….Then I thought I GOTTA use Urfa pepper…..(mildly smokey and raisin-like)…..I tasted it and TANGERINE JUST POPPED to me……So at the end I added tangerine zest and it came out FORKING DELICIOUS! Serving size is always difficult to determine. I don’t know if you want a small taste or a partial plate full……..My best guess is that this can possibly be 8-16 portions so I’ll say 8. I also note that I didn’t weigh my two sweet potatoes…..They were on the larger side so you might end up with a different amount of servings because of sweet potato size.

Ingredients for around 8 servings

2 Large sweet potatoes – cut into wedges (I quartered and cut each quarter in half)

about 1/4 cup – extra virgin olive oil to brush or spray all sides of sweet potatoes

fresh ground sea salt – to taste

fresh ground black pepper – to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/2 teaspoon Urfa biber pepper

6 tangerines – just the zest for the recipe to finish the dish – serve the peeled tangerines for dessert.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Spray or brush sheet tray(s) with oil.

Place the sweet potato wedges on sheet tray(s)

Lightly spray the sweet potatoes with oil and lightly salt and pepper them.

Sprinkle the sweet potatoes with the remaining spices (cumin, coriander, Aleppo, and Urfa.

Put the sweet potatoes on the middle rack of your preheated 425 degree F oven till done and lightly browned. Timing may indeed differ……Mine took 40 minutes.

Top with tangerine zest and serve.

Spiced Sweet Potatoes with Tangerine Zest

This was pretty easy to prepare and also happened to come out FORKING DELICIOUS!!! It’s a really GREAT Alternate to adding lots of sweets to sweet potatoes.

The Forking Truth

Lunch at Nora’s Cuisine Las Vegas NV – Worth a Try!

Nora’s Cuisine is an award wining Italian Restaurant located in Las Vegas Nevada (a short distance from the Las Vegas Strip). They offer dinner every night and lunch is served Monday-Friday. They are a little different than most places because they offer a long menu of many dishes to pick from. This is also a very large restaurant with multiple dining areas, a bar, and patio dining.

Bread service is an optional $1. per person. You might get plain or garlic toast. We got garlic toast.

My husband started to with a bowl of pasta faggioli.

I tried the Scottish salmon with arugula and tomato.

The fish is seasoned well and was prepared reasonably well. The arugula was bright and bitter in a good way and seemed extra fresh. The red tomato wedge was delicious. It was marinated and sweet and flavorful. The two lighter wedges tasted raw…

My husband enjoyed the falcita lunch. (rope sausage, house salad with aged provolone)

We managed to save room to try a dessert and went for the almond cake.

It was made with ricotta and almond flour and was topped with vanilla sauce. It was very good but tasted more like a slice of lemon cake.

Lunch at Nora’s Cuisine is Worth a Try!

Nora’s Cuisine 5780 W Flamingo Rd Las Vegas NV – 702-873-8990

www.NorasCuisine.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Louie Louie The Restaurant Las Vegas NV – Unique Sushi and Hibachi

Louie Louie The Restaurant in Las. Vegas Nevada serves sushi, unique sushi rolls, and hibachi. This is a full service restaurant and bar.

We started out by sharing a salmon tostada.

The salmon is very fresh and it’s topped with pico, avocado and herbs. Under is a creamy sauce that is bright and very lime-ee.

We shared one of the Louie Louie Specialty rolls called the Ozzy Roll. (tuna, salmon, avocado, wasabi tobico ((also spelled tobiko flying fish roe)), black tobico, masago ((capelin roe)))

This was an amazing roll bursting with all kinds of delicious flavors! It’s so detailed.

Teeny tiny lemon wedges with little tiny crisp things. It’s popping with all kinds of flavors and some heat too!

We also shared a filet mignon and chicken hibachi.

It came out sizzling like a fajita.

The vegetables were zucchini, carrots, onions, and broccoli. You dip them in the creamy sauce (basically a sriracha mayo) and you dip the meats in a ginger-ee type sauce. This also comes with steamed rice but you do have the option to upgrade to fried rice or noodles. Today the beef came out better than the chicken.

Worth a Try!

Louie Louie The Restaurant – 4408 N Rancho Dr Las Vegas NV – 702-483-5744

www.LouieLouieToGo.com

Every THING is subject to change.

The Forking Truth