Recently I made an Italian inspired style eggplant parmesan. I was gifted again with another 5 pounds of eggplant and I thought I’d make something sort of like eggplant lasagna……Anyways this is what I did.
The eggplants get about half the skin removed like this and get trimmed on the ends.
Then the eggplants get sliced into planks. Either 1/3rds or quarter planks depending on size.
Next they get slightly browned. You can broil, grill, pan fry, or put them on high rack in oven at 425F.
Now splash a big pan with tomato sauce.
The pan gets lined with eggplant planks.
Next a small amount of sauce.
Now you need cheese. Look I have a visitor!
Mix up some cheese filling. (around 2 cups ricotta (good natural quality or home made, a cup shredded parm, pinch nutmeg, a couple pinches ground white pepper, a pinch basil, an egg)
(this gets mixed)(spread the cheese around)
Top that with around 5 ounces of melty cheese like fontina or mild provolone.
Then you need a little more sauce.
Top that with slices of melty cheese like provolone.
You need a little more sauce.
Top that with around four crumbled Taralli Pugliesi crackers. (round circle Italian crackers)
This goes in a 375 F oven for around an hour. I prefer to let sit out till room temperature, then refrigerate overnight to set up and then I can cut it in servings.
I was fortunate enough to taste some FORKING AMAZING foods this year in Metro Phoenix Arizona. A few of these FORKING AMAZING foods did get a change up already this year. I do note that it is also very important to know that It’s also possible that they can even FORKING DIFFERENT AGAIN!…..I mentioned them when they were great so you should know WTFork happened when I tried them again..
At a certain deli called Little Pickle I tasted the most FORKING AMAZING pastrami and brisket. I was really maybe even more blown away with the brisket because I’ve never tasted that style so amazing.
It was magical. It had the perfect texture that melted in your mouth and this super incredible burnt onion flavor…..mixed with the beef flavor and other flavors.
I went back.
It taste completely different…..No delicious burnt onion flavor in the tasty melt in your mouth beef. It taste like it was maybe over seasoned with seasoning salt……..It’s not terrible or awful or anything like that but it is nowhere in the same ballpark as the first one I tried. I actually messaged the owner about this and he said that he didn’t change the recipe (???) He said he had trouble with his help following the recipes. Oh well at least it wasn’t awful and the rest of what I tried there was very good or amazing. On this same visit I got to taste the lox and it truly was the best silky delicious melt in your mouth fish ever. In case you are wondering the pastrami (and little pickles) was still amazing too.
Little Pickle was a Pop Up Restaurant in the Esplanade across from The Biltmore Fashion Square. It is expected to open somewhere in the Esplanade at some time during the year….Maybe you can find info at www.LittlePickleAZ.com
Then this year I also was lucky enough to try one of the most FORKING AMAZING BURGERS EVER ANYWHERE. Q-UP the angels singing! ******BEST BURGER IN THE FORKING LAND!****** At Then Burger in Glendale by Westgate near State Farm.
This burger was a blend of house ground sirloin, short rib, and chuck……cooked medium with a nice sear,.embellished with arugula, teriyaki, caramelized onions, and yuzu aioli………(insert angels singing…….LAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)
So naturally I went back.
Oh FORK! They removed that burger from the menu. Ok I really did want to try a few others from the menu anyway. My first choice wasn’t available today so I picked something else.
I can’t eat this……..(I took two bites hoping only the first would be bad) This dry and not good tasting either….It’s like a hockey puck. It’s like if you can imagine the WORST Burger King burger that you’ve ever tried and microwaved it in the microwave oven till crisp and dead. ICK!
The server promises me that they can do better……I usually never send food back…..The only reason I sent it back was because I can’t eat this and it was a $36. burger.
In reasonable time the re-fire comes out.
Somehow they made this burger about as dry as the last burger…….(How the FORK did they do that?)
The server was very understanding and informed me at this point that they only make the burgers with ground chuck now and are trying to figure out on how to cook them. I sure HOPE I HIT THEM ON A FLUKE WORST DAY EVER…….Not in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine this to happen here. I did speak with an owner. Of course he invited me back but I am too busy to return. I would hope the problems got improved.
Then Burger – 9220 N Glendale Ave Glendale AZ – 623-328-9388\
www.ThenBurger.com
A certain Italian restaurant named Pomo used to make this incredible North Italian focaccia di recco.
It’s these two light as air thin crisp crusts stuffed with a delicious cheese filling. They offer an optional add on local honey for embellishment.
See inside. You can pull the cheese.
Now it’s different.
WTFork! It’s Different!
It’s all wet inside like a cheese sauce and the crisp crust turns soggy………The menu reads that it is suppose to have stracchino cheese inside not wet cheese sauce…..???????????
Pomo Pizzeria – 8977 N Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale AZ – 480-998-1366
My Spot Mediterranean Grill is an extra casual kosher Israeli Restaurant that recently opened in North Phoenix Arizona. This restaurant offers fresh baked pitas and laffa breads. You can also order things like falafels, shawarma, schnitzel, skewers, kabobs, platters, burgers, salads, and more!
You order and pay at the counter. Then you grab your own silverware and drink and seat yourself at a table. When your order is ready someone will run it out to you.
We started out by sharing the falafels with hummus. They came with choice of bread and I picked the pitas.
The hummus is nice and creamy. It tastes like it was made with toasted cumin. The falafels have a crisp exterior and are moist and herby inside.
The pitas are nice , fresh and fluffy.
For my main I went with the beef lola on laffa bread…(it comes with fries).
I’ll open it up more so you can see inside.
It’s like a giant burrito stuffed with all kinds of goodies. There’s onions, cabbage, spicy pickles, tahini sauce, and beef lola meat that looks like it was prepared on a skewer. The beef is moist and delicious. It’s so full of flavors…..It’s even better when you just eat the whole thing together. Kosher beef does have a nice clean taste that is different. Only the front part of the cow is used for kosher beef and you don’t get the stomach or intestinal spillage in the meat that all grocery store ground beef contains. That is why kosher beef is much more expensive. DON”T GET MAD AT ME but……..You might not believe me but the FORKING Truth is that regular commercial ground beef really does have poop in it.
Only the front part of the cow is used for kosher beef and kosher beef really does taste clean and different.
Anyways-
The laffa bread is heavier than the laffa bread I had at James Beard award winning Micheal Solomonov’s multi award wining restaurant Zahav….But this was fresh made and still is very good. This can be two meals for some people.
My husband tried the spicy chicken schnitzel that comes with Israeli salad and fries.
This is breaded white meat chicken that is moist and seasoned nicely….The fries and Israeli salad are kinda very average. They have salt, pepper, and white vinegar to season the sides.
Based on this visit I’d recommend getting a beef lola with laffa bread. It was surprisingly delicious. I thought that the hummus and the falafels were good . The spicy schnitzel was good but the sides were very average.
A word of warning for people who don’t know. This is a kosher restaurant that serves meat so that means there is nothing dairy in the restaurant. If you order a burger it will be cooked well done and cheese is not offered. Also only soft beverages are available. You do need to check hours and be aware that they close for holidays that you might not be aware of. They also are closed every week for the sabbath that is Friday and Saturday.
My Spot Mediterranean Grill is CERTAINLY Worth a Try!
I’ve heard of rose harissa but never have actually tasted rose harissa before. Then I came across a recipe for cabbage with rose harissa. The funny thing about finding that cabbage with made with rose harissa recipe was that it is by Ixta Belfrage who is a cook and cook book author and has worked for Yotam Ottolenghi in his Test Kitchen. The Cabbage with rose harissa in the ingredients for the recipe doesn’t have a rose harissa recipe to it. I guess you can purchase jarred rose harissa or find a recipe and make it yourself. I found Yotam Ottolenghi’s Master Class Recipe for Rose Harissa on www.Masterclass.com . I had the majority of the ingredients that this recipe needs but I had to make a few minor changes or substitutions. Rose petals was the only ingredient that I omitted. To my surprise Rose Harissa taste very different from regular harissa. You do taste rose in the background but it isn’t gross. The peppers are much more bold in rose harissa than from regular harissa. Regular harissa has a nice roasted pepper flavor enhanced with warm spices and some heat. Rose Harissa is deeper flavored and sort of smoky but also with a little heat.Serving size is difficult to determine. I don’t know if you want a small amount to spread on part of a pita or if you want enough to cover a kabab or a steak. This made enough to fill a small bowl. I’ll guesstimate around 8 servings.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
2 oz dried guajillo chilies
1 oz chili powder (I used mild)
5 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon rose water – divided
4 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 oz extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt (I used my homemade smoked pecan sea salt)
Directions
In a hot pan toast the chilies and garlic till charred. Put the chilies in a heat proof bowl.
Cover the chilies with boiling water. Let them soak 30 minutes. If you have a blender chop up the chilies after the 30 minute soak and blend. If you don’t have a blender you can scrape out the insides. You should discard the stem, core, and seeds. Set to the side.
Add the cumin, coriander, and caraway seeds to a hot pan and toast till fragrant. Either blend or use a mortar to the seeds when cool. Blend or pound the seeds with the chilies, garlic, tomato paste, paprikas, and sugar.
Add the lemon juice, half of rosewater, vinegar, oil, and salt. Add rest of rose water.
To preserve this you can add another 4 Tablespoons of oil if desired.
Rose Harrisa
ENJOY!!!!
A Special THANKS!!!! To Yotam Ottolenghi and Master Class so I could come up with what I got here!
There is always something new, weird, different, limited, or special edition in the wonderful world of food. We never know WTFork we will come across when we shop for food.
Up above is –
LIMITED EDITION – Cap’n Crunch’s 60TH Birthday – Birthday cake flavor Crunch. On one hand it is very nice that good old Cap’n Crunch is 60. After all ……..birthdays are good for your health. The more that you have the longer you live! On the other hand Those colorful artificially flavored cereal balls look nothing like birthday cake. They just look like balls to make you fart a 60 year old birthday rainbow.
LIMITED EDITION – Kellogg’s Peeps – Artificially flavored marshmallow flavored cereal with marshmallows…..Boy oh boy….How good does THAT sound? I wouldn’t utter a peep.
NEW – Kellogg’s Krave – Double Chocolate Brownie Batter. WOW! That sure doesn’t sound nutritious for breakfast. Maybe it’s dessert cereal? Or maybe something worst. Looks like a diarrhea splat on the front of the box.
NEW – Post Fruity Pebbles Crunched in rock star shaped? Fruity Pebbles is a rice based cereal. This NEW version is a corn and oat based cereal with added coloring and natural and artificial flavors. Looks like you are going to poop fireworks from this one.
NEW – Post Cocoa Pebbles Crunch’d – Sweetened naturally and artificially chocolate flavored corn and oat cereal with real cacao that is rockstar shaped. I wonder who eats this? I think that the Flintstones are even older than me. I wonder if they are older than Cap’n Crunch?……I just looked them up! The Flintstones ARE REALLY FORKING OLD. They are Sr. Citizens. (62years old!) Oh Boy! Yabba Dabba OY VEY!
LIMITED EDITION – General Mills Lucky Charms with marshmallows and leprechaun trap on back of box. I guess they made the box into a toy or a trap? Maybe you can catch mice with the trap if you find that you are out of leprechauns?
NEW and maybe Limited Edition? – General Mills Reeses’s Puffs Minis – They looks like little pebbles to me. Looks like lots of them can fit into your bowl…..
LIMITED EDITION – General Mills Cinammji Toast Crunch? I think that this is the same old Cinnamon Crunch with faces painted on them. That is sort of creepy. A bowl of faces looking at you while you eat.
DIFFERENT – Total Cluster Fudge Chick’s Mix Original – Glazed cereal, pretzels, peanuts, chocolate candies. (ICK!)
DIFFERENT – Peeps marshmallow flavored pop ups lollypops…It’s different!
DIFFERENT and maybe WEIRD – Bob Ross happy little tree mints. What wood? Bob Ross Say?
DIFFERENT and also WEIRD – Galerie – Edible Grass in Strawberry and Green Apple……Edible Grass? in Strawberry? and Green Apple?
World Market sells some foreign KitKats
DIFFERENT – Nestle KitKats from Japan in Chestnut flavor….SOUNDS delicious but those KitKats are a 50/50 chance…..?
DIFFERENT – Nestle KitKats in chocolate orange flavor…That one also sounds really good?????????
WEIRD – Nestle KitKats in BISCUIT flavored…..LOL Biscuit flavored…I don’t know about that one.
LIMITED EDITION – Peeps chick shaped marshmallows in Kettle Corn flavored….????? A little corny but maybe worth a cluck?
LIMITED EDITION – Peeps Pepsi Cola…….???? WTF Artificially flavored marshmallow soda…..Someone MUST HAVE BEEN ON DRUGS to think of and approve this…..There is no other explanation.
NEW – Haagen Dazs Butter Cookie Cones in Vanilia and Strawberry. OK …I guess that the ice cream isn’t fattening enough so they have to add a butter cookie cone.
NEW – Haagen Dazs Coffee and I accidentally photoed vanilla again….Sorry I noticed that this also comes in chocolate.
DIFFERENT – Montana Mex Tomato Ketchup. Now that is different.
And there is usually something Oreo……
Nabisco – naturally and artificially flavored Birthday Cake Flavored cream with sprinkles cookies. They’ll make anything to get you to fart a rainbow.
Well that was the new, weird, different, limited and special edition foods out there for April 2023. Who knows WTFork we’ll come across next time.
Dining out with dogs is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He was elderly and was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. His diagnosis was 3-to maybe 6 months. He couldn’t do a lot but always enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 months Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are many things to know about dining out with dogs. You need to find a dog friendly restaurant. (not all of them are even if they have patios) Here in Phoenix weather can be an issue. 90 degrees and above is dangerous for dogs because they aren’t as heat tolerant as people. Also the food and drink that you consume can cause illness or even be TOXIC to your dog. (you need to check with your veterinarian for lists of safe foods and foods to avoid) Once you do find the right spot to dine out with dog(s) you must keep your dog(s) close to you. Dogs shouldn’t sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
A regular stop for us is Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Pho-Free Vietnamese eatery that specializes in serving around a dozen different Banh Mi baguette sandwiches. Some of their other offerings are rice plates, noodle salad bowls, and curry chicken.
Today I got a chicken banh mi and my husband got a shaken beef banh mi.
The sandwiches are very large and for me they are two meals if I do take out but here I share a lot with the dogs. I eat 1/2 and pull out the meat from the other half for the dogs.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
It’s starting to turn HOT in Phoenix. Culver’s is a casual burger chain that opens at 10:00 before it’s too hot to dine out with dogs so we have to take them there. Culver’s is better than most other similar chains because the beef and chicken are never from frozen. They also offer daily made custard, chicken sandwiches and tenders, fish sandwiches and entrees, a kids menu and more.
We got the dogs a double butter burger with cheese.
he burger is moist and nicely caramelized. I remove the bread. and give them about a third of the burger. Over the next two days they will have the rest as treats.
He looks so funny looking up at the burger.
She sure has her eyes on that burger.
They enjoyed Culver’s!
8330 W Deer Valley Rd Peoria AZ – 623-792-8957
www.Culvers.com
“Well it’s FORKING HOT already in Phoenix AZ so that’s all Folks!” “We hope you enjoyed Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix and we hope to see you soon!”
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Alzohour Market and Restaurant is a Moroccan/Middle Eastern Halal Restaurant, market, grocery, and Islamic clothing store in Metro Phoenix Arizona. It’s not a fancy place and alcohol is not served here.
One woman named Zhor runs and serves and prepares all the food herself. She also runs the market and clothing store. Somehow (I have no idea how) she makes her own pastry and even yogurt too for the greatest tzatziki anywhere.
Due to all the hard work she does service is at Zhor’s pace……..So PREPARE for that………. It’s like visiting a foreign land.
You might want to start off with falafels.
Or maybe something hard to find like kashke Bademjam.
It’s meaty eggplant with garlic and walnuts….that gets embellished with vegetables and fresh herbs. You eat it with flatbread. It’s like a vegetarian eggplant fajita.
Another stand out starter are the stuffed grape leaves.
I promise you that these grape leaves are the most delicious ones out there!
Another MUST GET is the Moroccan Tea.
It’s the most delicious tea we ever had anywhere.
The most famous dish here is the painstakingly made B’Stilla.
It’s Zhou’s hand made phyllo dough with chicken, cinnamon, almonds, and dusted with powdered sugar. It’s sweet and rich and also a very large generous portion.
My personal favorite entree is the fish tagine.
It comes out bubbling hot and the fish is always mild tasting and tender moist. Moroccan spices, lemon and olive are the flavors going on here. This comes with rice.
My husband’s favorite entree is the mix grill.
You get a chicken kabob, a shish kafta, gyro meat, rice and whatever vegetables Zhor is serving today.
Some of the other offerings are –
Lamb couscous
(to go) Chicken Tagine
(to go) Chicken Kabob
Kebssa (Kabsah) Saudi Rice Dish with chicken
Chicken couscous
Frekah with chicken.
So far the best tasting baklava I’ve tried is the baklava from Alzohour. It’s not as sweet as it looks.
Sometimes there is a dessert special.
Stuffed baklava
Maybe my favorite dessert here is the kunafa.
This is made fresh to order and comes out HOT! It’s noodle pastry stuffed with cheese and topped with pistachios (I was too full and had to order to go!)
The hand painting inside was done by Zhor herself.
Alzohour Market and Restaurant is the most unique restaurant in Metro Phoenix Arizona and is Worth a Fork!
NakedQ BBQ is a small casual barbecue restaurant that serves dry rubbed barbecued meats. You can add whatever sauces you like but the meats come out “Naked.” NakedQ BBQ is in three locations in metro Phoenix Arizona. The original located is in north Phoenix in the Deer Valley Area. They also are in Scottsdale, and the newest location is in Glendale by the State Farm Stadium in Westgate.
Just like the original location the Glendale location is small and casual. You order at the counter, get your platter, pay, grab drinks, and sauces, and seat yourself.
All the BBQ is good….don’t get me wrong but the turkey really stands out. It’s nicely flavored and smoked just right. It’s always moist and tender so well that it seems like it was prepared from a sous vide oven.
Below is a caesar salad with turkey.
For some people this is a very large salad with a large portion of tender amazing moist turkey breast. (I got two meals out of this and it was only…ONLY $9…….I expect that price to change)
Pro-Tip – The caesar dressing is bit mild……I make it pop by adding a little drizzle of NakedQ’s mustard sauce…..Now you got a tasty meal.
My husband usually gets the two meat plates that comes with two sides.
He got BBQ brisket, pork, beans, and vinegar slaw. He said that the corn bread ran more moist than from the Phoenix location.
Once in a while like a few times a year they have smoked corned beef as.a special. I only had it twice so far.
Below is the first time we had the smoked corned beef.
OMGosh! These were incredible. If a food critic was here and tasted them that person would call these sandwiches among the best in the valley…..Tried them a year latter….discovered that they make two different versions of this sandwich. Up above is the fatty and usually I don’t do fatty but fatty here is better. The second version I had was the lean and it didn’t melt in your mouth like the fatty here……..If you ever happened to catch the smoked corned beef you must ask for the fatty.
The second smoked corned beef……*This was the lean*
Below are a few photos of NakedQ BBQ food from the North Phoenix Location.
Turkey Garden salad
2 meat plate – brisket, pulled pork, with added jalapeño hot links, sides bbq beans and Mac ‘n’ cheese
to go – 2 meat plate – pulled pork, jalapeño hot links, Mac ‘n’ cheese
to go – 2 meat plate – chicken & brisket, vegetable, slaw
1 meat pulled pork, beans, mac’n’ cheese
1 meat plate bbq turkey slaw & vegetable
Side of jalapeño hot links
Everything is good but the turkey is fantabulous!
Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
NakedQ BBQ – 9405 W Glendale Ave Glendale AZ 623-230-2199
By accident I came up with an amazing finish to soy sauce eggs. I came across a recipe by the amazing Momofuku for Soy Sauce Eggs. I have made ramen eggs before and these are similar…BUT I had to make changes due to the ingredients I had that did differ. Long story short…these eggs came out tasting more like soy sauce eggs….and that is ok because that is what they are but I do prefer the taste of ramen eggs…so I added a few layers of flavors that make these eggs FORKING DELICIOUS.
Ingredients for 6 servings
6 large eggs
water to boil eggs
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon molasses
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
ichimi togarashi – to taste
2 Tablespoons mayonaise
2 Tablespoons yuzu marmalade
1 heaping Tablespoon dijon mustard (or to taste because every brand does taste different I used Amora Dijon)
optional cilantro leaf or sliced scallions to finish
Directions
Put on a pot of water to boil. You need enough water to cover the eggs. Lower eggs carefully in the boiling water. They will need 6 1/2 minutes to 7 minutes to get jammy.
You need an Ice bath for the eggs. In a large bowl fill it halfway with ice and add some water. Let the eggs rest in there around 30 minutes.
While the eggs are cooling off…….In a small mixing bowl mix together the 1/2 cup water, molasses, sherry vinegar, and soy sauce. Set to the side.
In a small bowl mix together the mayonnaise, yuzu marmalade, and dijon. This gets set in the refrigerator because you won’t need this for four hours.
By now the eggs are chilled and you can peel them. Put the eggs in a Ziplock gallon bag and pour in the soy sauce mixture. Squeeze out air from the bag and refrigerate for four hours. You should turn the bag occasionally.
When ready to serve cut the eggs in half. Sprinkle a little bit of ichimi togarashi, add a little yuzu dijon mayonnaise and a cilantro leaf or sliced scallions.
Soy Sauce Eggs with Yuzu Dijon Mayonnaise and Ichimi Togarashi Soy Sauce Eggs with Ichimi Togarashi & Yuzu Dijon Mayo
I think everyone will enjoy these eggs. I do Thank Momofuku for inspiring me to come up with this!
I was out grocery shopping today and I noticed many NEW Reese’s products. Most were mixes for cakes, cookies, brownies, and pancakes. Then across from hair products were Reeses Crunchy Peanut Bars. I never saw them before and wanted to give them a try. I get my bar home and open it up.
WOW! It’s much larger and heavier than I was expecting.
How many servings is this?
3 or 4 looks about right. I cut mine into 4 servings. Each one is around Reese’s Cup Sized.
They are unique and different and maybe not like anything else out there. They really are packed with peanuts encased in a sweet peanut flavored sand and are lightly coated with something chocolatey. To me they seem slightly sweeter than my familiar Reese’s cups but still a little salty like a Reese’s Cup. They really are packed with peanuts. These bars seem less chocolatey than a Reese’s cup but are still good.
The taste of these Crunchy Bars really isn’t bad……I just wish they came in sensible sizing. like in patties, cups, or break off bars.
Those were my FORKING Thoughts on Reese’s Crunchy Peanut Bars. I do note that YOUR Forking thoughts may indeed differ.
