Category Archives: Forking Thoughts

Random Forking Items of Interest

EXTRA Some More Foods I Made

I can’t write about everything that I cook or I won’t have time to cook lol! Up above are brined oven fried crispy juicy turkey wings. I do them a few times a year and they are insanely delicious. I wrote about them a few times on my blog already but this is my favorite photo of them.

Recently I made beef shanks braising with bay leaves, tomatoes lots of vegetables and seasoning. I wrote about how I did osso buco a few months ago. This one was pretty much the same but was cut into thicker slices so I braised them for 5 hours. I also blended up the vegetables this time and made a celery leaf gremolata for it.

Instead of the usual polenta or risotto that normally goes with osso buco I made sunchoke gratin.

It taste amazing and I learned a new trick about softening the sunchokes in cream…..That recipe that I followed added that cream back into the dish….I knew it wouldn’t work out…..but I did it anyway because I trusted the source. It was too much liquid ( and maybe too much fat) that broke my sauce…(could be a misprint….or maybe something was left out?) So with some of the remaining sunchoke gratin I made mackerel cakes with that sunchoke gratin.

These were easy to do and came out great! I first marinated 2 mackerel steaks in curry oil and fried them for around 5 minutes on each side. Cleaned up the skin and bones. Broke them down into chunks. Mixed them up with some of the sunchoke gratin, two eggs, a small amount of. panko and some dried fruit. Baked them off and they are pretty darn good! Actually really great! Topped the mackerel cakes with honey mustard.

Had a really nice filet mignon out at. dinner. Could only eat. half. The other half made two lunches.

I broiled off some baby bell peppers. After they cooled I cleaned them out and stuffed them with thinly sliced filet tossed with morita salsa, some pickled onions, scallions and some got cheese.

Made another eye roast….(last was in November).

The hardest part is to trim off all the fat and silver skin.

Then it always comes out perfect and delicious.

These were a few of the other things I made.

The FANTABULOUS Dish – The A.G. Burger from The Arrowhead Grill in Glendale AZ – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

The FANTABULOUS Dish means – Top of the line, marvelously great, peachy keen, and DYNAMITE! The A.G. Burger from the Arrowhead Grill in Glendale Arizona is all that and more!

First of all it is on this nicely grilled fresh and slightly herbed high quality eggy bun that doesn’t fall apart. inside is a lot to describe. There is an eight ounce U.S.D.A. PRIME ground in house tenderloin hand formed beef patty that was perfectly caramelized and prepared perfect to my request. On top of that is six ounces of the greatest sliced prime rib ever and on top of that are tasty fried onions, a little bit of mayonnaise and usually Swiss cheese. Off to the side is a very good horseradish cream sauce. On the current bar menu this amazing burger is $22.95 (subject to change) but if you should happen to stop in at happy hour 3-6 the Happy hour price was only $12.99 (subject to change).

The A.G. Burger from The Arrowhead Grill s an official FANTABULOUS Dish!

Worth a Fork!

www.ArrowheadGrill.com

8280 W Union Hills Drive Glendale AZ

623-566-2224

Everything is subject to change.

Recipe Idea Low Carb Radish Tacos

Leave a reply

I had a good idea so I thought I’d share it. I bought a Korean Radish from Asiana Market and I thought I’d use it o make low carb radish tortillas that taste really great with Mexican flavors. All you do is clean the radish and slice thin with a knife. Stuff it with your choice of protein. Then add a very good salsa. Add cheese if you want cheese (In Jalisco they say only gringos use cheese). Add pickled onions and it’s pretty darn good.

Just an idea you can use…….if you desire.

Making Next Level Chef’s Nyesha Arrington’s Five-Spice Meatball-Stuffed Cabbage Recipe

Leave a reply

I was watching the Rachel Ray variety and lifestyleTV Show. A featured guest was chef Nyesha Arrington. She is a well trained famous chef that owns at least one restaurant in California and has been featured on many food related TV shows including Top Chef. On the Rachel Ray show she made these adorable….what she called, “SHOW STOPPING” five-spiced chicken meatball stuffed cabbages. I decided that I needed to make them. First thing that I decided that I needed to cut the recipe in half…..Then I made different (my own) meatballs because I didn’t need to add tofu to my meatballs and I wanted to add more flavors….I can make meatballs in my sleep. Got the meatballs made…..

I did have problems with the rice step…..Unless you have a rice cooker or a steamer…I would suggest just to make the rice the way you normally cook rice. The instructions might be misprinted. I did soak and drain my glutinous rice but my rice took far longer than the 12 minutes noted. Mine took at least 40 minutes. Still not such a big deal……Just note that your rice might take longer…Just cook till your rice is sticky.

My last issue was the Chinese Cabbage……..I keep forgetting that chefs get better produce than we get……They get the most stunning fresh local beautiful big produce and we get mostly average produce that is trucked in from far away…..I also didn’t know how many leaves are in large Chinese Cabbages or Savoy cabbage. The cabbage I bought I thought was enormous……THE BIGGEST ONE THAT I’VE EVER SEEN……..But still not big enough for even half of the HALF recipe………Little did I know that I could only use eleven leaves to wrap meatballs and I had 21 meatballs so some we ate unwrapped and I made a nice Asian type sauce for them…….On the TV Show the chef saiid to make the meatballs 1- 1.5 ounces each so I did exactly that….Mine were all 1.3-1.4oz each. I made 21 meatballs. ( do have to mention that chef Arrington also got 18-20 meatballs and hers looks way larger than the 1-1.5 ounces….I know she added a cup of tofu and had twice as much meat..I guess that is why they looked so large…..I think they were MUCH bigger)….I have no idea how she got such big cabbage leaves to wrap hers…..)…..I only got 11 of my meatballs wrapped because I only had 11 leaves big enough to wrap the meatballs………(and my cabbage was the biggest one that I have ever seen at a grocery store……..So you might need to buy two (or FOUR if you didn’t cut recipe in half like I did).

ANYWAY……

Making them was pretty easy. (you. do have to blanch the cabbage)

Add some rice and meatball….This sits on plastic wrap….

Here comes the clever secret to making them……..

You take the wrap and pull it up and kind of use your hand to distribute the rice around the meatball and twist at the end. I chilled mine over night.

If you follow chef Arrington’s directions she suggest to steam the cabbage wrapped meatballs hot in the plastic wrap…….I didn’t do that because I thought mine would take too long to steam. I also couldn’t imagine unwrapping boiling hot plastic wrapped meatballs…My husband would starve by the time I unwrapped them all…….So I warmed mine up in the oven with a little vegetable broth without the plastic wrap and they came out great that way.

Chef Arrington’s recipe is called Five-Spice Chicken Meatball – Stuffed Cabbage and can be found on Rachel Ray TV Show Recipe Site. A few others claim to have wrote this recipe but I don’t think they did because they used chef Arrington’s photo.

A Special. THANKS!!!! to chef Nyesha Arrington for sharing her unique recipe so I could make what you see here!

The FANTABULOUS DISH – The Stuffed Grape-leaves from Alzohour Market Bakery & Restaurant Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

The FANTABULOUS Dish means……..Top of the line, marvelously good, peachy keen and DYNAMITE!

There is no need to hop the Marrakesh Express since we have Alzohour Market Bakery & Restaurant here in Phoenix Arizona. It’s around the south/east corner of 27TH and Northern. Allzohour is a casual Moroccan-Middle Eastern restaurant, small market, bakery, Islamic Clothing store, and a little more.

The stuffed grape leaves are filled with rice, parsley, lemon, and spices but these are far different than any other that I have tried before. They are far MORE DELICIOUS! They are not the usual……These are lighter, more. tender, and FAR MORE flavorful and far FORKING MORE delicious!!!!! These grape leaves just melt in your mouth. I can taste that the lemon is preserved lemon…but either it’s the spices or maybe it almost seems like the grape leaves might have been braised in something really delicious….They were an unexpected really great surprise!

The Stuffed Grape leaves from Alzohour in Phoenix are one FABTABULOUS Dish!

I must mention to those who do not know that Alzohour offers several FANTABULOUS dishes. I have tried many of Alzohour’s dishes but I haven’t tried every dish that Alzohour offers…..However I can recommend these FANTABULOUS dishes.

B’stilla- Is made in house phylio dough with chicken, cinnamon, sugar and almonds. It’s like dessert and lunch. at the same time. It’s also big so you need to share.

The fish (cod). tagine is our favorite dinner from Alzohour. It’s just so delicious!

It sounds crazy to list hot tea as a fantabulous dish but seriously this tea served here is the best tea that I have tasted anywhere. You MUST get the tea here.

Another FANTABULOUS dish is the kashke Bademjan. It’s roasted eggplant with herbs, fresh mint, garlic, onions, and bread. You eat it like fajitas and it. is just another great surprise because it doesn’t look exciting but it taste exciting in your mouth. You eat it like a fajita. (this dish doesn’t take out well so order it when you dine here)

It’s this delicious house made noodle pastry stuffed with cheese and topped with sweet syrup and pistachios and it fresh made to order. It’s really scrumptious…….among the best desserts around in Phoenix.

Alcohol is not served and service is very limited and might see slow to some.. Zhor herself does mostly everything herself. She cooks and waits on people at the same time. Not always but sometimes she serves the appetizers with the dinners. She also runs late sometimes with the opening hours.

Alzohour is a gem of Phoenix and is Worth a Fork!

www.AlzohourMarket.com

www.Alzohour-Market.business.site

7814 N 27TH AVE Phoenix

602-433-5191

Everything is subject to change.

My Forking Thoughts on Kroger Reuben Potato Chips

Leave a reply

I was food shopping at my local Fry’s supermarket and came across these Kroger Reuben Potato Chips…….I thought to myself I gotta try them. I glance real fast at the ingredients to make sure nothing really strange is in them.

They do have some chemicals in them……

Then I happen to notice that the chips are marked kosher and dairy.

I can be now be relieved that they aren’t made with castoreum (beaver butt juice actually from a gland by the butt) because beavers are not a kosher animal to eat. Castoreum is never listed as an ingredient because it is a flavoring. It is listed as natural flavor because that is what it is.

I get the bag home and take a whiff.

It truly DOES SMELL LIKE A REUBAN!

Incase you are not familiar with a reuben it is a sandwich made of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Russian dressing on grilled rye bread or Russian pumpernickel.

The chips are slightly speckled, a little powdery, and are extra crisp.

I gobble a few down……

They are very tasty but at first they taste mostly like mild sauerkraut …….it maybe only slightly cheesy and laced slightly with a rye bread taste.

I eat one very slowly and it taste completely different.

When you eat them slowly you get the rye taste dominating the other flavors.

They are very tasty and extra crunchy.

Those were my Forking Thoughts on Kroger Reuben Potato Chips.

(I note that your Forking thoughts may. differ)

Making Michelin Stars Chef Rohit Ghai’s Dhokla with Apple and Beetroot Recipe

Leave a reply

You can cook like a Michelin Star Chef if you find the recipes on-line or buy their cookbooks. I found Michelin Stars Chef Rohit Ghai’s recipe for Dhokla with Apple and Beetroot when I was browsing for beet recipes. I didn’t even know what a dhokla was. This is another recipe that has a lot of steps to it but none of the steps are very hard. I started by making the chutneys first.

I didn’t have the main seasoning ingredient (chana dai) for the tomato chutney so I used my recipe that I developed. I also didn’t puree my tomatoes because I used tiny sweet tomatoes of different colors that I thought looked nice to keep whole.

Then I made the mint chutney….

Mint chutney is easy. Just blend together mint, cilantro, yogurt, green chiles, ginger, lemon juice, chaat masala (I substituted gram masala (a little different but similar…less sour but made up a little with the lemon), cumin, salt.

The apple gets peeled and cut into wedges. You soak the apple in a solution of apple juice mixed with beet powder. I didn’t have apple juice so I cheated and used apple cider vinegar and added some honey…but I DID HAVE BEET POWDER! (See the pretty apple?)

You have to know how to cook beets because you need cooked beets for the recipe. You then make a tempering mix that you cook up. You heat up the seeds in a pan with the oil till you hear the seeds popping. Then that goes over the beets made of – onion seeds (I substituted poppy seeds because I didn’t have onion seeds), cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, oil, salt, sugar and vinegar. This is the first thing that goes over the beets.

This dish also calls for something called ghati masala. It’s the tasty crumble topping that you see sprinkled over things in the picture. It’s really meant to be sprinkled more generously but I wanted to show what I made so you could see. (I will add more when we eat the plates).

You heat up some oil and cook garlic and just blend together a combination of sesame seeds, coconut, roasted peanuts, chili powder, coriander, tamarind paste, and salt.

Now you make the dhokla.

Chef Rohit Ghai’s recipe calls for a combination of gram flour, semolina, lemon juice, ginger, green chili, yogurt, salt and something called fruit salt that is a leavening agent. This mixture gets steamed. I didn’t have the right flour or the fruit salt so I used a combination of chickpea flour, corn meal and regular a.p. flour, baking powder, and eggs. I also baked mine because I don’t have the right dishes to steam it all. It’s kind of similar but not what the chef did………..

Your not done yet.

Now you have to make a tempering liquid to pour over the dhokla you just made. You heat up oil with mustard seeds and asafoetida. When the seeds begin to crackle add curry leaves and green chilies. After it cooks you add sugar and water. This liquid gets poured over the dhokla.

Now put it together and add some radish, pea shoots, cilantro (If you have any left) and go heavier on the ghati masala than I did.

A SPECIAL THANKS!!!!! To Michelin stars Chef Rohit Ghai for sharing such an incredible recipe with the world!

A FANTABULOUS Dish the Gianduja Chocolate Mousse from Confluence Restaurant in Carefree AZ – Worth a Fork!

Leave a reply

FANTABULOUS means – Top of the line, marvelously great, peachy keen, and DYNAMITE! The Gianduja Chocolate Mousse from Confluence is all that! I usually don’t pick desserts for the FANTABULOUS Dish but this one is exceptional. All the food I had that evening was truly amazing. Everything was creative and masterfully prepared like from the best restaurant anywhere but….a really FORKING FABULOUS dessert sure doesn’t happen at most places (even the most expensive of places)……. really is The Forking Truth….just saying.

Gianduja Chocolate Mousse from Confluence in Carefree AZ

Gosh it’s tragic that you can’t taste it because it’s more FORKING FANTABULOUS than I can describe…..They don’t have a pastry chef here……The chef here does it all (bakes delicious breads, prepares all the dishes….probably washes all the dishes and pans)…and creates the desserts too! ………….and It’s like this Gianduju chocolate mousse came from the finest restaurant…..anywhere.

We got Gianduja Chocolate (that’s a sweet chocolate spread with 30% hazelnut) mousse. On top of the mousse is something that looks like a cheese curl but it taste just like orange zest!!!! I don’t know WTFork it is but it’s crunchy and orange zest-e. Maybe it’s some sort of concentrated dehydrated orange segment?…….The yellow sauce on thee plate is caracara orange curd that has the perfect amount of sweet and tartness to it with a lot of orange flavor it’s so YUM! To the right is caramelized white chocolate ganache that’s also is wonderfully flavorful with a rich mouth feel. The the left is a chocolatey Florentine cookie and there are other crunchy yumminess that make things more interesting. It’s just FANTABULOUS! It’s a very rare that you get desserts this jaw dropping astonishingly delicious!

The Gianduja Chocolate Mousse from Confluence in Carefree is a FANTABULOUS Dish!

Worth a Fork!

The menus at Confluence do change often. You might have already missed it? (but they are sure to have something else that is also amazing)

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

36889 Tom Darington Dr Carefree AZ

480-488-9796

Everything is subject to change. Remember thee menus do often change!

The Most Memorable Dishes from Metro Phoenix Restaurants 2021

Leave a reply

These are the most memorable dishes from metro Phoenix Restaurants from 2021 (in no particular order) I do note that I haven’t been everywhere and certainly can’t taste everything…But I have tried a lot! It’s also possible that I have missed some good ones because it is hard for me to see the postage sized photos that I have to pick from on my computer. I picked what I remember that stood out.

The Wagyu Beef Cheek from Confluence in Carefree They also made another dish with beef cheeks and miso that was just as FANTABULOUS pictured below. OMG both these beef cheeks dishes were maybe the #1 best beef dishes that I have ever tasted anywhere.

Get any beef cheek plate that Confluence offers

Strawberry gelato from Fabio on Fire in Peoria Probably the BEST Strawberry gelato in the whole country!

This next one is memorable…..

I ordered a take out fish dish from a certain Thai Restaurant in Peoria (I already wrote about it so I won’t mention their name…or go there again) They packaged me fish with most of the flesh removed……There is NOTHING for me to eat. I will NEVER FORGET this one. It sure was memorable.

Goat cheese creme brûlée from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale was sublimely smooth and cheesy.

The chicken from Valentine in Phoenix was sensational! So many flavors……

The macaroni and cheese from The Americano in Scottsdale might have been the best macaroni and cheese I’ve tried from a restaurant. The Italian truffles were just ok.

The doughnuts for Daily Donuts and Wings in Phoenix are the best that I have ever tried anywhere. (lemon filled, blueberry filled, sprinkles, Boston cream (hubs loved the cinnamon and chocolate iced)

Corn soup from SWB SouthWest Bistro in Scottsdale was unusually very good!

The Wagyu Brisket from Renata’a Hearth in Phoenix was to die for. (went back and wasn’t the same)

Memorable but in a bad way. This fish (smoked trout) tasted like ammonia, deep funk, smoke & extreme fishiness ..served with bitter fizzy lettuce and bitter oranges……..YUK! I already wrote about it..If you read my blog then you know where it came from….

Burrata pizza from Fabio On Fire in Peoria was either the best or one of the best pizzas I ate this year.

Combo with Jerk Chicken and Curry Chicken from Desert Island Eatery in North Phoenix was really delicious!

The ground in house Prime Beef ground filet burger from The Bourbon Cellar in Scottsdale was the best burger I ate this year. I didn’t try the next burger yet but……..

Arrowhead Grill in Glendale The A.G. Burger ( ground in house Prime tenderloin topped with a slice of prime rib) According to my husband This was also a phenomenal burger. He said that I have to try it.

Tis Chula Salmon Salad was as great as a salmon salad can possibly be from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale

From Little Cay in Phoenix I got the Kokomo Chop Bowl the flavors are great but you must add the special Puerto Rican hot sauce on the table to it to get the whole experience and all the flavors.

sea bass with Fresno chili and fregola from PA’LA wood fired Downtown Phoenix was really great and had unique flavor combinations.

Had a few fish dishes from Twist Bistro and Gallery (North Scottsdale) that were particularly good. This one is the salmon croustade. Also had their filet one night…..It was far more flavorful and did cost much less than one I tasted from Ruth’s Chris.

This seems like a very pedestrian dish called cheesy corn from Urban Margarita in Glendale but it taste amazing.

All the fish dishes from Confluence in Carefree are amazing and are prepared more masterful than from most places. This is the only restaurant that serves fish with crisp skin that tastes good and stays crisp and never turns soggy.

This came from a very good restaurant around downtown Phoenix. It was an African seasoned fish. This dish was flavored so great that it would have made my Fantabulous Dish list but it was only cooked on the edges and the whole middle was raw………(we did let the owner know and he did try to make things right with me)

Seasonal Harvest Salad from Lure Seafood House in Scottsdale. The Seasonal salads, bowls, and sand dabs are always really great from Lure.

Also memorable but in a bad way. This one I also already wrote about (a place in Mesa). It’s like they took bulgogi and blended it with cream cheese. It was like vomit on a skillet.

These Seaweed shell sushi tacos from Headquarters in Peoria were pretty darn tasty

Salmon salad from Campo Italian Bistro in Scottsdale was particularly good. Really great flavors and nicely prepared salmon. Their dinner salmon is just as great…

This one looks good but tasted so terrible that I couldn’t eat it. The fish had a house made balsamic rub that might have been made with spoiled wine and only God knows what else, Candied cabbage under the green beans was on the side that was awful. The jalapeno creamed corn was more sugary than taffy…ICK. The complimentary red sangria they served me was made with old spoiled wine….I felt sick to my stomach from this place. I already wrote about them. Some place in Phoenix.

The Fish Collar from Vecina in Phoenix was Amazing!

Gelato from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale was really great! I had a different one on a different visit with mostly hazelnut that was also amazing!

I didn’t eat this one but my husband really loved the osso buco from the Italian Daughter in Scottsdale.

This salad made with tuna from The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in Scottsdale was delicious and incredible.. Great flavors, fresh fish, and fancy pristine farm fresh produce.

Lunch – Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Confluence in Carefree is not like any other and is SCRUMPTIOUS!

Miang Kham from Chada Thai AZ in Scottsdale. Really great flavors that POP!

Pickled Fish – Water boiled fish with pickles and chilies from Shaanxi Gardens in Mesa

These were most of the most memorable dishes from Metro Phoenix Restaurants from 2021. It’s always a joy to eat eat something so well made and delicious.

Some of the 2021 Recipes on The Forking Truth www.TheForkingTruth.com

Leave a reply

These are not all but some of the 2021 recipes that you can find on The Forking Truth. Enjoy! No calories just looking. Up above is Butternut squash fondue pie with pickled peppers.