Monthly Archives: October 2014

I lost TOO MANY Favorite Restaurants this year in the Metro Phoenix Area

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The Arizona Republic Reported that 30 restaurants opened just last month and at least 7 have closed. New restaurants come and some others not so old have to go. Most of these places I wrote about are Asian Places. I don’t cook Asian so it’s a type of cuisine I gravitate too sometimes but not always when going out to eat. I like the bold interesting flavors and usually it is food that is also filled with vegetables. These were all dependable, reasonably priced places. I’ve been to them all several times and never had an off meal at any of them.

Bean Thread in Spicy Sour Sauce from Miu's Cuisine Tempe AZ

Bean Thread in Spicy Sour Sauce from Miu’s Cuisine Tempe AZ

The Metro Phoenix Area’s very best Szechwan Cuisine with out a doubt came from Miu’s in Tempe Arizona. They had very welcoming service but had not so great atmosphere and opened in an existing place with no windows. They were big on fiery foods that weren’t too saucy or too sweet and were AUTHENTIC like what you’d forking really get in China.  It was a very big treat for me to taste what the authentic  Kung Pao Chicken is like. It’s a completely different dish than what any of my local Chinese eateries would prepare. It was much more flavorful, more spicy, made with chunks of chicken not batter dipped and most of all not sweet at all. It was very hard to eat with chop sticks you really needed to be good with chop sticks here.  Other popular dishes are called water boiled. They sound boring but are not boring. They are your choice of protein it could be intestines, fish or meat in a tongue numbing  broth with interesting spices and fresh vegetables. The eggplant with potato dish was very additive. I had no idea they were such a perfect paring. I was there about 3 or 4 times and was looking forward to trying other dishes like the Tomatoes with eggs or the lettuce with garlic dish. I have never came across such Chinese Dishes like these anywhere. Mui’s is a really big loss.

I also lost my local favorite Sushi Place.

From Sushi Catcher Glendale AZ

From Sushi Catcher Glendale AZ

I learned how flavorful sushi can be from the Sushi Catcher. I always received fresh Fish that danced with flavor no matter what I ordered. The Sushi Catcher is still open today but has changed ownership and the recipes are different now. Still was fresh fish but lacked all the delicious sauces that made it special.

Miller's Deli Grill Scottsdale AZ

Miller’s Deli Grill Scottsdale AZ

You could always count on fresh tasty Pastrami on better Rye Bread here. The rye bread is a big thing in Arizona most rye bread is just white bread with caraway seeds here. You got real rye and always tasty pastrami. Most pastrami in Arizona is just Boar’s Head Brand Pastrami that isn’t real with all the spice or fat it needs, but you did get a more tasty pastrami here. I also liked that I could get a 1/2 sandwich because the whole is too much for me. The service was also above average and the food was always fresh and tasty. Besides the pastrami they served other favorites like tasty sandwiches on Latkes and higher end lox was served here. Also the fluffiest lightest Matzah Ball I ever tried.  All the food I tried here was always good  and fresh.

Oriental Buffet Grill and Sushi Peoria AZ

Oriental Buffet Grill and Sushi Peoria AZ

You could get very seriously delicious food for almost nothing from this unique buffet. It was unlike all the other budget Asian Buffets I ever tried. The food was actually good and not a greasy oily mess like from many other budget buffets. They served fresh tasting carefully seasoned moist flounder here. The salmon wasn’t all dried out and fishy like at most Asian Buffets here it was tasty and moist. They also made many fresh delicious vegetable dishes that weren’t oil logged like from other buffets I’ve been too. The Spinach was delicious and my favorite was the tasty Asian Eggplant. All the Chicken dishes were very good and made with moist chicken. Many of them were spicy and flavorful and better tasting than from most Chinese Restaurants I can take out in my area. I do note they didn’t make the best tempura as it was always too heavy and sometimes doughy and the sushi was just above supermarket sushi but what the heck it was dirt cheap to eat here. I forgot exact ally what it cost but I think the bill with tax was only about $21.00 for two people with two drinks. It was a steal and I have no ideal how the fork this place could have folded.

I hope these places resurface. They were very above average for what they were.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

 

 

 

The Forking Truth about American Cheese

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The FORKING Truth about American Cheese is that it can NOT be legally called Cheese. It really is a forking processed product made from a blend of Milk.

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Milk Fats, some sort of forking milk fats,  solids (that sounds like forking poop to me), other forking fats, and whey protein.

Some of these American Cheese products are forking better than others.

American Cheese that squirts out of a forking can really sucks! You should use it as bug spray. The bugs will sufflocate really quick!

The plastic wrapped sheets of cheese like product don’t forking taste much different than the plastic they are wrapped with. They are like melting plastic on your forking food.

When you sit on the pot and call it a Whiz…..Why the heck would you want to eat Cheese Whiz?

Some budget supermarkets sell some sort of American Slices that are really Milk Jell-o. that is really forking gross.

Higher end better tasting  American Cheeses are the sharp varieties that actually have more real cheese in them.

The Best American Processed Slice I ever tasted was Cooper Sharp American. It really was so close to real cheese I thought it was real. Nothing else really is close.

Edible options are New Yorker American and Boarshead American.

Other than Cooper Sharp, New Yorker and Boarshead what you get is something that some people would say no whey or oy vay.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

 

Three Flavored Heirloom Spiced Carrots, Tomatoes and Millet Salad

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I thought it would be interesting to make a salad with three flavors of carrots. Each color of carrot has a naturally different flavor and I picked different spices or seasonings that influenced me by their colors. This is a very light salad that is healthy and low in fat. Not too spicy but flavorful. Every bite is different because the three carrots have been seasoned differently.

Ingredients

2 Cups Cooked Millet

6 Rainbow Heirloom Carrots (Cut in small bite sized pieces)

About a pound of Heirloom Tomatoes (Cut in small pieces)

2 cloves Garlic (minced)

1 small Hot Pepper (minced I used a Chili de Arbol)

Handful of Korean Leek Tops (minced)

About 2 Tablespoons Fresh Chopped Parsley

Juice from 1 Meyer Lemon

About a Cup of Non-Fat Farmers Cheese

Handful of Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for drizzling)

1/2 teaspoon Yellow Curry

1 tablespoon Date Molasses

good pinch of Saffron

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Prepare your Millet similar to preparing arborio rice or Israeli Cous Cous. Put your millet in pot and toast with a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

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Eyeball (or measure) You need 2 parts water per one part Millet. Add your water and about a teaspoon of Kosher Salt and bring to boil, Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff. Set aside.

Your oven needs to be set at 400 degrees.

Top your cut tomatoes with the minced garlic, hot pepper and Korean Leeks. Drizzle with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

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Your Heirloom Carrots need to be separated. Either use three small pans or use aluminum foil to make them separate. The Carrots should have been drizzled with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

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Sprinkle the yellow carrots with curry

Pour about a tablespoon of Date Molasses on the red carrots

Add a Good pinch of Saffron to the Orange Carrots

the carrots need about a 1/4 cup of water each and need to be covered with foil.

Put your Covered Pan of Carrots on your middle oven rack.

Put your uncovered tomatoes on your lower oven rack.

After about 1/2 hour your tomatoes should be done. Remove tomatoes and set aside. Season with fresh crushed Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Black Pepper.

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Your carrots should be fork tender. Remove foil and put them back in the oven on your upper rack and let them cook 15 more minutes so they brown up a little bit.

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Add your Tomatoes, Carrots, Fresh Meyer and Lemon Juice to the millet and stir. Season with more Fresh Crushed Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste. Top with dabs of Farmers Cheese, Fresh Parsley and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.

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Some substitutions can be made but the end results will differ.

Forking Good!

Forking Good!

 

 

 

 

 

Kabocha Squash Saffron Sauce

Kabocha Squash Saffron Sauce

Kabocha Squash Saffron Sauce

Yummy delicious Chestnuty tasting Kabocha Squash is often paired with brown butter,  sage and Chestnuts in American and Italian Recipes.

I made some very light Kabocha Squash Dumplings and thought of an original really delicious sauce using my leftover squash.

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Place your squash on a pan with a little water and cover it with foil.

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You roast your squash in a 375 degree oven for somewhere usually between one and two hours depending on it’s size, or until fork tender. Then when the squash is cool enough to handle cut it in half and remove the stringy seeds.

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Then scrape out the flesh.

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You are left with creamy soft Kabocha Squash.

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I removed 1 pound of squash for the dumplings and the leftover I used for my sauce. I didn’t measure it but I’m guessing it was around three cups.

Ingredients

Around 3 cups of cooked soft smooth Kabocha Squash

1 cup of vegetable stock

splash of heavy cream

pinch nutmeg

pinch white ground pepper

pinch saffron.

Directions

Cook in Fry Pan till it reduces to desired consistency.

It was delicious over Kabocha Squash Dumplings

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It was the saffron and other delicate spices that really make the squash pop with complimentary flavors that weren’t over powering.

Forking Good!

Forking Good!

Food Fails around Phoenix Arizona

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Going out to eat is usually fun and often you get something tasty to eat. But sometimes you pay for forking stuff you wouldn’t feed a dog.

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Especially THESE Dogs!

 

Often you don’t get fresh fish in Arizona that is a given.

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But I have had less than fresh fish served to me served at local forking  sushi restaurant recently.

Oily Food

Oily Food

I was served forking oily food.

Sad Dumplings that were forking soggy and falling apart.

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Soggy Tacos that forking fell apart but did taste good.

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Mushy pasta in a watery sauce that looks like forking barf.

 

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Hard Arborio Rice that was next to tasteless and forking dry.

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And awful store purchased FORKING Marshmallow Fluff masquerading as Meringue on a dessert. The other dessert wasn’t good either.

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And the Driest next to tasteless FORKING Chicken Taco in all the land.

Taco Haus Scottsdale AZ

This place is now closed for business

Had more good than forking bad but the fails are on my mind today.

My FORKING Salute.

Not Worth a Fork

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

 

Bok Choy, Carrots, Lotus Root with Black Garlic

Bok Choy, Carrots, Lotus Root, with Black Garlic

Bok Choy, Carrots, Lotus Root, with Black Garlic

This side dish is made of some Asian Ingredients in it but really is only mildly Asian scented and just delicious. The Black Garlic doesn’t taste like garlic it’s more of a sweet prune kind of taste. I think what makes the salad pop are the leftover Lotus Root I had. The Lotus Root was already boiled a few minutes in water with some white vinegar and a little salt. Then it was sautéed in a small amount of garlic and a hot chili so it already had a nice flavor and texture that adds interest to this combination. I also added non-traditional roasted pumpkin seeds to this dish. I thought the look and taste went really well with these flavors.

Ingredients

About 5 Baby Bok Choy (cut down the center in 4 -6 wedges)

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2 cloves Garlic (minced)

1 small hot chili (minced) either a Thai or Chili de Arbol

A big handful of Korean Leek Tops (already chopped up)

3 different Heirloom Rainbow Carrots (sliced somewhat thin)

about 1/2 a Lotus Root that was leftover from last recipe. (The Lotus was sliced somewhat thin. The root was already boiled a few minutes in water with some white vinegar and a little Kosher Salt. Then sautéed in a little oil with a small amount of garlic and hot chili.)

About 1/2 inch of grated fresh ginger root

2 heads of Black Garlic (just the clean cloves)

2 Tablespoons of Sugar

Splash of Ponzu

Couple Splashes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 or 4 Splashes of Dry Sherry

A handful of Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

A few Cilantro leaves

Directions

Heat up your fry pan on medium high heat with your Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, Hot Chili, and ginger.

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When the garlic turns clear looking toss in the Carrots and Korean Leek Tops. They only need a few minutes.

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Now add the Ponzu, Sherry, Sugar and Black Garlic and stir and let it cook a few minutes.

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Place the Bok Choy on Top and cover with foil and let it steam only a few minutes.

Remove foil add The Already prepared Lotus Root stir and serve with some toasted pumpkin seeds and a small sprinkle of fresh cilantro.

Bok Choy, Carrots, Lotus Root, with Black Garlic

Bok Choy, Carrots, Lotus Root, with Black Garlic

The different textures and taste go together really well. The lotus root really adds interest to this dish.

Forking Good!

Forking Good!

WTFork is a Mangelwurzel Vegetable? (a lot of vegetable you never see)

Unless you forking live on a farm you most likely never heard of or seen a forking Mangelwurzel (also spelled Mangel-Wurzel) Vegetable.

Rutabaga with attitude

The Mangelwurzel is a cultivated vegetable that has a swollen root in colors of white, yellow, or orange-yellow. The vegetable is really a type of beet developed for feeding mainly cattle livestock. Mangelwurzels can grow as large as 50 forking pounds.

The Mangelwurzel leafy top and root are edible but most people don’t forking eat them.

I never seen a forking Mangelwurzel carved into a Jack-O- Lantern but I read that people do carve these that way.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth

The Forking Truth about Baby Carrots

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According to Snopes.com those really cute Baby Carrots that you buy at your grocery store for snacks are really made from forking deformed Big Carrots.

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After being cut to the perfect size they are soaked in FORKING Chlorine.

After they sit a little while in your refrigerator  you will notice a forking white slime that’s the chlorine working it’s way out.

WTFork!

Are people really too forking lazy to cut up a fresh carrot?

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I have no explanation on why the FORK someone would think of doing this to a vegetable and sell this as food to mostly children.

Forking Truth

Forking Truth