Monthly Archives: August 2016

Easier Very Crisp Chicken Skin Recipe

Easier Very Crisp Chicken Skin

Easier Very Crisp Chicken Skin

This is how you get shattering crisp chicken skin. You spread out your chicken skin on a double layer paper towels underneath the chicken skin and above the chicken skin press out all the dampness with your hands. Then the chicken skins go on parchment paper and get covered with parchment paper. You can season lightly if your careful because the skins will shrink in half so you only need half the seasoning as you think. Get a piece of parchment paper to cover the skins and press with your hands so the skin is almost sealed in with the parchment paper. They go into a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes. The skin with be very hot with lots of loose oil that was released. You need to get the chicken skins out of the oil and drain on a paper towel lined pan.

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Easier Very Crisp Chicken Skin

Easier Very Crisp Chicken Skin

It’s trendy to add a piece of chicken skin to sandwiches or you can dress the skin with tasty sauces.

Forking Good!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

Forking Easy Faux Mushrooms Potatoes Recipe (spiralizing cores)

Faux Potato Mushrooms

Faux Mushroom Potatoes

Aren’t these FORKING cute!

I was spiralizing some potatoes with my Paderno Spiralizer on the ribbon blade and what’s left behind looks like a mushroom.

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So I saved my potato mushrooms and sprayed a sheet pan with non-stick canola oil and placed my potato mushrooms on the pan and into a pre-heated 350 degree F oven for thirty minutes.

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Added Fresh ground sea salt and black pepper.

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Would these Faux Mushrooms be great next to a steak or in a pasta dish with mushrooms?

I think they look nice coming out of the mashed potatoes too!

Ingredients for up to 8 servings

3 lbs russet potato cores (leftover from something else you spiralized)

non-stick canola spray (or any spray you like)

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh cracked black pepper to taste

Directions

Set your oven to 350 degrees F

Spray your baking sheet with non-stick spray.

Gather up your mushroom potatoes and place them on the sheet tray.

When the mushrooms are slightly brown remove them from the oven. (about 30 minutes)

Faux Potato Mushrooms

Faux Mushroom Potatoes

Forking Cute!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Forking Thoughts about Lay’s Kettle Cooked Indian Tikka Masala Potato Chips

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Lay’s has four Global Flavors of Potato Chips out. the one flavor I tried so far is the Kettle Cooked Indian Tikka Masala.

Well lets see how it goes………

On the bag it reads that this bag is packed with flavors including Turmeric, Cumin and Tomato. It also reads on the bag that there are no artificial flavors or preservatives and this flavor is vegetarian unlike some of the other flavors.

When I open the bag I take a whiff and it smells a little bit like food.

The chips are small, very hard and folded up a bit with spices that you can see. The surface is slightly powdery.

I start tasting chips……..

It has some zip to it meaning I get heat. The chips aren’t too spicy but they have a nice heat level.

As for flavor the chips don’t remind me of Tikka Masala.

The flavors are out of balance and some flavors of Tikka Masala aren’t there.

The chips have a lot of tang and salt to them.

ODDLY I don’t get any potato taste. The chips are thin, hard and very crisp and are just hard without potato taste. Tasteless potatoes.

For me the chips lack the fragrant flavors in Indian Food. I don’t get any ginger, nutmeg, turmeric or cardamon or the creamy tomato taste. All those flavors are missing.

I’m left with tang, a sour cream kind of taste, too much something that is very similar to sticking your tongue into straight chile powder-mixed with onions and burnt toast, salt, tasteless potatoes, and cumin, coriander and heat.

Your opinion may differ.

Sadly this one is not a keeper for me.

That was my Forking Thoughts on Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Potato Chips.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Forking GREAT Egg Salad Recipe

Egg Salad

Forking Great Egg Salad

If you read my recipes you know that I never use full fat mayonnaise because it is very high with fat and calories and I feel with enough flavor in your food you can usually use light or fat free mayonnaise. The exception for me is egg salad or deviled eggs. The light or fat free just isn’t good on egg salads so you have to make the fresh mayo/dressing for this egg salad. This egg salad comes out forking delicious. The dressing that you make will have all the seasoning in it to make it perfect. This should have been four servings but husband kept snacking on it so I only got two lunches (mine and his) and my husband got three snacks. He also asked me if I wrote down how I made it. I am guessing so I make it the same way again for him.

Ingredients for four servings (unless someone can’t stop themselves)

1 XL egg yolk – for dressing

2 Tablespoons dijon mustard – for dressing

pinch salt – kosher or sea salt – for dressing

1/2 cup canola oil (1/4c & 1/4c) – for dressing

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar (1 T & 1 T) – for dressing

dash Worcestershire sauce – for dressing

1/4 teaspoon cayenne – for dressing

pinch Hungarian Paprika – for dressing

pinch white pepper – for dressing

8 XL eggs

1 Tablespoon of kosher salt – for boiling the eggs

1/8 cup sweet onion – chopped fine

1/8 cup celery – chopped fine and the leaves plus a few extra leaves

fresh ground sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Using a blender of some kind add the egg yolk and dijon mustard and blend till emulsified.

Add pinch of salt and slowly add 1/4 cup of oil and blend till emulsified.

Add 1 Tablespoon of vinegar and blend till emulsified.

Add remaining oil and blend till emulsified.

Add Worcestershire, cayenne, paprika, white pepper and blend till emulsified.

Cover and put in your refrigerator to chill.

Put your eggs into your sauce pot and cover the eggs very well with water and add the salt. Bring to a boil and then SHUT THE HEAT OFF and leave the pot stay on 5 minutes. Exactly after the five minutes throw out the hot water and replace with cold running water and add some ice to chill the eggs. (The eggs will be cooked medium with a slightly soft center) Chill the eggs really well so the shells will be easier to remove. Get a large mixing bowl. When the eggs are cool then peel them and cut them in quarters and add to bowl. Add the onions, celery, some of the celery leaves rough chopped and reserve a few leaves for garnishing. Add fresh ground sea salt and black pepper.

Now fold in your dressing as needed. You might not use all the dressing so keep a little on the side that can be used later or for a sandwich. It’s better to leave the salad on the dry side because your leftover will get slightly moister from a small amount of water that comes out of the vegetables.

Add reserved celery leaves as the garnish.

Serve on cucumber slices, crackers or your favorite bread.

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Forking Great Egg Salad!

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

My Copy Cat Recipes Inspired by Metro Phoenix Restaurants

Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette inspired from FnB Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ

Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette inspired from FnB Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ

When you go out to eat hopefully the food will be good enough to inspire you to cook up something similar. These are all recipes that I posted on TheForkingTruth.com A few of my inspirations came from the wonderful inspiring FnB Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ. When I tasted their dish of Spaghetti Squash with Harissa and Feta I knew I had to sort of copy it. I didn’t use feta cheese but did come up with a Harissa recipe that’s insanely delicious with spaghetti squash.

Twice Cooked Gilfeather Rutabaga

Twice Cooked Gilfeather Rutabaga

Another FnB inspired dish is the Twice cooked Gilfeather Rutabaga. My topping taste similar but is much lighter in fat than the wonderful creme fraiche and ginger that FnB served. Instead I used a combination of Fat Free Greek Yogurt thickened with a little whipped cream cheese and seasoned with fresh grated ginger, scallions and hit with salt and pepper. It’s pretty simple but I never would have thought up this one on my own but I did enjoy adding the crisp lotus root chip.

Flat Bread with Blue Cheese Butter and Pistou Inspired from Eddie's house of Scottsdale AZ

Flat Bread with Blue Cheese Butter and Pistou Inspired from Eddie’s house of Scottsdale AZ

Eddie’s House of Scottsdale AZ starts you off with a complimentary basket of bread that includes flatbreads with blue cheese butter topped with pistou. It’s just scrumptious and I had to try my spin on it.

Red Lentils with Rainbow Chard, Dates and Almonds inspired from Deseo Latin Kitchen of Scottsdale AZ

Red Lentils with Rainbow Chard, Dates and Almonds inspired from Deseo Latin Kitchen of Scottsdale AZ

All the food from Deseo Latin Kitchen of Scottsdale was truly Amazing but the side dish of Red Lentils was very memorable so much that I did my spin on that one too. The original had a vegetable soup kind of taste with tomatoes, greens, dates, almonds and some sort of Latin Cheese. It was delicious and easy to replicate something sort of similar.

Indian Inspired Green Beans and Chickpeas

Indian Inspired Green Beans and Chickpeas inspired from Mayuri Palace of Phoenix AZ

At Mayuri Palace of Phoenix AZ I tasted the very best Okra I ever had. I didn’t fry up Okra for this dish but I thought a similar dish with green beans and chickpeas would be delicious!

Cilantro Lime Chicken Meatloaf inspired from Scottsdale Beer Company of Scottsdale AZ

Cilantro Lime Chicken Meatloaf inspired from Scottsdale Beer Company of Scottsdale AZ

I had this super delicious Cilantro Lime Chicken Sandwich with Jalapeño Jam and Avocado Aioli at Scottsdale Beer Company and it inspired me to put the same flavors into a chicken meatloaf.

Pickled Beet Israeli Couscous and Harissa Vinagrete

Pickled Beet Israeli Couscous and Harissa Vinaigrette inspired from Atlas Bistro of Scottsdale AZ

Atlas Bistro of Scottsdale AZ is one of Scottsdale’s offers some of the most interesting cuisine you can find in Scottsdale. The Couscous they served me on my plate there was so darn memorable I recreated my version of it nearly a year later.

Melon Salad with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Whipped Cream Cheese

Melon Salad with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Whipped Cream Cheese Inspired by the Vic Bar and Grill of Buckeye AZ

At the Vic Bar and Grill of Buckeye AZ I tasted a good quality ripe Melon with baby mint and preserved lemon with goat cheese. Here is my spin on that one.

Brazilian Inspired Potato Salad

Brazilian Inspired Potato Salad  Inspired from Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen of Scottsdale AZ

One of the most delicious Potato Salads I tried was served with my Steak at Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen in Scottsdale AZ. The potato salad was unlike any I had before. It was almost like mashed potatoes and chunks of potatoes. The salad had a bunch of soft carrots in it that lightened it up. I liked the pop of olives in it and as a nod to Brazilian style food I added palm to the salad that added another flavor and texture. It really came out Forking delicious.

These were my Metro Phoenix Copy Cat Recipes I came up with and I hope to come up with more inspirations soon.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

 

Butternut Squash Wheat Pancakes Recipe

Butternut Squash Wheat Pancakes

Butternut Squash Wheat Pancakes

These Butternut Squash Pancakes come out light and fluffy and are easy to prepare. I served them with hot toasted pecans and home made cinnamon ricotta cheese filling and a little syrup. When I first made them my husband squealed why didn’t you just make plain pancakes? Then he ate them and said they were very good. Don’t know if they will please everyone out there but they do taste good.

Ingredients that make 15 small pancakes or three servings

2 oz unsalted butter – room temperature

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup butternut squash – cooked and mashed

1 XL egg beaten

1 cup wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

nutmeg – fresh around a half dozen scrapes against the grater

1/4 cup buttermilk

pinch salt – kosher or sea salt

non-stick spray – neutral flavor like canola or vegetable

Directions

in a large bowl mix together the sugar and butter till it looks creamy.

Add squash and continue mixing and then add egg and mix well again.

Add all dry ingredients and then mix in the buttermilk. The mixture will be thick.

Get out your fry pan and put on on medium heat and spray it with the non-stick spray. Make sure it’s hot before you start making pancakes.

I used a heaping teaspoon of batter for each pancake in the fry pan. Then cover loosely with aluminum foil.  Cook until you see small bubbles on the top of your pancakes……….

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and then flip them uncovered for a short time or until you see a little browning underneath them.

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Repeat till you are done.

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Butternut Squash Wheat Pancakes

Butternut Squash Wheat Pancakes

The Butternut Squash Wheat Pancakes are very light and Fluffy and seasoned nicely and might please people who think they only like plain pancakes.

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

WTFork is Tomato Pie?

 

From www.LickMySpoon.com

From www.LickMySpoon.com

All my life I thought Tomato Pie was something similar to the picture above. It’s fluffy thick pizza-like crust topped with a thick tomato sauce.

These kind of pies aren’t popular in Arizona but some people make them.

I remember I use to enjoy the Tomato Pie from Cafe Riviera in Bensalem PA located in Neshaminy Mall. I was searching for pictures of their tomato pie that I used to enjoy and found out some sad and disturbing news.

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy.....

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..

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According to The Midweek Wire after being in business for over 36 years Cafe Riviera’s lease was lost. Neshaminy mall offered Cafe Riviera another spot in the mall but the owners didn’t agree on that spot in time to get it and Cafe Riviera shuttered February 14th 2016. This restaurant was a favorite for many and for over 36 years and was loved so much that over 10,000 people petitioned the mall with hopes to let Cafe Riviera to keep their spot.

Sadly I couldn’t find one picture of Cafe Riviera’s Tomato Pie on-line anywhere.

Well anyway thanks for listening to the ramble and getting back to tomato pies ………….Cafe Riviera’s Tomato Pie looked similar to the photo below.

Joe's Tomato Pie Philadelphia PA

Joe’s Tomato Pie Philadelphia PA

It never occurred to me that a Tomato Pie would be made ……..

with forking…..

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MAYONAISE!

When I first read about this pie I thought it was a joke. Then I looked it up and to my surprise I found out that Southern Style Tomato Pie is more popular than Jesus. There are hundreds of recipes on-line for this kind of Tomato Pie….

Maybe you never heard of this kind of Tomato Pie either?

It looks something like this pie from FoodNetwork by Paula Deen.

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Unknown until today for me…I found out that Tomato Pie is very popular in Southern US.

It’s a flaky pie crust that’s stuffed with fresh tomatoes, sweet onions, herbs like basil and is topped with a mixture of shredded cheese like cheddar or a blend with cheddar and MAYONNAISE.

Those are WTFork Tomato Pies Are

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth

Update- You can still find Cafe Riviera on FaceBook. They are currently looking to re-open somewhere. The same owners also own Pizza Zeppoli in Neshaminy Mall Food Court.  I wasn’t able to find a photo on-line of Pizza Zeppoli’s Tomato Pie either. Their Tomato Pies really were good. I guess the people just have to eat and forking don’t stop to photo.

To Neshaminy Mall…..

What you did to Cafe Rivera is FORKED UP!

What you did to Cafe Riviera is FORKED UP!

 

 

 

FnB Restaurant of Scottsdale AZ is Worth a Fork

FnB Scottsdale AZ

FnB Scottsdale AZ

FnB restaurant of Scottsdale AZ is located in the Arts District of Scottsdale. This is a contemporary restaurant that serves a farm focused, globally inspired Foods and Arizona’s most notable wines. On the one end of the restaurant they have a tiny store section where they sell some local organic produce, local artisan goods and Arizona Wine. The food this restaurant serves is among the best that Arizona has to offer as the Co-Owner and Chef has been nominated several times for a James Beard Award.

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I’ve been to FnB dozens of times over the years because I forking love the food and good service. It’s a little thing but this is the only restaurant in the metro area of Phoenix that actually will give you a black linen napkin if your wearing black. That is an example of classic service.  I have to say I didn’t get that at places I spent twice as much to dine at this past year.

When I dine at FnB not only do I enjoy a delicious meal I also become a better cook myself by learning more about food from dining here. Every time I come here there are always things on the seasonal menu I learn about. On my most recent visit they had Bagna Cauda(a warm hot Italian dip), Shiraz Salad (Persian Tomato and Cucumber Salad), and Sauce Gribiche (French Cold Hard Yolk Sauce) on the menu.

The menu changes with the season and is usually broken down into selections of small cold plates to share, small hot plates and entree plates.

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They started us off with Noble Bread Heirloom Grain Bread, a locally made bread that’s considered to be the best in Arizona that made from stone ground local heirloom grains and quality olive oil that’s flavorful.

We picked a small cold plate of Melon, Mango, Jicama, Cucumber, Lime, Chile, Feta Cheese and Purslane.

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Everything worked together like magic. It wasn’t in the description but small rich pieces of ripe avocado brought a satisfying richness to the plate. The Purslane gave off a crisp juicy text and a slight bit of mild sour and saltiness to balance things out. I’ve never actually eaten purslane before. It’s a common weed here in the U.S but in this fruit bowl the Purslane works really well with food.

We also shared House Cured Salmon with Citrus Labne, Heirloom Tomatoes, Aleppo Pepper and Radishes.

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The Star of this plate was the really perfect Salmon. There wasn’t much of it and it almost got lost among all the lovely vegetables in the tasty citrus Labne but the Salmon was the memorable part. The Salmon just melted in my mouth. It was sliced with expert precision and the gentle perfect flavors that didn’t over power the fish and were perfect accents.

For Dinner I had the Halibut.

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The Fish was prepared in a masterful way as it was perfection. The halibut had a nice seasoned crust and was ultra moist and flaky. The Sauce Gribiche with Mustard was simply delicious. I had no idea that these sauces would be so delicious on fish. That was an inspiring combination.

My husband had the Duck with Summer Herbs and Ancient Grains.

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I didn’t try it but my husband said it was savory and nicely seasoned.

I was stuffed but managed to share some dessert because desert is always good here.

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We shared a Berry Short Cake served with Sweet Republic Vanilla Ice-Cream. The berries were sweet and very flavorful. The cake part seemed very rich with butter, not too sweet and harmonized well with everything.

Yes FnB of Scottsdale AZ is Worth a Fork!

You might travel across town to dine here. Extensive Wine List, Famous Stetson Salad and Mushroom Pan Fry and more in the Touristy Arts District

You will travel across town to dine here if you are a fan of Creative Globally Inspired Menus that often feature interesting local Heirloom Vegetables.

For more information on FnB of Scottsdale AZ please visit www.FnBRestaurant.com

 The Forking Truth

The Forking Truth