Monthly Archives: December 2016

Some of the Forking Food I made in 2016

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Fresh “Feta” Dill and Caraway Won Ton Raviolis

Forking Fabulous Mini Potato Knishes

Jackfruit Salsa

Hummus with Spicy RED Skhug Sauce

Asian Inspired Radish and Carrot Salad

Citrus Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing and Spiced Almonds

Real Enchilada Sauce Recipe

Cook’s Country Potato Cheddar Pierogi

Classic Boule

Baba Ghanoush

Biscotti

Tumbleweed Potatoes

Blue Cheese Gnocchi with Heirloom Beets, Apple and Walnuts

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Mango Habanero Sauce and Blue Cheese

Scaccia also called Lasagna Bread

Tortillas

Michael Symon’s Pickled Chilies for Steak

Rye Bread

Forking Great Buffalo Potato Salad

Pistou Sauce

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

Faux Potato Mushrooms

Forking Delicious Lime Water Ice

Fresh Basil Turkey Meatballs

Easier Very Crisp Chicken Skin

Chipotle Rice Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers with Potato String Crust

No Dairy Italian Inspired Meatballs

Pickled Beets with Stems, Leaves, Clementines and Blue Cheese

Brazilian Inspired Potato Salad

Tri-Color Salsa

Tomatio Jicama Fruit Salad with Tapioca and Lemon Cream

Next to Fat Free Skinny Baked Poppers

FORKING AMAZING Grilled Mac-N-Cheese Sliders

Forking Awesome Fresh Ricotta and Spinach Gnudi

Baked Crispy Gochujang Chicken Breast

Crispy Sweet Corn Cakes

Crisp and Creamy Red Potatoes

Melon Salad with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Whipped Cream Cheese

Pickled Beet Israeli Couscous and Harissa Vinagrete

Eggplant Meatless Meatballs

Feta and Dill Spaghetti Squash Patties

Indian Inspired Green Beans and Chickpeas

Jalapeno Cheddar Baked Potato Fingers

Butternut Squash Cinnamon Bun

White Nectarine Crostata

Pastrami on my rye bread

Balsamic Glazed Cauliflower “Wings”

Julia’s Child’s Poached Egg Trick

Pear Almond Cake

Hatch Chile Cheese Bread

Spicy Hatch Chile Cheesy Polenta Dip

Non-Traditional Potato Crusted Hatch Chile, Cheese and Vegetable Quiche

Cheesy Hatch Chile Potato Casserole

Indian Inspired Turkey Meatballs with Green Chutney (Chutney is just handful mint, handful cilantro, 1/2t cumin seeds, 2 garlic, 1t lemon J. salt)

Spicy Asian Turkey Baked Scotch Eggs

Pumpernickel Bread

Forking Adorable and DELICIOUS Mini Apple Pie Bites

Pesto make with Purple Basil

Forking Easy Delicious Shattering Crisp and Juicy Oven Fried Turkey Wings

Chanterelle Mushroom Bread Stuffing

Cheese Lasagna

Duchess Style Stuffed Potatoes

Those were some of my dishes of 2016.

The Forking Truth

Most Memorable Food I tried in Metro Phoenix in 2016

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Memorable can be wonderful, or different or even bad. This is a collection about the foods I had out in Metro Phoenix AZ Restaurants over 2016 that I remember most. I warn you that it wasn’t all negative or all positive because I tell TheForkingTruth. You know that in life there is no Ying without Yang…No light unless you have dark…Maybe no God without the Devil….I just tell The Forking Truth! I do note that every experience in a restaurant may differ so you may or may not experience the same. In the beginning of the year some of the Forking doozies started…. and here are some……..

Sweet Potato Tart from Casa Filapina Bakeshop and Restaurant

Filipina Bakeshop and Restaurant is a very much loved restaurant in the area for Philippine Food. I enjoyed a nice meal there but dessert was another story. I read in a local publication that the baked goods are expectational too. As my luck would have it on the day of my visit both tarts I tried were hard as rocks. Trying to eat them was impossible as I couldn’t even stick a fork threw them and that was memorable. My husband actually wrestled with them to get them to crack. They were almost as hard as cement. We did bring the tarts to the attention of the owner and he said that nothing was wrong with the tarts…and they just needed to be heated up. Afterwards he did bring edible tarts.

Fondant from India Fusion

Sadly Inde Fusion is no more. The atmosphere was great and they had so much potential. Some things I tried there were very good….but…..The Fondant dessert they served me wasn’t a molten lava cake like a Fondant is known to be…..Instead they served me a forking lump of fondant icing. I will NEVER forget that and it was memorable.

The Nosh Eatery and Wine Bar

The Nosh accidentally served my husband the wrong burger and he sent it back. (big mistake)….Instead of preparing a new burger they recycled the old burger leaving behind some residue and serving a dried out burger. I’ll never forget how mad my husband got and we never went back. I note that they were newly opened and might not be recycling burgers anymore.

Huitlacoche Machete – $7.99 -Azteca Estilo DF Phoenix AZ

One of the biggest and most memorable plates I tried came from Azteca Estilo DF. It was the biggest and best folded quesadilla called a Machete I ever had stuffed with Huitacoche and was only $7.99. Look at the fork on the platter. Not only was it humongous but it was delicious filled with a delicacy of Huitacoche also called Mexican Truffles. This one Machete can feed 2-3 people and it did.

Binkley’s

The Shaved Truffles with Prunes are what dreams are made of…….from Binkley’s. This plate will blow anyone’s mind.

Organ Stop Pizza

The Organ at Organ Stop Pizza is the biggest or one of the biggest Wurlitzer Organs in the country and the whole restaurant is filled with it. This photo only shows you about 1/10 of the organ. The music I heard was amazing. The pizza is ok. The Music made the food memorable.

The Vic Bar and Grill

I will never forget pulling out a silicon like object from my mouth from a dessert at The Vic Bar and Grill. Now THAT was memorable! Forking memorable!

Tratto

One of the Best Meals of the year I had came from Tratto Restaurant as everything was superb. Everything was perfect.

Barrio Gran Reserva

Most interesting Salad came from Barrio Gran Reserva. A very complex salad that hit everywhere in your mouth. I tasted bold flavors and ingredients I never tasted before. It was very memorable and delicious.

“The Bobby Slayer” From at The Boulders

WOW! Best Sandwich I “Discovered” this year was at The Boulders in The Discovery Lounge. The Boulder’s Chef battled Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay on Food Network TV and beat Bobby Flay with this “Bobby Slayer” Steak Torta Sandwich. It’s worth the trip just for this sandwich as it was FORKING GREAT! It was a great big sandwich that we split and it was filled with Skirt Steak, Oaxacan Chiles, Crispy Chicken Skin, Avocado Creama and Cabbage. I never imagined I’d eat a sandwich like that but It was Forking Awesome!

The Chicken Scoop

I love the idea of the Chicken Scoop Restaurant that’s an all Chicken Salad Restaurant. The food did taste good that I tried but all the chicken salads I tried seemed whipped and smooth without chunks. More like chicken spreads……..I am not used to chicken salad being prepared that way so it seemed very odd to me and I keep thinking about it.

Quiessence

Quiessence served some of the most amazing bites I tried this year. The first three courses of the tasting menu truthfully were astonishingly great!……..

It was a night of mostly astonishingly great food, that mostly all came with corn and an covered cooked and salted dinner.

Over Cooked and Over Salted by Quiessence Restaurant Phoenix AZ

Kitchen West Scottsdale AZ

Kitchen West offers an incredible menu that’s interesting and unique. We started out with a mushroom flatbread where the mushrooms on top were forgotten and the provolone cheese was missing but replaced with a spreadable cheese. We did inform the manager and she brought us the mushrooms we were missing and kindly took the appetizer off our bill. The appetizer was a bit of a miss and I thought we were done with misses but I was wrong……I was looking forward to an amazing salad that contained Amazing Ingredients such as fiddlehead ferns, pickled blueberries (got blueberries but they didn’t seem pickled), candied sunflower seeds and more. I didn’t get ingredients promised for the salad. At this point I felt cheated but more bummed out because I was looking forward to those things. I also received what seemed like a piece of leftover overcooked salmon with albumin formation that was slightly reheated. Then I really felt cheated……That was Forking memorable like a bad dream. I’ll never forget that.

Christopher’s Bar and Crush Lounge

Had a wonderful dinner at Christopher’s Bar and Crush Lounge. Every single plate was incredible. Techniquely perfect and delicious. The plate in the picture even has an edible spoon that contains cheese for the expertly prepared house smoked salmon. The dessert was amazing and the one I enjoyed most this whole year. It was Lemon Tart with Berry sauce with a side of Lemony Lime Ice in an edible basket..just sublime……(insert angels singing here)

Kitchen 18

Best Baba Ghanoush and shawarma I tried in Metro Phoenix so far came from Kitchen 18. This is what eggplant dip is suppose to taste like. I haven’t tasted any other Baba Ghanoush out at any other restaurant that even comes close. It’s creamy, there is a taste of smoke, Tahini and lemon are accents to perfectly prepared eggplant. Baba Ghanoush should be mostly eggplant that’s double or triple cooked. I note that I haven’t been everywhere (not to many places in Tempe or Mesa) in Metro Phoenix for Mediterranean Food but I have been to many places in Glendale and Phoenix and for sure all the Mediterranean was very above average but the Baba Ganoush was so great that it earns a shout out. The other items I tried were all solid and the chicken shawarma was the best I tried too!

Match Cuisine

The Dessert from Match Cuisine certainly was among one of the best of the year. It certainly was the most detailed dessert I had all year and it was interesting and tied together with a chocolate mole sauce. It was a work of art that was interesting and different!

Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty is a newly opened restaurant that made the best Sichuan style food I tasted in a LONG time. This Sichuan Style Beef with lettuce was amazing. I so wanted to scoop out the beef and eat on a roll like a steak sandwich… It was that great!

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal sure makes a killer Chicken Biryani and a tasty Fish Vindaloo. The owner claims his Masala is the best you can get anywhere….and people do drive two hours for it. This was overall the best Indian food I had this year.

CC’S Mesquite Grill

CC’s Mesquite Grill makes REALLY delicious Mesquite prepared meats but the sides of beans and rice were weak like they didn’t come from the restaurant. The atmosphere is very unusual. More strange than my photo shows….Like sea shore graffiti and weird objects are glued to walls…. All together it’s memorable.

Sonata’s

Sonata’s serves Eastern European and Lithuanian foods I tried the most complex and BEST pirogies I ever had in my life and maybe the tastiest Filet I ever had. Mostly everything I tried at Sonata’s was incredible.

Fat Ox was very dimly lite with an energetic loud atmosphere

Fat Ox is a newly opened restaurant that serves Modern Italian Food. They did serve one of the best plates I tried this year and it was hand made pastas that contained butternut squash.

It was so flavorful and so detailed. It was a light bite that was gone in minutes but it was amazing and memorable. It had everything going on with it.

This was a collection of what was most memorable to me from Metro Phoenix Restaurants that I visited over the 2016 year.

The Forking Truth

How to make the BEST Forking Cannoli in the Whole World Recipe

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If you want to most delicious Cannoli you have to make your own fresh shells and fresh home made ricotta filling. The cannoli shells aren’t sold at local Phoenix Supermarkets and when you do find them at specialty stores they are very expensive..about $1.50-$2.00 a shell. Around Phoenix local supermarkets don’t sell fresh tasting ricotta cheese that taste good. The ricotta cheese sold here is full of gum and taste flat. It’s some work but you have to make your own shells and cheese if you want a good tasting cannoli. I’ve been making these for years and I got it down but I do spend three days making these Cannoli but they can be done in two days. Three days before I need them I make the shells. I have a small fryer and can only fry six shells at a time so it takes a while. It might be a good idea to invest in a well made pastry mat for rolling the shells. I got a new one this year from a high end kitchen store and it made a big difference. My shells were easier to roll and came out much thinner ( as a result I also got about ten more shells from the same recipe. The next day I make the fresh cheese. The way I make cheese it comes out very firm and I flavor the cheese in three flavors, vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon. The minute I add sugar to sweeten the cheese it becomes too wet so I have to drain the vanilla and cinnamon flavors for a day. The chocolate stays very firm because the added cocoa dries it out. You will have extra cheese left over. You might want to remove up to three cups of ricotta and freeze use for something else like gnocchi, ravioli, toasted bread or rolled lasagnas. Fresh ricotta freezes very well. It will last 6 months to a year depending on your freezer.

Ingredients to make around 40 shells

2 cups flour – plus extra to roll out dough and dust dough

2 Tablespoons unsweetened butter – room temperature

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 pinch sea salt

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup wine (could be any wine lately I use dry white wine)

1 XL egg separated – both beaten (I use beaten yolk for sealing and white in dough batter)

vegetable oil to fill fryer

2 cups (about 2 cups) 10x sugar – to dust cannoli shells inside (to stay more crispy) and outside. (you have extra but I just toss that out.

optional – a few small pinches of anisette sugar on top of the dusted cannoli for extra flavor

1 gallon whole milk

1 quart heavy cream

2-3 lemons – just the fresh squeezed juice

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

sugar to your liking

natural vanilla extract to your liking

cinnamon to your liking

high quality cocoa powder to your liking

few drops of natural anise extract to your liking (a little goes a long way…don’t use much or skip)

Directions

Fill your fryer with oil and I set bring to 350 degrees F

In a medium bowl mix flour, butter, two pinches salt, water, wine, egg white, together with a fork. pinch a small ball the size of a smaller fresh cherry. Dust your rolling mat with flour and dust the dough ball. Roll from the inside out.

Wrap the dough around the cannoli core and seal with egg yolk. repeat at least 6 times. Use a tong and slowly place the dough wrapped cores into the hot oil. they will sink and then they will float. You will need to hold them down with the tongs or another basket so they can brown all over. They get down pretty fast and you remove them when they are golden brown and place on a towel or paper towel lined pan or baking sheet.

I’m not paid or anything to recommend Fanara’s cannoli cores but they really are the best. They are made from aluminum that cools quickly and they are designed so you can pinch the core and the shell comes off easily. The Forking Truth is that I threw out all my other cannoli cores and I tried Fanara’s. FT! (Forking Truth!) By the time you do six and then roll out your next six then the first six will be cool so you can slide the shells off the cores and get ready to repeat till done.

Place shells on new paper towels over a pan or baking sheet and when cool cover with plastic wrap.

To make the cheese you put a very large pot on medium heat and add the milk, cream and about 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt. You have to slowly bring this to a rolling boil. It should take about one hour. During this time you stir it occasionally.

When the mixture is at a rolling boil then you SLOWLY add fresh squeezed lemon juice. Depending on the size and how juicy the lemon is you will need 2-3 lemons. You slowly add the juice and stop when you see it turns to curds.

Let it continue to cook for just a couple minutes and shut the heat off.

I use a metal mesh strainer and SLOWLY ladle out the mixture and let it drain and then add to a clean container.

Put in the refrigerator when the cheese cools down a bit. After a night in the refrigerator the cheese will seem very thick and it needs to be. Decide on what flavors you want to make. I like to make a third vanilla, one third cinnamon and the last third chocolate. Add sugar and flavoring to your liking. A day before I need to use the cannoli filling I make the flavors because the vanilla flavor and the cinnamon flavor turn runny from the sugar and you will have to drain those fillings over night with paper towel lined colander that is kept in the refrigerator. (make it triple lined and line on top too)…you can drain the cheese for more than one day but change the towels at least once a day but twice is better.

The next step is the day of serving the cannoli I dust the inside and outside of cannoli shells with 10x sugar that keeps the inside crisp longer and adds another dimension of flavor to the cannoli. It’s easy to pipe the filling in with a pastry bag. You don’t even need to use a tip. You can add pistachios, chocolate chips or cherries to the ends but I prefer without.

Cannoli

I sprinkle a little cinnamon to the cinnamon cannoli and cocoa to the chocolate cannoli.

I made these cannoli for my neighbors and everyone said that these were the best cannoli they ever tasted.( FT) This is the dessert my husband’s family requests for their annual Christmas Gathering.

These are the Best Forking Cannoli in the Whole World.

The Forking Truth

New Forking Weird DifFerent and Special Edition Foods Out There December 2016

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There is ALWAYS something new, forking weird, different or special edition at the markets and I never know what I will come across. Here are Jimmy Dean Stuffed Hash Browns in sausage and cheese variety and also Bacon and Cheese. Nothing is plain anymore. I’m surprised these stuffed Hash Browns don’t come in Egg and Cheese variety or even forking Sriracha Flavored.

A difFerent kind of candy called Crunchkins….They are made by Topps (the Bazooka Bubble Gum Co.) The candies are sort of like malt balls and the box contains three flavors that are very True tasting. The white sphere taste just like stale birthday cake. The tan spree taste just like a stale glazed donut down to that yummy little nutmeg taste and the brown sphere taste just like a stale Fudge Brownie. In all the flavors you get a very realistic frosting with frosting texture but all the spheres inside are crisp and even though the flavor is dead on I still get this stale cake texture. I do note you can’t eat too many because the realistic sweet frosting on them creeps up on you but if you only eat a few at a time they really are surprisingly good.

Turkey Spam….Spam is usually a canned ham but a Turkey version of Spam is available now. Spam makes me think of Hawaii and Monty Python…

Sweet and Salty S’Mores Pretzels……???????

New Pineapple Habanero Potato Chips cooked in Coconut Oil sound appealing to me but I resisted….. 🙁 ………Maybe next time….

Blueberry Pancake frozen custard sounded too delicious to resist. Sadly the custard has watery lumpy texture and lacks a custard mouth feel but it’s the taste that’s unsatisfying and makes me sorry I tried this one. No hint of pancake…just lumpy fruit that you can’t really identify……not worth the calories….. :(……..Went back to figure out why I don’t like it……..Not custard and more like a creamy sorbet……..The orange juice cancels out any blueberry flavor it might have and also nothing pancake in it…..Blah!…

S”mores Chips Ahoy Cookies…It seems that S’more’s is like the Key Lime of last year

Planters limited edition S’MORES mix……..?

Blue Raspberry Mallow Bursts?…WTFork is a Mallow Burst?…I thought they looked like marshmallows? Do they leek in your mouth? I don’t know…

Pumpkin Spiced Vanila Cream Cookies….Might be tasty?

Organic Red Lentil Pasta isn’t so weird or unusual these days but the $8.99 price tag is very shocking to me.

Pumpkin and Spice Triscuit….? I don’t think cheese would go well on these crackers…

Maple Bacon Pop-Tarts….? Is this a breakfast replacement?

Pineapple Coconut & Lychee Raspberry Milk Chocolates…made in France….ooh la LA!

Popped Edamame Chips…I’m buying these…

I thought Harissa Salsa is pretty odd….Both are red, contain garlic and spicy pepper but the base of salsa is tomatoes and the base of Harissa is roasted red peppers with different seasonings…….So this jar might be salsa flavored like Harissa.

Chicken of the Sea Tilapia in a Pouch in flavors of Teriyaki Sesame, Santa Fee, Marinara and Yellow Curry. I felt the package and it felt like a hard very small piece of fish…..I will not be trying this…

I think the oddest thing I came across was abnormal looking Kiwi Fruit. A Kiwi is usually a small fruit covered with fuzz. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor and is usually paired with another fruit like bananas or strawberries. The kiwi fruit is usually sort or oval in shape and the size of a Persian Lime. I’m not crazy about kiwi fruit so I didn’t purchase the fruit.

These kiwi fruit are very large. Each one weighs 1/2 a pound….Look at the weird shape. Is it a variety that’s different or are they a weird mutation? ……..Maybe a result of radioactivity in the environment?

Well that is The New Weird Different and Special Edition Foods for December 2016. Who knows WTFork I’ll see next month!

The Forking Truth

International Desserts in Metro Phoenix Arizona

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Spurgos Vaskes (Lithuanian Donuts) from Sonata’s Restaurant Scottsdale AZ

Phoenix Arizona offers quite a lot of international cuisine. Here are just a few of some international desserts I tried this year.

Sonata’s Restaurant in Scottsdale Arizona serves Lithuanian and Eastern Europeans Foods. They have their own Lithuanian Donuts on the menu called Spurgos Vaskes.

They are small round deep fried donuts that are made with Lithuanian Cheese Curd that’s similar to Quark Cheese. Instead of rising from yeast like an American Donut these rise from baking powder.

Sonata’s serves the Spurgos Vaskes with Organic Hazelnut Chocolate Spread, Strawberry Preserves and a Heavy Pastry Cream.

We now have Thai Style Ice Cream Rolls at Arrowhead Towne Center (The Mall) in Glendale AZ from the new Indian Restaurant named Maya. (Maya is more of an Ice Cream Roll restaurant that serves a short 3 item menu of Authentic Indian Cuisine.)

The Ice Cream Gets Made before your eyes on a sheet that instantly freezes the cream. Things get hand chopped and mixed on the sheet, then the ice cream gets “rolled off.” You pick the base, the add ins, sauce and toppings.

My husband had an all Chocolate Thai Style Ice Cream Creation.

We also have Kwality Ice Cream in Phoenix AZ that specializes in egg-free Indian Flavors of Ice Cream.

Last time I tried a single note flavor of Leechie Fruit and my husband had Butterscotch. This time I went for the explosive favor of Mitha Paan.

Wow lots of flavors…..This one you got to be prepared for….Betel Leaf, Rose Petals, Cloves, Cardamon, Coconut, Fennel and Candied Fruit! You are sure not going to find this at Baskin Robbins!

The Great Australian Bakery in Old Town Scottsdale AZ Serves all kinds of hand pies, rolls, pasties and several Australian Desserts. Some of the desserts TGAB offers are, Vanilla Slices (like Napoleons), Lamingtons (spongy tender cake covered in chocolate icing and dusted with coconut, some are filled with cream and jam), matchsticks (raspberry jam and cream sandwiched in puff pastry topped with icing sugar and Anzac Biscuits or Anzac Biscuit Ice Cream Sandwich.

The Anzac Biscuit is sweet hard and chewy and (according to Wikipedia) is an eggless biscuit made from rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda, boiling water and optionally desiccated coconut. The name of the biscuit Anzac is the combination of Australia and New Zealand made into one name that combines the two countries who have fought together in WW1. I read that Housewives would make these sturdy biscuits and ship them to soldiers at war for nourishment. There is a holiday called Anzac Day April 25 (like America’s Memorial Day) Anzac Biscuits are eaten to remember the soldiers of war.

The cookies are chewy and delicious with filled with vanilla ice cream. You can’t tell by looking at my photo but this is an extremely large cookie sandwich. It’s enough to feed FOUR people. My husband and me could only make it threw half and had to call it quits. It was delicious but the serving is for sharing with a family.

One location of Snoh Ice Shavery is in Phoenix AZ. They serve a frozen Chinese-Taiwanese kind of dessert. It’s light and fluffy like real snow. It’s described as shaved ice mixed with ice cream. Here you pick a favor, a topping or two and a sauce. The delicate ice is mild with flavor and the added sauce and fruit give this light dessert some substance.

These were only a few of the International Desserts you can try in Metro Phoenix AZ.

The Forking Truth

A Little Forking Story about The Christmas Candy Cane

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A long time back in a land far away it’s said that children were given candy to shut the FORK up while in church on Christmas. It has been written that a person in Germany decided to put a little religion into these church given candy sticks. Later to make the candy seem more biblical someone decided to shape the candy sticks like shepherds’ hooks like from the dudes in the Noel Scene.

As time passed someone got the idea that hyssop should be added to the candies (the candies that shut kids the Fork up in church) because hyssop was used in the old testament for purification and sacrifice. Perhaps nobody actually wanted child sacrifice on their hands and maybe because mint was cheaper or probably tasted better than hyssop …they began flavoring the candy canes with mint because it was similar.

Some people believe the red stripes were added to symbolize Christ’s Blood.

If you have been shopping for Candy Canes you might have noticed that most candy Canes for Christmas aren’t actually mint flavored anymore.

Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Flavors

More Jelly Belly Jelly Bean Flavors – Cherry, Apple and Orange

Strawberry , Apple and Cherry

Tart Candy Flavors

Dum Dum Lollipop Flavors

Well it has mint….just with some Chocolate

Candy Canes filled with tart sugar Powder…

Candy Canes filled with another brand of tart sugar powder. I haven’t come across the pickle flavored candy canes or the hot wasabi candy canes but I did read somewhere that they are out there too!

Doesn’t Forking matter what flavor the candy is. The Forking kid will shut up with candy in his mouth.

And that was just a Little Forking Story about The Christmas Candy Cane

Merry Christmas and Happy everything the Fork else to you and yours.

The Forking Truth

References

www.Wikipedia.com

www.WhyChristmas.com

www.NoelNoel.com

Forking Dining Out with DOGS December 2016 in Metro Phoenix AZ

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“We’re Forking Dining Out Today!”

Dining with Dogs is just a Fluff Story about taking my dogs out to eat. This isn’t full blown reviews on any restaurant and often I do take my dogs to same restaurants over and over again. You need to be aware that not all restaurants with patios are dog friendly. Certified dog friendly patios are recommended but there is always a chance you will be asked to leave because of other people’s allergies or fear of dogs so a plan two should always be in the works. There are several rules to dine out with dogs. All dogs should be well behaved and stay by your side at all times. Dogs are not allowed to sit on furniture or to eat off plates that people use. You also should review the list of dog friendly foods. Most foods you eat can be harmful to your dog. Basically just give them a few bites of plain meat. A few but not all of the harmful or toxic foods are anything made with grapes, macadamia nuts, chocolate, onions, garlic, avocado and bread.

I found a new to us Gourmet Salad Drive Threw called Salad and Go in Phoenix AZ. They specialize in salads and over over ten choices.

They also have a walk up window and a Dog Friendly Patio.

With our order they gave us Dog Biscuits and a few minutes latter our salads were ready.

I had a Apple and Mixed Greens Salad that also contained Golden Raisins, Candied Pecans, Apples and Blue Cheese with added Chicken. This was a really great salad and it only cost $7.18

My salad also looked good smelled good to the Dogs.

My husband had the Santa fe Salad with added Steak.

The dogs liked that one too!

“We got a new Favorite Place in Town.”

For more information on Salad and Go please visit www.SaladandGo.com

“This week we are off to Leo’s Island BBQ in Peoria AZ”

Leo’s BBQ specialty is the Hawaiian Plate Lunch. The Hawaiian Plate Lunch is served in styrofoam and consist of a double scoop of rice a scoop of creamy macaroni salad, some steamed cabbage and a double (maybe triple) pile of meat. You have about 30 choices to pick from and some are combos all for around $8.00.

My husband had the BBQ Chicken and Shrimp Combo. (shrimp look like onion rings)

I had the Island Chicken Curry with Brown Rice. It’s a lot of food…

The Dogs were very interested.

The dogs always enjoy the trip to Leo’s Island BBQ.

For more information please visit www.LeosIslandBBQ.com

“We’re off to Banh Mi Bistro in Phoenix AZ”

We went to Bahn mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix. This is a Pho Free Vietnamese Eatery. The Specialty of the house are the Banh Mi Sandwiches. They offer a long list of sandwiches to pick from but they offer something for everyone. The Bahn Mi is a Baguette that is made with rice flour. The bread has a crispy exterior and a soft interior. The sandwiches come with house made aioli, jalapeños, cucumbers, fresh cilantro, carrot radish salad and the filling. The Original also contains pork pate. We come here often because we enjoy the tasty food and the reasonable prices. Other foods we enjoyed here are a variety of rolls, dumplings, lotus and papaya salads and MORE!

I went with the Chicken and Rice Plate and my husband went with a Shaken Beef Banh Mi.

The food is delicious like it always is and all of use are happy!

For more information on Banh Mi Bistro please visit www.BanhMiBistro AZ.com

“We are off to Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen in Scottsdale AZ”

“Ummmm”

Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen in Scottsdale AZ offers maybe the most attractive Dog Friendly Patio that I’ve ever seen. Our waiter treated the dogs very well and gave my dogs a special bowl of water for them.

I ordered the Salmon that was topped with a Passion Fruit Sauce.

The salmon was well prepared and the passion fruit sauce was was bright, refreshing and was a perfect accent for the salmon. The potatoes were very creamy with lots of butter and there was fresh carrot coins and charred tender broccoli.

My husband got the Traditional National Brazilian Dish of Feijoada. It’s Black Bean Stew that contains sausage, beef and pork with sides of fresh orange, fried collard greens, a big bowl of rice and for sprinkling nutty tasting manioc flour (cassava).

Besides my husband both dogs enjoyed it all but I wasn’t able to get many pictures of the younger dog because it was very sunny and she stayed under the table the whole time.

“I Forking Love Carvalho’s Brazilian Kitchen. I can’t wait till the next time!”

For more information please visit www.Carvalhos.co

That wraps up December Dining with Dogs 2016.

We hope to see you next year.

The Forking Truth

Basic Cheese Lasagna Recipe

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Cheese Lasagna

Cheese Lasagna is easy to prepare. Like me you might not have a pasta machine to make nice thin lasagna noodles but it’s easy and fairly quick to make your own ricotta cheese. The TASTE of home made ricotta makes a world of difference to this dish. I recommend making your own ricotta cheese especially if you live in areas that only sell very processed tasting ricotta cheese. So go for it. I make my tomato sauce free style in very large batches that I freeze so your going to have to use your favorite tomato sauce with this recipe. Leftovers freeze well. My photo just doesn’t do this lasagna justice. You can’t taste the fresh, just right, light creamy cheese with great flavor that you won’t find at most restaurants. You can do no wrong when you make a lasagna that taste Forking Great like this one.

Ingredients for about 12 servings

1 gallon whole milk

1 pint heavy cream

3 lemons (just the fresh squeezed juice)

1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1/2 cup parmesan cheese – shredded

about eight grates fresh nutmeg

big pinch white pepper

1/4 + 1 pinch teaspoon dried oregano (the 1 pinch is used near the end)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt

1 XL egg

1 lb lasagna noodles

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

non stick spray

7 cups tomato sauce (maybe more)

1 cup Italian Blend cheese – shredded

Directions

In a large pot on medium heat add the milk, cream, 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir occasionally and bring to rolling boil this will take about an hour. During this time and latter you might have to slightly lower the heat to prevent a boil over. Once the pot is at a rolling boil very SLOWLY add the lemon juice till the mixture curdles. Let it stay on the heat just a few more minutes and then drain in a mesh colander. The mixture should be thick. Set to the side and wash out the pot and use to boil the lasagna noodles.

Boil the lasagna noodles two minutes less than the box suggest in salted water. When the lasagna noodles are done first drain them and then dump them in a bowl and sprinkle the olive oil on the noodles and shake the bowl around. The olive oil flavors the noodles and it also prevents them from sticking.

Go back to the cheese bowl it will be cooler now and add the parmesan cheese, nutmeg, white pepper, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the egg. Mix Well.

Build the Lasagna.

In your non-stick sprayed pan you start with one cup of sauce and then start lying down the lasagna noodles. You top the noodles with a cup of sauce.

Then you add half your cheese mixture. Top with some torn basil and another cup of sauce.

Noodle it up again putting the noodles in the other direction.

Top the noodles with another cup of sauce.

Add the rest of the ricotta mixture. Top the ricotta mixture with another cup of sauce. Then top the sauce with fresh torn basil leaves and top that with a blend of Italian cheeses. Top this with a cup of sauce and Put the top layer of noodles on.

Cover the pan tightly with non -stick spray (spray goes on the inside against the sauce so it doesn’t stick).

The pan goes in a 350 degree oven for 75 minutes.

After 75 minutes that the pan out of the oven, remove the foil, and let it cool some on the counter.

Wrap it with plastic wrap and let in sit over night in the refrigerator to set.

Cut what you need for dinner and the extra can be frozen for latter use.

For reheating you might want to top the lasagna with a little more sauce. You might or might not want to add more Italian blend cheese.

I serve the lasagna with a little more sauce and serve with shredded hard Italian Cheese.

Cheese Lasagna

This is one Forking GREAT Lasagna!

The Forking Truth

Christmas Foods are out There and some are FORKING STRANGE 2016

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Forking WEIRD Christmas Food is out there! I never thought I’d ever come across most of these FORKING WEIRD things. Here are something called Yellow Snow Balls with a picture of a dog urinating. Who the fork is going to buy this?……Seriously you are not going to give this to a person you like……and you are not going to spend the money on someone you dislike….????

Every year Little Debbie Snack Cakes makes a variety of iced Christmas Themed snack cakes.

Christmas Gum Drops.

White Peppermint BARK Bars……Now that’s CUTE!

Christmas Food has actually gone to the dogs…..

Here are Holiday Spice Greenies.

Kringle’s Cookies for Dogs…

Not a Forking Kringle like the one below.

Kringle a Traditional Danish Christmas Pastry

and…

Santa Stew for Dogs…..Who The Fork wants cooked Santa in a Can for Dogs?

Now back to people food.

Kit Kats turn mint flavored for Christmas.

Tic Tac Candy Mints turn to Apple Pie Flavored for Christmas.

Jelly Peppermint Creme Candy Canes….

Reese’s Nut Clusters in winter packaging.

Butterfinger Bites are now transformed into Lumps of Coal.

Here is some candy called Santa’s Sack and another candy called Reindeer Poop….Ok now these are kind of funny…….

Merry Christmas and Happy Forking Everything Else! Remember Santa knows who’s been Naughty and Nice and some of you out there are getting Forking Reindeer Poop!

The Forking Truth

Caveman Burgers in Phoenix AZ – Fresh Baked Buns and Great Tasting Onion Rings****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

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******UPDATE NOE CLOSED FOR BUSINESS Caveman Burgers opened a few months back in Phoenix Arizona. Caveman Burgers is a little different than your usual burger shop as you get to customize your burger. They offer you choices of proteins, Local Grass Fed Beef, Angus Beef, Wild Salmon Filet and Free Range Turkey. You then add sauces and you have choices for toppings that are additional. You have your choice of Bun (some are additional $) or Wrap, Salad or Bun-less with a lettuce wrap. Caveman Burgers is a casual Restaurant but with a nicely furnished dining room and patio. You order at the counter, get your beverage and napkins and seat your self. They give you a pager so you know when your order is ready.

This restaurant has a very high rating on a popular review site so my expectations were high.

Big Juicy Caveman Burgers. I’m gonna go a little Genghis Khan and a little Yabba Dabba DOO!

I ordered The Wild Salmon Filet (medium rare, I really like medium but the girl at the counter suggested medium rare so I went with that) on Fresh Made Bun, Sriracha, Mayo, Avocado, Beer Battered Onion Rings and Green Chiles.

I like the fresh made soft bun but the bun far more generous in size than it needs to be. The perfect lunch sized piece of fish doesn’t come near the ends of the bun so after one bite of all bun I decide to eat it open faced without one bun.

The onion rings are delicious with lots of great flavor. Avocado was creamy and fresh, Green Chiles oddly lack flavor…

The Medium Rare Salmon…….

came out on the dry side.

Well any who…..

My husband had the Local Grass Fed Burger with Green Chiles, Pepper Jack Cheese and Grilled Onions.

He also thought the roll was too large for his burger. He also didn’t get the medium rare he was looking for but it was ok and good. The patio was a nice and comfortable. The help seemed nice and when I told them my salmon was dry they said they were sorry and they’d tell the cook.

Caveman Burgers are good…(just not the salmon)

Remember they do offer Fresh Baked Buns, Fresh Cut Fries that are Good and Forking Delicious Beer Battered Onion Rings!

They have only been open a few months and may still be in development so it’s too soon to rate them.

For more information please visit www.CavemanBurgers.com

TheForkingTruth is that everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

TheForkingTruth

Forking Thoughts on Food and Restaurants

Monthly Archives: December 2016

Some of the Forking Food I made in 2016

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Most Memorable Food I tried in Metro Phoenix in 2016

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How to make the BEST Forking Cannoli in the Whole World Recipe

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New Forking Weird DifFerent and Special Edition Foods Out There December 2016

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International Desserts in Metro Phoenix Arizona

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A Little Forking Story about The Christmas Candy Cane

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Forking Dining Out with DOGS December 2016 in Metro Phoenix AZ

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Basic Cheese Lasagna Recipe

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Christmas Foods are out There and some are FORKING STRANGE 2016

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Caveman Burgers in Phoenix AZ – Fresh Baked Buns and Great Tasting Onion Rings****UPDATE NOW CLOSED FOR BUSINESS

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