Monthly Archives: July 2019

Crispy Basmati Rice with lentils and White Sonora Berries Recipe

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This dish is an inspiration of the classic Persian Style Rice Dish (Tahdig) and a nod to Chef Stephen’s Jones Forking Amazing Hopping John’s dish. Chef Jone’s dish was so Forking amazing I wanted to try to make it but I didn’t find the ingredients in my local store so I didn’t make it yet and made this instead. I got it delicious! and you can see the rice came out crispy and crusty like it should!

Ingredients for about 12 servings

2 cups basmati rice

1/2 pinch saffron

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoon Zatarain’s crab boil seasoning

1 orange – just the zest

1 carrot – shredded

1 celery stalk – fine chopped

1 green bell pepper minced.

1 medium sized sweet onion – minced

3 garlic cloves – grated

1 Tablespoon canola oil

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon vegetable base

I orange – just the zest

1/2 cup white sonaron berries

1 cup lentils

2 large or three small bay leaves

1/2 cup white sonaran berries

Some greens are suggested

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Rinse rice very well till water turns clear and marinate the rice in water with about 1 Tablespoon of sea salt for two hours and set to the side.

Prepare vegetables, lentils and sonaran berries while rice is marinating.

The Sonaran Berries go in two cups of of boiling water that get reduced to a simmer for about an hour or until cooked.

Lentils go in a pot with two cups boiling water with two or three bay leaves. bring to boil and then reduce to simmer. About 30 minutes. When done remove and discard the bay leaves.

The vegetables that you just prepared get sautéed till cooked (about 10 minutes) 3 Tablespoons canola oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons Zataraines’s crab boil seasoning, 1/2 pinch saffron , 1/8 teaspoon turmeric , zest of one orange, Garlic, celery, green bell, onion, carrot and when cooked set to the side.

The vegetables, lentils and sonaran berries get combined.

The rice gets boiled for seven minutes.

Then you combine 3 tablespoons water with three tablespoons canola oil with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable base and this gets boiled in a non-stick pot.

Add rice on high and let it go 10 minutes.

Cover loose with foil and reduce heat to around medium low for about 45 minutes.

Mix crusty rice with lentil, vegetable sonara mixture.

Add some greens.

Serve.

Crispy Basmati Rice with Lentils and Sonora white Berries

Very tasty…Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

Ingo’s Tasty Food in Phoenix AZ is Tasty Food – Worth a Fork!

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If you have driven around the Arcadia area of Phoenix you might have noticed an unusual small round building that is Ingo’s Tasty Food. This is a small casual restaurant that serves a petite casual menu of reasonably priced quality burgers, sandwiches, salads and a few other items. They also serve some cocktails, draft beer, wine and more. They offer patio seating.

They also offer a walk up take out window.

Or you can dine inside at the circular counter that wraps around the open kitchen.

We started out by splitting the Ingo’s Chopped Chef Salad. ($9.25 subject to change)

The kitchen was nice enough to split the salad for us.

The salad is made of romaine, local Arizona dates, white beans, avocado, cheese and almonds.

Today I tried a burger with lettuce, tomato, pickle and Russian Dressing. ($8.75 subject to change)

I was told that the beef used is grass fed beef and not commercial ground beef. I was told that they grind the beef. (It appears that the kitchen is too small to ground it here so I assume they grind the beef at one of the neighboring sister restaurants.) I see that my burger is not too large and it’s nicely caramelized. I take a bite. The things that stand out is that the burger is juicy and I think the roll is extra good and not average. It looks like the rolls are fresh baked here because they are on a baker’s rack of sheet pans covered with parchment paper…….(don’t know but the rolls could have been wheeled over from just across the street.)…….The roll is soft, lightly sprinkled with poppy seeds and seems very light as air but it is study enough to hold up to the juicy burger and fillings. Yes…It’s tasty!

My husband got the Paris Texas Burger. ($9.00 subject to change)

He got a medium rare nicely caramelized burger with apple bbq sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce and dill pickles on a soft bun. What’s not to like it was Tasty!

We were checked on often and plates were cleared quickly.

They are set up with salted chocolate chip cookies by the door so you leave with a sweet ending.

From previous visits we had…..

Toni’s Deviled Eggs made with German Mustard and beets

Farmer’s Daughter Burger -Dijonase fol epi cheese and sauerkraut

A previous Paris Texas Burger

No longer available – Ahi Grade Tuna Burger – No longer available

Fresh Shattered Potato Chips (these came with a Lebanese Yogurt Topping….not sure if this topping is still offered)

Ingo’s Tasty Food does serve Tasty Food.

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.IngosTastyFood.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Forking BEST Thing I ate out this week – Hiramasa w/ Huitlacoche & Tamale from Confluence in Carefree AZ

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OMG YUM! This was another one of the BEST FORKING Plates I ate out in Metro Phoenix. It’s a magnificent creation that does not seem like it could be from this planet. It was something that mere mortals can’t think of……This plate had all kinds of flavors and textures. Sweet, sour, crispy, salty, spicy, lots of umami and TONS of YUM! It’s not just very good…..It wasn’t just outstanding…This was like from another planet FORKING DELICIOUS!

We must start with the fish. It was a Hiramasa. This fish came from Australia and it’s from the yellowtail family. It’s a very mild tender fish but the chef put this unbelievable sear on the skin and made it into careful deliciously seasoned potato chip texture but underneath the fish is super moist, clean tasting and tender it melts in the mouth……It REALLY melts in the mouth. …… Little smear of a spicy arbol chili sauce that add some playful heat and more flavor………(yum)…….Sprinkled around the plate are these incredible pieces of huitlacoche. WOW I’ve had huitlacoche a number of times in Mexico and here but I never had Huitlacoche on this level before. At first I thought the first piece I ate was a mushroom ……it mushroom-ee taste but more interesting. It also had a more melty texture. So delicious! This is even better than the Huitlacoche I enjoyed in Mexico. But all together with the toasted pepitas and the magical ….sweet tomatillos these flavors Forking POP like a hot air balloon. Sweet, salty, crunch, umami, spicy..POP! …… I don’t know WTFork they did to the tomatillos…..but they tasted better than tomatillos…..some sort of potion was applied. The Tamale was made with blue corn masa floured was topped with some sort of magic mango chutney. It was so delicious I couldn’t stop eating to sip my wine.

Everything we’ve tried at Confluence was great but this was one of those plates that was so great that it seemed like it was from out of this world! It was CRAZY Forking Great…Like from another planet! This was also among the Forking BEST plates of the year I tried in Metro Phoenix.

In case you didn’t know…..Confluence is a small but upscale restaurant located in beautiful Carefree Arizona (also runs 5 degrees cooler than most of metro Phoenix bonus). They serve painstakingly detailed quality farm to table elevated modern cuisine. This is the kind of restaurant that you should drive across town for. This restaurant serves masterfully crafted interesting dishes at a very fair pricing.

Always Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Forking Amazing One Pot Chicken and Potatoes Recipe

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Forking Amazing One Pot Chicken and Potatoes

Lately I’m on a roll with these one pot chicken recipes. These recipes are very easy to prepare and come with the best flavors and very moist tender extra flavor chicken. First you brown up your chicken….It doesn’t matter if you brown in a pan or broil and then you use the drippings to cook and flavor your vegetables. Everything goes back in your oven proof pot or a pan. Cover tight with foil and in a little time you will have an amazing meal. Chicken is super tender and developed with flavors. Even the potatoes pick up all the flavors and turn real buttery. I must note with these one pan/pot recipes the skin on the chicken will never come out crisp enough to eat. The other thing that I need to mention is that you MUST cook with a thermometer……You must cook the chicken till it reaches at least 165 degrees F to be safe to eat. I prefer my dark meat chicken cooked more so I prefer my chicken to be cooked to 180-200 degrees F. The chicken will still be very moist and flavorful. I like when it falls off the bone and all the unpleasant stuff melts out.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

4 lbs chicken quarters (3 large chicken quarters)

kosher salt to taste (to season chicken)

fresh ground pepper to taste (to season chicken)

granulated garlic to taste (to season chicken)

1 large sweet onion – chopped

2 Anaheim chile peppers – chopped

2 red serrano peppers – chopped (don’t use green Serranos they will be too spicy here) If you are substituting I’d recommend a small red bell and a red jalapeño or a couple red Fresnos)

2 celery stalks – chopped

2 carrots – cut up in slices that are about 1/2 inch thick

13 cloves garlic – chopped

1 Tablespoon soup base (instead of salt and it gives more flavor) use vegetable or chicken soup base

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 bay leaves

2 lbs yellow or red potatoes – depending on size you will need to cut in half or quarter if very large. You want them the size of small potatoes.

1/2 oz fresh rosemary

1/2 oz fresh parsley

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup water

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Season the chicken well with salt, pepper and granulated garlic. Either brown chicken in pan all over or broil in the oven on both sides to brown. (either way takes about 10 minutes a side)

Pour the drippings in a sauce pot on medium high heat and add the onion, celery, carrots, fresh garlic, soup base, black pepper, bay leaves, potatoes, Anaheim and red pepper. Stir occasionally till onions, celery and carrots seem almost soft. Add a cup of water and bring it to a boil and as soon as it boils shut off the heat.

Pot contents go into your large baking vessel (oven safe pot or 1/2 pan). Add the herbs (rosemary, parsley, thyme). On top of the herbs add the chicken and cover very tight with foil.

All ovens and pans do differ. Today it took close to two hours for everything to be done. You must use a thermometer and I would check the pan at 90 minutes. Potatoes need to be fork tender and the chicken needs to be at least 165 degrees F. (safe is considered to be 165 degrees F but I like dark meat cooked a little more…..so if I was cooking I’d take the chicken to 180 – 200 degrees F) You take the chicken to what you enjoy best.

Everyone will love this.

Forking Amazing and easy One Pot Chicken and Potatoes

Forking YUM!

The Forking Truth

Happy Fork of July! Hot Dogs, Frankfurters and Wieners OH MY!

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July is officially Hot Dog Month. The adopted German Sausage now is as American as apple pie and baseball. In doing research of who invented the hot dog it is my conclusion is that nobody Forking knows who invented the hot dog. Most likely it was someone of German decent. I found in Food Network Magazine (and no where else) that a German Immigrant named Charles Dachshund invented the hot dog. (above photo is from www.TheTreeofLiberty.com)

According to multiple sources including Wikipedia…At one time people called hot dogs “dachshund sausages.” Not all but some sources claim that dog actually did get ground into some sausages……………………..”DOG GONE IT!”…………

As time went by a hot dog vender with poor spelling skills couldn’t spell dachshund for his hot dog cart sign….so the sausages were then known as HOT DOGS.

Hot Dog

Hot dogs, frankfurters…………………. Frankenfurter………..

Like I was saying hot dogs, frankfurters and wieners are all seasoned pre-cooked sausages. Frankfurters tend to be seasoned more aggressively and are usually made from beef. Wieners tend to be more bland and are often made with pork.

Not all but many hot dogs are stuffed into a natural sheep’s small intestine for that snap that people enjoy. Other hot dogs are skinless.

Happy FORK of July! Hot Dogs, Frankfurters and Wieners OH MY!

This mustard been a reading that you relish….if not ketchup later.

www.AnnoyingOrange.Wikia.com

Have a Happy Fork of July!

The Forking Truth

Battered Onion Rings and Squash Blossoms with Potato Kimchi Filling Recipe

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I saw these squash blossoms and I had to buy them. I knew that I wasn’t going to stuff them with cheese like everyone else does so I came up with a delicious tasty kimchi potato filling. when I got out the squash blossoms I saw that they were tiny and would be hard to stuff……but I stuffed them anyway. Then I looked around and thought that I can use the same tasty filling to stuff onions so I did. I played around with the batter…..I kind of like it better thinner on the blossoms and thicker for the stuffed onions…..I don’t want to confuse anyone but will give you the thin batter recipe here (very thin batter was 1/2 c flour, 1/2 c. corn starch, 1/4 t salt, 1/4 t pepper, 1 egg and 1 cup very cold seltzer but this is very thin but very crisp…only good for the blossoms) Down below is the thick batter recipe…I think if your picking one..then it’s the one to do. Also don’t worry about buying squash blossoms………Only use them if you have them because they are expensive and the onion rings add a nice taste and are tastier.

Ingredients for around 20 servings

12 squash blossoms (you have to remove the yellow thing in the back of the flower…see in picture below)

1 medium or small sweet onion – peeled – cut across around 4 times to make thick onion rings

1 lb potatoes – peeled – cut in quarters – boiled till soft and mashed

3/4 cup kimchi

1 Tablespoon gochujang

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup corn starch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 egg – lightly beaten

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup seltzer (very cold)

canola oil to fry

Directions

Get your oil on 350 degrees F.

If you didn’t prepare the potatoes do that now. Peel and quarter the potatoes. Cover well with water and bring to a medium boil till the potatoes are fork tender. (usually around 15 minutes…could be more or less depending on size and boil) (((I didn’t worry about boiling with salt because the ingredients we are adding have lots of salt in them)))

While the potatoes are cooking remove the yellow things from the inside of the flowers by splitting the flower down the middle and removing the yellow thing. Put them to the side.

By now the potatoes are done so add kimchi, vinegar and gochujang to mashed potatoes and put to the side. When cool enough to handle stuff the flowers first till you run out of flowers. Only purchase LARGE flowers because these tiny ones are very hard to stuff.

Use the rest of the filling to stuff onion rings. (one I double stuffed)

When your oil is hot you can make the batter. In a small bowl add the flour, corn starch, salt, pepper, egg, baking powder and seltzer. Mix well. USE A TONG and dip stuffed flower or onion in the batter and shake off the excess. Fry until golden and repeat till you are done.

Battered Onion Rings and Squash Blossoms stuffed with Kimchi Potato filling

These are very tasty and really different! These have a lot of flavor and I don’t really think you need a sauce……..but if you want…….a little sriracha mayo, a mild mustard or a sweetened soy ginger sauce might be tasty here!

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Agave del Scottsdale in Scottsdale Arizona

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Agave del Scottsdale recently opened in the Mercado de Largo Plaza in Scottsdale Arizona. It’s difficult but not impossible to locate the entrance from the parking lot because the only sign is the one pictured above from the other side of the street. (at the moment subject to change) Agave del Scottsdale serves Mexican Cuisine. Everything is fresh made to order. They serve lunch and dinner and Mexican Breakfast on the weekend.

This is the entrance.

A few steps in here is what you see.

The main dining room features beautiful crystal chandeliers. Curio cabinets housing tequila, exposed brick, wooden tables and bright pinkish velvety looking benches.

A few steps latter you come across a tequila serving cart and a wall embellished with stone.

Around the corner is the bar, dining area and beautiful large patio with a nearby water fountain.

This is my view from my seat.

They started us off with three sauces and chips.

Theres tomatillo based salsa, in the middle is a warm bean sauce and on the end is a spicier sauce that’s made with Serrano peppers, habanero and chili de arbol peppers. The sauces seem like they have a slight creaminess or richness to them.

We started out by sharing the Tlacoyos (elongated masa ) de Huitacoche (corn smut also known as corn truffle).

How easy to share! They served us two!

We received TWO blue corn masa that was topped with beans, huitacoche, quest fresco, onions and cilantro. This is very flavorful and tasty. This huitacoche is the same as what I tried in Mexico. This is the real stuff. I think most places use bottled or canned….This is real. The blue corn is special…it’s a little sweeter than yellow..This really is a treat! This is excellent! All the flavors are marvelous. It’s better than how I ate huitacoche in Mexico…There most people just eat it in a tortilla…

For my main I had the Pescado Al Pastor.

I received three double shelled street sized tacos. The seasonal fish today was red snapper. It was marinated and served with pineapple, cilantro and onions. The tacos are well packed with food. The tortillas seemed like fresh made and ran sort of thicker than Mexican tortillas so I only used one tortilla. The tacos weren’t spicy but were tasty.

My husband tried the Huarache Con Carne Asada (elongated open faced masa tortilla).

It’s grilled beef on top of a masa tortilla with a little bit of beans, salsa verde, salsa roja, sour cream (left off at my husband’s request) and quest fresco. This is mildly seasoned. I think the beef would be more flavorful if it had a sear. This plate is for someone with a lighter appetite.

Our server was welcoming and friendly. She spoke English well and seemed well trained on the menu.

That was my trip to Agave Del Scottsdale in Scottsdale AZ.

www.AgaveDelScottsdale.com

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth