Monthly Archives: August 2019

English Rose Tearoom Carefree AZ – Worth A Fork! – It’s sort of Magical!

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The English Rose Tearoom is located in beautiful Carefree Arizona. They serve authentic English foods and loose teas seven days a week 11am-4pm. They are very busy and you usually need a reservation to be seated indoors. They offer English Style Patio seating.

They offer seating indoors in the gift shop.

Seating in the main dining room is the picture below.

The small but energetic restaurant is full of bone china, chandeliers, roses and loose tea. There are glass topped table clothes that protect antique photos lace and other things. It’s sort of a magical atmosphere ladies of all ages from two to a hundred and two go dress up with fancy hats and feel like a princess for a day.

We tried a small pot of darjeeling loose leaf black tea.

It’s sort of floral….but there is something strong to it…..not bitter….but something strong. It’s relaxing.

I decided to try the soup and sandwich selection ($14.00 subject to change)

I start with the soup of the day creamy tomato basil. I like the fresh basil flavor in the soup. It’s not too heavy but flavored very nicely. I start with a English cucumber and orange mint butter sandwich. This sandwich is trimmed of crust. It has some texture to it but doesn’t fall apart when you eat it. The cucumber is the main flavor in the sandwich. Next I try the smoked salmon, lemon cream cheese. It’s on a darker bread with trimmed crust. It’s very smooth but with small flecks of fish. Last is the chicken, nutmeg and tarragon on walnut edged bread.

The chicken filling is very smooth and laced with nutmeg and tarragon….The nuts add interest to the bread. The plate also includes a bunch of small sweet seedless red grapes, a strawberry and orange slices.

My husband tries the cottage pie ($16.00 subject to change)

He recived a crock of lean ground beef cooked with vegetables that was topped with piped mashed potatoes with a mixed green salad on the side.

We decided to try a dessert and went for the house specialty…..The scone with jam and cream. ($10.00 subject to change)

The scone is almost like a substantial rich denser cake with less sweetness. The Devonshire Cream is sort of like a milky butter and strawberry jam gives the scone that just right strawberry flavor.

This was fun and different….a little magical…….in a lovely atmosphere.

English Rose Tearoom in Carefree is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.CarefreeTea.com

Every Forking THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Forking Amazing Tomato Rice One Pot Chicken Recipe

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These Forking Amazing One Pot Chicken Recipes come out Forking Amazing. They are all pretty simple. You season and brown the chicken and use the drippings to season everything. Basically everything goes in a large dish or buffet 1/2 pan and gets cooked till the rice is done and the chicken has to be at least 165 degrees F. I do prefer my dark meat chicken cooked past the 165 degrees F and for me it’s best at 180 degrees F up to 200 degrees F…The chicken will be very moist and flavorful. I need to note that the chicken skin will never come out crispy this way so you need to know that. I also can’t give you the exact timing for this recipe because ovens do differ and different pans hold in a different amount of heat. In general on a middle rack these dishes take 90-120 (usually closer to the 120 ) minutes at 350 degrees F. You must cook till the rice is done and the chicken is at least 165 degrees F so you also need to cook with a thermometer.

Ingredients for about 6 servings

4 lbs chicken quarters (3 or 4 large chicken quarters)

kosher salt to taste – (for seasoning the chicken)

ground black pepper to taste – (for seasoning the chicken)

granulated garlic to taste – (for seasoning the chicken)

1 onion – chopped

14 oz. can San Marzano whole tomatoes – rough chop tomatoes

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 Tablespoon dried basil

6 garlic cloves chopped well

1 carrot – peeled – sliced thick

1 rib celery – chopped

1 Tablespoon vegetable soup base (less sodium than salt and more flavor)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 bay leaves

6 jarred hot/sweet cherry tomatoes – chopped (Sprouts sells them…or just use the sweet that all supermarkets sell)

1 cup rice

1 cup crushed tomatoes

Directions

Season the chicken on both sides with the salt, ground black pepper and granulated garlic on both sides. Brown the chicken on both sides in either a pan or under the broiler for about ten minutes on each side. The drippings go in pot on the stove on medium high heat with the onions, basil, oregano, garlic, carrot, celery, soup base, black pepper, bay leaves, cherry peppers. Cook on medium high till onions are translucent. Add the San Marzano tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Bring to boil and then shut off and add the rice. Give everything a good stir and put a large baking dish or a buffet 1/2 pan. Add the chicken and cover well with foil. This goes in a pre-heated 350 degree f oven till the rice is done and the chicken is at least 165 degrees F.( 165 degrees the meat sticks to bone ……..when you cook it more it melts out the unpleasant stuff and is still tender) You will need to fluff up the rice and you should remove the bay leaves when you serve.

Forking Amazing Tomato Rice One Pot Chicken

Everyone will love this.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on the BK Impossible Burger

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The Impossible Burger is a meatless burger made from potato, coconut, wheat and heme made by Impossible Foods.

If you cook it correctly it is suppose to be meat-like and red in the center.

Ok so I have to try it to see how it is………I haven’t eaten a real Whopper in over ten years. In the old days when I was a kid Burger King Burgers at one time used to be juicy and used to have a nice charcoaled kind of flavor…….I remember they always were always a mess to eat and came with much more lettuce too………….Nothing ever stays the same and progress happens. Whoppers are cooked different these days. It seems that they are cooked till they are prettified and are always served dry…….like hockey pucks.

“WOOF!” “I don’t want a vegetarian burger” “I would rather have a dry beef burger!”

So here’s to a new progress again and lets see how the Impossible Whopper is……..

Well it’s not red inside but it’s not dry either.

The patty is very caramelized ……..almost like a crisp coating all around the patty. I’ve had the Impossible Burger at two other restaurants and none of them had an almost mushy center like this Burger King Impossible. This Impossible Whopper is next to flavorless…..(Unlike the other two Impossible Burgers I had). Or maybe between the pickles and the over load of ketchup and strong onions it’s hard to taste anything else……I pull off a piece of the patty and try to taste it…….but I mostly just taste the ketchup. For me this sandwich has too much sauce on it and there is too much bread…I lose half the bun after the last photo.

Conclusion – For fast food quality it’s not the worst……Not big on flavor but it’s it’s not dry either. It didn’t make me feel sick to my stomach like most fast food. It’s not great but it’s edible.

I would like to try to cook the Impossible Meat myself but I heard the restaurant Impossible meat will not be sold to the public. I also heard that a different formula of Impossible plant based meat will be sold in supermarkets soon.

Those were my Forking Thoughts on the Burger King Impossible Burger. Your Forking Thoughts may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth

Battered Epazote Leaves and Onion Petals Recipe

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This recipe is loosely based on a Food and Wine Recipe called Epazote Pakoras with Turmeric Raita. To make the story as short as possible I flavored almost everything different, made a completely different batter and flavored a different based sauce different but with the same main flavors….So it’s fair to say that I was inspired by Food and Wine Magazine. I never would have thought about battering epazote leaves if I didn’t read the recipe. This particular day I found myself with more fresh epazote than I needed and remembered the Food and Wine Recipe and that’s how we got here. The turmeric ginger mayo dipping sauce I winged and didn’t measure but you can wing it too. You might not have a pinch of black cardamon hanging around but your sauce will taste close.

Ingredients for about 6 servings

1 bunch fresh epazote (preferably a bunch with large leaves) – washed – dried off – leaves removed from stems (you are only using the leaves)

1/2 medium sweet onion (cut the half in half and separate the petals)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup chick pea flour

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup corn starch

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg

1/2 cup water

oil to fry like canola oil

3 Tablespoons mayonnaise (guesstimated) (sauce)

1/2 teaspoon turmeric (guesstimated) (sauce)

1/2 teaspoon granulated ginger (sauce)

small pinch mustard seeds (sauce)

small pinch cumin (sauce)

small pinch ground coriander (sauce)

small pinch cloves (sauce)

small pinch ground black cardamon (sauce)

small pinch ground fennel (sauce)

tiny pinch cinnamon (sauce)

garam masala to taste (to finish the epazote and onions)

Optional a fruity medium pepper to finish like Aleppo

Directions

(this recipe I winged and didn’t measure but this is similar to what I did) Mix up a dipping sauce. In a small mixing bowl add the mayonnaise, turmeric, ginger, and small or tiny pinches of cumin, coriander, mustard seeds, cloves, black cardamon, fennel and cinnamon. Set to the side.

Get a frypan on medium high heat with canola oil. In your spice grinder add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns and grind. Add the spices to a small mixing bowl and add chili powder, salt, chick pea flour, flour, corn starch, baking powder, egg and water and mix well.

By now your oil should be hot.

Dip a leaf into the batter and pull it out. carefully place in hot oil. Do about 4 or 5 more. They cook pretty fast. When you get a brown side turn it over. Place them on pan that’s covered with pepper towels to absorb oil. Repeat with the leaves and onion petals till you are done. Sprinkle everything lightly with garam masala. Add a small amount of Aleppo pepper if desired (it’s a mild fruity heat)

Battered Epazote Leaves and Onion Petals

Nothing is too aggressive here. I think everyone would enjoy!

The Forking Truth

Hello Vietnam Peoria AZ – WHOO HOO The Upper West Side gets a NEW Worth a Fork Vietnamese Restaurant

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Hello Vietnam is a Vietnamese Restaurant that just opened this week in North Peoria Arizona. They serve most of the usual Vietnamese favorites – fried and fresh rolls, cold noodle bowls, rice plates, banh mi and pho. The atmosphere is different and interesting. They have two dining rooms and a semi open kitchen. The restaurant is decorated with Vietnamese kitchenware around the kitchen counter. There’s an illustration on some walls of a Vietnamese village. There are seashell– like fixtures and a wall of wood that looks Vietnamese.

Uptop reads “Cook like a local in Vietnam”

We started off with the Lemongrass Beef Steak Fresh Rolls ($5.99 subject to change).

The rice paper rolls are stuffed with flavorful steak, minty herbs and lots of vermicelli noodles. They are delicious on their own but also came with a peanut sauce today. Possibly due to the soft opening we didn’t receive the toppings for the rolls listed on the menu. (scallions, pickled medley, cucumber and mint…….crispy twist)…..unless it’s a misprint?

For my main I tried the Grilled Chicken Rice Plate ($10.99 subject to change)

I received a generous amount of marinated chicken thigh, pickled vegetables, fish sauce and rice. This plate differs slightly from every other Vietnamese restaurant. Everything is good!…….Chicken is tender, salad is pickled, rice is fresh. Here the fish sauce really brings the chicken to life. The fish sauce is particularly good here.

My husband goes for the Special Pho ($12.99 subject to change)

Here the Pho is an eighteen hour beef oxtail bone broth unless you order your pho with vegetable broth. I don’t often eat pho so I didn’t try it but my husband thought it really was a good bowl of pho.

This restaurant is brand new and was very busy at an off time. Service was a bit slow and we weren’t checked on till we were done but the food was good so to me that means –

Hello Vietnam is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

I haven’t found a website for Hello Vietnam but they are on Facebook.

Every THING is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Lunch at Elements at Sanctuary Paradise Valley AZ – Worth a Fork

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Elements Restaurant is located at the Sanctuary Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa. This resort is on the north face of Camelback Mountain on fifty three acres in the beautiful Paradise Valley Section of Scottsdale Arizona.

The executive chef is celebrity chef Beau Macmillan. He been be seen on many various Food Network TV Shows. The food served at Elements is mostly changing menus of seasonal Asian Inspired American and Global Foods. Upon arrival you stop at the valet and then make your way to the restaurant.

They offer formal dining seating.

They also offer booths on the end of the dining room with views of Paradise Valley that you still can see even when the sun screen is in use.

They started us off with delicious super crusty locally made MJ sour dough bread and seaweed seasoned butter.

Today I went with the Miso Scottish Salmon Bento Box ($26.00 subject to change)

I received a very tender grilled salmon with nice grill marks. The fish was very buttery in texture and just melted in my mouth. The miso glaze went really great with the quality salmon. Off in the left hand corner are steamed organic vegetables. I’m reasonably sure that some of the vegetables were an Asian Broccoli that has an edible stem similar to asparagus and it was mixed with a flavorful mushroom that tasted like shiitake to me. To the right was a cucumber salad that ran very acidic today for me. On the bottom left was Asian seasoned chewy brown rice.

My husband tried the House made Cavatelli with Duck Confit. ($22.00 subject to change)

Look at all those hand made cavatelli! They are mixed with duck confit, peas, pea tendrils, pearl onions, garlic and parmesan.

We shared a dessert because the last two we had here were very good.

Today we tried the Cherry Ice Cream Sundae.

I tell The Forking Truth and this dessert wasn’t the best for me because I am super picky when a dessert has chocolate in it…..This chocolate tower is sort of waxy like like a coconut oil coating. But The ice cream inside is unusual, not so creamy but more fruity also lighter and nicely flavored with the tart cherry compote that I like. Candied pistachios, fresh raspberries and a chocolate coated gold accented dark cherry adorned the plate.

From previous lunch visits we had-

Tea Brined Chicken
Five spice beef tenderloin
Lemon Meringue Pie
A different variation of tea brined chicken
Five spice duck
Key lime pie

Everything here was delicious and top notch in a great environment with the greatest service and amazing atmosphere.

Only a couple things weren’t perfect for me but for the most part Lunch at Elements is certainly worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.SantuaryCamelback.com/dining/Elements

Every THING is ALWAYS subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Summer 2019 Trip to L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon Las Vegas NV – Magic still remains after The Master is gone – Worth a Fork!

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L’ATELIER by Joel Robuchon is a high end exhibition French/tapas restaurant located in the MGM Casino/Hotel on the Las Vegas strip in Nevada. The late chef Joel Robuchon was the most Michelin stared chef in the world and was also known as the chef of the century.

This is FORKING NICE PLACE

They changed the menu slightly since my last visit last year and now the three course special menu ($85.00 subject to change) is only offered as an early bird special 5pm-6pm.

You get seated at the high top counter with view of the exhibition kitchen.

I don’t know what you have to do ……….or how much money you have to lose in the casino to get one of the few tables in front of the bar.

Anyways-

For the last several years they start you off with an Amuse Bouche foie gras with parmesan foam shooter.

Or a vegetarian Amuse Bouche if you ask.

Then you get a basket of the most amazing breads and delicious French Butter.

My first course was an Eggplant/Avocado Fondant with pixie sized turmeric croutons.

This was powerfully flavorful……you go wow! How did they do this?

My husband had a polenta, egg and ham starter…….(well not just any ham………actually ham that was kissed by Jesus Ham……….that comes from pigs with black feet and eat nothing but acorns ham……….Ham that cost like $25-30 an ounce ham)

For my main I had Halibut Flakes with Lemongrass Foam and Robuchon Potatoes.

Everything is so Forking perfect……………The micro herbs are so flavorful and go so amazing with the tender mild fish and lemongrass……..The French Pepper is perfect…it’s just the right amount of flavorful mild heat. The potatoes are amazing.

My husband had the Beef Short Rib.

He said it was the best short rib that he has ever had……I had a tiny taste…….WOW! I never tasted beef that was that beefy before.

For dessert we both picked the tarts….called Les Tartes.

This dessert plate just might be the most fabulous dessert in the country. Every tiny tart is so detailed and delicious…..Each tart is perfection……..This plate doesn’t just knock it out of the park…..It knocks it out of the galaxy!

Then they surprised us with these FORKING INCREDIBLE hazelnut madeleines.

Oh GOD I wish I could buy a sack of them!

The master is gone but the magic still continues.

I thought I’d post a few of some of the previous stunningly beautiful plates we’ve enjoyed here.

Worth a Fork! Worth buying a plane ticket to try!

www.MGMResortsInternational.com

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

The Forking Truth

2019 Visit to Gordon Ramsay Burger – Las Vegas NV

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Gordon Ramsay Burger Restaurant is a slightly upscale full service burger restaurant in the Planet Hollywood hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The burger meat for these burgers is fresh ground in the main kitchen in the Paris hotel/casino. The burgers served are 7oz burgers. The atmosphere is accented with flames, pictures of chef Gordon Ramsay and the British Flag. There are several big screen TVs on the walls and most were tuned on to sports stations.

We started out by sharing an order of plain fries called “Just Fries” (last time we had the Truffle Parm Fries and all the stuff was heavy on the top and was too salty and had nothing under the top layer).

These fries came out hot and most under the top were the small ends that were slightly over cooked. We received curry ketchup and chipotle ketchup as dipping sauces.

This time I tried the Fish and Crisps Burger.

I received a thick large piece of thinly but crisp beer battered coated cod. It was drowning in about a 1/4 cup of citrusy yuzu dill mayo with a big handful of salt and vinegar potato shreds on a fluffy buttered and toasted sesame bun………..The flavoring wasn’t too exciting here……and……..This was far heavier than I was expecting it to be…..I enjoyed the Gordon Ramsay fish and chips from his casual fast restaurant but this fish sandwich could use something ………….or some sort of change……..maybe something to freshen and lighten it up some. I fixed that by removing one bun, scraping off most of the heavy creamy sauce and scrapping off half the crisps. I added some of the curry ketchup and it was lighter and much better tasting to me.

My husband tried the Mangalitsa Pork, Bacon, BBQ Pork, white cheddar, pickles, crisp onions and slaw burger. (requested slaw on side)

I should have taken a photo of the pork……It was a solid dense disk of pink dry meat. Topped with bbq pork, bacon, cheese and fried onions. My husband wasn’t happy with this burger but didn’t tell the waiter while he was eating.

Last time our burgers were FORKING AWESOME!

I had this Tandoori Chicken Burger that was screaming with all kinds of delicious flavors. It was so amazing that my husband also enjoyed it too and he usually doesn’t like these flavors….but this really was amazing. I can’t believe it’s no longer available.

He had the Hell’s Kitchen Burger and thought it was excellent.

That was my 2019 visit to Gordon Ramsay Burger………

1/2 a Fork…Could be great! Could also suck!

www.Caesars.com

Every THING…EVERY FORKING THING is subject to CHANGE and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Mabel’s BBQ in Las Vegas NV

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Mabel’s BBQ is a full service bbq restaurant by multi award winning, James Beard award winning and celebrity chef Michael Symon. This restaurant is located in the Palms Hotel/Casino that is a short distance from the Las Vegas strip in Nevada. They serve multiple styles of bbq, sides, salads, sandwiches and chef Symon’s Cleveland Style pork items.

It’s sort of country-barn like inside with lots of wood and interesting fixtures. It’s not too fancy but it very open with some bright neon on the wall that reads “EAT MEAT” with glass and a view of meat slicers behind it.

They suggested building a platter with two meats and sides so we did. In moments they bring out assorted house sauces and house rub.

In a short amount of time our platter arrives.

We get 8 oz Texas Style Brisket, 8 oz Turkey Breast with Memphis Style dry rub, horse radish beets, macaroni and cheese, house pickles and house kraut.

WOW the pickles are DY-NO-MITE! They are like bread and butters but better…with more flavor and spice. Love the pickled peppers and kraut too! The turkey has a great bbq flavor but is a little dry. Brisket today is also a bit dry…….and lacks bbq flavor today. The beets are really good….They seem like they are very fresh and have a nice fresh texture and natural sweetness embellished with sharp horseradish. The macaroni and cheese today is ….not real cheesy tasting……but the tiny baby sized elbows are a good texture. I think the sauce might have been thinned down because it’s like milk in the bottom of the cup. Tasted most of the sauces on the table and I thought they were good. I only used them on the brisket and the macaroni and cheese. The turkey had a really good flavor and I found I lost the delicious flavors when I tried sauces on the turkey.

BBQ places are rarely consistent. it’s next to impossible to have just done bbq meat just done all day long. Just 2 hours later the meats will be either 2 hours older or you might get lucky and get a fresh batch.

Worth a try!

That was my trip to Mabel’s BBQ in Las Vegas NV.

www.MabelsBBQLV.com

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

The Forking Truth

Lima Beans with Tomatoes and Tomato Bomba Vinaigrette Recipe

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I had about two pounds of tomatoes and a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Premium Lima Beans hanging around so I made this.

Ingredients for around 10 servings

28oz dry lima beans (or one 28oz bag of Bob’s Red Mill Lima Beans) – soaked in water last night for today

1/2 oz fresh oregano sprigs

2 Tablespoon dried thyme

4 bay leaves

1 onion – cut in half

1 banana pepper – cut in half (not the sweet…the regular that is actually hot)

2 carrots – cut in half

14 oz Italian crushed tomatoes (or tomatoes that you removed skin and roasted at least 4 hours)

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 lb assorted heirloom tomatoes – cut in bite size pieces

2 Tablespoons bomba calabrese (I like the Coliccio brand even though it’s very inconsistent….sometimes it’s mild, sometimes it’s a bomb of fiery heat…but it usually is full of flavors)

fresh torn basil to taste (about 10-20 leaves depending on size)

sea salt to taste (up to a Tablespoon added near end)

Directions

Drain and rinse the lima beans and add them to a large pot with water to cover the beans about two 1/2 inches on medium high heat. Add the oregano, thyme, bay leaves, onion, banana pepper and carrots. When the beans start to boil turn down the heat to a slow simmer and cook till the beans are tender…….(about an hour).

While the beans are cooking make the tomato vinaigrette. In a medium bowl add the crushed Italian Tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, garlic, vinegar and bomba and mix well and put to the side or in the refrigerator.

When the beans are done you drain them. (***you might want to save the flavorful bean water for a soup…later in the week you can turn this into a bean soup) Toss out the bay leaves, oregano stems, onions and carrots. When the beans are cool carefully mix together the beans with the tomato mixture. Taste and add salt to your liking. Serve with fresh torn basil.

Lima Beans with Tomatoes and Tomato Bomba Vinaigrette

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth