Monthly Archives: August 2019

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

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

My Trip to Mian Sichuan Noodle of Las Vegas NV

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Mian Sichuan Noodle is a small casual restaurant that specializes in serving Sichuan Noodles. They are located in the Las Vegas China Town in a two story strip mall next to the China Town Plaza.

This isn’t a fancy place.

The tables are set up with placemats that give you instructions on how to eat the food.

They start you off with sweetened mung bean water called soup that you drink after eating mouth numbing spicy food to cool you down.

We started out by sharing the Spicy Radish ($1.99) and a small bowl of complimentary sweet, sour slightly spicy cabbage was served almost instantly.

The radish is crunchy, interesting and also spicy. I’ve never tasted anything like this before. They transformed a radish into something completely different. It got me really excited to try Szechuan Cold Noodles!

My Szechuan Cold Noodles Arrives ($7.99).

I mix it up like I’m suppose to do. The noodles are silky, sturdy, smooth and long with nice chewy texture. The noodles are cooked to perfection. This dish too is not flavored like anything I ever had before. It has a slight sourness to it, some other flavors with slight amount sweetness. It is strange and unusual to me…….It’s not very spicy…..it’s actually almost not spicy….Maybe more like the cabbage. I am slightly disappointed because I was expecting fiery mouth numbing food.

My husband got Za Jiang with Peas (basically Pork Spicy Noodle $9.99).

This is a more detailed plate. I’m a little jealous and his plate is at least twice as spicy as mine. Although this plate is twice as spicy as mine it’s really only as spicy as the radishes. Spicy but not real spicy….like not even close to a jalapeño ……less than sweet/hot cherry peppers. (My husband asked for as spicy as you make)

Maybe the waiter thought he heard us say mild instead of spicy?

I haven’t found a website for Mian Sichuan Noodle but they are on Facebook.

That was my trip to Mian Sichuan Noodle in Las Vegas NV

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

The Forking Truth

Weird Food Snacks and Candy I saw in Las Vegas – It’ Sugar Store

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LOOK! It’s Elvis Crespo and Madonna…..Oh my! ……No it’s Elvis Costello and Blondie……..Only kidding… my bad! …………It’s Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe made out of FORKING JELLY BEANS! ………..Aren’t they great!

The It’Sugar Store sells so many silly things…….Some things are unique to the Las Vegas location.

Remember Bob Ross? I used to paint along with him and made “Happy Little Trees.” There is Bob Ross Energy Drinks and Happy Little Trees Mints.

Here’s one of my Bob Ross paint-a-longs with some happy trees.

There’s Candy Noodles and Candy Sushi.

WOW they look real…..Candy Tacos!

LOL Elvis PEZ-Ley Limited Edition Pez……lol!

Make a gummy wall out of gummy blocks made in China. Hope you don’t feel all blocked up after you eat them!

I never thought I’d come across pickle cotton candy……..

Frosted Donut Cotton Candy makes more sense…..I wonder if it really taste like a frosted donut?

They offered a bunch of unusual chocolates.

World’s best farter crossed out and made into father….lol

Hot salted Sriracha milk chocolate…ummmmmmm….???? might be tasty but not in pho……

On the left is marriage is sweeter the second time around….Great dessert for second weddings!

Second bar is the Mensch Bar. …..You’re as sweet as chocolate….This is a bar you hand out to someone more like Batman. Someone who is a person of integrity and honer.

Then there’s Rock’N Chocolate bar with popping candy….

They offer many gummy candies

A gummy breakfast with bacon, an egg and detailed buttered pancake. There are gummy donuts, gummy cupcakes, gummy burgers and even a gummy pickle.

What do you call a bear with no teeth?

A GUMMY BEAR! They got gummy bears in diabetic size and diabetic coma size.

They also milk chocolate cover the gummy bears and call them dingle bearies……..

The high fiber cereal Colon Blow and to the right are little yellow jars of Urine for a treat

Then they also offer Welcome to Sour then Sweet LAS VEGAS Nevada.

Those were some of the WEIRD Food, candy and snack I saw in Las Vegas at IT’Sugar.

www.itsugar.com

The Forking Truth