Monthly Archives: May 2020

Mushroom and Pea Crepes over a Spinach garlic Dashi Puree Recipe Inspired by chef Dominique Crenn’s Breton-Inspired Crepes

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I saw this amazing looking crisp disk of a crepe in Food and Wine Magazine by chef Dominique Crenn. It was over vegetables in a green sauce and I knew that I wanted to try this recipe. After I read the recipe I had to come up with changes for several reasons. I had to make a different crepe for allergy reasons. I also made a different puree because for an unknown reason maybe a misprint? Maybe a different quality of produce? It didn’t work out for me. I had to make the puree with a different flavor and less fat. I substituted regular button mushrooms for the recommended wild mushrooms. I did make a basic dashi instead of a more complex shiro dashi. It came out amazing anyway.

This recipe is about 4 servings

1 egg – beaten

1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons water

1 Tablespoon + 1 1/2 teaspoons unsalted butter – melted

1/4 cup flour

pinch salt

neutral non stick spray

1/4 cup unsalted butter

6 garlic cloves – smashed and chopped fine

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dashi (basic dashi is just bonito flakes boiled with kelp)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 cup chopped yellow onion

8oz mushrooms – sliced

1/2 cup peas

1/4 cup dashi

1 teaspoon tarragon

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Directions

Make crepes.

Either make two big crepes to split or 4 little crepes. Get a fry pan on medium heat with non stick spray. In a small bowl mix together the egg, water, melted butter, flour, pinch salt and mix well. pour half into large fry pan if you are making big crepes or a couple tablespoons if you prefer small crepes. Loosely cover the pan and they cook pretty fast…and might be done in about a minutes. Set the done crepes to the side.

Make the puree.

Get a fry pan and set it on medium low. Melt the butter and add spinach, garlic salt. Cook for about 15 minutes. Blend it up with 1/2 cup of dashi till smooth. Set to the side.

Make mushroom filling.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a fry pan on medium heat. Add onions. Stir often and cook till onions are beginning to brown (about 8-10 minutes). Add mushrooms and cook till tender (about 6-8 minutes). Add peas and a 1/4 cup of dashi and cook till most of the liquid is gone. Remove from heat and stir in the tarragon, lemon juice and dijon.

Assemble

Spread puree on plates. Fill crepes with mushroom filling and serve immediately.

Mushroom and Pea Crepes over Spinach Garlic Dashi Puree

It’s delicious!

A special THANKS! to Chef Dominique Crenn and Food & Wine Magazine. I would never have thought of lacing dashi into a dish like this. It’s Forking Amazing!

The Forking Truth

Pickled Rainbow Bell Peppers Recipe

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I find that I am using pickled rainbow baby bell peppers a lot in all kinds of things lately. They go well in salads and on sandwiches. I also used them to decorate a flatbread. They are very easy to make. They will stay fresh for about 3 months. If you want them to have a little kick or heat you can shave a Serrano pepper or two into it.

Ingredients for around 12 servings.

11 oz baby bell peppers (you can probably squeeze a pound in) remove stem, core and slice in rings

2 cups white vinegar

2 cups rice wine vinegar

2 cups water

4 Tablespoons kosher salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 sweet onion chopped

6 garlic cloves – chopped

1 Tablespoon black peppercorns

1 Tablespoon coriander seeds

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dry oregano

Direction

Put your peppers and onions in a sterilized container.

Put a sauce pot on medium high heat with everything except for the peppers. Bring to a boil. Then pour the contents into the peppers.

Leave on counter until this turns room temperature and then refrigerate. Don’t use until at least tomorrow. Enjoy all the different things that you can do with them.

I decorated a flatbread with pickled rainbow bell peppers.

I used them with tequila batter cauliflower.

Squash with neonata, olive oil smoked paprika potatoes, peppered feta and pickled peppers

Enjoy!

Pickled Rainbow Baby Bell Peppers
The Forking Truth

Forking DELICIOUS Salsa recipe

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I had 9 pints of cherry and grape tomatoes so I made a delicious salsa out of them. To make this recipe as delicious as I made it you have to make my pickled jalapeƱos and my pickled cascabella peppers because they are part of the recipe. I think they just might be the secret here! Anyway this salsa comes out fabulous and just might be the most Forking Delicious salsa that you have ever tasted. My idea of serving size will differ from your idea oof serving size and since salsa is a condiment it is really difficult to judge serving size. This recipe makes around 12 cups of Forking Delicious Salsa. I guess it will be around 20 servings. It’s made with vinegar so it should stay fresh for three weeks or more.

Ingredients for around 20 servings

9 pints small tomatoes rough chopped (mine were a combination oof cherry and grape tomatoes)

1 large red bell pepper – core and stem removed – chopped

1 large sweet onion – chopped

3 large pickled jalapeƱos – chopped (preferably The Forking Truth Recipe)

1/2 cup pickled cascabella peppers (preferably The Forking Truth Recipe)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

12 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 Tablespoon sea salt

2 limes – just the fresh squeezed juice

2 cups fresh cilantro (leaves and only tender stems – chopped)

1/2 bunch fresh mint (leaves only) – chopped

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup scallions – chopped

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

Directions

Blend. Serve and Enjoy!

Forking Delicious Salsa

It really is FORKING DELICIOUS!

The Forking Truth

Know what to expect when you buy a jar of Pommery Mustard Royal Cognac – It’s Hard to Open

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I got this $17. jar of mustard for free when I made a purchase from yummy bazaar .com . It looks impressive and the mustard comes in a big crock that has some sort of plastic coating on the top near where the lid should be. I didn’t know how I should open this baby up so I started whacking the plastic off with a knife around the edges first. The ends of the plastic started coming off.

After most of the plastic on the ends got whacked off I stuck a little knife into the cork to lift it up.

I think that is a lot of work to do to open a mustard. I’m ok doing this but I imagine that many people could get injured opening up one of these mustards.

It really is a very good mustard though. It’s not harsh at all like most American Mustards. It’s very smooth, mild and creamy and is like mostly mild dijon with some grain mustard that is light with mustard grains and is laced with some cognac.

Now you know what to expect if you need to open a jar of Pommery Mustard Royal Cognac.

The Forking Truth

Take Out In Metro Phoenix During The CoronaVirus Pandemic Week 8 – Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante (twice), NakedQ BBQ (PHX), Binkley’s, Aiello’s East Coast Italian Restaurant

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We are trying to give our support to as many small business restaurants as we can. These are the worst of times and all restaurants are hemorrhaging money these days. Many restaurants have already closed permanently. I heard reports on the news that it is unlikely that you will catch coronavirus from food even if the person preparing the food has coronavirus. I also heard reported on the news that there is no evidence of catching coronavirus from food. I do note that I am not a scientist and have no idea if those reports are factual. I look at it this way. It’s best to avoid as many people as possible and most restaurants are empty these days so you hardly run into anyone at a restaurant and most restaurant workers wear masks.

Our first take out this week from from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante. They closed in March just before we were suggested to stay in because of the pandemic but recently opened for curbside take out. Not only did they open but they donated lots of food to first responders.

We took out a delicious margherita pizza, a salami piccante pizza and they had a $12. wine sale so we bought two bottles that we all drink on the weekend. Our furry friends are very familiar with Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante and often can be seen dining on their dog friendly patio.

“Ohhhh Bottega food that’s very good stuff!”
“Bottega is one of my favorite restaurants in Glendale!”

Next take out was from NakedQ BBQ in N Phoenix. NakedQ BBQ also donated lots of food to first responders. Today we took out DELICIOUS non-traditional smoked corned beef sandwiches.

“OMG that smells amazing”
“I need to taste that now!”

For our 3rd take out we went back to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante again. They packed our take out in plastic bags that were sealed shut.

This time I got the strawberry salad with chicken and my husband got one of the handmade pastas.

Our fur buddies were waiting for theirs.

Next take out was from the fine dining restaurant called Binkley’s in Phoenix.

This is what each person got

We got gazpacho, smoked cod couscous, caesar salad, black truffle chicken pot pie, Parker house rolls and strawberry short cake. My dogs even got to try Binkley’s.

Last take out this week was from Aiello’s East Coast Italian Restaurant.

They had a very nice package deal where we got one appetizer, two dinners, one dessert, a candle and A BOTTLE OF WINE for either $50 and $65 menus.

We got an antipasto plate, a salmon dinner with artichokes in lemon caper sauce with green beans and a potato croquette, a veal dish in a fontina cheese sauce with green beans and potato croquette, a candle, a bottle of wine and a chocolate mousse torte cake.

It was more food than we could eat but we had some help with that.

“Don’t worry we will get threw this thing together”

If you want your local and favorite restaurants to exist then you have to do business with them by buying take out or gift cards. Today some restaurants are rushing to re-open. We are not ready to dine in yet.

Restaurants that we did take out from this week were.

Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante Glendale/Arrowhead (twice)

NakedQ BBQ -N Phoenix

Binkley’s – Phoenix

Aiello’s East Coast Italian – North Central Phoenix

Everything is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth

Tequilia Battered Cauliflower with Chipotle dust, Chimichurri & Lime Pickled Peppers inspired by chef Aaron Sanchez’s Decadent Tequila battered Cauliflower Tacos Recipe

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I came across chef Aaron Sanchez’s recipe for Decadent Tequila battered Cauliflower Tacos and as AMAZING as they sound I wanted to make them less (fattening) decadent. By cutting out the tortilla and incorporating that flavor in the batter I cut a little there. I cut way more by eliminating the generous thick smear of chipotle mayonnaise. More decadence was cut when I removed the cheese from the original recipe. The cauliflower still is rich and delicious. It still isn’t diet food but much of the guilt was cut. As far as serving size the original recipe says it is for 4-5 servings. Servings do differ and each cauliflower will differ in size and in denseness. My cauliflower was very dense and I got maybe 40 florets. After they were battered each one seemed very large to me and I thought I got like 10 servings. They still came out very delicious and you will want to eat several. They are very crisp when they are hot but as they cool they don’t stay as crisp but you can bring back the crisp in your oven.

Ingredience for around 7 servings

7 limes (just the fresh squeezed juice)

1 lime – cut into wedges for serving with cauliflower

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon salt (divided into three teaspoons + extra to taste)

2 serrano peppers – sliced extra thin

3-6 rainbow baby bell peppers (they differ greatly in size when in doubt make more because they taste good) – sliced extra thin

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley leaves

1/2 bunch cilantro rough chopped

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons capers

1 1/2 teaspoons caper brine

1 scalion – rough chopped

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

canola oil for frying

1 cup ap flour

1 cup corn masa flour

1 cup corn starch

2 cups club soda

3 Tablespoons silver tequila

1 large head cauliflower – cut into florets

smoked paprika to taste

mild chili powder to taste

ground chipotle to taste (only 99cents at sprouts grocery)

Directions

In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar, one teaspoon salt. 1 1/2 serrano peppers, baby bell peppers. Leave on counter one hour.

Blend parsley, cilantro, vinegar, capers, brine, scallion, garlic, 1/2 serrano, and one teaspoon salt. Blend till chopped and slowly add olive oil and keep blending. Set to the side.

Get a pot on to fry on medium high heat with the canola oil. You need enough oil to fry up the cauliflower florets. You also need either a cooling rack with something under to catch the oil or a sheet pan with paper towels.

This seemed like too much batter but it wasn’t. In a large bowl combine flours, corn starch, remaining one teaspoon salt and slowly add soda until it looks pourable. You might not need it all.

Be careful frying. Use thongs to dip cauliflower in batter and carefully fry in oil till done. Don’t crowd the pan. They should fry up in 2-3 minutes. Repeat till done.

Sprinkle with salt, smoked paprika, mild chili powder and ground chipotle.

Either dip or toss in chimichurri and top with some lime pickled peppers and wedges of lime.

Tequila Battered Cauliflower with chipotle chimichurri and lime pickled peppers.

YOU and YOURS will ENJOY because these are FORKING DELICIOUS!

A SPECIAL THANKS to chef Aaron Sanchez for sharing his recipe for Decadent Tequila Battered Cauliflower Tacos.

The Forking Truth

Grocery Shopping During The CoronaVirus Pandemic – Week 8 – Costco Delivery Phoenix AZ (you can’t always get what you want…..or what you need or what you order)

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This week I thought I’d shop at Costco again since the delivery was so great last time. I didn’t need toilet paper or paper towels since the nice delivery person I had last time asked me if I wanted to add them n to my order. That didn’t happen this time but II don’t need those things yet. It’s still the same on line and you can’t order those paper products for delivery. I was surprised that I couldn’t order fresh whole carrots but most things that I wanted to buy I was able to order…………but I wasn’t able to get šŸ™

I liked that I could virtually see my order going into the cart.

I also liked that I could add lots of wine.

I liked that my order was to be delivered in around 2 hours.

This time when I got my order I noticed that I didn’t get my major things that I needed for my lunches next week (romaine lettuce and spinach). We were also missing my husband’s meat and cheese roll up snacks that he likes. It’s no biggy but instead of oranges I got tangerines. I also got a few things that I didn’t order like apples, bananas and mangos….Oh my!

We texted the delivery driver to see if she would fix things and never heard back that whole day.

We waited an hour and didn’t hear back so I filled out the questioner from Costco and I got this before their response.

Then I got this.

I asked for a refund.

That’s how my Grocery Shopping from Costco delivery went week 8 of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Forking Truth

Cucumbers with Radish Sprouts, Rainbow Baby Bell Peppers Feta, Mint and Urfa Pepper Recipe

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I had 4 English cucumbers and came up with a Middle Eastern Inspired cucumber salad. It’s light and delicious. It’s not very spicy but does have a small amount of mild heat. I’ve found that radish sprouts not only look pretty but also make any cucumber salad extra delicious. I made this salad with ground Aleppo pepper and Urfa pepper that you might have to order on-line. I’ve found them at my local Asian Market. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size.

Ingredients for around 6 servings.

4 English cucumbers – ends trimmed and sliced (you can use regular cucumbers with seeds removed or Persian cucumbers would be best but I don’t know how many would equal 4 English cucumbers)

7 rainbow baby bell peppers with end and core remove. Slice into rings.

1/2 sweet onion – sliced

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves – chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro – chopped

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves – chopped

1 cup radish sprouts

4 oz feta – crumbled (preferably a less tangy less salty one)

1 Tablespoon Urfa pepper

1 Meyer lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

1 orange – just the fresh squeezed juice

2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 garlic clove – ground to paste or microplane

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

Directions

In a big bowl add the cucumbers, baby bells, sweet onion, mint, cilantro, parsley and radish sprouts. Set to the side.

In a small bowl mix up the olive oil, lemon juice, orange juice, salt, garlic and Aleppo peppers and mix well and add to big bowl of cucumbers.

Add the feta cheese and urfa pepper and mix well. Top the cucumber salad with the peppered feta.

Enjoy!

Cucumbers with Radish Sprouts, Rainbow Baby Bell Peppers, Feta, Mint and Urfa Pepper
The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on Lay’s Thai Taste Green Curry Potato Chips

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I was looking for some unusual chips to try and I found these Thai Taste Lay’s Green Curry flavored Potato Chips from Thailand. It’s a medium size bag that weighs less than 3 oz.

Here’s the back.

Here’s the ingredients.

One of the ingredients is packing gas? ….OMG did someone fart into the bag?

Another ingredient is natural identical flavor…LOL WTFork is that?

Anyway I open up the bag and take a whiff.

It smells delicious like green curry.

I pour some chips out.

They are very small ridged chips that feel powdery.

Gosh they actually taste better than green curry from some restaurants.

These chips are full of lots of flavors and some heat.

I taste coconut milk and lemongrass the most.

Next I taste chillies, garlic, shallots, lime and fish sauce a little bit of sweet and something sort of gingery and salt.

Not sure what else is in here but these chips have a very good flavor.

If you are a fan of Thai Green Curry then you should be a fan of Lay’s Thai Taste Green Curry Potato Chips.

Worth a Fork!

Your opinion may differ.

The Forking Truth

Take Out During The CoronaVirus Pandemic in Metro Phoenix AZ – Week 7 – Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery, The Larder & The Delta, Phila Deli, Twist Bistro and Gallery, Kawaii Sushi and Asian Cuisine

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We are trying to support small business restaurants as much as possible. These are the worst of times and all restaurants are hemorrhaging money. A few weeks ago our local channel 3 news reported that it is unlikely that you will catch the coronavirus from food even if the person preparing your food has the coronavirus. (Don’t know if that report is factual) This week sister station channel 5 said it different and reported that there is no evidence that you will catch coronavirus from food. I look at this way……..It’s best to avoid as many people as possible. All restaurants are nearly empty these days. It seems safer to do take out food than it is to shop for groceries from the supermarket.

First take out this week was from our long time favorite take out restaurant Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix. It’s a Vietnamese Restaurant that is free of Pho and specializes in serving Banh Mi Baguette Sandwiches and most of your other Vietnamese Favorites.

Today (off of the $5.00 menu) I had the chicken cabbage salad and the chicken potstickers (off the $4.00 menu).

The salad seems light and is delicious. The potstickers are very tasty and seem like a treat!

My husband had the pork rice plate today.

The rice plates are always really great! For some people they might be more than one meal.

We had plenty to share…..

Next take out was from The Larder and The Delta in down town Phoenix.

We got the pop up hot chicken special that was eight pieces of hot fried chicken, pasta salad, two slices of white bread and four cans of beer. The chicken is delicious and full of flavors. It’s not very hot but it is delicious. I don’t drink beer but I’ll use it for cooking or marinating.

My dogs can’t get their eyes off the chicken.

Next we packed up the dogs and did take out from Phila Deli in Glendale. It’s a small cheese steak and hoagie joint.

They recently added salads to the menu so I got one.

WOW! That’s a really great salad for only $7.50 (plus 75cents for avocado)

My husband always gets a full size cheese steak from Phila Deli.

We tried a brand NEW restaurant that just opened May 1st in North Scottsdale called Twist Bistro and Gallery. It’s a little restaurant but they offer a very unique detailed Mediterranean menu. They offered an INCREDIBLE Take out special for two ($55.) That was truly AMAZING!

They started us off with these insanely delicious light as a cloud biscuits that were studded with feta cheese and were laced with dill and they came with a spiced warm honey butter.

Our appetizer was a wild mushroom crepe stuffed with mushrooms, black truffle ricotta and it came with sweet pea pesto and an heirloom tomato arugula salad.

My dinner was the Bistro Salmon. It was Loch Duart Salmon (same salmon that Thomas Keller uses in his restaurants) black rice, basil pistou, asparagus and heirloom tomato salad.

My husband had the Shrimp and Sausage Diablo. It was made of spicy Italian sausage, gulf shrimp, basil, asparagus, olives, tomato confit and three cheese polenta.

He said it was so good that he would have to order it next time!

For dessert were their beignets with cream anglaise and berry sauce.

Twist Bistro and Galley was really super awesome!

Last Take out of the week was from Kawaii Sushi & Asian Cuisine. They were on the news when they closed for the pandemic. They showed the owner cooking up all his food and giving it away to first responders. I thought that was a great deed so I wanted to try them again.

They practice safe distancing and you order and purchase on line. Then all communication is by text. Your order gets placed on a table in front of your parking spot.

Today we ordered off the Asian Menu and I tried the Shui-Zhu Flounder and my husband tried the shrimp she mai (dumplings) and the Kung Pao Beef.

The proteins are tender as can be. The fish is in a mild ginger soy broth. The kung Pao Beef is very delicate with flavor and is extra mild.

That was week 7 of Take Out in Metro Phoenix during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Don’t worry we are all in this thing together”

This week we did take out from-

Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery (North Phoenix)

The Larder and The Delta (Downtown Phoenix)

Phila-Deli (Glendale/Arrowhead)

Twist Bistro and Gallery (North Scottsdale)

Kawaii Sushi & Asian Cuisine (North Glendale)

If you want your local or favorite restaurants to stay in business you need to do business with them.

Every THING is subject to change and we hope it does for the better.

The Forking Truth