I’m always looking for different ways to do cauliflower. I came across Taiwanese Popcorn Cauliflower by George L ( www.ChezJorge.com ). It looks like a really great recipe but I wanted to make it a little healthier by removing all the flour and frying. Instead of flour I replaced it with ground peanuts and instead of corn or potato starch I used an egg to hold everything together. The flavors are CRAZY AMAZING GREAT!******* I DO NOTE that this doesn’t come out very crispy*******so if you don’t like a roasted cauliflower texture than this is not for you. My idea of serving size may certainly differ from your idea of serving size. This makes around 6 smaller servings.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 + 1/2 cauliflower – cut in bite size florets
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 cup coconut milk
1 egg – lightly beaten
8 oz roasted salted peanuts – ground into chunky powder (I used spice grinder)
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (finishing seasoning)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (finishing seasoning)
non stick cooking spray
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray and set it to the side. You will need a second baking sheet for the basil.
In a large bowl mix together the garlic, salt, cayenne, white pepper, ginger, soy sauce, coconut milk, egg, and ground peanuts. Mix well. Add cauliflower and gently mix. The coated cauliflower florets go in a single layer spaced out a little on the baking sheet. Put the baking sheet inn the middle rack of the oven. Cook until cauliflowers are lightly browned and are cooked threw. Timing may differ but mine were done in 30 minutes.
Make the finishing seasoning.
In a small bowl combine the salt, garlic, five spice, Sichuan pepper, white pepper and cayenne. Set to the side.
By around now the cauliflower is almost done.
Lightly spray a sheet pan with olive oil. Spread out the basil leaves on the sheet pan and lightly spray with olive oil. Put in the oven when the cauliflower is done or almost done. Turn down the oven to 300 degrees and cook about 5 minutes.
Cauliflower gets seasoning with the finishing seasoning and sprinkled with the crisp basil leaves.
Taiwanese Flavored Peanut Crusted Cauliflower with crispy basil leaves
Enjoy!
A special THANKS!!! to George L at www.ChezJorge.com for the amazing Taiwanese Popcorn Cauliflower Recipe so I could come up with what I got here.
I tried many great dishes in 2020 in Metro Phoenix Arizona this year. I haven’t been everywhere but I’ve gone to lots of places. Most of the food I did this year was take outs because that is how we rolled most of the year. Here are the best that I’ve tried in no particular order. I do warn you that I live around the upper west side of the valley so it’s not logical to bring back food from too far away. I also might have forgotten a few great ones. It’s hard to remember a whole year. I note that I do happen to fancy fish when I go out because it is hard to get fresh fish to cook or eat near my home. Chula Seafood and Nelson’s are 40-45 minutes of mostly highway driving for me.
Combo with Jerk Chicken and Curry Chicken from Desert Island Eatery in North Phoenix
The Combo with Curry & Jerk Chicken is so good from Desert Island Eatery that I can’t move on to try something else. I must note that this food is always good. The take out version is slightly drier because all the sauces soak in…..but it is always very good. During the pandemic Desert Island Eatery installed a patio but are converted to take out only. Maybe that will change in a few months????
From Confluence is Carefree I got an amazing dinner. Everything is perfection and delicious but that special bit of magic is the way that way that everything is so flavorful and the way goes together. It’s like here’s a green bean…WOW I never tasted a green bean like this before…………but then the magic really happens when Parsnips, sweet potatoes, sweet peas, red quinoa and pomegranate go together so amazingly well. It’s just magical.
Flaming cheese from Greek Palace in Peoria
The Flaming Cheese from Greek Palace is Peoria is Awesome! I’ve had flaming cheese before but this one is the next level…YUM!
I have to give another to Confluence for their Lunch Fried Chicken with Chilitepin Honey sauce……I’ve had this one a few times and the sides do get changed up now and then but that fried chicken is among the Yummiest Tastiest Best. YUM!
Tacos are not part of my heritage but I’ve tasted many tacos. I tasted many tacos on several trips to Mexico. I’ve also tasted many tacos from many of the taco festivals in metro Phoenix and then some. The mild chicken habanero taco from Taco Fusion in Glendale is one of the BEST chicken tacos that I have ever tasted. It’s served on a hand made flour or corn tortilla (your choice). You do have to ask for the salsas….I think the chicken taco is best with the pineapple salsa.
OMG These sandwiches are a THOUSAND Times better tasting than they look. The smoked corned beef special from Naked BBQ is a wonder of the world. It’s a crime that this isn’t on the menu. It’s so great that I would tell a vegetarian to eat it.
🙁 🙁 🙁 Sadly we lost the really great fast but unusually delicious food from CHZBURGR in Glendale. This sandwich was a million times more delicious than it looks. Crispy well seasoned delicious juicy super flavorful breaded chicken THIGH, a special bun from Philadelphia, crafted pickles, mayo, honey mustard (I added Calabrian peppers) Was just awesome. My husband used to enjoy the flat style CHZBURGR. (It was greasy in a good way type of cheeseburger.
The Bianco Pizza (middle) is among the best pizzas in Metro Phoenix from La Piazza Al Forno in Old Town Glendale. It is made with hand pulled in house mozzarella, creamy rich ricotta, Sicilian oregano, garlic, fresh basil, extra virgin olive oil (I add on Calabrian peppers). It’s just a taste sensation!
All the food from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery always makes us happy. Here are those tasty pot stickers and the lotus root salad. This great lunch was also only $9.
The salmon from Twist Bistro & Gallery in North Scottsdale was unusually great! It’s pretty rare to get salmon cooked to such perfection. I enjoyed this a few times and several other dishes from Twist Bistro and Gallery.
The Halibut special from Fabio On Fire in Peoria was amazing. It might be the very best fish that you can get on the west side of metro Phoenix. The gelato…especially the strawberry is also the best…maybe in the whole darn country. That little ear pasta is also pretty darn special.
I got an amazing Forking Delicious feast from The Barrio Cafe in Phoenix. Everything was Forking Great! I sure wish her fabulous smoked salmon was still on the menu. I loved it so much!!!! Everything was FORKING delicious even down to the spicy ketchup condiment.
The Fried Chicken Take Out Special from FnB in Scottsdale was incredible. Even all the sides were EXTRA SPECIAL….I never had such GREAT sides with great fried chicken before.
This dessert from Confluence in Carefree was incredible. It’s yuzu curd with angel food cake, nuts and sake poached pears. It was incredible. It was just as spectacular as the food from Confluence.
The other BEST dessert (and Fabio’s gelato) was this noodle cheese pastry from Alzohour Market in Glendale. Actually most of the food from Alzohour Market is incredible.
My first take out from Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale was completely amazing. The salmon was one of the best that I had in Metro Phoenix….The bread was Noble Bread and is great, The Caponata was the best I’ve had and that chocolate fudge cake was a really awesome treat. Since my first visit prices were cut and some things are not the same. You get smaller amounts of bread and appetizer. The fish is now smaller pieces cooked to well on a skewer. It’s still really REALLY good but not Phenomenal like it was.
The salmon from Tarbell’s Tavern is maybe the best salmon that you can get in metro Phoenix. Everything here was delicious. There is this Indian spiced cake that came with it that also was memorable.
The sand dabs from Lure Fish House were crazy fresh and delicious.
The beets with Smoked Salmon from FnB in Scottsdale was well crafted, detailed and delicious. You can almost taste it just by looking at it. Actually everything we had from FnB was incredible. It was had to pick one plate from that visit because EVERY FORKING PLATE is deserving for here.
Lemon sole in a basil white wine broth with fennel salad and house made noodles from Twist Bistro and Gallery in North Scottsdale. It was all prepared to perfection and was also interesting and a little different.
The salt crusted whole striped bass from Bandolero Cocina de Mexico is as good as fish can get. The fresh flavor and texture was incredible. The mojo sauce was also really extra great!
My husband said that this pork shank he got from Ocotillo needs to be on this list. He really enjoyed it. I enjoyed a salmon meal that was pretty darn good too.
Desi Fusion
I just started going to Desi Fusion in Peoria. I forgot to photo the South Indian Fish Curry. That was really great! Really everything I tried so far was great from Desi Fusion. Sometime next year I will know what dishes I like the most.
My take out from Seoul BBQ and Sushi in Phoenix also blew me away. Everything was delicious and they might have made a mistake and accidentally gave us too much food. They gave us a complimentary vegetable pancake and 16 side dishes. Our mains were a chicken bulgogi and a bibimbap. Everything was delicious!
The market salad from Pizzeria Bianco at Town and Country was amazing. This was the BEST bitter greens salad that I have ever tried. It was the only one that tasted balanced to me. The gorgonzola and the sweet Asian pears help to tame the bitterness of the radicchio leaves. Bravo!
From Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante on Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide I got this incredibly delicious tender falling off the bone Chicken Cacciatore that was laced with DELICIOUS Calabrian Chili Peppers. Underneath it all was creamy cheese polenta.
My take out from Mrs. Chicken in Phoenix is deserving of a SPECIAL MENTION. They are a Nashville Style Chicken Restaurant. They do deserve a special mention because Mrs Chicken is a 40 minute drive for me and the chicken had a shattering crisp exterior and a juicy perfectly cooked interior when I got it home. (I brought home a lot of chicken this year…even from some closer places the chicken came home dry.
We both got the two piece dark meat on the bone.
The Better Dishes I tried from Metro Phoenix Restaurants 2020
I made many recipes here this year. Maybe there is something that you might want to try.
Fresh Ricotta Gnocchi with Walnut Parsley Celery Leaf PestoBlue Cheese Mushed Potatoes with Pickled Onions and Celery LeavesForking East & Delicious Turmeric Ginger Chicken SoupCrisp and fresh radishes and capers in an anchovy caper dressing with pumpkin seedslemon delight cakesJacques Pepin’s Red Cabbage Pistachio Cranberry Salad with Blue CheeseSunflower Seed Crusted Zucchini with Roasted Tomatillo SalsaSous Vide N.Y. Steak with roasted vegetables and pickled vegetablesBurmese Style Turkey SoupRed Grapefruit Beet Salad with Fried Crispy Radish Feta Radish Sprouts and Red Grapefruit Tahini Mint DressingSeaweed Cured Glazed Salmon with Mixed Citrus Kosho and Cucumber Sauce Shishito Peppers with Bonito Sand and Tofu MustardApple Gazpacho with Avocado Cream this one doesn’t look amazing as it taste….I’ll come up with a more attractive versionCottage PieBaby Eggplants topped with Baby Bell Peppers Shallots and topped with Anchovy and Basil Dijon Aioli with Crisp Basil LeafCheese Steak in Cheese WrapBomba Balsamic Beets and Onions with Blood Oranges, Basil and Robiola CheeseRichard Blais Salsa Verde on NY Strip SteakTomato Soup with Grilled Cheese RavioliflatbreadPickled Rainbow Baby Bell PeppersCucumbers with Radish Sprouts, Rainbow Baby Bell Peppers, Feta, Mint and Urfa PepperHand Rolled Spinach Taleggio Ravioli Tequila battered cauliflower w/ chipotle dust, chimichrri and lime pickled peppersBomba Mashed Potato Casserole with Sage and FontinaRichard Blais Tomato Celery Leaf Saladeye roastPistachio Rugelachhome made Pastrami Turkey on a home made Rye Roll with Kraut Style SlawBeet SoupSpaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette French Style Vegetarian Carrot SoupRamen eggsBaharat – Spiced Eggplant with Pickled Onions, Hazelnuts, Cherries, Herbs and Urfa Peppered FetaForking Delicious Salsaspatchcocked chicken…(not so pretty but it did taste great!)Cabbage BorschtUntraditional Masa Matzah Balls in Mexican Style Chicken Soup (this was photoed cold so you can see the well made stock)Mushroom and Pea Crepes over Spinach Garlic Dashi PureeTurnips Stuffed with MushroomsBomba Brisket MeatballsPeruvian Inspired MeatballsWatermelon Rind and Sweet Mango Avhaar Vindaloo Flavored Chicken Stewheirloom tomato pizzaLeek and mushroom pizzaAsian Style Cucumber SaladBinkley’s marinated cucumber salad (with some additions)Ethiopian Style Chicken Stew Easy DELICIOUS Quick Asian GreensVegetarian Jiccama Shawarma Easy glazed carrots with cumin and orangeOld Bay Beer Battered Lobster Mushrooms and Onion Rings with Anchovy Caper SauceForking DELICIOUS marinated chicken breastsForking AWESOME Mexican Inspired Marinated Chicken BreastStuffed Southwest Style Chicken Breast PieVegetables with Chinese Style Dipping Sauce. Butternut Squash Two Ways with Spiced Walnuts, Pickled Onions, Amarena Cherries and Gorganzola Cheese Chiles Rellenos with Duxelles, Huitilloche, Goat Cheese Cream. and Chimayo SalsaMarinated Tofu Tomato Curry Easy One Ingredient Mango IceForking Amazing Southwest Style Corn CakesEasy No Measure Basic Salsa VerdeCorn and Wild Mushroom Brie Raviolo in Creamy Corn Stock SauceForking Amazing Eye RoastYotam Ottolenghi Style Roast Carrots with Harissa & PomegranateSouthwest Beet Soup With Crisp Fried Vegetables and Pickled Egg Oholenghi Inspired Charred Cabbage with Bunt Butter, Black Garlic & Pumpkin SeedsIndian Inspired Butternut Squash with Spiced Chick Peas, Pickled Shallots, Cilantro Chutney, Tamarind Sauce and Toasted Coconut
Bundt cabbage roll
I made so many things that I forgot what the above photo is….sorry
Baby Eggplants with Tomatoes, Shallots, Pickled Sweet Peppers, Crisp Basil and Anchovy Caper Dressing PatraFORKING AWESOME Spicy Thai Basil & Rice Meatballs Roasted Cabbage and Carrots with Cotija Cheese, Pomegranate and Jalapeño Cilantro Vinaigrette Robiola Mashed Cauliflower Chili Mustard Glazed Butternut Squash with Bay LeavesRoasted Cauliflower with mixed Peppers, Cumin Seeds, Peanut Oil, Lemon and Red Boat Salt Stuffed Hash BrownPho flavored turkey soupCurried Tuna Salad with Dried Mulberries, Avocado, Shallots and Crisp Curry Leaves Southwest Soupy Beets with Crisp Fried Vegetables and EggYotam Ottolenghi Style Cauliflower Cake Balsamic Cipollini Onion and Cranberry Gravy (this is cold in the picture)Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding Turkey Leg Stew Mushroom Chestnut and Fig Bread Stuffing Parmesan and Potato Mousse with Parmesan Crisps Mini Rye LoavesSpicy Beer MustardForking Amazing Smoked Pastrami on home made rye bread with homemade spicy beer mustardCOLD and chilled to sliceOh NO my bread didn’t rise – Rye BAGELS (you can get the yeast to work when you boil the dough)Bundt Lasagna with homemade pasta and home made ricotta Jalapeños stuffed with Vivian Howard’s Sweet Corn Pudding Soufflé and topped with Fried Leeks Asian Dressed Beets with Pear, Potatoes, Black Garlic Ketchup and Thai Basil Wasabi Deviled Egg Stuffed Asian style meatball in wrapperTurmeric Black Mustard Seed and Curry Leaf Roasted Carrots Taiwanese Flavored Peanut Crusted Cauliflower with crispy basil leaves Easy Quick Delicious Shishiito Peppers Low Fat Za’atar Blue Potato Salad with pickled Red Onions, Artichokes, Olives and Feta Cheese
Well that was 102 recipes in 2020 at www.TheForkingTruth.com
Dining out with dogs is just a “Fluff” story of taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started when my dog Louie came down with aggressive cancer. We were told that he only was expected to live 3 months and maybe up to 6. He already was older and couldn’t do a lot but he loved eating and going out to eat. I took him out as often as I could and he made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are many things that you must know if you dine out with dogs. One is that not all patios are dog friendly. Some are certified with a sign. When you don’t see a sign you must call and ask if it’s ok to dine with your dog on the patio. Another thing is that I recommend from experience that it is BEST to avoid as many other people and other dogs as possible. Some people don’t share your love fore dogs and other people are allergic. It’s also best to avoid other dogs because dogs enjoy barking at each other and this can be a disturbance and you might be asked to leave.
You need to be aware that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even toxic to your dog. You must get a list of foods from your veterinarian to avoid. Usually a small lean plain piece of meat is a good choice. You should also bring a water bowl with you. Here in metro Phoenix you have to also be concerned about the temperature because your dog IS NOT AS HEAT TOLERANT as you are. They absorb heat up their paws and wear fur coats. 90 degrees might be comfortable for you but it is too hot for your dog. Leave your dog home if there is any doubt.
When you dine out with dog(s). your dog(s) must be by your side at all times. Dogs are NOT to eat off restaurant plates.
We went to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
They are an Italian Restaurant with a lovely patio with a park-like view.
The patio is very comfortable and is equipped with misters and shades for cooling and heaters for those few chilly days.
Our server is very nice and runs a bowl of water out for the dogs.
They always start us off with fresh baked breads.
Bread isn’t too good for dogs so I only give them a small taste that they enjoy.
We both got the DELICIOUS pollo alla cacciatora special.
OMG! It’s really great! It’s chicken legs that are falling off the bone tender and are infused with good flavors. The sauce is laced with Calabrian peppers that are so delicious. It’s served over cheesy polenta.
www.BottegaRistorante.com
We were planning on going to The Bourbon Cellar in North Scottsdale.
They serve hand ground in house various meat burgers and other things. (They don’t use commercial ground meat like most places) But to our surprises they changed their hours without posting the new hours anywhere on the day we showed up. So we left.
We drove back to home (23 miles) and drove threw our local Salad and Go.
Salad and Go is a local growing chain of fast food gourmet salads. They offer around nine styles of salads with protein choices of chicken, buffalo chicken, tofu and shrimp. Everything is organic and natural and most salads only cost $5.74. They also offer $2.99 breakfast burritos, beverages, smoothies, soup and a protein box. This is only a drive threw restaurant. They are without seating and no bathroom here….Just drive threw…That is why they are named……Salad and Go.
Behind our local Salad and Go is a hotel with an outside table just behind our Salad and Go so we took advantage of it.
Today I got the Thai Chicken Salad.
There is moist white meat chicken chunks, red cabbage, red bell peppers, shredded carrot, cucumbers, mixed greens and a pack of tasty slightly spicy peanut dressing.
My dogs always enjoy the chicken and shrimp here. (they discontinued the steak here some time back)
My husband had the chicken Greek Salad with added shrimp.
He was bummed that he wasn’t eating a burger.
“I like chicken here but I also wished that I was eating a burger”“Me too”
www.SaladandGo.com
Banh Mi Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix has always been on our local rotation of restaurants. They serve around a dozen different Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and many of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho. Portions here run very large and can be double for some people and prices are very low here. But the best thing of all is that the food is DELICIOUS TOO! and everything is cheap…It’s cheaper than fast food and is really good food.
no pho here
Today my husband got one of his favorites…The grilled pork rice plate.
It’s around 8 ounces of tender delicious pork with a crispy pork egg roll, lots of rice and a pickled vegetable salad.
Today I got the curry chicken with rice.
It’s fragrant and tasty. It has crushed peanuts and fried shallots in hit with nice soft carrots and potatoes. There is also lots of chicken to share with the dogs.
We always enjoy Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We also went to The Twisted Italian. They offer most of your typical American Italian Foods but they also offer a few unusuals such as pierogi and an Italian chili relleno. They don’t have a patio but do have a couple tables outside for dining. They are listed on www.BringFido.com so they are dog friendly. They are always friendly to us when we bring the dogs. Today the nice waiter brought a water dish for the dogs.
My husband likes the lunch special called pick a pasta/ pick a salad for only $11.50.
He got the Italian salad and the house lasagna.
I got the salmon with grilled vegetables and angel hair pasta in lemon white wine caper sauce.
It’s bigger than it looks like in my photo and is a lot of food. The vegetables and salmon are enough for me. BTW I had some help with that.
Lunch is always A-OK at Twisted Italian in Peoria.
www.EatTwisted.com
That was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for December 2020. We wish for everyone good heath and happiness and a Happy New Year and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
I had some curry leaves that I got from Asiana Market and some beautiful rainbow carrots from Trader Joes. Turmeric always goes with curry leaves and most recipes with turmeric and curry leaves usually will have something like mustard seeds in it so this is how this recipe came to be. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. This makes around 6 side servings.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
2 pounds carrots (peel if not organic) (I rough cut mine but you can cut in any shape that you like)
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ( I didn’t measure but guesstimated. I sprayed the carrots very heavy with oil)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
handful of curry leaves
crushed sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
4 Tablespoons water
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F.
The carrots go in a single layer on a baking sheet that has edges. Spray the carrots well with olive oil. Sprinkle the carrots with turmeric, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add 4 Tablespoons of water on the baking sheet to help cook the carrots.
Cook carrots till they are fork tender. Timing will differ depending on how you cut the carrots. My carrots were large and I cut them big so mine took 40 minutes.
Turmeric Black Mustard Seed and Curry Leaf Roasted Carrots
A NEW Thai restaurant just opened in North Peoria called Tom Yum Thai. At this time (Dec/2020) there is another location of Tom Yum Thai in Surprise Arizona. The Peoria location is very tiny with less than ten indoor tables. But it seems clean and is bright and cozy inside. It’s tiny restaurant but they offer a very large menu. of many appetizers, soups, salads, chef’s specials, wok entrees, curries, noodles, pho and more.
They differ from some of the other Thai Restaurants by offering made in house hand rolled and other appetizers. One of the unique appetizers that I haven’t tried (yet) is the Thai Style Fried Sweet Potato dipped in coconut milk then tempura fried and served with tangy peanut sauce.
They offer NINE different salads that they say are packed with flavor and are not ordinary (It says that on the menu). They are filled with an abundance of herbs and spices.
There are many choices of seafood here. They offer a fresh catch of the day, mixed seafood with crispy noodles, scrambled egg with mixed seafood, a plate with one fried fish and one steamed with spicy lime dressing, a deep fried whole fish with spicy chili, and a few shrimp dishes.
Tom Yum Thai offers a bigger variety of protein for your wok entrees, curry and noodle dishes. They offer tofu or vegetables, tofu and vegetables, chicken, pork, bbq pork, beef, vegan shrimp, vegan chicken, shrimp, calamari, combination (chicken, pork, beef), duck, salmon, mixed seafood (calamari, shrimp, mussels, fish)
Wow that’s a lot!
Tonight we tried the green curry with salmon….We were told our choices were hot and Thai Hot. I picked hot.
The first thing I notice is that the curry isn’t green……Usually different peppers are used in the different curries and that is part of why the color of the curries differ. But it is different and does have delicious exotic spices and herby basil in it…There is eggplant green beans and bamboo in the creamy, slightly sweet coconut based sauce and then it builds quick with heat…..It is pretty darn hot. It close to the edge of nuclear in heat. The salmon is over cooked but I thought it would be. I’ll get chicken here next time for this sort of dish.
My husband got the spicy basil with chicken at Thai Hot with an added on fried egg.
It’s hot….and is a different hot than the green curry. We both think the green curry is hotter??????? We like the spicy Thai Basil….It’s hand chopped with lots of surface space for all the flavors to cling on to. There’s vegetables. It’s a big portion…..I think it could use a tad more basil but it really is pretty good.
Ocotillo is a one mile square compound restaurant, coffee bar, cocktail lounge, wine bar and park located in near downtown Phoenix Arizona. Ocotillo offers a wonderfully varied ever changing menu of astonishing variety. They are farm to table goodness mixed with global fusion. The dinner menu usually is something like several small salads, vegetable plates, small plates, house made pasta plates and large plates. The restaurant is modern and has multiple outdoor dining areas with an outdoor cocktail bar and an outdoor coffee shop.
Tonight we dined outside.
The Ocotillo resident “Mittens” said, “Hi” and rubbed against my leg.
We started out by sharing the eggplant meatless balls.
They had crisp exteriors with little bits of crisp cheese. The eggplant balls were topped with pesto and were served over cheesy, herby polenta.
My husband had the pork shank.
It was very meaty and succulent and was served with a porky corn stew and crispy smoky potatoes. My husband said that this was really GREAT!
I went with the market fish that was Atlantic Salmon today.
All the fresh vegetables, herbs and lemongrass sauce made the plate special.
Here are some of the previous plate that we had at Ocotillo.
I was watching Milk Street on TV and watched them make this amazing dessert. They genuinely looked like they were going bonkers on how great it tasted so I had to try it. YES!!!!! This is a FORKING AMAZING RECIPE!!!!! But it really is a soufflé’s so you have to eat it just made because it soon falls. Serving size is difficult to judge here. Original recipe says that it is 6 portions. I cut the recipe in half and I got two decent sized 4 inch ramekins that for me were two generous servings each so I got 4 servings from half the recipe.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
4 Tablespoons salted butter – cut in 4 pieces plus more for buttering the ramekins
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar + more to sugar coat the inside of the ramekins
2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest – divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup heavy cream
pinch sea salt
1 egg – separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
optional – finish with powdered sugar ( I skipped this)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and have a rack in the middle of the oven ready for the puddings.
Butter the inside of the ramekins and coat them with white sugar.
Make the sugar – lemon zest topping. In a cup mix together one tablespoon white sugar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest. Set this to the side.
In a medium sauce pot whisk together the flour and an 1/8 of a cup sugar. Blend together the corn, cream and salt until smooth. Whisk the corn mixture into the the flour mixture in your pot. Put on the pot to medium heat and stir to it gets to be a shiny paste. Take it off the heat and stir in the butter just a little at a time till it is incorporated. Let it cool a little and mix in the egg yolk, remaining lemon zest and vanilla.
In a separate bowl whip up the egg white till light and foamy. Add 1/8 cup white sugar and whip till you have soft peaks. Carefully fold whites into corn batter. Fill ramekins. Run your thumb along edges to make a channel so soufflé’s get a better rise. Sprinkle evenly with lemon zest sugar.
Place in middle rack of oven till golden brown and risen well (timing will differ….mine took 25 minutes)
Serve immediately and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Sweet Fresh Corn Pudding
A special THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!! to Vivian Howard and Milk Street Magazine for this FORKING AMAZING Recipe.
Universal Yums ( www.UniversalYums.com ) is a subscription service for a box of international snacks. You can subscribe for yourself or gift in number of ways and different size ways. The basic Yum Box is 6 snacks with a 12 page booklet of games, trivial and a recipe and runs around $15.00 a month.
The next size up is called the Yum Yum Box. It’s the above Yum Box but contains twice as many snacks (12) the booklet and they say more! The Yum Yum Box runs around $25.00 a month.
The largest box is called the Super Yum Box that contains 20 snacks the booklet and more and runs around $40.00 a month.
At this time I’m just doing the basic Yum Box.
The first Yum we try is the Sugar & Anise Polvoron from Spain.
It’s a powdered shortbread cookie. It’s laced with anise and has a little more powdered sugar on it than the typical shortbread cookie.
Our next Yum is the Roast Turkey & Stuffing Potato Crisps from Scotland.
These chips are cut thick and taste like a combination of poultry seasoning mixed with powdered onion.
Next Yum was very unusual.
Salted egg yolk popcorn from Taiwan. My husband screamed when he tasted them. They are very odd and not like any popcorn I’ve tasted before. They don’t have that crunchy kernel thing that sticks in your teeth. These seem fluffier…… But oddly they almost seem seem wet or liquid in them but they aren’t………..They are sweet but are more salty than sweet. I don’t think that they taste like egg but taste sort of buttery in an artificial but not bad way. I don’t really know why but I like them…….They seem light and are odd but pleasingly sweet and salty but not too salty.
Next we tried the Mocktail Bon Bons from the United Kingdom.
They are small powdered chewy and tangy treats. I think people with false teeth might have trouble with them. (LOL) They sort of remind me of what I think were those Now and Later Candies (haven’t eaten then in decades…might be remembering wrong candy?) but tiny. For me they are too tangy but I am sensitive to tangy and sour.
Alpine Nut Cake from The Swiss Alps were next.
It’s a little crunchy cake…almost like a cookie filled with walnuts and hazelnuts….Not bad….I could eat it again.
Ever try cookies from the Netherlands?
Little spice cookies…..Not bad…pretty good…..I never really ate spice cookies. I think they’d be great in ice cream or in a crust for other desserts.
Last and not least.
Cocoa Dusted Chocolate Truffles from France.
YUM! These are smooth and chocolatey, not too sweet and just right. Wouldn’t mind a bigger bag of them!
Can’t wait to find out what I will be trying next month!
I picked up these large leaves at the Asiana Market. I thought I was going to stuffed them with fish or something. I noticed that the leaves were marked Patra.
So I looked up Patra.
It turns out that Patra (Stuffed Taro Leaves) is a DELICIOUS dish from Maharashtra & Gujarat Cuisines. It very easy to prepare and is extremely fragrant and delicious. This recipe uses a chick pea flour base that you spice up. You spread the chick pea mixture on the leaves. Repeat four times. Roll them up like. a jelly roll. Steam the rolls, slice and fry and add some more seasoning and fresh cilantro. They come out delicious! I’m not sure about serving sizes. The recipe I followed says to use 15 patra leaves. I only used four leaves but I used the largest leaves in the pack???? In the end my guess is that this makes 4 tasty servings. This recipe makes far more fried seeds than I think it needs. You can save the extra and use them for either a next time or something else.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
15 patra leaves – recipe states that spinach leaves are a substitute – I used 4 very large leaves
60 ml tamarind juice (around 2 oz)
150g chick pea flour (around 5 1/3 oz)
3 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp asafoetida ( I picked some up at Whole Foods )
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil (for finishing)
1 tsp mustard seeds (for finishing)
1 tsp cumin seeds (for finishing
3 tsp sesame seeds (for finishing)
1 tbsp fresh cilantro – chopped (for finishing)
Directions
1 – clean and dry leaves. Cut out large vein in leaves with a knife or scissors. Set leaves to the side.
Make the paste. The tamarind juice, chick pea flour, chili powder, turmeric, asafoetida, cumin seeds, sugar, oil and salt get mixed up together in a bowl. (mine came out too dry and I had to add a good amount of water for it to be spreadable.
Now you start out by spreading the mixture on a leaf that is face side down.
Take a second leaf and lay on top (like a lasagna) spread mixture again. Do a third and spread mixture again and do a fourth and spread mixture again. I was out of filling by now but if you have more than you can make more stuffed leaves.
Now you roll from the fatter end up like a jelly roll.
These rolls need to set in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
When you are ready the next step is to steam the rolls for 20 minutes.
When the rolls are cool enough to handle you sliced them up and fry them up on both sides with some oil on medium high heat.
Serve with the oil, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, sesame seeds and fresh cilantro.
Stuffed Taro Leaves Patra
Enjoy! They really are delicious!
A special THANKS to Urvashi Roe and www.GreatBritishChefs.com for this amazing recipe.
