Monthly Archives: September 2021

Peoria Artisan Brewery in Peoria AZ – Strong Cocktails, Smooth Beer, and Pretzels that smell really good

Peoria Artisan Brewery is located in North Peoria Arizona. They are a bar that serves craft American foods and their own hand crafted beers, and other local and regional beers as well as a full bar. They have around twenty beers on tap. According to The Arizona Republic Peoria Artisan Brewery does make a Top 25 Burger in the valley. They do use Arizona beef for their burgers.

It seems to be always busy.

I noticed that many people are ordering the pretzel…..I don’t know how many pretzels were served by me……….but it was a bunch…..The pretzels do smell delicious..I got to smell many of them.

They also have patio seating.

I’m not a beer drinker so I went with the cocktail of the day.

A hibiscus mai tai …..(that seemed pretty darn strong)….and my husband tried some sort of blond beer. I did try a small sip of the beer and it was smooth and had a softer hops taste than what I usually taste in beer.

They have all kinds of things on their menu. They have a selection of bar type foods like pig ears, sliders, and wings. They also offer a smoked dish of the day, salads, sandwiches, entree plates like salmon, flat iron steak, and Macaroni and cheese with added meat options, sweets, a children’s menu and more.

Today we started with a garden salad.

It was accented with crispy onions and the gorgonzola cream was tasty.

My husband went with the BBQ special.

Today it was brisket, turkey breast, pickles, links, and beans. Everything was prepared reasonably well. The pickles are very good.

I went with the smoked trout. I thought that it was odd that the server asked me how I wanted the trout done……. ( My BAD……..I should have changed my order…but it was the reason that I wanted to dine here tonight)

Anywho-

It looks nice……

I tell The FORKING Truth so here it is…………This meal is described as with AZ citrus, herbs, and a fennel blood orange salad…….The fennel blood orange salad is mostly bitter fizzy lettuce with sour oranges. The herbs are very good and I do like the citrus. The trout didn’t taste good to me. It taste like a combination of ammonia, fishiness, smoke, and deep funk to me. My husband tasted it and to him it just didn’t taste good and was fishy. I couldn’t eat it. Our kind waitress did offer to get me something else, I declined and she took it off our bill.

On a previous visits we had

French Dip

Scottish salmon with crisp skin, baby spinach, grilled pineapple, and confit garlic. This was very good!

On a return visit I wanted to get that really great salmon that I had last time……… When I got the salmon this time I thought the chef was replaced. I was so bothered by this that I called them up the next day and inquired about the chef and was told same chef.

I tell The FORKING Truth so here it is……….salmon with less finesse as the first one over couscous that taste like seawater accented with some vegetables.

Same visit as above salmon – cubano good but missing the mortadella from the menu discription.

Take out – salmon salad and an Italian Beef. These were ok.

www.PeoriaArtisanalBrewing.com

Strong cocktails, smooth beer, food is a bit hit and miss but the pretzels sure smell good.

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Turkey Breast Teriyaki Chef Shota Nakajima Style Recipe

I watched The Talk TV Show and chef Shota Nakajima made his chicken teriyaki and gave the recipe for it on The Talk’s website….www.TheTalk.com I had a 1/2 turkey breast in my freezer that needed to be used so I thought I’d use chef Nakajima’s teriyaki recipe for it. Since I was using a boneless turkey breast I thought that I only need to marinate 4 hours so that is what I did then I fried it up in a stainless pan with non stick spray. It came out delicious and moist almost like I sous vide it. What a great recipe for teriyaki.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1/2 a turkey breast off the bone. (mine had skin but you can do it with or without skin)

2 cups soy sauce

1 cup mirin

2 Tablespoons pure honey

1 Tablespoon garlic puree

1 Tablespoon ginger puree

1 Tablespoon tahini paste

1 teaspoon nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon ground sesame seeds

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

non stick spray

Directions

Whisk everything together (except the turkey and the non-stock spray) Bring mixture to a boil on medium heat. Let cool. Reserve 1/2 cup for serving.

Marinate the turkey 1/2 breast in a ziplock gallon bag refrigerated for NO MORE than four hours. Remove from bag and either grill till cooked threw (I do warn you that this will make a mess) or fry up in a pan on medium high heat sprayed with non stick spray around 10 minutes a side or till cooked threw. Serve with rice and drizzle sauce on the top.

turkey breast teriyaki

A special THANKS!!!! To chef Shota Nakajima for his FORKING Amazing Teriyaki recipe!

The Forking Truth

A Little Taste of De Babel Middle Eastern Restaurant in Scottsdale AZ

De Babel is a semi/fast casual Middle Eastern type restaurant located in Scottsdale Arizona. It isn’t a fancy place but seems shiny and clean. They offer many of the usual Middle Eastern Mediterranean offerings and some that are not that usual.

Some of sandwiches offered are falafel, meat shawarma, chicken tawook (classic Lebanese chicken marinated and usually made on skewers…), a burger, ribeye, wild mushroom and more. They offer some plates, platters, salads like tabouli, fattoush and freekah. Some of the sides they offer are truffle fries, cole slaw, mushroom soup, bread bowls, and roasted cauliflower.

You order at the counter, grab a beverage, pay, and seat yourself. They run your food to you when it is ready.

We shared a vegetarian platter of hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaf platter with added chicken shawarma so we could taste that too.

hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaf with added chicken shawarma

and the meat shawarma plate.

meat shawarma (beef & lamb), babel rice, onion, tabouleh, pickles, tahini

I start with the falafel.

It’s very crisp, moist and green inside and flavored well. The hummus is nice and creamy and accented with oil, chickpeas, and Aleppo pepper. The baba ganoush is smoky and the top of it glistens with pomegranate. The grape leaves are very tender, rolled thinner than most and taste laced with allspice. I think that the chicken shawarma is seasoned nicely and it is flavorful but is a little dry today. Same with the meat shawarma…… It’s seasoned very nice but is a little dry. The tabouli is bright and lemony fresh and flavorful. The rice is also flavorful here too.

That was a little taste of De Babel in Scottsdale AZ.

www.De-Babel.com

The Forking Truth

Vecina a Modern American Latin Restaurant Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork!

Vecina is a modern American Latin style restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. This is a small casual restaurant that offers seasonal elevated sharing plates, interesting dinners, and upscale desserts. Only high quality ingredients are used and the seafood comes from Chula. Vencina is loved by many but might not be for everyone. The majority of the dishes contain chili peppers and the atmosphere is energetic and noisy.

If you don’t have a reservation you sit at the bar or at a high top table behind the bar.

The dining room is very small and only is two rows of tables. I think I counted only around eight tables in the dining room.

For a small restaurant I was very surprised to find twenty two different menu items tonight. Remember that this is a mostly but not entirely small plate type of restaurant. The Vecina website suggest two – three plates a person.

We shared two small plates. Recommended by our waiter was the karaage (breaded fried chicken) with aji amarillo (Peruvian yellow chili) citrus gastrque, togarashi (spicy Japanese spice blend), lime. Our table was very small and these plates almost didn’t fit. We had to lose the candle.

karaage

It was full of flavors and was spicy…but not too spicy..and tasty.

We also shared the elote.

It was made of corn kernels with butter that is spiced like chorizo and on the right is a smooth cream made with toasted green chili, cream fraiche, lime and topped with a little cheese and fresh cilantro.

The above plates were very good and were quite a treat but the dinners wowed us even more!

I had the hiramasa collar. Incase you didn’t know the collar meat from a fish is very flavorful and extra tender. It’s the fattiest, richest, best tasting part of the fish.

hiramasa collar

WOW! They gave me two great big fish collars that look like big steaks. The meat is so tender and flavorful. I love the smoked tomatillo salsa with this fish and the hand made tortillas are delicious and very tasty. This is also a very large portion. I think they gave me extra by accident. For me this is one dinner and two lunches.

My husband enjoyed the Sonaran pasta gemelli.

Sonatan pasta gemelli

It was made with chili de arbol arrabbiata, Spanish chorizo, grilled fennel, pickled tomatillo, and parmesan.

They offered two desserts tonight. We thought the one sounded extra interesting so we tried the savory and sweet banana bread with peanut butter ice cream.

You can’t tell by my picture but this dessert is very large…..I think it can serve four people. It’s very rich but unusually delicious and very unique.

I have to say Vencina in Phoenix AZ is Worth a Fork!

Worth A Fork!

www.VecinaPHX.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Roast Cauliflower with Smoked Cheddar Cheese Sauce with Pickled Leeks, Nuts and Seeds Recipe mostly by chef Pollyanna Coupland

I had a cauliflower and some leeks in my refrigerator so I searched for a recipe that uses those vegetables on the web and came across chef Pollyanna Coupland’s recipe. I found her recipe interesting and different. I kept her recipe mostly the same except for the cheese sauce. I thought everything was delicious and I never would have thought of roasting the cauliflower with all that lemon with all these flavors the recipe has….It is delicious. I am glad that I found her recipe so that I could have what I came out with. Her recipe says that it makes two servings……..maybe this is considered a whole meal? I guess it could be? It also depends on the size of your cauliflower. I find that the cauliflowers at the store differ GREATLY in size. Another little thing that I did different was cutting the cauliflower into florets…I like eating the cauliflower better that way. chef Coupland’s recipe serves you a full half a cauliflower on your plate so you can eat it like a steak. This recipe takes two days to make because the pickled leeks need to pickle for two days. Servings will differ. This recipe makes 2-4 servings. I think for most people that you will get 4 servings out of a cauliflower.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 bundle leek (this could be one big one, two smaller ones ((that is what I used)) or even three tiny ones)

1 cup apple cider vinegar

scant 1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt + more salt to salt the leeks

1 Tablespoon yellow mustard seeds

1 cauliflower – I broke mine down to florets but the original recipe has the cauliflower cut in half

2 pinches of thyme chopped

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 lemon juice and zest

2 Tablespoons olive oil

salt – to taste to season cauliflower

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

9 oz sharp cheddar cheese – shredded

3 oz brie cheese cubed small

1.5 oz havarti cheese shredded

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

bay leaf

1/4 cup corn starch

2 cups non-fat milk

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

dash hot sauce

liquid smoke and or smoked salt to taste (I used both)

2 Tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds

2 Tablespoons roasted hazelnuts (lightly crushed)

2 Tablespoons sliced almonds

fresh chives to finish

Directions

Slice the leeks into rings and sprinkle with salt. Leave the salt on for ten minutes and then rinse off. Chef Coupland says that this will help to keep the leeks crisp.

Combine the vinegar, water, thyme, sugar, salt, mustard seeds in a pan and heat till the salt has dissolved.

Blanch the leeks in boiling water for 20 seconds and then place the leeks in ice water. Squeeze off all the liquid from the leeks and then place them in the pickling solution. Make sure the leeks are submerged for two days in the refrigerator. I find that this is easiest to use a quart ziplock bag but you can use whatever.

After two days.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

If you are doing florets….Get a large mixing bowl and combine the oil, thyme, lemon juice, zest, , salt to taste, white pepper and the cauliflower mix well. If you are doing two halves. Mix the oil, thyme, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and rub it all over the cauliflower. Roast the cauliflower on a sheet tray for 20-30 minutes.

Next make the cheese sauce.

In a small bowl or cup mix together the milk and cornstarch. Put a sauce pot on medium high with the buttered bay leaf. When the butter is almost melted add the milk/cornstarch mixture. Use a whisk and stir until the mixture is thickened and is boiling. Turn down the heat to low. Take off the heat and gradually add all the cheese….mix till smooth. Use the low burner if needed…..Add the mustard, hot sauce, smoke flavoring, and nutmeg. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Take off heat.

Toast nuts

Serve however you like. Cauliflower with the cheese sauce over or under. Top with nuts, the pickled leeks and some fresh chives.

Roast Cauliflower with Smoked Cheddar Sauce, Pickled Leeks, Nuts and Seeds

ENJOY!

A special THANKS!!!!! to chef Polly Coupland for her Forking amazing recipe so that I could make this plate.

The Forking Truth

Forking Weird Food Related News

When I looked for weird food news the first thing I found today was that an officer threw a can of beans at a criminal armed with a hammer…….Guess that works better than bringing a lemon to a knife fight?

I read in FoodNetwork Magazine that a farmer in Japan invented Bananas that have very thin edible skin. These bananas currently are only being sold in Japan and coast $6.00 each. …..Why would FORKING ANYONE want to pay $6.00 for one banana to eat the skin? That is just BANANAS!

www.Pinterest

You might have noticed many unusual pastas at the supermarket. Many different beans and vegetables go into pasta these days. Did you know that Hearts Of Palm, Plantain and Mung Beans actually are in certain pastas too? Ah the Pastabilities! I read this one in FoodNetwork Magazine.

I think the strangest Food News I came across was sent to me in an email from Well Done. When I clicked to the article I was directed to www.MyRecipes.com .

Mayonaise Ice-Cream in Hellman’s and Miracle Whip.

www.Drawception.com

www.ThinkGeek.com

You TOO can be toasty in a sleeping bag that looks like a hot pocket microwavable pouch. You can purchase these sleeping bags at www.ThinkGeek.com

I was walking threw the floral department at my local Safeway Grocery Store and spotted bouquets of cabbage in there with the flowers. That’s kind of weird….

Maybe you can also eat them?

Christmas is just around the corner so maybe you need a CHEESY Gift?

You can give someone a bust of you or someone else sculpted from cheese.

Buut here might be the best one.

The man in the hospital bed is actually cake.

Those were the weirdest food related news that I read recently.

The Forking Truth

Sweet Cauliflower and Carrot Pickles Recipe based on Food & Wine Magazine Recipe

At the end of the week I had carrots and a cauliflower that were getting old and I just happened to get Food & Wine’s recipe this very day in my email for Sweet Cauliflower and Carrot Pickles so I thought I should make this recipe. I changed a few things…not really to change but only due to what I had at home. This pickling recipe is very different from any other pickling that I have done. I used much more spices and different spices than what I think of for pickling. I also didn’t use some things that I always use for pickling like garlic and black peppercorns….SEE I said it was different! Serving size is extra hard to tell on this one….I’m guessing at least 6 servings.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 Tablespoon fennel seeds

1 Tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon allspice berries

1 whole clove

1/2 teaspoon anise seeds

1 2in cinnamon stick – broken

1 Tablespoon fennel pollen

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

6 cups water

2 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons kosher salt

6 carrots sliced diagonally 1/4 inch thick

1 head cauliflower cut in 1 1/2 inch florets

Directions

Either in a sauce pan on moderate heat (till fragrant) or microwave (45 seconds till fragrant) combine the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, allspice berries, clove, anise seeds, and cinnamon stick. After it cools put it in a small bowl and add the fennel pollen, bay leaf, and crushed red pepper. Wrap well in cheesecloth. ( I used two tea balls I think that is easier)

Add water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a sauce pan. Add spice bag or balls. Bring to a boil and then simmer for five minutes.

Add carrot slices to boiling mixture. Boil only up to three minutes or until carrots barely tender. Remove carrots. Then add cauliflower and boil the cauliflower till barely tender also up to three minutes. Then remove cauliflower. Toss the spice bag. Let liquid cool to room temperature. Pour the liquid (when cool) over the vegetables. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain the vegetables to serve.

Sweet Cauliflower & Carrot Pickles

A Special Thanks to Food & Wine Magazine for their recipe.

The Forking Truth

A Little Taste of Headquarters Grill Bar Sushi in Peoria AZ – There is a lot to taste there

Headquarters Grill Bar Sushi is located in North Peoria Arizona in P83. This is an American Restaurant with a full bar, thirty two taps, over fifty HDTVs, and a food menu that is all over the place. It almost like you name it and they probably have it.

They try to please any appetite.

Maybe you want to start with something healthy like edamame?

Or something unhealthy but more fun like made in house macaroni and cheese bars with spicy ranch sauce.

You can have tacos (two chicken tacos one Korean Style beef).

You can also have sushi tacos ( fried seaweed shells, spicy tuna, shredded krab, avocado, choice of sushi). (I prefer the sushi tacos to their regular tacos)

tuna, smoked in house salmon, and salmon

They also offer a variety of burgers with a few different protein choices.

atomic beef burger

Or maybe a pulled pork sandwich.

A few of the other things on the menu are all sushi, sushi rolls, sushi burrito, sushi burger, tuna pizza, wings, pizzas, salads, rice bowls, fish and chips, spaghetti and meatballs, pan seared sirloin and desserts.

There is a lot to taste at Headquarters Grill Bar Sushi in Peoria at P83.

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

The Craftsman Cocktails & Kitchen in Scottsdale AZ is Worth a Fork! Some FANTABULOUS Dishes can be found here

The Craftsman Cocktails & Kitchen is an American Restaurant and distillery located in North Scottsdale Arizona. If you were a fan of the now closed fine dining Italian restaurant called Sassi then you should be a fan of The Craftsman because the chef is the same. This restaurant offers lunch and dinner menus and a new brunch menu will start up sometime fall 2021. The patio is large and wraps around the restaurant and also is dog friendly.

They also have garage door windows that open during nice weather that expand the patio even more. It so airy and comfortable here….I think this is the most comfortable restaurant I ever dined in…..The air conditioner is blowing and the garage doors are open. It just feels great here.

There is a variety of indoor seating, a bar area and the distillery.

distillery

The dinner menu is made of small plates like AZ chicken lollipops, charcuterie curated by chef Chris, and the popular chips and dip or dips that I noticed every table ordering. So I came back after a few visits and tried it.

chips and dip

The chips are really great….So crisp and seem free of oil….really great chips. The dips are different. The dips aren’t bad at all but not my favorite thing here….(but others might disagree since this is the popular dish from what I observed dining here several visits)

I thought the shipwright ahi salad was very good and was made with exceptional produce.

It was made of togarashi coated ahi, local greens, three colors of carrots, watermelon radishes, marinated shiitakes, wasabi peas, yuzu aioli, and ginger, passionfruit, sesame, dressing. (FANTABULOUS)

There’s the tomato and melon burrata.

It’s made with DELICIOUS fresh sweet heirloom tomatoes, creamy burrata, arugula and sweet watermelon….It was so light and delicious! I really LOVE this one! (FANTABULOUS)

Sandwiches like the distillers porcini crusted burger (ground in house) is on the menu. (the salads here are unusually good)

distillers porcini crusted burger with side salad

A wagyu pastrami on pretzel bun is also a sandwich that is offered.

to go – wagyu pastrami sandwich

There is (or was?) also a porchetta sandwich called hammer and advil.

hammer & Advil porchetta sandwich

The last brunch menu offered a dish called short rib hash.

short rib hash
AZ chicken lollipops, wagyu pastrami sandwich with side salad, hammer & advil porchetta sandwich with house chips

My husband really enjoyed the Craftsman muffuletta.

Craftsman muffuletta

The sand was made with delicious house made bread, capicola, cabernet salami, prosciutto, fontina, and olive salad. (FANTABULOUS)

Some of the dinners offered are the desert branzino..

desert branzino

It was prepared to perfection with some chimichurri and a very fresh high quality salad made with arugula, watermelon radish and farm fresh heirloom tomatoes. (FANTABULOUS)

According to my husband the volcano pork is a FORKING FANTABULOUS Dish!

volcano pork

It’s basically a southwest style osso buco. It falling off the bone tender as can be shank of pork that was slow braised with incredible flavors in a mild hatch green chili jus. There is also this amazing dreamy cheesy cilantro lime queso and spiced black beans. Tortillas and jalapeño slaw are on the side. (FANTABULOUS)

Sadly I haven’t saved room for desert yet but maybe next time.

The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen is Worth a Fork! Some FANTABULOUS dishes can be found here.

Worth A Fork!

wwwTheCraftsmanAZ.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Yuzu Honey Ginger Beets with Melon Sweet Basil and Pistachios

I had some yuzu juice that I had to use up and I thought it would go well with beets so I made infused red beets and marinated chioggia (candy stripe) beets with yuzu, honey, and ginger. This flavor goes pretty well with melon sweet basil and pistachios. You can add any greens that you have to go with it. I made a Chinese Mustard deviled eggs to go with it. I didn’t add that recipe because I only added Chinese Mustard to the egg yolks and nothing else. The egg whites were seasoned with furikake and the yolk part was deviled with togarashi seasoning.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb red beets – peeled and cut in slices

1 chioggia beet – peeled and thinly sliced across the beet

1 cup + 3 Tablespoons yuzu juice separated

1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon honey separated

4 Tablespoons + 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar separated

1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger separated

1/4 teaspoon + pinch ground white pepper separated

1/2 teaspoon + 1/4 teaspoon Red Boat Salt separated

1/2 a small sweet melon of any sort. Make melon balls

1/4 cup torn basil

2 oz salted roasted pistachios – lightly crushed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Mix together the marinate for the chioggia (candy stripe) beets. In a small bowl mix together the 3 Tablespoons yuzu juice, 2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 Tablespoon honey, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon Red Boat salt, and a pinch of white pepper. Mix well and add this and the thinly sliced chioggia beets to a quart size ziplock bag to marinate in the refrigerator.

Place red beet slices in a mostly single layer in a pan or baking dish.

In a bowl mix together the remaining yuzu juice, honey, vinegar, ginger, pepper, and salt. Pour this over the beets and cover the pan or dish. Place this in the oven on a middle rack till beets are tender (around an hour). You can serve the beets either warm or chilled with the marinated beets, melon balls, basil and pistachios. Add a few greens if you like.

SERVE.

Yuzu Honey Ginger Beets with Melon, Sweet Basil, and Pistachios

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth