I came across a recipe for Persian Jeweled Rice. I thought that sounded interesting so I looked up 6 or 7 more recipes for Persian Jeweled rice and none of them were the same. But I did get ideas from all of them and I thought I could make a vegetable taste sort of like the Persian Jeweled Rice. I picked out the flavors that I thought would work the best with amounts that I guessed were good. One recipe called for rose petals. I happened to have rose water so I used a little bit of that instead. Somehow I guessed the amounts right because this came out really tasty. This recipe makes around 6 servings give or take.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 cabbage – remove core and rough chop
1 onion – rough chop
1 green bell pepper – remove stem and seeds – rough chop
1 red bell pepper – remove stem and seeds – rough chop
2 carrots – peel if not organic – slice on diagonal around 1/4 inch slices
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon rose water
1/2 teaspoon saffron (if you don’t have substitute ground turmeric )
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamon seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon date syrup
3 garlic cloves – ground to paste
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup salted roasted pistachios – lightly crushed
1/4 cup dried barberries
1 Tablespoon dried mint (fresh is better but I didn’t have any if you use fresh mint mix with some fresh parsley to mellow out the strong mint)
1 orange – just the fresh grated zest
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a large mixing bowl combine the cabbage, onion, bell peppers, carrots and set to the side.
In a small bowl that you will lightly microwave or in a sauce pan that you heat on medium heat on the stove combine the butter, oil, rose water, saffron, cinnamon, cardamon seeds, date syrup, garlic, salt and pepper. Heat gently till the butter is melted and the contents are fragrant. (about a minute)
Pour the small bowl of liquid over the vegetables and mix till the vegetables are coated. The vegetables go on sheet pan(s) preferably on the middle rack. Roast until slightly charred and so the carrots are fork tender (about 25-30 minutes).
Finish with pistachios, barberries, mint, and orange zest.
There is always something new, weird, different, limited and or special edition when we shop for food. We never know WTFork we will come across when we shop for food.
Up above is
DIFFERENT and maybe NEW – Old El Paso Fiesta Twists in Queso Flavor…..WoW I’ve never seen them before! New Twist on an Old Brand that also is a little corny and cheesy!
These next ones might be fun to add to a bowl of Old El Paso Fiesta Twists…….
DIFFERENT – Branch Out seasoned and dried avocado chips. It really is different….When is the last time you ate avocado that was crunchy?
DIFFERENT – Kelly’s Classic BBQ Rob’s Backstage Barbecue Popcorn………???? Never thought about BBQ popcorn????
DIFFERENT – Wilde Protein Chips made with chicken breast, egg whites, and chicken bone broth. Sounds like a meal………maybe you need to eat vegetable chips with it?
DIFFERENT – Favols – Wine or Champagne Confit. I don’t mean to be a whiner but who the FORK knows about this?
WEIRD – Coors – Coors-icles – Coors Light Beer NO ALCOHOL popsicles……Whoz gonna what that? BURrrrrrrp!
DIFFERENT – White Toque – Nut Potatoes………???? Sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you feel like a potato……Nut potatoes.
DIFFERENT – Tapatio Extra Spicy RAMEN Noodle Soup…..Different! Maybe tasty?
DIFFERENT – Hermann the German – HOT wine candy…….This one might be WEIRD too! WhoTFork drinks HOT wine?
Moving on….
LIMITED EDITION – Lindt Lindor Blueberries and Cream White Chocolate Truffles…….with OTHER natural flavors????????
LIMITED EDITION – Lindt Lindor Neapolitan White Chocolate Truffles….?????
DIFFERENT & FORKING WEIRD – OmNom – Black n’ Burnt Barley Icelandic Chocolate. I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure but doesn’t sound delicious to me.
NEW – Snickers almond brownie…….Could be good but I doubt it. Tried the first brownie Snickers bar when it came out and took one bite and tossed it. That’s nothing to snicker about.
DIFFERENT – KitKat BIGKAT ….???? Maybe it taste the same as the original…..or dog gone it and maybe it doesn’t?
DIFFERENT and maybe NEW or LIMITED EDITION – KitKat King Size Birthday Cake……Well it’s someone’s birthday everyday….Might be good they run around 50/50…..good to not so good…..
DIFFERENT – Frankford Post Cocoa Pebbles Cinnamon King Size Milk Chocolate Bar…….It sounds like a Yabba Dabba Doo but can possibly be a Yabba Dabba don’t?
NEW – Starburst Air Gummies in sour tropical flavors……..Think I’d rather chew on an Air Jordon Sneaker.
DIFFERENT – Peeps Fruit Punch Chick Marshmallows that are a boxer’s favorite flavor.
And there is usually something Oreo…..Well this month there really wasn’t so here is what is coming out April 3rd 2023…….was this one was out before?….It seems familiar????
www.Today.com
LIMITED EDITION – Nabisco Blackout Cake Oreo Cookies
Well that was the NEW, WEIRD, DIFFERENT, Limited and Special Edition Foods out there for March 2023. Who knows WTFork we’ll find next month?
Dining out with DOGS in Metro Phoenix is just a “FLUFF” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He was elderly and he was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and was expected to only be around for another three months or 6 months at the most. Louie couldn’t do a lot at that time but he always enjoyed going out to eat. So I took Louie out to eat as often as I could. Louie made it another 17 months instead of the 3-6 month diagnoses.Today I take my current dogs out to eat when the weather is right and when I can.
You need to know a little bit about dining out with dogs. Do you know that just because a restaurant has a patio doesn’t necessarily mean that you can bring your dog to dine there with you. You need to see a dog friendly sign or call the restaurant and ask first. Weather is also a factor. Dogs are not as heat tolerant as people (remember that they wear fur coats) 90 degrees F and above is too hot to dine out with dogs. Also much of the food and drink that you enjoy can be harmful or even TOXIC to dogs. It’s best to educate yourself about safe and non-safe foods for your dog from your veterinarian.
We regularly go to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Pho-Free Vietnamese Restaurant that offers around a dozen different Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches, rice plates, salad noodle bowls, and more! Portions are always large and prices are very reasonable.
Today my husband got a grilled pork rice plate.
The dogs also got to enjoy some of the pork.
Look how happy she is!
He is also happy to eat.
I got the small lotus root salad and the chicken potstickers.
potstickerslotus root salad
I don’t eat shrimp so the dogs get all of the shrimp.
“Here it comes”“So good”
The dogs always LOVE going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery
602-843-3637
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
We also made it to Cucina Tagliani in North Glendale. They are an American Italian Style Restaurant that has been in business for over thirty years.
They are usually extra nice to dogs here. They served my dogs a bowl of water to start out with.
Today I got the strawberry and goat cheese salad with chicken. Our server said that it came with soup. I didn’t want soup today so my husband volunteered to get the minestrone soup.
Then the nice waitress offered a plate of cheese for the dogs.
My smaller dog inhaled the cheese so fast that you can’t see anything. I think his favorite food might be cheese……
Next they get chicken from my strawberry and goat cheese salad.
Both dogs enjoyed the chicken.
My husband had a Stromboli today. He gave some sausage to the dogs and they enjoyed that too!
Not one but TWO other dogs dined out on Cucina Tagliani’s Patio today….My dogs kept eating and stayed quiet.
We did OK at Cucina Tagliani
17045 N 59TH Ave Glendale AZ
602-547-2782
www.CucinaTagliani.com
We were off to Twisted Italian…..We got there just as they were opening and BOTH of their two outdoor tables were already taken….So we had to go somewhere else…..We drove threw a Salad and Go and went to eat it in a nearby park.
Salad and Go Drive Threwsteak and chicken Greek saladThai salad with chicken
Both dogs enjoyed the chicken and most of the chewy steak.
Salad and Go
2006 W Pinnacle Peak Rd PHX AZ
(no phone# listed)
www.SaladandGo.com
This week we made it to Twisted Italian in North Peoria. They offer their spin on Italian Foods that is a little different. They offer things like pierogis and Italian rellenos. Whatever you get they start you off with warm bread and olive oil embellished with balsamic.
The dogs are always excited to try some bread.
But when the meals come out they get more excited.
My husband got the Italian Relleno (stuffed poblano pepper with house made Italian sausage, provolone, mozzarella, sauce, peppers, onions, with jumbo fried ravioli covered in tomato cream sauce)
The dogs got to eat some ravioli and a little bit of sausage here.
I got one of the lunch specials…The salmon with grilled vegetables and a side of angel hair pasta.
It’s really too much food for lunch but my dogs don’t mind helping me with this plate.
This dog is smiling. The dogs got to eat some of the salmon and all of the zucchini.
We did well at Twisted Italian
9940 W Happy Valley RD Peoria AZ
623-537-4000
www.EatTwisted.com
That was Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix for March 2023. We hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month!
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Carolina’s is a family owned group of four Mexican Restaurants that are considered to be a staple of Phoenix. The original location has been in business since 1968. This restaurant might be most famous for their daily made fresh flour tortillas.
Some of the other offerings are breakfast burritos, 16 combo platters, burros, chimi’s, tacos, tostados, tamales, a children’s menu, soft beverages, and more.
This is a casual restaurant.
You order and pay at the counter, grab a number, and seat yourself.
We started out by sharing a cheese quesadilla.
The flour tortilla is really great. It’s light and thin and melts in your mouth. The cheese adds a little something to it…….I think I should have ordered a fried jalapeño because that would have been tasty here.
I tried three different tacos. They came wrapped up like this.
Potato taco, shredded chicken taco, and a shredded beef taco with sides of guacamole, green salsa, and hot sauce.
The meats are both finely shredded and are tender. The taco shells are good and tasty and were fresh fried to order…….I don’t know if my visit is typical or maybe I hit them on an off day but the potato taco and the beef taco are both flavorless. Only the chicken taco today is infused with flavors. The beef taco and the potato taco are better when you add the green salsa to them. The green salsa is actually very good and full of flavors. I thought that the hot sauce had a taste that is similar to tabasco sauce.
My husband tried the burro 3 way combo platter.
The burro is 3 way because in the middle are beans and on one end is stewed beef in a red chili sauce and on the other end is beef in green chili sauce. The platter comes with Mexican style rice and refried beans. He said that the beef in red sauce was very good……but the green chili side was next to meatless.
Summing things up….From the Glendale location
Get the shredded chicken
Get the beef red chili
Get the green salsa
Take out some flour tortillas
That was my trip to Carolina’s Greenway Location in Glendale AZ
Cask 53 Whiskey Bar and American Sports Grill has recently opened in DC Ranch in North Scottsdale Arizona. They offer over 600 whiskeys from all over the world, lots of big screen TVs and food menus with lots of variety. They offer lunch, happy hour, and dinner. The lunch and dinner menus are very similar.Not all but some of the appetizers offered at lunch and for dinner are several flavors of chicken wing dishes, crab cakes, sliders, and Buffalo chicken stuffed potato skins. They also offer 9 kinds of salads with add on options like grilled chicken, verlasso salmon, shrimp, and prime flat iron steak. Also on the menus are burgers, sandwiches, side dishes, and entrees like Moroccan style salmon, Idaho trout, pork tenderloin, baby back ribs, pasta dishes, desserts, and more!
inside
We starting out by sharing a Caesar salad. They were nice enough to split the salad on two plates.
caesar salad
It’s a little different. It’s topped with some crispy kale and toasted lightly seasoned croutons. The dressing was house made and they added shaved parmesan.
For mains we shared the Moroccan Salmon and The Idaho Red Trout.
Idaho Red Trout with seasonal vegetables lemon butter basil sauceMoroccan Verlasso Salmon with quinoa salad, local heirloom tomatoes, avocado, organic baby spinach, sherry vinaigrette
Both dishes were prepared reasonably well. Both fish ad crispy skin. The Trout was good but the salmon was well done but melted in your mouth with very nice flavors. It really didn’t seem Moroccan to me ……like preserved lemon, olives,…… but it was delicious anyway. The Moroccan Salmon ate more like a salad than an entree. The vegetables were very nice that went with the Idaho Trout.
All Good so far and reasonable prices too.
I’d say-
Cask 53 Whiskey Bar and Sports Grill is
Worth a Fork!
Worth a Fork!
Cask 53 Whiskey Bar and American Sports Grill 20751 N Pima Road Scottsdale AZ
This is a variation of a Yotam Ottolenghi recipe that I jotted down when I came across it on the internet. Incase you don’t know Yotam Ottolenghi is an award wining chef, restauranteur and cookbook author. He’s well known for PHENOMENAL vegetable recipes. When you come across his recipes they are always worth trying. For some reason I can’t find this recipe again so I don’t know what the name of the recipe was called. I made changes based on ingredients that I have at home. Many of the ingredients differ from the original recipe….. Like…. I used cauliflower instead of cabbage because I came across a great price on pretty colored cauliflowers this week. I swapped out cashews for peanuts because that is what I had. Same thing with lemons for limes. and a few other things….Taste-wise maybe the biggest change I made was using date syrup instead of light brown sugar. Date syrup is easy to pick up these days and they sell it at Walmart. It just has a nice taste that sugar doesn’t have and the peanuts came out so delicious this way. All the flavors go together really well. This looks like 8 dinner side serving to me. Serving size is SURE TO DIFFER. You might use bigger or smaller vegetables than what I used and also your idea of a portion size might differ from my idea of a portion size.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
3 small cauliflowers – break down to florets (I used an orange, purple, and a green)
3 carrots – peeled – cut in diagonal 1/3 inch slices
1 red onion – peeled – quarter – and slice quarters
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (a generous amount of olive oil to spray on vegetables)
sea salt – to taste
fresh ground black pepper – to taste
7 oz roasted salted peanuts (turmeric peanuts)
2 teaspoons ground cumin – (optional – you can heat till fragrant for better flavor) (turmeric peanuts)
2 Tablespoons date syrup (turmeric peanuts)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (turmeric peanuts)
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric (turmeric peanuts)
3 lemons (just the fresh squeezed juice) (lemon dressing)
2 Tablespoons dijon mustard (I used Amora Brand) (lemon dressing)
2 garlic cloves – ground to paste (lemon dressing)
1 Tablespoon poppy seeds (lemon dressing)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (lemon dressing)
2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (lemon dressing)
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
Place cauliflower florets, carrots, red onion, and Anaheim chilies on sheet tray(s). Spray generously with olive oil. Add sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.
Place on middle rack and lower racks of the pre-heated oven. Timing may differ……mine were cooked and slightly charred in 30 minutes.
While the vegetables are cooking make the dressing and the turmeric peanuts.
For the dressing add to a small bowl the lemon juice, dijon mustard, garlic, poppy seeds, salt, and olive oil. (bring it to the table and let guest dress the vegetables themselves.)
Now make the turmeric peanuts. In a small bowl add the cumin, date syrup, oil, turmeric and mix well. Now mix in the peanuts. Serve on top of the vegetables.
Cauliflower with Lemon Dressing & Turmeric Peanuts
A Special THANKS!!!!! To Yotom Ottolenghi for sharing his FORKING Amazing recipe so I could come up with what I got here!
In case you didn’t know there is a viral dog song video about your furry friend demanding a tax on your cheese that you eat. If you have or a had a dog you might know what this is about.
This is the look I get from my smaller dog that is extra crazy about cheese. He is exactly like the cheese tax song he runs to the kitchen even before it’s out of the refrigerator.
Seriously this is a REAL thing!
www.People.com
The song is really catchy. It was written by Matt Hobs about how dog owners just have to give their pleading pups some cheese when some cheese is out.
The song goes something like this –
“You gotta pay the cheese tax every time you’re cooking.”
“When the cheese comes out this is one of the puppies that’s comes lookin.”
“The rules are the rules and the facts are the facts.”
“And when the cheese drawer opens you gotta pay the tax!”
What are the chances that I will get FIVE pounds of eggplant and a day later get Milk Street Magazine with a recipe that FORKING calls for 5 pounds of eggplant?
YES! that really happened!
The Milk Street Magazine recipe is for No-Fry Neapolitan Eggplant Parmesan. Incase you didn’t know…..There is a difference between American/Italian and Italian Eggplant Parmesan.
Eggplant Parmesan from an American-Italian Restaurant usually looks something like this (from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale AZ)
It breaded and it covered with cheese. It also comes with spaghetti.
When you get eggplant parmesan from an Italian Restaurant (Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante Glendale AZ) It looks like this below.
Here it’s a slice of very meaty eggplant covered with a plain tomato sauce and some cheese and a big basil leaf.
Instead of 5 one pound eggplants….I had three one pound eggplants and two pounds of small Indian eggplants that were sweet and white fleshed inside….so…I made a few changes to Milk Streets Recipe but I did make their tomato sauce. According to Milk Street this makes 6-8 servings. I did add tomatoes and extra cheese so I did change up their recipe a little bit.
Ingredients for around 8 servings
5 pounds of eggplant
5 medium sized tomatoes – sliced
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt – to taste
ground black pepper – to taste
1 onion – fine chopped
28 oz can crushed Italian style tomatoes
3 Tablespoons butter
8 oz provolone (either slices or shredded plain or smoked cheese)
8 oz mozzarella (either slices or shredded)
4 oz parmesan – grated
1 cup fresh basil – torn or chopped
non stick spray
Directions
On med-low heat you cook an onion with a tablespoon of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt till the onion is translucent. Then you stir in a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and three tablespoons of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1/2 cup of water.Bring to simmer and cook till slightly thickened. Only 15-20 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F
Your eggplants get about have the skin removed like this.
Then you slice them in planks…..I did something like 5 planks or you can slice them across…It doesn’t really matter.
I also roasted up tomatoes at the same time.
The eggplant planks and tomatoes got drizzled with some olive oil and a light sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper.
They went into a preheated 425 f oven for around 40 minutes.
I’m sort of following along…You give you pan a splash of tomato sauce.
Them you put down an eggplant layer.
Then I topped the eggplant with slices of provolone, some grated mozzarella, grated parmesan and some fresh basil. (about one third of the cheeses) Then sauce.
Someone is very interested.
Then I mixed the sliced small Indian eggplants with the roasted tomatoes, some basil and about one third of the cheeses.
Then more eggplant planks went over this. The rest of the cheeses, basil and some sauce.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
I used nonstick and sprayed aluminum foil so it would stick to the cheese and covered tight. This went into a preheated 375 F oven for around an hour. After it cools a little you can serve it but I like it better to set up over-night. Then I reheat two servings and it comes out much neater.
Eggplant Parmesan
ENJOY!!!!
A Special THANKS!!!! To Milk Street Magazine so I’d know WTFork! to do with 5 pounds of eggplant.
Sunset Bistro is a small Mediterranean/Greek Restaurant located in Sun City Arizona. They get fill up fast and by 4:30 pm they might be on a wait for tables.
inside
Be sure to arrive early because they close at 8pm like most restaurants in Sun City.
We tried the Greek Sampler Plate.
It was a big platter of Greek salad, hummus, falafels, stuffed grape leaves, flat breads and more. It was very typical of Greek style.
Greek style falafel
For dinner I tried the walleye special.
My photo doesn’t really do this plate justice because you can’t see how meaty and how perfectly prepared the fish really is. I got a very generous portion of perfectly prepared meaty fried mild walleye fish. I also got tartar sauce, fresh crispy cole slaw that is on the sweet side but also is drip free. They also prepared the potato perfect…..(that really doesn’t often happen…often potatoes are served over done). This platter was also around half the price of what most restaurants sell walleye for (around $15.).
My husband tried a gyro platter.
Everything was prepared well and I heard that the rice was extra tasty.
Sunset Bistro – Large Portions, low prices, closes early.
Sunset Bistro 15462 N 99TH AVE Sun City AZ 623-972-1601
Amor A La Mexicana is a small Mexican Restaurant located in Glendale Arizona not too far from the Metro Center area. They specialize in serving tacos with hand made tortillas but also serve popular Mexican entrees at reasonable prices.
order here
It’s a casual restaurant. You order and pay at the counter. You grab your soft beverage from a refrigerator and seat yourself. someone runs out your order when it’s ready.
inside
We started out by sharing three tacos.
beef cheek, chicken, pastor tacos – All are good on delicious hand made corn tortillas but what really was amazing was the salsas.
salsa cart
OH MY GOSH!!! Each and every salsa is such a tidal wave of flavor. Each was so great I don’t really have a favorite. They were all different. This restaurant SHOULD SELL AND BOTTLE THESE SALSAS……..Really unusually GREAT salsas!
We tried the chile colorado – (Mexican beef stew)
and the filete a la plancha.
Both platters came with Mexican rice and refried beans that we were told didn’t contain pork. They also came with tortillas. You have your choice of flour or corn tortillas. We both picked corn and got more of the hand made corn tortillas.
The beef is slightly tougher than we like but is well flavored. Everything is well flavored. Most entrees at this time only cost around $10.99 (subject to change)
