I have a small bush of tarragon so I was looking up tarragon recipes. I came across salsa al dragoncello that translates to tarragon salsa. I didn’t make salsa al dragoncello but the basic ingredients in it reminded me of the way I usually make tuna salad. So I basically made my version of tuna salad a little different and with tarragon.
Ingredients for around two servings.
6 oz drained tuna (around)
1/4 cup (tight) tarragon leaves – chopped
1/2 cup marinated (jarred) artichokes – drained and chopped
1 teaspoon capers – chopped
1/4 cup red onion – fine chopped
1 lemon – supreme and chop
3 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 dried Calabrian dried pepper – crumbled (or use a little any pepper of your choice)
optional – either a cured egg or hard boiled yolk grated
Directions
Everything gets mixed together in a bowl. Serve with bread and or a salad. Grate egg over if using.
Tarragon & Artichoke Tuna Salad with Chopped Lemon and Capers
I was paging threw Food Network Magazine and they had a recipe for Korean Chicken Stew. I’ve done similar recipes before. Then the idea popped in my head to do similar flavors on a butternut squash so I did. Serving size will differ because all squashes are a different size and all people don’t eat the same amount of food. I used a small squash that made 4 small side servings for me.
Ingredients for around 4 small side servings
1 small butternut squash, peeled, cut in half long ways, seeds and membranes removed (or use any size squash you want but timing and serving sizes will change)
2 Tablespoons gochujang (preferably a Korean brand purchased from an Asian Market)
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon granulated ginger
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
non stick spray
Directions
Set oven to 425 F.
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray
OPTIONAL DIRECTIONS If you want to hasselback the squash put in the the preheated 425 F oven for fifteen minutes and let cool to handle. OH BUT BEFORE YOU PUT THE SQUASH IN THE OVEN sprinkle with canola oil.
then
Make the hasselback if desired….This looks better on bigger fatter squash. I use chop sticks so I don’t accidentally cut all the way threw.
Mix up the sauce.
In a small mixing bowl mix up the gochugaru, gochujang, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, and garlic.
Spoon and rub it all over top surface of the squash. Place in oven 10 minutes. Take squash out of oven and spoon or brush on more sauce and put it back in for another 10 minutes. Mine was done at this point.
I made some cooked carrot flowers. I used something that looks like a pencil sharpener on a peeled carrot. Shaped the shavings into a flower. Put the carrot flowers in the oven with the squash for only three minutes.
Little Asia Cuisine is a casual Asian restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. They offer sushi, Hawaiian big plates, ramens, Thai soups, Burmese soup, fried rice dishes, noodle dishes, some American Chinese style dishes, children’s meals, soft beverages and more!
It’s casual. They have a counter so we ordered and paid there. People came in after us and the girl at the counter waited on them so it can roll either way.
We started out by sharing an appetizer of chicken dumplings.
They came out a little greasy but were tasty.
I tried the mohinga soup (spicy Burmese fish noodle…..National dish of Burma)
I am not an expert on Burmese Foods but I have had this soup from another restaurant and it differed very much. Although both soups contain a fish broth and noodles there are many differences between the two. The soup below is richer, more savory, and has more textures. What I really liked about the bottom one was that tasty toasted rice taste…..so yummy and more aromatics to counter the fish. Don’t get me wrong…..The top soup is good too. It’s also tasty.
mohinga from a different restaurant
I don’t know if this other one is a different style or just taken further?
Anywho-
The other dish we tried was the spicy chicken fried rice.
It was studded with peas and carrots and it’s ultra spicy. They offered heat levels of one, two, or three. We picked three and that really is too hot for most people. This dish was a very large generous size, a little one note and FORKING hot today…..actually MOLTEN HOT.
Did some take out to try other dishes.
Lemongrass chicken with green salad. Very large portion. For me this is three meals. The salad stayed fresh and crisp. Doesn’t remind me of lemongrass when I eat the chicken…..?It doesn’t taste like anything that I am familiar with……….But I do taste lemongrass in the rice that is under the chicken. This chicken could be more tender. The heat levels differ here greatly. The spicy chicken fried rice was ordered at a #3 heat level and was almost too hot for anyone. The #3 lemongrass chicken has no heat. Maybe it’s. an error?
Teriyaki salmon…..Large amount of food. Well done salmon. …..but it taste good….Maybe a little sweet but the fish isn’t fishy so that is a win!
Curry chicken…..not a beauty here but developed with some tasty flavors. The chicken is tender and the sauce is a little on the thick side but has good flavors. I got three meals out of this one too.
Better and cheaper that fast food. Not all but many of the dinners are less than ten dollars and for most people are more than one meal.
That was a Little Taste of Little Asia Cuisine in Phoenix Arizona.
Tratto Restaurant is a full service Italian restaurant located in Phoenix Arizona. It is by James Beard Award Winning Chef Chris Bianco. The chef is famous for his pizzas and is well received by celebrities, Food Network TV, magazines, and food critics. Tratto recently made the New York Times list of 50 favorite restaurants in America. The food served is high quality.
Tratto is a small old building with a bar and a patio that is currently not in use. There is exposed brick to see, antiqued furniture and a roof that looks like from a time gone by..
Tables are set with linen.
Tratto has an open shiny kitchen.
bar area and kitchen in the middle of the restaurantdining area
The menu is seasonal and does change around a bit. Today they offered a few salads, a seafood crudo, and a chicken liver toast. They also offered three hand made pastas, Three entrees and two vegetable side courses.
Tonight they started us off with a complimentary plate of cured olives, some cheese, and a couple pickled green beans.
Our first course tonight was the seared two wash ranch chicken livers on grilled sourdough bread with quince jam and crispy sage leaves.
We didn’t have it tonight but they also had a farinata as a special – a tasty chick pea crepe made with tomatoes and onions.
farinata
We also previously enjoyed a roasted beets in fig leaf with gorgonzola dolce.
Beets in fig leaves with gorgonzola dolce
Our pasta course was coming next so they gave us the famous Bianco Bread and olive oil.
Bianco Bread and olive oil.
I do have to note that this bread and this olive oil are either the best or close to the best in all the land.
Tonight we shared the orecchiette pasta with walnut, Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and chiltepin (an expensive but VERY delicious spicy Mexican pepper).
The dish lacks textures but the pasta and flavors are exceptional.
On a past visit we enjoyed the scarpinocc (cheese ravioli with fava beans and crisp sage).
scarpinocc
Tonight we shared the snapper special.
snapper special
It was very fresh and cooked to perfection. It was good but had less meat in it than I thought it would have. It might be too small for two people to share.
We didn’t have it tonight but the grilled two wash ranch piccolo chicken with lemon sage was offered on the menu tonight.
Tonight we had room for dessert so we tried the dark chocolate board.
dark chocolate board
We had thin slices of the freshest sweetest crisp apple that I have tasted in decades. yummy midnight moon gouda, short bread, and callebaut dark chocolate.
I made some Mexican Style turkey chorizo (recipe not published as of yet) I read that someone else (chef Paul Welburn) combined chorizo with beets (honestly I don’t think that I would have ever thought about combining chorizo with beets) and fried them up into egg rolls. He served the egg rolls with raspberry ketchup and black garlic emulsion. I didn’t follow any of his recipes even though they are probably delicious. I also wanted to put a healthier spin on them. I didn’t follow his recipes but I was inspired by them. My recipe only makes around 4 small servings that are an appetizer or small side. I was very surprised on how delicious that it turned out. My husband also had his doubts and was also very surprised.
Ingredients for around 4 small servings
9 smaller peppers to stuff (I used baby bell peppers…..you might need more or use less peppers depending on their size) – (You slit pepper in a “T” shape across the top of the core and down the middle. Remove core)
8oz peeled beet – cut in half or quarters depending on size.
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3oz chorizo – crumbled
1 egg – lightly beaten
8 oz cantaloupe – cut into chunks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
pinch sea salt
pinch ground white pepper
2 oz black garlic (already peeled)
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard (I used Amora Brand)
1 1/2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 Tablespoon or more water to thin down…(I used one tablespoon but think I can thin down a little more)
Directions
Set your oven to 400 degrees F.
Put your beets in a covered dish with the sugar, water, apple cider vinegar and salt. The beets need to cook till tender. (usually around an hour plus fifteen minutes could be more or less) Then the beets need to cool and when you can handle them you shred them.
While the beets are cooking roast up the peppers. Leave them in the oven till they start to brown. (I forgot to time this…..think it was around 20-25 minutes)
Make the cantaloupe ketchup.
The sugar, apple cider vinegar, melon, salt, white pepper all get blended together. You need to reduce this mixture in a pan on medium high heat. Reduce mixture around by half. Then take off heat and set to the side.
Black garlic emulsion is really easy and quick to make. It will be easier with a stick blender. Just blend together the black garlic, dijon, balsamic, oil, and at least one tablespoon of water. Thin down to taste.
By now the beets are cool and should be shredded and the peppers should be cool enough to stuff.
Turn your oven on to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl mix up the shredded beets with the egg and crumbled chorizo. Squeeze the mixture into a tight ball and stuff the peppers as best as you can.
These only need 15 minutes on your middle rack.
Serve with the cantaloupe ketchup and the black garlic emulsion.
Chorizo and Beet stuffed Peppers with Cantaloupe Ketchup and Black Garlic Emulsion
THESE are FORKING AMAZING! Beets go so darn well with the flavors of chorizo. I especially like the cantaloupe ketchup on them and the black garlic goes well here too.
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 had aggressive cancer. He couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating so I took him out as often as I could. Instead of his 3-6 month diagnoses he made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat as often as I can.
There are many things to know about dining out with dogs. Not all patios are dog friendly. Even if a patio is dog friendly it is always best to call first and ask if you can bring your dog today because the patio can be booked for a party. It is also always best to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Some people don’t share your love for dogs and other people can be allergic to dogs. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs enjoy barking at each other and that can be a disturbance and you will be asked to leave. Avoid potential problems and dine out with dogs at off times.
You also need to know that much of the food and drink that you enjoy can be harmful or toxic to your furry friend. It’s best to get the facts on that from your veterinarian. Usually a small amount of lean meat without sauce is usually best for your dog. Here in Phoenix the temperature is something to be cautious about. Your dog is NOT as heat tolerant as you. They wear fur coats, can’t sweat and absorb heat up from their paws. All dogs like people do have different heat tolerances. Hopefully you know your dog well enough to determine for dining out. For most healthy younger dogs 90 degrees F and over is too hot to dine out with dogs.
There are also rules to follow to dine out with dogs. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture. Dogs are not to eat off restaurant plates.
My Lucky dogs got to eat at The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale. The Chef is from a fine dining Italian Restaurant Sassi that is no more so the food is pretty darn good. Just look how excited my dog is to be here.
Today I had the crunchy quinoa salad with chicken.
crunchy quinoa salad with chicken
My husband had the Craftsman muffuletta with fries.
Craftsman muffuletta with fries
We all enjoyed our meals at The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
We always enjoy Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a pho-free Vietnamese restaurant that specializes in serving the Banh Mi Baguette sandwich.
My husband got a pork rice plate and I got a chicken noodle bowl today. Portions are double for some people, prices are very low and the food is always good. I didn’t get a good picture of my other dog today so you are only seeing the bigger dog.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
That was dining out with dogs in Metro Phoenix AZ for October 2021. We hope to see you next month!
“Don’t worry we are in this thing together and are here to help you eat all this delicious food”The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Osso buco is usually a veal shank that is cross cut and braised in vegetables, white wine and stock. It is traditionally served with risotto or polenta and is topped with gremolata. This dish is usually expensive in restaurants.
This dish is pretty easy to make. It is hard to find shanks of any kind. Near where I live they sell beef shanks at my local Asiana Market. They sell mostly the smallest ones.
Anyways.
Just salt and pepper the shanks well.
Brown them on medium high heat on both sides (around 3 minutes a side). (It will come out tasting best if you saved beef fat from something you cooked……you can use oil.
Don’t clean the pan or pot.
Fry up a big onion, a few carrots, one hot pepper, a few celery till almost soft. Add a cup of white wine and let it cook down.
Add around half a can of tomato paste and try to fry it up at the bottom of the pan or pot.
Add around a 14 oz can of Italian tomatoes.
Add 2 bay leaves, Tablespoon thyme, Tablespoon oregano, 3 or 4 garlic cloves. I had seasoned beef jus from something else I made so I added that.
Then it all goes in a baking dish or pan….Or you can do this stove top if you prefer.
This gets covered tight.
It will take at least 3 hours at 375 F The last one I did was a little bigger and took 5 hours. You might need to check on it and add more liquid.
When it finally becomes tender remove the foil that covers the pan and let it go another half hour.
Suggested serving is risotto or polenta.
I had mashed potatoes and Brussel sprouts that I had to use up so that is what we had.
Top the meat with some of the contents of the pan…(some people blend this up Osso it’s smooth…but I didn’t)
beef osso buco
Top with gremolata. (parsley, orange & lemon zest, garlic (ground to paste), salt , pepper.
Biryani Bowl is a mostly North Indian and fusion casual restaurant that recently opened in North Peoria Arizona. Biryani Bowl isn’t a fancy place and is open for mostly take out but you can dine in and also dine on the small patio.
They offer a regular daily menu and MANY specials.
daily menuTaco Tuesday menuPulav (vegetable rice) Wednesday specialsThursday Roll Specials Dussehra Weekend North Indian Specials
We tried three of the Dussehra Weekend (Dussehra is a major fall festival) Specials and the pulusu fish (fish curry).
We started out by sharing the mirapakaya chicken Dussehra special.
It’s marinated stir fried chicken chunks in a slightly spicy onion/ginger/garlic kind of sauce with cashews.
Then we tried another Dussehra special the chule batura (spiced chick peas with fried bread called puri).
Much less spicy than what I expected but tasty.
For entrees we shared off the daily menu the pulusu fish (fish curry) and off the Dussehra menu the mughial chicken (brown onion gravy curry chicken)
It gets delivered to you like take out food with boxed fluffy rice. Both dishes have very small amounts of protein in them. The fish curry on the left is tasty but unlike any fish curry that I have had before. It is less sour and less spicy but is aromatic. The munhial chicken on the right is MELT IN YOUR MOUTH tender as can be. This is an extremely fragrant dish….also not very spicy but does have some heat to it.
Side note……The leftover munhial chicken I took home to have latter grew with heat maybe two levels.
That was a little taste of Biryani Bowl in Peoria AZ – Newly opened!
Cook and Craft Restaurant is a full service modern American restaurant with vegan and vegetarian options located in Scottsdale Arizona. They are soon to open a second location in Phoenix at Desert Ridge on High Street. Cook and Craft helps to support other local businesses and offers some local coffee roasters, local breweries, and local distillers on their menu……. Food forward some of the starters they offer are starters such as sliders, wings of chicken and cauliflower, deviled eggs, house made mozzarella and chocolate bacon. They also offer salads, soups, and some of the entrees are craft burgers, short ribs, filet mignon, gnocchi stuffed acorn squash, wrapped meatballs, barramundi, grilled meatloaf and MORE!
They do offer some patio seating.
Or you seat yourself inside wherever you want.
bar area
During nice weather the garage door windows are open and lots of bright light and fresh air comes in.
They start you off with water, complimentary trail mix, and seasoned Chex Cereal.
We shared a starter of filet sliders.
The slider filets are very tender and well seasoned. They are topped with provolone cheese, tomato, crispy onions and are on brioche buns spread with a mustardy-like aioli. The plate also came with a generous serving of crispy fries.
Today I had the crafted salad with added salmon.
crafted salad with added salmon
This plate is packed with LOTS of stuff. There is arugula, roasted beets, goat cheese, pomegranate, marinated artichokes, these fancy dance-ee vegetable rolls of squash, carrots, asparagus and more stuff. balsamic dressing and the salmon….This is an extra generous portion of food. I doubt most people can finish.
My husband tried the crafted grilled cheese with added short rib.
It came with a. basil laced tomato soup. The grilled cheese was made on a quality toasted and buttered baguette bread. The sandwich is different and isn’t. your typical grilled cheese. This is a four cheese sandwich (provalone, cheddar, gruyere, parmesan). It’t not. all melty. The cheese on the top is hard and the sandwich is stuffed with the added short rib and some of the cheese.
We also tried a side order of macaroni and cheese.
side order macaroni and cheese
The side order of macaroni and cheese was made with nicely cooked pasta. I think the cheese sauce is good and tasty but maybe too thin or just not enough because you only get the cheese sauce at the bottom of the dish.
That was a little taste of Cook and Craft restaurant a locals eatery in Scottsdale AZ.
The Smoked food festival was held Sunday October 17th 2021 at Ocotillo restaurant, coffee bar, cocktail lounge, wine bar, and park near downtown Phoenix Arizona.
The event was hosted by Arizona Foodie Diana Brandt. This festival is called Smoked because it features smoked food, smoked drinks and more!
Here are random pictures from Smoked 2021.
That was just a taste of Smoked Food Festival hosted by Arizona Foodie at Ocotillo in Phoenix AZ.
