Author Archives: The Forking Truth

Ocotillo Restaurant in Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork!

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Ocotillo serves quality casual detailed American Food with International and Local accents. The menu is wonderfully enormous with an astonishing variety and changes with the seasons. There is more than a Modern Stylish Dining Room to dine in. They also offer a Beer Garden, a Coffee Shop and Multiple patios. This might be an acre foodie paradise Compound in Phoenix.

Ocotillo is among my favorite restaurants in Metro Phoenix and I do drive across town to dine here.

It was extremely difficult to decide on what to order. They had about THIRTY items on the menu to try that all sound delicious and special. The menu was broken down into Salads, Vegetable Plates, Small Plates, Sandwiches, and Large Plates.

We started out by sharing one of the Small Plates…..but as you can see by my photo the plate isn’t actually small.

Here was the House Smoked Salmon Plate with Crispy Potato Cake, Celery Root Puree and Apple Herb Salad. The salmon was nicely seasoned and was rich and buttery with a careful amount of smoke. It was resting over a very delicious crispy potato cake that was zippy with a little hot pepper. The apple herb salad was light and refreshing and balanced out the rich parts on the plate. The creamy celery root puree was different and creative and ties all the flavors together. I would have been happy just to have this plate as my meal.

For my meal I ordered the Fried Korean Chicken Sandwich.

My photo really doesn’t do this sandwich justice….or shows how ENORMOUS this sandwich really is. The sandwich is delicious and wonderfully spicy. It was made with Juicy flavorful chicken. The sandwich was made with gochujang (a spicy fermented sort of ketchup made with Korean peppers), grilled scallions and kimchee slaw. It’s powerfully flavorful. I don’t believe a sandwich has to be gigantic to be good but it doesn’t hurt a bit to enjoy the rest of a delicious sandwich a second time either. I didn’t weigh the amount of chicken in this sandwich so I don’t really know how big it was but I am guessing that they gave me 8 ounces of chicken (at least…..maybe more!). Off on the side was a detailed grain salad with vegetables.

My husband had the Crispy Pork Flautas. (off the Large Plates Section)

Three Pork Flautas, Green Chili Hominy, Crema, Pico De Gallo, Queso Fresco and a Fried Egg that has also been Grilled. You can see this plate is very detailed.

Beautiful food so far I always enjoyed myself here!

I have to say Ocotillo is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.OcotilloPHX.com

As we ALL KNOW everything is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

Most Viewed and Pinned Recipe of 2017

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Cook’s Country Potato Cheddar Pierogi

On PBS TV they featured Cook’s Country Recipe for Pierogi. My site has gained a massive amount of followers since. I noticed on days that the Pierogi recipe is aired on PBS I always get 100 to over 200 views on the Pierogi. It was a no brainer…….. I had to prepare the Pierogi recipe as soon as I noticed it in the Cook’s Country magazine over a year ago. I thought the dough was amazing…It was so easy and came out so well….You don’t even need a pasta maker…just roll the dough out easily. I did my own few minor tricks to the filling to add a little more flavor….My trick of just boiling the potatoes with onion, garlic and a hot pepper do make a difference…I also know that pierogis are just boiled the first day and the leftovers are usually fried with some onions. I know that hundreds of people a week have searched for this recipe….on The Forking Truth…..so here it is again because everybody loves this recipe. I do note that I didn’t change Cook’s Country Recipe but I am only telling you that I boiled the potatoes with onion, garlic and a hot pepper to add more flavor to the filling.

Ingredients for about 33-44 pierogi….about 8 servings. (leftovers freeze well and don’t get soggy)

1 lb russet potatoes cooked and pealed (I added onion,a hot pepper (I used a banana pepper) , and garlic to boil with potatoes for more flavor…then threw them out)

4 oz sharp cheddar cheese shredded

2 Tablespoons butter

salt and pepper to taste

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup sour cream

1 large egg

1 large yolk

salt

Directions

Sift dry ingredients together. Use stand mixer with dough hook and mix on medium high for 8 minutes. Transfer dough to a floured board. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Once dough is chilled roll dough 1/8 inch thick in 3rds. use 3 inch cutter and add a spoonful of filling and shut and seal with water.

 

The potatoes, cheese, butter salt and pepper get mashed together and set to the side.

Boil the pierogis in salted water.

Fry leftovers with onion and butter.

Everyone will FORKING Love this recipe! A great big THANKS to Cook’s Country for coming up with this FABULOUS Recipe!

This was the most viewed and pinned recipe on The Forking Truth in 2017.

The Forking Truth

 

 

Be a GOOD Guest and not a FORKING Turkey at Thanksgiving

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Some people have been raised by wolves and don’t know how to act like normal people at Thanksgiving. Here are just a few things some people need to know.

Be a good guest and if you came down with a bug BE CONSIDERATE to others and politely decline Thanksgiving. DON’t FORKING be a TURKEY and make other people sick!

If you are bringing kids with you don’t be a TURKEY and let the kids walk in like Zombies totally ignoring the host that are generously feeding you and yours Thanksgiving Dinner.

Don’t be a TURKEY and set the alarm on the washer and dryer at the house of your host.

Don’t start screaming something like, “I HATE Profiteroles!” at the table if you see some there. Only a Turkey would be that rude.

YOU are a Forking TURKEY when you bring your host something that you already ate and put back and refilled and re-gifted to your Thanksgiving host that isn’t good. (What kind of person does this?……)

If you make a mess or break something in someone’s home you should let your host know. Only a TURKEY doesn’t say anything.

Only a FORKING TURKEY would stand up and say, “I would rate Your Thanksgiving  Dinner at TWO STARS!”

Don’t act like you are trying to be helpful and offer to clean up and then just throw out the serving ware. Only a Turkey does such a thing.

Be a Good Guest and DON’T BE A FORKING TURKEY on Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! Gobble gobble.

I hope the only turkey at your table is the one you eat!

The Forking Truth

A few Secrets to Serving the MOST FORKING AMAZING TURKEY

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The BEST FORKING Turkey should be prepared in separate preparations. I note that I do start with a brined turkey. With a few herbs and things the SousVide oven will guarantee perfect moist delicious breast meat. You can also brown the Sous Vide Breast if you care to and you crisp the breast skin in the oven. Wings can be easily oven fried relatively fast. Then legs always come out amazing being oven steam roasted.

Every time I did Turkey breast I set the Sous Vide at 140 degrees…and a few hours latter always perfect…not messing with that…

 

Forking Tasty Sous Vide and Browned 1/2 Turkey Breast

I prefer the leg quarters to be roasted….I do them at 350 in a pan with vegetables, herbs and fruit. The produce and herbs are a big bed that is a natural rack and produces flavorful steam. Then the pan gets a tight cover and in about 3 1/2 hours the legs are full of flavor and are very juicy.

The wings to be oven fried at 425 F for about 50 minutes on a rack. I like preparing the oven fried wings the most because it is very little work and comes out wildly flavorful with a crisp skin.

Oven Fried Turkey Wing 425 degrees F at around 50 minutes. Wing was lightly coated with vegetable oil and lightly sprinkled with seasoning. Leave it rest for about an hour. Very Juicy with a crisp skin and very flavorful with moist flesh.

I like to crisp up the skin separately. This can be done a few different ways. Sometimes I just throw the skin on a pan in a 350 degree F oven. After 30 minutes I turn the skins over and loosely cover them and within 30 minutes they will be done.

Another way is to set the oven at 375 F and line a sheet tray with parchment and the towel blotted skins. Then COVER the skins with parchment and set ANOTHER tray on top for about 45 minutes in the oven. This way you get nice flat crisp perfect skins but I warn you that this way it makes a big mess.

Well that’s what I do you do what you want!

Those were a few Secrets for serving the most FORKING Amazing Turkey.

The Forking Truth

Fabio on Fire in Peoria AZ is ON FIRE and is WORTH A FORK!

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Fabio on Fire is a small Italian Restaurant in Peoria AZ. They specialize in Neapolitan Pizzas, House Made Pastas, Baked Goods and Gelato. Fabio on Fire became an instant hit in Peoria. He was also already established and well known at Farmer’s Markets, Events and Festivals due to his mobile Pizza Oven and Bakery Stand. Word has traveled quickly about how good the food is and the small restaurant is usually packed before 5pm.

On my last visit they offered a list of specials in addition to the menu.

Just like on my previous visits they started us off with Fabio’s House Baked Bread, olive oil embellished with balsamic vinegar.

This time I ordered the Spinach Ravioli in Walnut Sauce.

WOW! I was wowed at first bite. I never had anything like these ravioli’s and sauce before.

The spinach pasta was really well made and inside tasted like fresh made ricotta cheese filling. The spinach inside was very flavorful with a little onion and garlic and other surprises but didn’t overpower the cheese. The ravioli were lightly dressed with a buttery tasting walnut sauce and Italian cheese.  These were extremely detailed ravioli and were just bursting with great flavors. I couldn’t believe how flavorful and delicious they were. These were among the best ravioli I have ever tried in my life.

My husband tried another one of the specials and it was the Veal Tortelloni.

He kept saying these are really well made. This is really good!

Then I let him try some Spinach Ravioli with Walnut Sauce. He said that REALLY IS AMAZING!

All the food I tried from Fabio on Fire was really good but some things do stand out like the Spinach Ravioli with Walnut Sauce.

I haven’t been able to eat my way threw all the offerings yet…But another STAND OUT is Fabio’s Strawberry Gelato.

Don’t get me wrong….The Chocolate gelato, the Blood Orange and the Pistachio are all very good but the STRAWBERRY is MAGICAL. It’s like eating the very best strawberries you ever had in your life! My husband isn’t a big sweets lover but even he thinks the strawberry gelato is AMAZING! I can only dream that Fabio opens a Gelato Shop or mass produces that Strawberry Gelato. He should it’s that GREAT!

Of course I didn’t have room for more food but I took home a Sfogliatelle from the awesome looking dessert case for the next day.

Even the next day the painstakingly made pastry was very crisp and inside wasn’t the usual cream but a moist rich delicious cake inside.

Fabio on Fire is Certainly WORTH A FORK!

Worth a Fork! You might travel across town to try the Spinach Raviolis and Strawberry Gelato!

www.FabioOnFire.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to the SW Veg Fest Phoenix AZ 2017

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The SW Veg Fest took place November 19th at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix AZ. This was a FREE family friendly event. Besides FOOD Vendors they also had merchandise venders, think tank discussions and live music. I found that the festival was vegan from what I saw….

The discussion panels were all ran by Vegans and it seemed almost religious to me. Some of the discussion topics were-

How to raise a Vegan child in a non Vegan world.

How to transfer to a Vegan lifestyle.

Vegans of Color Group.

Veganisim in politics.

Well now to the FOOD! Here’s not everything but a lot of what I saw and I did a little tasting.

Vegan Jerkee Vendor was offering all kinds of Vegan Jerky to try.

La Pupusarita offered some sort of Jack Fruit filling and a Chorizo-Like filling on Columbian Corn Meal Cakes.

Simons Hot Dogs were offering a small menu of a couple of Vegan Hot Dogs and sides. I actually had them on my long list of places to visit so I wanted to give them a try because I wondered what a Columbian Style Hot Dog was.

We decided to try a Columbian Vegan Calafornian Plant Based Hot Dog and Potato Salad.

The Columbian Hot Dog is topped with Pineapple, Vegan Mozzarella, Ketchup mixed with homemade Veganaise and crushed potato chips.

We both really liked the Potato Salad. It really was better than most Potato salad you get at places.

The Vegan Hot Dog really wasn’t bad. It had a nice texture similar to a real hotdog. It was somewhat on the mild side and could have used a little char for my taste. The rest I wasn’t too found of but the long line of fans there would disagree.

I went on to a Vendor where I have been a customer many times before…..but at their Brick and Mortar Store in Tempe. Hummus Xpress.

I found that the Food Truck version of Humus Xpress differs some from their Brick and Mortar store.

We shared a Spicy Falafel Pita Plate. The Falafel was very good and was just like from their restaurant. Tahini was good….Jalapeño Hummus was unusually thin and watery. It tasted similar but MORE spicy than the way it normally does but the hummus isn’t normally watery from the restaurant. The loose texture grossed out my husband and he wouldn’t eat it. I think they thinned it down because they accidentally made it too spicy. They garnished the pita chips with some chopped vegetables and used a hot chili sauce instead of the spicy green herby Shrug sauce they normally offer in their restaurant.

Then we walked around a bit and considered trying more food. This is some of what I came across.

Freak Brother Pizza had a sign that they will be opening a brick and mortar restaurant soon.

This was the first year of the SW Veg Fest.

Parking was somewhat difficult. Signs were not posted for the event and I feared I was in the wrong place. We were very early and got the last available parking space. If you plan to attend next year your best bet is to arrive extra early. Also free water was available but you needed to bring your own sipping container.

www.SWVegFest.com

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

Stuffed Tomatoes with Israeli Couscous, Feta and Harissa Vinaigrette Recipe

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Stuffed Tomatoes with Israeli Couscous, Feta and Harissa Vinaigrette

I had these campari tomatoes that I had to do something with so I thought I’d stuff them. I didn’t feel like the usual bread or rice stuffing so I stuffed them with Israeli Couscous. I like the texture of Israeli Couscous…..It almost pops in your mouth. It’s like pasta caviar. I also happened to have two extra roasted red peppers hanging around and had creamy mild (not tangy) Feta Cheese in my refrigerator so the recipe pretty much happened by it’s self. I do note that due to the size of your tomatoes you might have slightly extra or not enough filling. I had 16 tomatoes that weighed two pounds. I think for this recipe you will want to use small tomatoes that are campari sized. I also (before I hollowed them out.) made slightly more harissa vinaigrette than I needed…maybe a 1/3 of a cup extra.  But this harissa vinaigrette is pretty darn amazing. You will want to use it on eggs or slather it on bread maybe with some creamy mild feta cheese, or just use it over grilled meat that you might want to serve with these tomatoes. This dish can be served at room temperature or slightly warmed up.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

2 lbs campari tomatoes about (16 tomatoes) ((The campari tomato is a small sweet tomato but bigger than a cherry tomato) – slice the top off and hollow them out really well with a teaspoon

2 red bell peppers – roasted with stems, seeds, skin removed and rough chopped and include any roasted pepper juices

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon caraway seeds

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves – grated

1 hot pepper – chopped fine ( I used a fried reddish serano pepper – chopped) ((I suggest to use any hot pepper you like and to use it to taste because they all run hotter sometimes than other times…you might want more or much less pepper))

1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup Israeli Couscous (I like the Tri Color one)

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3/4 cup  vegetable stock

3 oz feta cheese – preferably the mild creamy kind without a strong tang or substitute a creamy goat cheese – crumbled

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley – chopped

Directions

Add one tablespoon olive oil to a small pot on medium high heat. Add the couscous and fry it a couple minutes or till slightly toasted. Add the vegetable broth and lightly cover and reduce to simmer. Cook till couscous is tender. (about ten minutes) Fluff couscous and set to the side.

In a small blender or with a blending wand blend up the roasted red peppers, cumin, caraway, 2 Tablespoon olive oil, garlic cloves, hot pepper, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, tomato paste. Blend till smooth. Add fresh ground sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Add at least half of the harissa vinaigrette to the couscous and mix well. Now add in the feta and parsley.

Scoop out the tomatoes really well if you didn’t already. (you want them to be like shells)

By now the couscous absorbed the harissa and you need to add more or it will be dry.

Stuff the tomatoes and serve at either room temperature or warmed up.

Stuffed Tomatoes with Israeli Couscous, Feta and Harissa Vinaigrette

Tasty and different! Not the same old stuff! You will be pleasantly surprised! When I served these at dinner my husband made a face…..”what’s that?” I told him and then after he ate them he said, “you know that was really very good!”

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

 

$7.99 Lunch Specials at Twisted Italian in Peoria AZ****New Menu Prices went up slightly

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Remember every THING is subject to change. Twisted Italian offers new menus now and lunch has gone up slightly.*******This was November 2017 pricing.

If you happen to be in the North/West part of the Valley you might want to know about the $7.99 Lunch specials The Twisted Italian is offering (Mon-Sat 11-4). We decided on what we were trying and they served our lunch in two courses. First comes out generously sized full size salads with house made dressings.

The salads were freshly made. The Caesar had yummy garlicky croutons and the Garden salad was tossed with a tasty strawberry vinaigrette. I almost didn’t need my lunch course after the almost lunch sized salads they gave us. I don’t know if the salads are always that big ?…..Maybe they accidentally gave us extra?

For my lunch I went with the Twisted Chicken Salad Wrap.

The wrap was made with a spinach herb tortilla and was dressed with house prepared sun-dried tomato fresh herb dressing. Inside was tender white meat chicken, pears, candied pecans, tomato, onion and romaine. I think that’s a pretty good deal for $7.99.

My husband tried the Italian Stack.

The Italian Stack was made of Capicola, Prosciutto, Mortadella, Pepperoni, Salami, Provolone, House prepared Tomato Herb Dressing, onion, tomato, romaine on Grilled Rustic Bread. Not bad for $7.99 that includes choice of side.

Other $7.99 Lunch Specials are –

Salad and Pasta

Chicken Pesto Panini + Side

Prosciutto and Spinach Grilled Cheese + Side

House Made Soup and Salad

Pizza and Salad

Meatball Sandwich + Side

Italian Sausage Sandwich + Side

Loaded Chicago Italian Beef Jr + Side

Sides are small garden salad, small caesar salad, garlic or regular fries, cup of house made soup or pasta salad.

It sure beats fast food! In a comfortable atmosphere. No you are not going to travel across town for these specials but if you happen to be in the area this is a good deal.

www.EatTwisted.com

Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on Peanut Brrr-ittle M&M’s

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I love normal M&M’s and I used to love Peanut Brittle….I remember back when I was a youngster….The Planter’s Peanut Brittle Bar that used to be on candy shelves….I used to enjoy that……gosh I haven’t come across the Planters Peanut Brittle Bar in decades…..This new flavor of M&M’s seemed like a flavor I would want to try……Maybe it’s a chocolate coved peanut with the peanut incased in brittle with a nice crunch?……… (exquisitely sold at Target Stores). It sounds like it could taste good.

This is what it looks like when I open the zipper topped bag.

Kind of Chistmas-ee with different shape M&M’s just like how peanut M&M’s are.

This is what it looks like when you cut one open.

 

I take a whiff from the bag.

It smells sort of like a pecan pie…..? (oh nooooooooooooo the pecan pie M&M’s were horrible…)

I try one..

It’s oddly sweet with a weird bitter chemical flavor. It’s like a peanut M&M with something wrong with it.

But the peanut in it is more noticeable …the peanuts might be be bigger and also might be with more texture than from current peanut M&M’s. These peanuts inside seem more fresh. More like a fresh peanut.

Sorry I can’t eat anymore for more description. These taste tainted to me. It’s like they took really nice fresh peanut M&M’s and inserted the weird Pecan Pie Flavor into the M&M’s that’s been lying around getting old in the factory for a year or two…… I don’t know but that is what it seems like to me.

I would never purchase these again.

I’ll throw them out…they suck! Not worth the calories.

NOT WORTH A FORK!

“Yuck!”

I note that you might feel different about these Brrr-Ittle M&M’s.

I note that everything is subject to change and your Forking Experience may differ.

The Forking Truth

 

Mediterranean Style Lemony Cucumber Apple Salad Recipe

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Mediterranean Style Lemony Cucumber Apple Salad

This salad is made with lots of unusual ingredients. I used LEMON CUCUMBERS, Lemon Verbena, Preserved Lemon and Lemony Sumac. The lemon cucumbers do taste different than regular cucumbers.They are very crisp and sweet. I’ve never come across lemon cucumbers in the store and I only find them at Farmers Markets. The Lemon Cucumbers I’m using today I purchased at the Pinnacle Peak Farmers Market but I remember last year I purchased them from the Anthem Farmers Market. I also just came across Lemon Cucumbers at the Scottsdale Farmers Market. These Lemon Cucumbers go extremely well with honey crisp apples. Lemon Verbena, Preserved Lemon, Sumac, Urfa Pepper, Walnuts and Feta sort of gives this salad a Mediterranean Accent.

The salad is easy to prepare. I also used walnuts in this recipe. I heated the walnuts for a short time in the microwave with water to remove some bitterness from the walnuts. Then  put a little oil, sugar and salt and pepper on them and just ten minutes in the oven so they were nice and lightly seasoned.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

8 lemon cucumbers – skin removed, sliced up and cut in halves

1 cup assorted bell pepper slices

1 large honey crisp apple cut in slices

1 celery rib – cut in thin slices on an angle

1/4 cup sweet onion sliced very thin

12 dates (preferably local Arizona Grown) – pits removed and chopped

1 preserved lemon – fruit and white on skin scraped out well and rind chopped

3 sprigs lemon verbena (about 100 leaves) – chopped

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon sumac

1/2 teaspoon urfa red pepper

1 cup walnuts – slightly broken

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

4 oz sheep’s milk feta cheese crumbled (preferably the mild and creamy kind without tang) to top salad with

Directions

Turn oven on to 350 degrees F.

Put the walnuts in a microwavable bowl and add one cup of water. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. You will see a lot of brown water that is very bitter. You’ve just removed much of the bitterness from the walnuts. Drain the walnuts well and put in a small mixing bowl and add I tablespoon olive oil, I Tablespoon sugar and fresh ground sea salt and black pepper to taste. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and place in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Then set to the side. Top salad with walnuts and feta cheese when it’s ready to be served.

Get a large bowl and everything left expect the cheese gets mixed together.

When ready to serve top with walnuts and cheese.

I know it’s pretty darn tasty and I also was told that this was really good!

Mediterranean Style Lemony Cucumber Apple Salad

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth