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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Cooking with Dogs

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You wouldn’t understand unless you have or had dogs. Today is just a “FLUFF” story. This is what it’s like in my house when I’m cooking with dogs,

Up above is my big dog with my smaller dog in the kitchen. They were very interested in what I was making……I think they both are smiling at me trying to butter me up so I’d give them a taste of something.

There is cheese on the counter. The smaller dog thinks all the cheese in the house is his.

I am making polenta cakes. This dog is waiting for it.

Real polenta takes around 40 minutes to cook. This dog has been waiting 40 minutes.

I’m putting chicken in the sous vide. My bigger dog is very interested in that and stretches out to occupy almost the whole kitchen.

My smaller dog is eyeing up the eye roast I just made.

I just made Jodhpuri Tawa chicken and I’m also portioning pastrami. Looks like someone is hoping that I drop some his way.

He’s checking out a New York Strip that I sous vide and then seared. He’s hoping that it jumps off the plate.

He’s supervising me removing the silver skin from an eye roast.

Both of them are waiting for something.

He’s waiting for something cooking in the oven.

He’s waiting for some brisket.

He’s eyeing up another eye roast.

The big dog doesn’t usually get in my way. She admires from a far and is already licking her lips.

Interested in another steak I made.

Always interested in perfect chicken from the sous vide getting portioned out for lunches.

Both dogs are always interested in the food but the large dog has better manors and doesn’t get up in my way.

Smoking a pastrami

Large dog feels the need to guard oven with the precious pastrami.

They are delighted with the results.

Interested in oven fries. Well they were a really great batch.

I don’t know why but he is there for the vegetarian andouille squash sausage that I made.

I think I like this picture of both dogs in the kitchen best so I played with it on www.LunaPic.com and came up with this.

That was cooking with dogs. You wouldn’t understand unless you have or had dogs.

The Forking Truth

Carrot Parsnip Lime Soup with Cilantro Recipe Milk Street Style

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I subscribe to Milk Street Magazine. They sent me a recipe in an email called carrot-lime soup with cilantro that they say is a riff on a recipe by Alice Walters. I happened to have carrots and parsnips that I needed to use up so I thought this recipe seemed great since it comes out to be a creamy rich soup that is WITHOUT butter and cream. I made very slight changes. You can’t change this up too much because carrot doesn’t have a strong flavor. My biggest change wasn’t on purpose to change the recipe…I didn’t have enough carrots and happened to have parsnips to use. I think I might have accidentally improved the flavor with parsnips but parsnips can be difficult and sometimes you really need to remove the woody core they sometimes have. I also substituted onion for shallots and added a few garlic cloves. I thought a little added white pepper and a small pinch of cinnamon would be good so I added that too.

Ingredients for around 4 smaller servings

1 lb carrots – peeled, cut up in smaller pieces

3 large parsnips or around 1/2 lb parsnips (you might need to remove woody cores of parsnips. Peel and cut into smaller pieces

3 garlic cloves – chop

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + more for serving

2 Tablespoons cilantro + 1/2 cup – chopped

1 lime zest & juice separated

2 jalapeños – stem and core removed – small chopped and separate (you need one for the soup and one for the garnish)

1 sweet onion – minced and divided in half

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

small pinch cinnamon

optional some sour cream or crema for serving

Directions

In a large sauce pot heat up the oil till it is shimmering. Add the carrots, parsnips, 2 Tablespoons cilantro, lime zest, one jalapeño, 1/2 the onion, coriander, salt, stirring occasionally. Cover till vegetables are fork tender. Add 4-5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the remaining jalapeño, onion, cilantro and lime juice. season with salt and pepper. Set to the side. The soup is ready to puree…Be careful when using a blender. It is safer to use a blending wand. Taste and adjust if necessary.

Serve with cold vegetable garnish, a little olive oil and optional sour cream or crema.

Carrot Parsnip Lime Soup with Cilantro

Enjoy!

A special thanks to Milk Street to get me off my ass to prepare this healthy style soup that I needed to make.

The Forking Truth

Rocket Burger & Subs Phoenix AZ – A World of Sodas and Is Where Locals Eat

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Rocket Burger and Subs is a small not too fancy restaurant. Obviously they serve burgers and sub sandwiches. A Rocket Burger is a three patty burger. You can get two and single patty burgers but they are thin small burgers so most people need at least two patties. Rocket Burger offers more sodas than you ever knew existed. They also offer plenty of other things. They also offer, beef hot dogs, submarine sandwiches, pastrami, chicken sandwiches, fish sandwiches, soft serve ice cream, and a children’s menu. Did I mention soda? HUNDREDS of sodas, craft sodas and more! Prices are very low. Single cheeseburgers are only $5.79, double cheeseburgers are only $6.99, and Rocket Cheeseburgers are $11.99 (prices are subject to change). The food isn’t fancy and the beef is fresh and not from frozen. It’s only fast food priced and it’s better than fast food. That is why locals eat here.

It’s very casual here. You grab a soda like one of the hundreds of root and birch beers or maybe something exotic? Like lemon meringue..

Huckleberry

Or orthodox kosher grape

This one might not be kosher…………chocolate maple bacon

Then you order at the counter.

You seat yourself and they run your order to you when it is ready.

Below are a few of the offerings that you can enjoy from Rocket Burger.

New York burger (pastrami & slaw) with fries and a Frostie Root Beer

Double bacon cheeseburger

cornmeal coated onion rings

fried zucchini

crispy chicken salad

pescado de cottete (also known as the Mexican fish sandwich…This is really delicious! This is my favorite here…) with a cucumber soda.

double cheeseburger topped with a fried chili and a Kutztown birch beer.

Take out – double cheeseburger with fried onions

Take out – chicken sandwich

Take out – Santa Fe double bacon cheeseburger topped with a fried chili….To the right is a Mexican fish sandwich (I think they gave me extra fish by accident in this photo?)

crispy garlic chicken sandwich with fries and a fried chili

fried chili (was only $1.)

Philly cheesesteak double burger with fries

Rocket Burger can be a blast!

Rocket Burger is a world of sodas and a place where locals eat.

www.TheRocketBurger.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

A Taste of The Toast Craft Kitchen & Cocktails in Surprise AZ – Newly Opened

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The Toast Craft Kitchen & Cocktails recently opened in a strip-mall in Surprise Arizona. It’s in the spot where Amuse Bouche used to be. This is a full service restaurant that offers a weekend brunch, lunch and dinner. The menu is American but leans towards Mediterranean. On the regular menu they offer appetizers, sharing boards, salads, sandwiches, entrees and desserts.

They offer patio dining.

They have a bar area.

This is the main dining area.

We started with a sharing board called The Italian.

It’s a generous tray with lots of fruit (dried & fresh), lots of creamy room temperature cheese, a hot pickled pepper olives, date spread, meats, and soft bread. We both liked the cheese best from this tray…

For dinner I tried the pomegranate salmon.

The fish was nicely seared and was well done but moist inside. It rest over a bed of rice pilaf and charred asparagus. It was drizzled with pomegranate sauce and pomegranate seeds. It was tasty and different.

My husband tried the balsamic marinated hanger steak.

The steak was very tender…but kind of plain……. The fries weren’t timed right and weren’t hot and fresh like they should be.

Well the salmon was good!

I haven’t found a website for The Toast Craft Kitchen and Cocktails but I did notice that they are on Instagram and Facebook.

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Bok Choy Garlic Stems and Chestnuts in Asian Sauce Recipe

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I went to H Mart Korean/American Supermarket and got some interesting garlic stems….I’ve heard of garlic stems but didn’t buy them till today.

I washed a piece off to see what it is like.

Raw – it’s much more tender and sweet than I thought it would be. It does taste like sweet roasted garlic too! I thought it would go well with bok choy in an Asian type of sauce.

I was SMART….I like cooking the bok choy healthy style instead of fried because it comes out good blanched in water seasoned with a little sesame oil. I figured that I can blanch the garlic stems first in the same water to give the water a little garlic taste.

Then I made the sauce and it came to me that chestnuts would be delicious with these flavors and that is how this dish came to be. Serving size is difficult to judge because I don’t know if you want this as a meal or with lots of rice or as a side dish. I think this will make between 4 – 6 servings depending on portion.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb bok choy – cut in half long ways

1 lb garlic stems – trim off any dried end and cut in edible lengths ( around 1 1/2 inches)

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2-3 Tablespoons gochujang – preferably purchased from an Asian Market (it will taste better….also the different brands taste different) (I buy the one from Korea that comes in tubes and use a whole tube)

1 Tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

7 oz roasted chestnuts – slightly crushed

2 Tablespoons chives for garnishing

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds for garnishing

Directions

In a small mixing bowl add the gochujang, honey, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and chestnuts.

Fill a sauce pot around halfway high with water and the sesame oil to boil. add the garlic stems. Boil them around 2 minutes but no more than 3 minutes. Remove after cooked and drain. In the same boiling water add the bok choy bulb end into the water. Let the bulbs boil around three minutes then stir the tops in the water for only a second or two to wilt. When cooked drain. Mix in the gochijang sauce and top with chives and sesame seeds. Serve.

Bok Choy Garlic Stems & Chestnuts in Asian Sauce

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

Smoky Slightly Spicy Aleppo Pepper Cauliflower Vegetable Bowl or Side dish Recipe

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I’ve discovered that smoked paprika and Aleppo pepper taste really delicious together with a little saffron and a few other things. I make cauliflower a lot because it is healthy and low calorie. Another thing that is great about cauliflower is that it taste very neutral so you can jazz it up anyway you like. This was easy and delicious. I just mixed up my dressing for the vegetables in a big bowl with all the vegetables and then I roasted them. Mine got finished with pea sprouts, fresh basil, and roasted salted peanuts. I had a really big cauliflower and this made two meals and 4 side dishes for me. I do note if you only have a medium sized cauliflower that you will have too much seasoning for it and you might need to use slightly less of the dressing.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 large head cauliflower broke down into manageable florets

4 radish – cut into thick slices

1/2 large onion – slices

5 oz. seafood mushrooms

1 carrot – peeled if not organic – sliced

1 container pea sprouts (2 oz) – cut off bottoms with peas

1/4 cup basil – torn

1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts – lightly crushed

1 Tablespoon Aleppo pepper

1 Tablespoon smoked paprika

1 pinch saffron – crumbled

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

2 teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 teaspoon granulated onion

2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 Tablespoons jalapeño brine (preferably from TheForkingTruth.com pickled jalapeño recipe or purchased from a farmer’s market.

Set your oven to 400 degrees F

In a large mixing bowl combine the Aleppo pepper, smoked paprika, saffron, white pepper, salt, black pepper, garlic, onion, oil, and brine. Now add the cauliflower, radish, onion, carrot, mushrooms. Mix well. Spread out on a baking sheet.

Roast on the middle rack in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F. Roast until you get brown crispy edges. (Mine took 35 minutes but timing can differ)

Take out and top with fresh basil, pea sprouts and crushed peanuts.

Smoky Slightly Spicy Aleppo Pepper Cauliflower Bowl or side dish

This is delicious as a bowl with or without meat and is also delicious ass a side dish.

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth