The Forking Truth is that Eating Out at Some Places is like getting Clubbed in the Knees

My first visit to this restaurant located somewhere in Metro Phoenix Arizona was ok….It sure wasn’t five star food but ok food at a fair price. On my second and third visits I wasn’t so thrilled with what I had and I haven’t been back in a long time …actually a few years………I recently heard that this restaurant had a new menu and had hopes to find something tasty. The new menu wasn’t on-line for me to check out but since this restaurant has been here a while I thought maybe they settled in and caught their stride. I’m not mentioning the name of this restaurant because It is not in my interest to bring negative attention to this establishment. It’s not my intention to bring negative attention to any restaurant……but this one serves foods (foods?) that have a level of suckiness that I think is criminal……like maybe worst than what incarcerated people get………..This place is always busy so it seems most people have a different taste than me …or maybe the beers are cheap so they don’t care about the food?

When I stepped in I noticed that they were very busy. I think every table inside and outside was full. Inside is very energetic and noisy. 

We waited a few minutes for a table. I looked at the menu and my heart sort of sank…The new menu is sort of American……slightly American Mexican and Hamburgers now. The old menu was better as they used to have a seafood section. 

We ordered and about FOURTY minutes latter our dishes arrive.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Wow…..(small clap) this is worst than what a school cafeteria would serve……….lucky me!

This is what I think I tasted……. processed, purchased from frozen, was pre cooked… from what seemed like possibly freezer burnt and or microwaved till the chicken blew up…….breaded chicken. (I think at least Microwaved till the chicken blew up……(look at picture…blown up chicken that’s hallow now)……Then the chicken was chilled and then served to me……..and enhanced with sprinkled buffalo sauce so I wouldn’t notice the blown up processed, chilled chicken………. I received FORKING COLD pre-cooked, chopped up chicken fingers that seemed like pre-made processed chicken that were Crunchy in a bad way……like blown up in the microwave oven. This sh*t is FORKING WORST than fast food and taste very salty too…..Also on the salad was cheap budget cheese and bottled (I can taste the citric acid in them) red peppers…YUK! THIS SUCKED! This wasn’t even close to being on the level of fast food…..This was lower than fast food prepared in a way on the level of the way a three year old youngster might prepare food. This is just something that I find polarizing……. I just don’t get how anyone can own a restaurant and serve food like this?

What kind of person is preparing food like this….?

It’s either someone that doesn’t know any better……

or someone that doesn’t give a flying Fork!

WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..Eating here was as painful as getting clubbed in the knees

My husband received the Sandwich Version of yuck. 

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich with $3.00 upgrade for Onion Rings
The cheese was melted and hard

My husband said the cheese was hard but also melted. His sandwich was made with luke warm slightly buffalo chicken fingers that seemed processed?…..but his were fresh cooked (probably manufactured from frozen) and weren’t COLD like my blown up crunchy in a bad way, salty, chilled, chopped up processed tasting breaded chicken. He said the sandwich was also on a cheap tasting bun.

The Onion Rings were good. They tasted fresh made and not processed like everything else. Or the onion rings seemed so much better than the chicken I thought they were fresh made……

Sometimes eating out is like getting clubbed in the knees and is NOT Worth a Fork!

NOT WORTH A FORK! Wild horses can’t even drag me back!

Everything is subject to change……maybe it will and maybe it won’t…..Your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Low Fat Vegetarian Refried Beans Recipe

Low Fat Vegetarian Refried Beans on tostada with mixed cheese, salsa scrambled eggs, pickled jalapeño and scallions

These beans are easy to prepare but you need to soak the beans over night in the refrigerator before you start cooking them. The beans take all day to cook. After the overnight soak, beans get rinsed off and cooked with ONLY WATER till soft about two hours. DON’T even add salt or beans might not get soft……When you cook beans flavors can be added but not until they are almost done. Then the rest of the cooking happens and in 2 1/2 – 3 hours after that the beans will be done. I do warn you that the beans turn a weird muddy color when you start the last stretch of cooking but in the last hour of cooking turn the right bean color.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

1 lb dried pinto beans – soaked in a large tub of water over night in the refrigerator – Then rinsed.

6-7 cups of water (I started with 6 cups and it looked like it needed another cup 1/2 way)

6 1/2 oz sweet onion – minced

6 garlic cloves – minced

1 oz jalapeno – minced

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground annatto

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon course sea salt

Directions

Put a sauce pot medium high heat and add the canola oil. When it’s hot add the onions, garlic , jalapeño, cumin, chili powder, annatto, paprika, smoked paprika, black pepper, oregano and salt and cook till everything is soft. Add beans mix and blend with a stick blender. You will slowly reduce the heat. You have to occasionally stir the pot so the beans don’t get stuck to the bottom of pot. You want the beans to bubble a bit but not too much or they will explode all over the oven. Loosely cover half the pot with foil and eventually turn down the heat too low. I will repeat that the beans might be an offensive color but change when they are close to done. Occasionally stir the pot so beans don’t stick. The beans will be done in 2 1/2 – 3 hours.

Enjoy!

Low Fat Vegetarian Refried Beans
The Forking Truth

My Trip to Slapfish in Glendale AZ – Cod do Better

Slapfish is a fast food style sustainable seafood restaurant that recently opened in the Arrowhead Area in Glendale Arizona (late December 2018). This is a California based company that is in rapid growth expanding into many states across The United States and coming soon to The United Kingdom. On the day of my visit they offered a great variety of fish, shrimp, lobster that are served in a variety of ways. Again this place is very casual, order at the counter, pay, grab a beverage and number and then seat yourself kind of place.

I decided I’d try the The Grilled Fish Bowl with daily fish (salmon $2.00 extra), seasoned rice, herb sauce and hand picked salad ($13.00 + $2 for salmon).

It’s a nice big piece of salmon that was browned.

It’s slightly over cooked.

Here’s a close up. As soon as I saw the albumin (white protein) pushed out of muscle fibers I knew the fish was over cooked…….That wasn’t the biggest problem. I am undecided if this fish was spoiled or very close to being spoiled. (I wish it went to salmon else…….(excuse bad pun). I can tell you that it had a strong fish taste. Me and my husband couldn’t eat it. I wanted to tell someone about the fish…..But it’s a casual fast food type place here. During that time they had a line going to the counter and I thought if I brought up my bowl with smelly fish all the customers in line would leave and the people working at Slapfish might spit on the new plate of food that they would have to make me. Of course I don’t know if the cooks would get mad and act that way but I’ve worked in several restaurants and do know it takes next to nothing for a cook to flip out sometimes.

That said for the most part most things we tried faired well.

Except for the fish the rest of my bowl was delicious. I received a very nice fresh salad with fresh cut cucumber, carrots, radishes, a sweet tomato and honey lime dressing. The chewy short grain rice was seasoned nice and was topped with a yummy herb sauce. I would have loved this bowl if the fish was ok.

We also shared the Cold Pickles ($4.00).

Also the Natural Cut Fries ($4.00).

We both enjoyed the pickles. They seemed light and refreshing. My husband liked the fries but I was a little put off by the powdery texture. I thought the fries were slightly dry and not too potato-ee tasting like Burger King Fries.

My husband tried a Shrimp Burrito ($11.00).

He said his shrimp were fresh and were moist and not dried out. This burrito is different and is filled with rice, fries, salsa and pickled onion. He thought the burrito was seasoned nicely but also added he thought the tortilla was on the dry side. Neither of us were found of the chips and salsa.

Average pricing run around $12.00 a plate. Expect to pay extra for upgrading the fish, a side and a beverage. (About $20.00 per person or more)

Such a great idea for a restaurant but Cod be better……..(excuse bad pun)

www.SLAPFISHRESTAURANT.com

1/2 a Fork…

My first visit was Hit and Miss.

The Forking Truth is that EVERYTHING is Subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

My Trip to Po Chicken in Mesa AZ

Po Chicken is a casual Korean Restaurant in Mesa Arizona that specializes in Korean Porridge and Korean Fried Chicken. They also serve other Korean Dishes and Beer. This isn’t a fancy place and the atmosphere is a mix of new and worn.

I noticed something odd and saw something I’ve never seen in a restaurant before.

Each table had it’s own call button to ring a server.

We ordered and soon a few plates of side dishes arrive that are referred to as banchan.

The pickles were very unusual tasting to me…..sort of like regular pickles but mixed with Asian Flavors. We received crunchy salad with sweet thousand Island type dressing, fish cakes, kimchi, pickled radish, pickles, miso soup and a condiment for our hot pot.

We shared the Hot Pot with Flying Fish Roe.

We were told that this dish was meatless except for the fish roe. This was a rice dish with nori, shrimp, fine chopped vegetables, onions and fish roe. We mixed the condiment into the dish. It’s a mild but tasty dish. I like the texture of the onions. They are cooked but sort of crispy in a different way.

We also shared a split order of Korean Fried Chicken. We picked Sweet and Spicy and Soy Garlic. They serve a very large portion that might be enough to share between four people.

On the left is the Yang Nyum (the Sweet and Spicy). The Chicken is hot and very juicy……The sauce runs very sweet for my taste and I am a big fan of sweets but this is too sweet for me with very little heat. It’s like eating a warmed up jar of duck sauce. But the chicken on the left would be good if I liked the sauce. It would be my luck that I hit this restaurant when the “B” crew was on because the Ganjang (Soy Garlic) Chicken on the right was almost cold and was very dry……………..very VERY dry…stringy dry and almost cold…..If this chicken could talk what would it tell me?………Clearly this chicken wasn’t fresh made for us…..it was cooked…..chilled….possibly re-heated again for a long time so it could get all dried out (and awful)…and possibly chilled again……and slightly reheated to below a safe serving temperature for us… I tried to eat one piece and the piece I tried was a back bone that hardly had any meat and should have been saved for a stew …….but hey it did have an ultra crispy skin! We had a great deal of leftover chicken that we didn’t box up.

If you need service or the check you have to walk to the front desk or hit the button on the wall.

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

That was my trip to Po Chicken in Mesa.

1/2 a Fork…

www.Po-Chicken.Business.site

The Forking Truth

Some of the Forking Food I Made in 2018

Summer Vegetable Stuffed Peppers


Baked Asian Inspired Rice Potato Patties


Waffle Falafel


South West Style Hatch Chile Corn Fritters


Sriracha Apricot Glazed Acorn Squash with Nectarines, Cherries and Almonds


Avocado Harissa


Potato String Crusted Spicy Mexi-Style Beef Stuffed Anaheim Pepper


Buffalo Chicken Meatballs


Bouchon Bakery Mini Coffee Cake


Sriracha Ginger Apple Slaw


Richard Blais Style Ginger-Orange Carrots with Furikake


Mini Horseradish Potato Waffles


Spicy Avocado and Orange Salad


Chinese Mustard Cabbage


Pastrami Carrots and Beets with Kraut Style Chic Peas


Anise Infused Chipotle Corn


Spicy Avocado Cabbage and Black Bean Slaw


Twisted Date Bread


Brisket Pastrami “Cold”


Delicious Cheesy Crispy Potato Squares


Spaghetti Squash, Feta, Harissa in a Chickpea Crust Mini Pie


Vegetarian Tikki Masala Style Potato Stew


Tequila Lime Cilantro Turkey Meatballs with Herb Sauce


Easy Forking Great Roast Beef


Potato Fennel Apricot & Green Garlic Salad


Eggplant Parmesan Meat-Less-Balls


Bunt Pizza Bread


Yellow Mango Frozen Confection


Red Quinoa Salad


Korean Inspired Fried but really Baked Tomatoes


Jean George Vongericten’s Saffron Cucumber Pickles


Refreshing Cucumber Herb and Lime Ice


Corn Cake Surprise


Corn Cake Surprise and Sous Vide NY Strip


Gazpacho


Brûlée Pineapple Sriracha Slaw


Savory Jalapeno Red Corn Meal Cakes


No Mayonaise Mexican Style Corn Salad


Kabocha Squash Cake with Drizzle and Chestnuts


Italian Style Green Bean Casserole


Matbucha


Asian Style Cabbage with Saffron and Chestnuts


Crispy Baked Salmon Potato Cakes


Red Wine Poached Beets


Focaccia di Recco


No Dairy Potato Quinoa Chicken Meatloaf


Vegetarian Italian Style Beans


Vegetarian Mexican Style Black Beans


One of my favorites…Seasoned Heirloom Tomatoes on top of Cheese Blend


Parmesan Cauliflower Recipe


Tunisian Inspired Carrots


Pad Kra Pao Style Jackfruit


Mexican Style Beer Marinaded Roasted Chicken and Potatoes


South West Style Potato Casserole


Braised Beets with Pickled Golden Raisins, Spiced Walnuts and Mint


Cucumber Cabbage Salad


Baked Breaded Roasted Poblano Peppers stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese Potatoes


Strawberry Salsa


Dukkah Feta and Barberry Bread


Italian Style Baked Mashed Potato Fries


Levant Inspired Shishito Peppers Recipe


Mixed Fruit Cobbler with Malted Milk Crust


Hatch Chile Blueberry Corn Salsa


Forking Tastiest Crisp Battered Cauliflower


Tuna Salad with Neonata


Easy Slow Crispy Hash-browns


Italian Style Neonata Crispy Baked Potato Balls


Bukhara Inspired Cauliflower


Thai Style Spaghetti Squash Salad


Vegetarian Crab Boil Corn and Potato Stew


Vegetarian Chili with Jackfruit Beans and Corn


Baked Breaded Poblano Pepper stuffed with Potato and Cheese


Forking Amazing Hot and Spicy Fried Chicken


Sardine Empanadas


No Added Fat Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake


NEW Favorite Italian Style Cauliflower with Tellegio Cheese


Italian Style Slightly Spicy Cauliflower


Spicy Chicken Meatballs


Red Beet Potato Provolone Gnocchi in Green Pea Veloute


Pastrami Brisket (The Flat – Cold)


Rosemary Parmesan Cauliflower Puree in Spaghetti Squash Nest


South West Style Potato Butternut Squash Casserole


Thanksgiving Turkey Meatballs


Zippy but Delicious Corn Bread Stuffing


Moist Fresh Herb Turkey Stuffing


Turkey Stock


Brussel Sprouts, garlic, hazelnuts and parsley


Plum Pomegranate and Pine Nut Cake


Fancy Schmancy Deviled Egg

Chicken Meatloaf Surprise over Potato Nest
Forking BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!
The Forking Truth

Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix December 2018

“We are Going Out to Eat Yippie”

Dining out with dogs is just a fluff story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started when my dog Louie came down with cancer and was given only 3-6 monthsto live. He couldn’t do a lot back then but he enjoyed going out to eat so we took him out as often as possible. Instead of the 3-6 months he made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat. 

Most restaurants in Metro Phoenix do have patios but not all restaurant patios are dog friendly. It’s always best to visit a certified dog friendly patio and it’s also best to call before your visit to make sure the patio is available. I also recommend to go at off times to avoid other diners and other dogs for numerous reasons. Some of the reasons are not everyone wants to dine with dogs. Also some people are allergic to dogs. Sometimes dogs bark at each other. You could be asked to leave for these and other reasons. Remember it’s always best to call first and dine at off times with your dog(s).

There are some rules for dining with dogs. Your dog must be by your side at all times when you dine with dogs. Dogs are NOT to sit on restaurant furniture. Dogs are NOT to eat off restaurant plates. Most of the food and drink that you consume is not safe and might be toxic to your dog. You must get a list of dog friendly foods and foods to avoid from your veterinarian. It’s also important to know that your dog is not as heat tolerant as you are. Dogs absorb heat threw their paws and can’t sweat. 90 degrees F and above your dogs should stay home. Each dog is different (just like people) and do have different heat tolerance. Most younger healthier dogs might be able to tolerate up to or almost 90 degrees F BUT ONLY IN FULL SHADED PATIOS. Hopefully you know your dog well enough to figure out your dog’s heat tolerance. When there is any doubt it’s best to leave them home.
“We are on our way to Humble Pie in Glendale”
The first week of December was very cold for dessert standards so we had to wait for week two of December to dine out. We made it to our local Humble Pie. Humble Pie is an Arizonian Group of nine restaurants that specialize in serving pizzas with house made mozzarella cheese. They feature their own house made sausage but also offer the locally made Schreiner’s sausage. 

I ordered a Margherita for myself and a side order of grilled chicken for the dogs ($3.00).

Someone thought this smelled yummy!

“Ummmm I can’t wait to dig in”
“OH you FORKING RUNT!” ……”GET OUT!” “I’m getting first taste!”

“OK whatever you say Big Pretty Woman.”

“That’s better little boy now we can get along.”
“That Margherita is very thin….Good thing we got grilled chicken!”
“Our other human got the Humble Pie Signature Sausage Pizza.”

“We enjoyed ourselves at Humble Pie!”
www.HumblePieUSA.com 

“We are on our way to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale.” 

Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante is an Italian Restaurant that specializes in serving Neapolitan Pizzas,  House Made Pastas and more! They recently updated their menu so we thought we’d  give it a try.

“Why does she drink wine when there is beer?”
New Menu item Chicken Pizzaiola (Tomato Sauce, Mozzarella and Imported Prosciutto) 

“OMG look at all that chicken (Chicken Milanese)…she can’t eat all that we will have to help a lot!”

“Ummmm that’s some good chicken….I can’t wait for my next bite….I’m so hungry!”

#We need to sample the Chicken Pizzaiola too!”

“Everything was delicious and portions were super extra large!” 

“We enjoyed ourselves at Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante 

www.BottegaRistorante.com 

“We are on our way to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in Phoenix”

Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery is a Vietnamese Casual Restaurant that is Pho Free and specializes in offering about a dozen different varieties of the Banh Mi Baguette Sandwich. They also offer almost anything other Vietnamese restaurants offer except for Pho. They offer delicious rice plates, noodle bowls, appetizers, salads, curry chicken, desserts and MORE!

Today my husband went with a BBQ Pork Banh Mi that I forgot to photo and today I went with the Curry Chicken with Rice.

“The food is always so tasty that it can make even dogs smile.”

“We LOVE going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery!”

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

“Well that was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for December 2018.” “We hope you enjoyed and we also Wish You a Happy New Year and Hope to see you next month!”

The Forking Truth
In Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017

WTFork Happened to the Christmas Candy Cane?

A long time ago in a land far away it was said that children were given candy in church to shut the FORK up. It has been written that a person in Germany got the idea to put a little religion into the candy sticks so they made candy shaped like Shepherd’s Hooks like from the dude in the Noel Scene.

As time passed someone got the idea that they should add hyssop flavoring to the Candy Canes because hyssop was used in the old testament for purification and sacrifice. Perhaps nobody wanted child sacrifice on their hands? ……Or just maybe the real reason they stopped using hyssop was because mint flavoring was much cheaper and better tasting than hyssop so they switched over the Candy Cane recipe to be made with mint flavoring.

Some people believe the red strips were added to symbolize Christ’s Blood.

If you have been shopping for cane canes you might have noticed that Candy Canes aren’t actually flavored with mint all the time.

Jelly Belly
Smarties
Hershey’s 
Bacon
Rotisserie Chicken
Pickle
Gravy
Clam Flavored www.mcphee.com
Mac & Cheese Flavored www.mcphee.com
Oreo Flavored www.Spangler.com
Coal Flavored Candy Canes

Merry FORKING CHRISTMAS! and HAPPY EVERY THING THE FORK ELSE! 

Have a Happy New Year too!

Doesn’t Forking matter what flavor the candy is. The kid will shut the Fork Up!
The Forking Truth

References www.Wikipedia.com , www.WhyChristmas.com , www.NoelNoel.com , www.FoodNetwork.com

“That’s All Folks”

1st Taste at The Social on 83rd Restaurant at P83 in Peoria – Worth a Fork!

The Social on 83rd Restaurant and Bar recently opened in P83 section of Peoria Arizona (former location of Slick’s Garage). This area is also known as part of the Upper West Side. The Social on 83rd offers a full bar and an intriguing Modern American Global Menu with reasonable pricing. The atmosphere is clean and modern and maybe sort of lounge-like with a mix of all sorts of tables and booths.

The bench was very comfortable

Seating is available indoors and also outdoors. They offer an indoor-outdoor bar and a two level patio for dining or libations.

We shared two appetizers and a salad. The appetizers were reasonably priced and were larger than we expected them to be. We shared the Bao Buns that were filled with 24 hour short rib. The Buns were topped with pickled vegetables and came with a side of mandu sauce. ($8.50 – subject to change)

The menu reads Bun so we only expected one bun and not two. Inside the fluffy steamed bun was a generous amount of short rib that was compacted into a meatball sized ball. The meat was tender and the fat was cooked out. All together with the pickled vegetables and mandu sauce it was delicious!

The Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls had a thin crisp exterior and creamy cheesy pasta inside that was prepared to perfection. ($7.50 subject to change)

Mac ‘N’ Cheese Balls seemed free of oil and were flavorful. They rested on top of a little lemon herb aioli.

How often to you come across a Jerk Chicken Caesar Salad made with iceberg, peppered pecorino and mango caesar dressing? ($9.50 subject to change)

The first thing I tasted was a crouton. It was buttery with a tender crunch. The Jerk Chicken was not spicy hot but very flavorful with allspice and other flavors. All together it was a delicious interesting salad.

That was my First Taste at Social on 83rd.

Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

Can’t wait for my second taste!

www.TheSocialAZ.com

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

The Forking Truth

Chicken Meatloaf Surprise on Potato Nests Recipe

Chicken Meatloaf Surprise on Potato Nest 

This was very well received. You will get great compliments if you make this one. I made an extra tasty chicken meatloaf….I made it extra tasty with the jelled drippings of chicken I prepared yesterday for extra flavor but you can substitute chicken broth. I boiled eggs for 6 minutes and patted the meatloaf around each egg and that’s basically it. I thought it was pretty easy and the meatloaves re-heated with the same runny egg too! Potatoes I sort of winged….I spiral cut with the Paderno spiral slicer a red potato for each serving squirted a aroun a tablespoon of oil into the potato strings and mixed threw. They went in a 500 degree F oven for 15 minutes and then got flipped and in for another about 10 minutes and hit them with salt and pepper. That’s all there was to the potatoes…..You can fry if you prefer.  I didn’t have time to make a cooked sauce so I just made a basic common ketchup spiked with Franks Hot Sauce and Worcestershire sauce. This really did come out FORKING GREAT!

Ingredients for 6 servings

1 lb ground chicken 96% lean 

1 cup whole wheat panic bread crumbs

2 eggs – slightly beaten

1 shallot (about 2.5 oz.) – chopped fine

1 garlic clove – microplane or ground to paste

1 celery rib – chopped fine

1/2 carrot – shredded fine

2 Tablespoons dried parsley 

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons vegetable base (instead of salt..more flavorful)

4 Tablespoons jelled chicken drippings (or substitute chicken broth)

non stick spray

6 eggs

Other ingredients you might want to use.

6 potatoes

6 Tablespoons canola oil (about)

salt to taste

pepper to taste

12 tablespoons ketchup (about two a meatloaf)

Franks Red Hot Sauce to taste

Worcestershire sauce to taste

Directions

Put on a pot of water on to boil for eggs. When the water is at a medium-medium high boil carefully add the 6 eggs and set a timer for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes remove the eggs from the water and get them right away in a dish of cool water and add ice to stop the cooking and to cool the eggs. Set them to the side and let them cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl add ground chicken, panko, eggs, shallot, garlic, celery, carrot, parsley, thyme, black pepper, vegetable base, chicken drippings (or broth). Mix well and set to the side.

By now the eggs are very cold and will be easy to peel but be careful and don’t be too rough with them because they are delicate with soft centers. Put the peeled eggs to the side.

Eyeball (or measure) the meatloaf mixture into 6 even piles.

Make a dent in each for the egg and then insert the egg.

Roll each in your hands so the meat encases each egg. Then set each on a non stick sprayed sheet pan(s).

They go in the 350 degree preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meat is cooked.

For baked potato string nest use the spiral cutter and mix each potato with around a Tablespoon of Canola oil and place each on a sheet tray. They go in a preheated 500 degree oven for about 15 minutes and then get flipped over and go back in for another 10 minutes.

Hit them with fresh crushed sea salt and fresh ground black pepper (these nest didn’t get flipped yet)

While everything is cooking whip up some ketchup and season it with a good amount or Worcestershire sauce and Franks Red Hot unless you have time to cook down tomatoes and basically add these seasonings and a few others.

Serve the meatloaves over the nest and drizzle with sauce.

Chicken Surprise Meatloaf over Potato Nest
Chicken Meatloaf Surprise over Potato String Nest

These Meatloaves re-heat well at 300 degrees F at room temperature about 20 minutes or when chilled 350 degrees F at 30 minutes. But these don’t freeze well because of the egg center.

People will FORKING LOVE THEM!

The Forking Truth

Confluence Restaurant in Carefree AZ is Always Worth a Fork

Confluence is a small casual upscale restaurant located in beautiful Carefree Arizona. Confluence offers detailed elevated Modern Cuisine. The atmosphere is classic with modern touches. Seating is at the bar, standard tables or outdoors with mountain views. Currently Confluence is open for lunch and dinner Tuesdays – Saturdays at this time (December 2018). 

Between use we tried around twenty different plates so far at Confluence. Dining at Confluence never gets boring and the food is always exciting.

Today we started out by sharing the Grilled Eggplant with Sesame Seeds, Peanuts, Fresno Chili, Miso and Bonito Flakes.

Delicious! Now I know new flavors to do to eggplant!

For my main I went with the BBQ Chicken Sandwich with Celery Root, Spicy Pickles, Beet Greens, Smoked Onion Mayonnaise on a Fontina Roll.

OMG! YUM! This is from another planet DELICIOUS! This is another one of the best things I’ve tasted this year! It’s MAGICAL! I’m almost speechless…..I’ll start with the Fontina Roll. It’s rich but light textured. I think it taste eggy and buttery…but it’s very strong with a strong yummy-licious Cheese Flavor. The bun alone taste almost like the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever had! The middle of the sandwich is a MIX of all the fillings and became almost like a messy but FORKING DELICIOUS Chicken salad with all kinds of DELICIOUS Flavors….A little sharp crunch and bite from the pickle. Chicken that seemed slow cooked or Sous Vide and was tender like butter. Sharp beet greens. Smoked Onion Mayonnaise that should be bottled……..OMG…BIG FAT YUM! 

My husband went with the Beef Tips with Sun-choke, Broccoli, Potato, Mushroom, Cipollini Onion and a Taleggio Sauce.

We didn’t need dessert but Confluence Desserts are among the best…..

A little Chocolate Mousse with Almond, Orange and White Chocolate Biscotti was well received. 

Confluence Restaurant in Carefree AZ is Always Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

Some of the prior dishes we tried

Cured Farm Egg with Faro
Duck
Snapper
Monk Fish
Guinea Hen
Fruit Granite
Roasted Peach, Epoisses Cheese, Mint, Pecans, Honey

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

The Forking Truth