Dining with Dogs at Pei Wei in Glendale AZ

We were forking on the way to AJ’s BBQ and forking discovered it wasn’t open. I’m not sure if it was closed because it’s winter here or if they only have it on Saturdays.

So we had to find another forking place with a patio that allows dogs.

I noticed a nice size almost empty patio only a few shops down from AJ’s. It was Pei Wei Asian Bistro. I know it isn’t the forking best for Asian Food but I thought I remembered it was OK for Green Curry. I walked in and asked if I could bring my dogs on the patio and was told yes. I found out they changed their forking menu and no longer serve Green Curry. I ordered a few plates. Then I tried to get silverware and had a hard time finding silverware without forking paper stuck to it.

Then I sat on the patio with my party and waited.

The forking food arrives.

So here’s the Kung Pao.

Kung Pao from Pei Wei Glendale AZ

I tasted one chunk of beef from the Kung Pao. The Beef was very spongy and very salty. I thought the dogs would get sick if they tried it.

And here’s the Ginger Broccoli.

Ginger Broccoli with Chicken from Pei Wei Glendale AZ

I tasted a chunk of chicken. The chicken was tender but had a very strange taste from the sauce. The forking sauce was very salty and very sweet. It tasted like salty soy sauce mixed with some kind of sweet syrup laced with chemicals. I didn’t taste anything like ginger in this dish. The broccoli looked good but had a very strong taste to it like maybe it was decomposing. They gave me a very generous portion of brown rice but it just soaked up that forking flavor from the sauce and tasted forking contaminated to me.

I gave my dogs some to taste.

He ate it but I could tell by looking at him what he thought.

My other dog was looking at a bird instead of the food.

This is how my dogs look when they enjoy food.

And this is how they forking look at Pei Wei

“What the Fork is this?”

Even if it was just an off day.

I don’t think we will be going back to Pei Wei.

Not Worth a Fork

Forking Truth

Crispy Cardoons Recipe

Cardoons

I don’t come across cardoons often so I thought I’d make something tasty and special out if it. They look sort of like celery but thought of Cardoons as an artichoke since it’s from the artichoke family and thought it would be forking delicious fried with Parmesan and fresh herbs. After all isn’t anything forking fried delicious that way.

Cardoons are more work than most vegetables.

Cardoon

By the time it gets to your market most of the forking thorns and leaves are removed but not all.

Remove small thorns on each side of the stalks and peal the fibers from the stalk tops.

Then you cut the Cardoons in pieces.

Now at this point almost everyone boils cardoons in vinegar laced water. The cardoons are forking bitter but boiling the cardoons till tender in vinegar water improves the flavor. Then set your Cardoons in something to drain.

Now were forking ready to cook!

Ingredients

One Cardoons bunch (some are small some are big already cleaned up and cooked in vinegar laced water with a little Kosher Salt)

1 cup panko crumbs or grated artisan bread crumbs

1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

scant 1/4 cup crushed hazelnuts

sprig of fresh oregano chopped fine

small sprig or half of large sprig fresh rosemary chopped fine

1 small garlic clove minced or chopped fine

1 small spicy chili chopped fine

2 beaten eggs

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Fresh Ground Sea Salt

Canola or vegetable oil to fry with

Directions

You need Two large bowls.

In your dry bowl you want your panko or bread crumbs, hazelnuts, parmesan and 1/2 of your chopped herbs, garlic, and chili. Add salt and pepper.

In your wet bowl you have your beaten eggs with the other half of the chopped up spices and add salt and pepper.

Get your Cardoons.

and now dip in egg mixture and then in dry mixture and do them all.

Now your ready to fry!

Hopefully your fryer or fry pan is at around 350 degrees.

Try one tester piece of cardoon and see how it fries.

They only need a minute or so on each side.

After your batch is fried when they are still hot you should taste one and decide if you want to add more fresh ground Salt and pepper to them.

Crispy Cardoon Chips with reduced Balsamic Drizzle

Crispy Cardoons with reduced Balsamic Drizzle

They come out very tasty and forking delicious and crispy. I think this might be the best way to eat cardoons.

Forking Good!

WTFork are Cardoons a Vegetable?

Cardoons

Cardoons only grows in the wild in the Mediterranean South and is considered a forking weed in Australia and California.

Cardoons

Cardoons looks like a forking ugly celery with thorns but isn’t celery. The Cardoons are from the Artichoke Family and are sometimes grown as an ornamental plant since it grows large Violet Purple Flowers.

The Cardoons (after forking pealing) can be boiled or braised or eaten raw. (raw won’t kill you but the cardoon I had didn’t taste good raw)

In the Abruzzi region of Italy Christmas Lunch is traditionally a soup of Cardoons cooked in chicken broth with small meatballs, sometimes an egg or fried chopped liver and heart.

The Cardoons is a vegetable source of enzymes for cheese production.

Cardoons are used to flavor Amaro Liquor.

According to Wikipedia where I got most of my forking information. In the U.S. if you find Cardoons they usually are available May-July. I have never found Cardoons before but I got my forking Cardoons in December.

Forking Truth

WTFork is Buddha’s Hand Fruit

Buddha’s Hand

Buddha’s Hand is an unusual shaped Citron. In China the Buddha’s Hand is used mainly for perfuming rooms and personal items. The fruit is completely juiceless and often doesn’t have pulp.

There wasn’t a forking reason to purchase this fruit so I didn’t.

Forking Truth

Kumquat Marmalade Recipe

Kumquat Marmalade

Anyone can make forking Marmalade. It’s any Citrus or combination of citrus with their peals that’s boiled with water and sugar.

I had some Kumquats so I made them into Marmalade. The Kumquats should be sliced in half longways so your marmalade doesn’t look the same as forking orange marmalade.

Kumquats next to an orange

Ingredients

8oz package of Kumquats (rinsed off) and cut in half longways. Remove seeds if you see any.

1 Cup Sugar

3 Cups Water

Pinch of Kosher Salt

(optional one mildly spicy but fruity orange colored pepper chopped fine) A fresno or an Asian Wrinkled Pepper just to add a little punch.

Directions

Put everything in a sauce pot. Bring to slow boil on medium heat and stir occasionally. Let it boil down until it looks like Marmalade.

Forking Good!

Asian Inspired Tuna Salad Recipe (wing it style)

Asian Inspired Tuna Salad

Every so often I have to think up a different way to do everyday tuna salad. This is a salad recipe that you just have to forking wing. Everybody wings egg salad and all those salads but I did note the ingredients I used.

The base of this salad is made from heart healthy white miso. The white miso is low in calories and almost fat free. I did add a very small amount of thinned down with water light mayonnaise to get it to be more like dressing.

One of the main flavorings in the salad came from roasted mashed white turmeric. The white turmeric is similar in flavor to ginger but is far more edible and can be eaten raw. I used small or VERY small amounts of, mirin, rice vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce.

I also added prepared horseradish, fresh scallions, heirloom daikon radish (watermelon radish) and a small amount of fresh cilantro.

I would recommend to only use your favorite packaged tuna because I wouldn’t waste expensive ahi tuna doing this.

The salad really does pop with flavor and makes a pretty light, healthy but flavorful cracker topping.

Or would be great on a salad or a sandwich.

Forking Good!

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread Pudding Recipe

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread Pudding

This Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread Pudding comes out very moist and very flavorful and sweet but not too sweet. Instead of heavy cream I used low fat light coconut milk that does the same thing and adds another layer of flavor. This pudding gets layers of sweetness by the naturally sweet Kabochca Squash, (that some people call pumpkin) white sugar, dark brown sugar and the main more flavorful sweetness from dates. The perfect amounts of spices make it very balanced in flavor. For a dessert it’s relatively healthy because it’s mostly made of fiber rich squash.

Ingredients- you need one lightly greased baking dish and your oven set to 350 degrees.

One pumpkin or squash cooked and cleaned up cut or broken into bite size chunks. (I used 1lb. 13 oz. of squash after it was cleaned)

One 13.5 oz. can light coconut milk

14 oz. loaf of plain bread torn in chunks

5 whole eggs beaten

2 oz. melted butter

17 dates chopped

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 oz. spicy sweet pecans (one oz. crushed) (the rest for finishing)

About a Tablespoon of Turbinados Sugar (raw brown) for finishing

Extra cinnamon for finishing

A small sprinkle of sea salt for finishing.

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine the coconut milk, eggs, dates, white sugar, brown sugar, melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and crushed pecans. Mix well. Add bread and let soak at least a half hour and maybe longer depending on your bread. The bread I used was very light and fluffy. (a heavier bread will need more time and possibly more liquid)

After the bread is nice and soaked add the pumpkin, mix well and pour in your baking pan. Top the mixture with your remaining pecans, a dusting of cinnamon, turbinados sugar, a small amount of fresh crushed sea salt.

Cover the pan with foil and place in a 350 degree oven for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes remove the foil and bake for ten more minutes.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Forking Good!

Watermelon Radish

Have you ever seen a Watermelon Radish? It’s NOT a Forking watermelon but does look like a slice of one.

The Watermelon Radish is actually a Heirloom Chinese Daikon Radish and also is a member of the mustard family.

Watermelon Radish

They taste the same as a regular radish.

They just look different.

The Watermelon Radish

Forking Truth

In Phoenix You (almost) have to Kiss Your Forking RYE BREAD Good-Bye

Rye Bread has been around since the Middle Ages.

Rye Bread is High in Fiber and very low in fat.

Rye Bread taste particularly good with Swiss Cheese and Pickled Meats.

You Forking NEED Rye Bread if you want to eat a Patty Melt or a Reuben Sandwich.

I can’t imagine Corned Beef or Pastrami on any other kind of bread.

I didn’t know that when I moved to Phoenix that Real Rye Bread would be so forking difficult to purchase.

Just Last Week I visited most of the bakery sections at the Grocery Stores near were I forking live.

No Rye was to be found at the Safeway Bakery.

No Forking Rye was to be found at the AJ’s Whatever The Fork they call their Bakery.

No Forking Rye was to be found at Sprouts Bakery.

I did find something called Rye at Fry’s but it didn’t look like rye so I didn’t buy it. The bread was very fluffy and forking white and almost seed free.

The only Rye Bread I can FORKING purchase within a half hour drive was to be found at TRADER JOE’S.

In Phoenix you almost have to kiss your Forking Rye Bread Good-Bye!

Forking Truth

A little Forking History about Lasagna

Experimental Pomodoro Pizza Lasagna (developed or developing recipe)

There is some forking confusion about the origin of lasagna. You know lasagna! That dish made with several layers of lasagna pasta sheets with alternating sauces and other cheese, meat and or vegetable ingredients.

Nearly everyone believes lasagna originated in Italy.

The first cookbook with a lasagna forking king of recipe came from England in the 14th Century. But this version of lasagna didn’t have tomatoes in it yet.

Tomato

Some people credit the Greeks for coming up with lasagna because the term lasagna comes from the Greek words lasana and lasanun meaning trivet for pot. Something forking about the pot or dish the forking lasagna is baked in.

The first modern (not sure WTFork time was modern) recipe for lasagna came from Naples and became a traditional dish. The forking original recipe was made with Ragu (NOT the FORKING jarred crap!), Béchamel, and Parmigiano-Reggiano.

sources were and combination of PopularArticals.Com and Wikipedia

Forking Truth

TheForkingTruth

Forking Thoughts on Food and Restaurants

Dining with Dogs at Pei Wei in Glendale AZ

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