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Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix – May 2021 – Twisted Italian, Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery, Culver’s

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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 was diagnosed with aggressive cancer and was only expected to make it another three months or up to six months if we were lucky. Louie was already old and couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating and still loved going out to eat so I took him out to eat as much as I could. Instead of the 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat as much as I can.

If you are dining out with dogs there is a lot that you need to know. Not all restaurant patios are dog friendly. It is always BEST to call a restaurant first before attempting to dine there with your dog. You don’t know if the patio could already be booked for a party. It is also ALWAYS BEST to dine with your dog at off times. It is always BEST to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Not all people love dogs and some complain. Other people are allergic to dogs. It is also best to avoid other dogs because dog tend to bark at each other and this could be considered to be a disturbance and you might be asked to leave. It’s BEST to dine with dogs at off times.

Do you know that most of the food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even toxic to dogs? You need to get a list of what foods are safe and what foods to avoid to give to dogs. Usually a sauce free lean piece of meat is usually a good choice. You should also bring a water bowl for your dog.

You have to consider the temperature in Phoenix when dining out with dogs. All dogs like people do have different heat tolerances. Usually 90 degrees F and up is too hot and very dangerous to dine out with dogs. Your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. They wear fur coats. They absorb heat cup their paws and they can’t sweat. Ninety degrees F and up it is always best to leave your dog safe at home.

You also need to be aware that there are some rules to dine out with dogs. Your dog must close and by your side at all times. Dogs are NOT permitted to sit on restaurant furniture. Dogs are also not permitted to eat off of restaurant plates.

Got all that?

I think we are ready to dine out with dogs.

Our first trip is to the Twisted Italian in Peoria.

They only have two sets of tables out front but this restaurant is officially dog friendly and is listed on www.BringRover.com

They start us out with bread, oil and vinegar.

Then we share the southwest hand made pierogi.

The pierogi are tasty but are not dog friendly. I break off just a tiny end for the dogs to taste.

For my main I had the citrus salad with added salmon.

My dogs liked the salmon.

My husband had the antipasto salad.

The dogs got some cheese off of that salad.

www.EatTwisted.com

We were lucky because it is starting to heat up in Phoenix but today around 11am the weather was still pretty cool so we made it out to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They specialize in serving Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and offer most of your Vietnamese favorites except for Pho.

Today I got the salmon firecracker rolls and the chicken cabbage salad.

This cabbage salad is delicious. It’s made with tender marinated chicken breast. It’s herby with cilantro and mint and has a light vinaigrette dressing. The salmon roll is really different with nicely prepared salmon that is moist…It’s wrapped in seaweed with a nice crisp wrapper and Asian seasonings. It rest over more cabbage and comes with an Asian dressing. I can’t believe that these are only priced at $4 & $5 each.

My husband got the beef Banh Mi.

The beef in it is so delicious and tender…..It seems like a very flavorful filet to me but I know that it is ribeye. It’s really great! We always love coming here.

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

Now it is getting too hot to dine out with dogs. It is suppose to be close to 100 degrees here today. At 10am it is only 83 degrees F so we took the dogs to Culver’s so they could eat something out. (Culver’s is a national fast food chain but the butter burgers are never from frozen and the cod is always hand battered to order. They also serve daily made frozen custard) We ate someplace else.

Here we are at the drive threw…(the dogs know what they are getting).

Then my big dog pushes my small dog out of the way so she can see the burger coming.

Nobody is on the patio so we feed the dogs half of the burger.

I remove the bun for the dogs. They only need some meat and cheese.

This is some of the burger. It feels very moist and looks caramelized.

The dogs always enjoy food from Culver’s.

www.Culvers.com

We hope that you enjoyed Dining Out With DOGS in Metro Phoenix AZ May 2021. It’s heating up in Phoenix so the dogs might be mostly dining in. We will see you when we can!

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

My Trip to Sel Restaurant Scottsdale AZ for Spring Restaurant Week 2021

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Sel is a small modern upscale restaurant located in Old Town Scottsdale Arizona. The name Sel is also French for salt.

Salt may symbolize amazing benefits and is a choice at meals.

They have an outdoor patio.

Inside Sel also has an open kitchen.

There is a cozy dining room and bar.

And salt shakers on the walls of the bathrooms.

This week (May 2021) it was restaurant week and Sel was offering a three course tasting menu for $44.00 a person with an optional wine pairing for $50.00 a person. Tonight they were only offering the restaurant week menu with a few add on options and a cocktail menu but not a wine list.

We are more wine people than cocktail people. We usually get a bottle of wine with dinners but since there are no wine bottles on our menus we went with the optional wine pairings.

Our first course was sweet pea & wild ramp vichyssoise.

it was topped with mint and a buttermilk emulsion. It taste like cold creamy pea soup with a potato base to me with mint. Whatever it is….the soup is good.

Our second courses were…heirloom tomato and roasted beet salad.

This salad is very unique. There are stringy things on the plate that have a little curly parsley-like heads with slightly pinkish stems. Here is a closer look.

Gosh the tomatoes are amazing…they taste just picked like from a tomato plant in New Jersey but I know they must be local. There is also some pickled ramp, very good creamy Crow’s Dairy goat feta cheese, a tasty lightly fermented red pepper & brown butter emulsion. The puffed forbidden black rice didn’t make it to our plates but the rest of the salad was very good. (the dark stuff on the plate are the beets)

For my main I went with the Thai Basil Crusted Alaskan Halibut.

I received a nice meaty piece of fish that was flaky and lightly dusted with Thai Basil. It was in a tasty slightly spicy miso curry with roasted sweet corn, some fresh spinach and micro greens. The miso curry goes expertly well with everything.

My husband got a very nice upscale kind of grilled filet mignon plate.

The filet was prepared to perfection and was flavorful and tender. There also was fancy romanesco cauliflower, white truffle and black garlic jus braised potatoes and bordelaise sauce.

That was my visit to Sel in Scottsdale AZ for Spring Restaurant Week 2021

From a prior brunch at Sel we had…………

Black truffle deviled eggs with dijon vinaigrette and tarragon aioli with crisp chicken skin and micro greens

Piri Piri chicken with lemon blueberry ricotta Dutch baby pancake

Iberico pork skirt steak with poached eggs, potato patty, arugula preserved lemon slaw and Creole hollandaise

Flourless chocolate tiramisu with hazelnut praline and dulce de leche gelato

www.SelRestaurant.com

Everything is subject to change and often does change.

The Forking Truth

First Taste at Renata’s Hearth Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork! ****With re-visits

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Renata’s Hearth is an upscale modern Latin laced with the South West style restaurant located in the Arizona Biltmore Resort in Phoenix Arizona. The Biltmore recently re-opened with a 70 million dollar renovation and this brand new restaurant. You can be seated indoors or out doors.

the patio

Renata’s Hearth and part of the patio

Cushy masculine furniture. Parts of the dining area have a view of the patio.

one dining area

inside

inside

Some of the magic happens here……Cocktails are made here and I see lots of high end tequilas.

Some cocktails are smoked.

They offer Jamon Iberico. (****Update the Jamon Iberico plate is not on current menu)

It’s the highest end ham that you can eat. It’s made from special black footed pigs that only eat acorns to produce a ham like no other that dissolves in the mouth. Jamon Iberico is something special we usually find in Las Vegas or mail away for.

We also shared a Spanish watermelon salad.

It’s made with grilled sweet watermelon, queso fresco, baby arugula, and sherry vinaigrette. It’s light, refreshing and delicious.

There were many choices on the menu tonight. They offered around 5 entrees and around 6 different family plates. All but the luxury 44oz Oaxaca spiced wagyu tomahawk steak you can order as a single dinner. It was hard to decide so we shared two single orders of family plates.

The grilled branzino.

and the mole negro – rubbed smoked wagyu brisket.

These dinners came with delicious Peruvian style rice & black beans (that are refillable), hand made in house flour and corn tortillas, and three salsas (verde, roja & mango pineapple)

Our branzino was cooked perfect and was very moist inside. The sweet peppers and sauces are so delicious on the fish.

But that mole negro – rubbed smoked wagyu brisket knocked it out of the park. It was juicy, fatty (but not too fatty), smoky, crunchy and oh so FANTABULOUS! In case you don’t get what I’m saying……The mole negro – rubbed smoked wagyu brisket was FORKING GREAT!

I thought both portions of the family plates (half sized or single were very generous to me….)

I was full and didn’t need dessert but they all sounded delicious. I was talked into just a single scoop of cantaloupe sorbet (instead of the three scoop normal portion listed on the menu. ( the cantaloupe sorbet is made local by Novel Ice Cream)

Gosh it’s delicious. It taste better than the cantaloupes I just bought from Safeway. Even the Mexican Wedding cookie is delicious.

That was my first taste of Renata’s Hearth in Phoenix AZ at the Biltmore.

We went back for a 2nd visit.

They started us off with complimentary wagyu New York steak tacos.

Gosh the steak in them is buttery soft.

We also had the radish salad.

and the Basque Sandwich bites (Jamon Iberico, manchego, truffle oil, polenta fries, and romesco sauce.

I didn’t eat the sandwiches but my husband said that they are like really tasty grilled cheese.

Tonight we shared a single order of the mesquite smoked jidori chicken.

The chicken is really perfect and juicy….even the breast….On ours the leg is a stronger with smoke taste so here I prefer the breast because I like less smoke taste on chicken but my husband likes the smokier leg better so this worked out perfect for us. This plate also came with Peruvian rice, black beans, grilled baby bells, grilled scallions, house made tortillas and three salsas that were all delicious.

We also shared the roasted Chilean Sea Bass.

This was truly amazing…It might be the best Chilean Sea Bass that I have ever had….So delicious with that mole verde……..Really REALLY Forking delicious. I ate well so I was too full for dessert.

3rd visut we started out by sharing the sardine escabeche.

The can is for display. The sardines are obviously fresh and good. In the middle of board isa light refreshing apple fennel slaw and on the end is high quality sour dough bread.

We also shared the Chile relleno.

It’s all vegetarian and tasty. It’s poblano peppers with faro, cauliflower, Mahon cheese, mole negro and cashew cream.

The smoked wagyu brisket and sauces differed this time.

The brisket no-longer comes with the bottomless rice and beans. If you want the rice and beans it’s $18.00. The sauces all taste different too. The red sauce is mild now, The green sauce is milder too. Instead of the mango habanero salsa there is a creamy sauce that taste like it has chipotle in it. This batch of brisket is good but isn’t crazy amazing like the first one I enjoyed. It’s much less succulent with less flavors and is barely warmed up.

We ordered a street corn to go with dinner.

It’s fresh corn with lime, cilantro, pimento, smoked goat cheese and some cotija cheese. It’s tasty anyone would like it.

The entrance now is accented with candles and musicians.

I have to say that Renata’s Hearth is Worth a Fork!

Worth A Fork!

www.RenatasHearth.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

The FANTABULOUS DISH – The Mole Negro – Rubbed Smoked WAGYU BRISKET from Renata’s Hearth in Phoenix AZ at The Biltmore – Worth a Fork!

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The FANTABULOUS Dish means…..top of the line, marvelously good, peachy keen and Dynamite.

The Mole Negro – Rubbed Smoked Wagyu Brisket from Renata’s Hearth in Phoenix Arizona (at the Biltmore) Is CRAZY FORKING astonishingly delectable. It’s juicy, fatty (but not too fatty), smoky, crunchy and OOOOohhhhhhhhhhh sooooooooo FANTABULOUS! It just might be the best tasting brisket that I have ever tried……

It also comes with hand made in house flour and corn tortillas, three salsas (verde, roja and mango pineapple) Peruvian rice and black beans.

Just drop what you are doing and try it now because it is FANTABULOUS!

Worth a Fork!

Worth A Fork!

www.RenatasHearth.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Kashmiri Masala Spiced Butternut Squash Walnuts Pomegranate Stuffed Chili Peppers with Green Coconut Chutney and Yogurt Miso Mayo Recipe

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I started out by reading about Kashmiri Masala spice blend and I thought it might taste good on butternut squash…..Then I started reading more about Kashmiri cuisine and got a bunch of ideas that are NOT authentic to Kashmiri cuisine but I thought that this combination taste good anyway and it does. Servings will differ ….I got seven stuffed peppers out of this that made seven servings for me. Some were small and some were bigger depending on the pepper.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 small butternut squash – peeled – seeds, stem, end button, and membranes removed and sliced very thin on a mandolin

2-3 Tablespoons Kashmiri Masala Seasoning – Add to taste – I used Archana’s Kitchen’s recipe for Kashmiri Masala. I thought the whole recipe 2-3 Tablespoons was perfect for one butternut squash.

1 lb Anaheim chili peppers (or any peppers that you like but timing might differ)

1 cup white vinegar

4 oz walnuts – lightly crushed

4 oz Pomegranate seeds (reserve 1-2 Tablespoons to finish)

1 teaspoon cumin seed

4 Tablespoons canola oil (1/2 goes in squash mixture the rest gets drizzled on pan and squash)

sea salt to taste

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems (packed tight)

1 Tablespoon dried mint (fresh mint is better but I didn’t have any..about two Tablespoons)

2 jalapeno peppers – fine chopped

4 garlic cloves – fine chopped

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2-3/4 cup water – to make chutney to desired consistency

1 Tablespoon (heaping) yogurt

1 Tablespoon (heaping) white miso

1 Tablespoon (heaping) mayonnaise

Directions

Cut peppers by making a slit across the stem area and down the middle and remove seeds and core. Once all the peppers are done put them in a ziplock bag with the vinegar and let them marinate at least 30 minutes.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the butternut squash, walnuts, pomegranate (reserve a heaping tablespoon for finishing) cumin seeds and two tablespoons of canola oil. Mix well.

Get a baking sheet ready and drizzle it lightly with canola oil.

Shake off the peppers and stuff them full as much as you can. Put them on the baking sheet and drizzle lightly with oil.

Place in the middle rack of the oven till cooked threw and a little browned. Timing will differ but mine took around 25 minutes.

Make the Green coconut chutney.

Blend together the coconut, cilantro, mint, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, cumin, lemon juice and water to desired consistency. Add sea salt to taste. Put to the side.

Make the yogurt-miso-mayo. Just combine equal amounts of yogurt, miso and mayo. You don’t need much…just a little drizzle.

Kashmiri Masala Spiced Butternut Squash,Walnuts, Pomegranate, stuffed Peppers with Green Coconut Chutney and Yogurt-Miso-Mayo

Finish with remaining pomegranate, Serve with chutney and drizzle with yogurt-miso-mayo.

ENJOY!

A SPECIAL THANKS to Archana’s Kitchen for your amazing Kashmiri Masala Recipe so I could come up with mine.

The Forking Truth

Asian Style Tuna Patty with Yuzu Kosho and Quick Kimchi Style Slaw Recipe

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I got the idea to make quick kimchi slaw because it is tasty and has less funk than real kimchi….(not that funk is a bad thing here…..It is good but my husband doesn’t like real kimchi) Then I thought of two things that are delicious with kimchi….One is brisket and the other is tuna. I can’t whip of a brisket in less than an hour so I went with tuna and made a really tasty Asian style tuna patty. This recipe makes 4 servings of quick kimchi but only two patties. You can adjust the recipe for your needs. I also note that the quick kimchi is best to make the day before so the flavors mingle.

Ingredients for two servings

1 medium/small cabbage – shredded

1 red bell pepper – seeds and stem removed – shredded

5 radish – shredded

2 scallion – sliced thin

1 Asian pear – core and stem removed – sliced thin

2 Tablespoons gochugaru pepper

3 Tablespoons sriracha (preferably Shark Brand)

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

2 Tablespoons fish sauce (preferably Red Boat Brand)

1 – 5oz can tuna – (I used ahi wild yellowfin tuna from Costco) – drained mashed

1 Tablespoon chili crisp

1/4 cup sautéed chopped onions

2 eggs – lightly beaten

4 lychee fruit – chopped (you can substitute seedless grapes)

1/2 cup whole wheat panko

1 Tablespoon Thai Basil – torn

1-2 hot peppers grated (I used two Thai Chili)

1 orange – just the zest

1 lemon – just the zest

1 lime – just the zest

sea salt or better yet yuzu salt to taste

Directions

Make the quick kimchi slaw. In a large bowl combine the cabbage, bell pepper, radish, scallion, Asian pear, gochugaru, sriracha, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, ginger and fish sauce. Mix well. Leave on counter for around an hour for the flavors to cook the cabbage. Then refrigerate over night for the best flavors.

Make the tuna patties. Set oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a sheet pan with non stick spray and set to the side. In a medium bowl mix together the tuna, chili crisp, onions, eggs, lychee, panko, and Thai basil. Let this sit out about 15 minutes. Make two burger sized patties and place on sprayed sheet pan. Put into the oven till cooked threw. Ovens do differ so timing will differ. (around 25 minutes) Remove when done.

While the patties are cooking make the faux Yuzu Kosho (real is made from yuzu). Combine the hot pepper all the zest and some salt.

When the Asian style tuna patties are done serve right away with quick kimchi and top the patties with the Yuzu Kosho. (In the picture I drizzled the tuna patty with sriracha mixed with mayo…It’s good on the patty but I don’t think you really need it with the slaw)

Asian Style Tuna Patties with Yuzu Kosho and Quick Kimchi style Slaw

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

A Taste of Confluence in Carefree AZ – GREAT VALUE Fine Dining – Worth a Fork!

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Confluence is a small restaurant that serves an ever changing menu of farm fresh modern elevated American cuisine located in Carefree Arizona. They offer patio dining with a view of the mountains. They also offer a cozy dining room and bar seating.

They always start you off with a house made bread.

Today it was a generous slice of crusty sourdough served with oil and white balsamic vinegar.

We started out with a hot appetizer of gnocchi.

The gnocchi were pan fried and were elevated with morel mushrooms, cured goose egg yolk, ramps and thyme.

For dinner I usually go with a fish dish because Confluence serves some of the best fish dishes in the valley and it’s hard to get super great fish dishes in the valley…….(but really everything they serve is always excellent)………. Today I went with the filet mignon. This is the first time I ever ordered a steak from here for dinner.

The fillet is very flavorful and is tender like butter. For me it’s a very large portion too. The flavors of the vegetables next to the steak go magically well together. They are fiddlehead ferns, white asparagus, black eyed peas, basil creme fraiche and a fried green tomato. This plate cost much less than filet my husband had from a well known steak house and is so much better and a million times more flavorful. This has to be maybe the nicest best filet mignon plate that you can get anywhere. Prices for filet mignon start at what this steak cost and sometimes are $25. MORE and DON’T come with sides……and if you buy the sides they sure won’t be this nice……….. That is part of the reason on why it’s a great fine dining value to eat here. The tasting menu options are the other reason. They just knock it out of the park with them.

My husband got the Iberiaco pork loin.

It’s as pretty as a picture.

It was also prepared to perfection and came with corn grits, caulilini, brussel’s sprouts, and pomegranate.

For dessert we went with the lemon curd with shortbread, elderflower macerated strawberries and fresh mint.

Everything was equally stupendous!

That was just a Taste of Confluence in Carefree – Great Value Fine Dining

Worth a Fork!

Worth A Fork!

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

14 Marvelously GREAT Foods from Metro Phoenix AZ Restaurants………….(May-2021)

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I haven’t been everywhere but I have tasted some amazing dishes this year. There are many GOOD ONES that I can list here but narrowed it down to the ones that stood out the most……….All the dishes taste TOP of the line, They are all marvelously good, peachy keen and Dynamite.

The Bufalina Pizza from Fabio On Fire in Peoria – Is made with high end ingredients such as San Marzano Tomato sauce, imported buffalo cheese, oregano, garlic, arugula, reduced balsamic vinegar, farm fresh sweet tomatoes, and extra virgin olive oil. This has all kinds of flavors going on. Also the heat of the pizza warms the cheese JUST SO and you taste the most exquisite mozzarella the way it was meant to be enjoyed instead of just heating it to death on the pizzas like most places do.

The ground filet burger from The Bourbon Cellar in North Scottsdale. This is a ground in house burger that taste more like a fine steak. I have no idea how this burger has so much flavor. I think that it is best to enjoy this burger open face with a knife and fork because it taste like a juicy steak.

Speaking of a juicy flavorful steak…..

The filet mignon from Confluence in Carefree is excellent and not your grandfather’s plate of steak. This plate came with fried green tomato, fiddlehead ferns, white asparagus, black eyed peas, basil creme fraiche and the most buttery tender flavorful steak ever. (NOTE*******the menu at Confluence is ever changing with what is fresh from the local farms and does change often)

The Confit Wagyu Beef Cheek from Confluence in Carefree is a FORKING JAW-DROOPINGLY astonishing. …. The only bad news is that the menu from Confluence is ever changing so you might not be able to get this dish when you want it. But the good news is that this restaurant pretty much always is serving something amazing.

The Strawberry Gelato from Fabio On Fire in Peoria might be the best in the whole country. I take that back….because…It probably is the best in the country!

The Goat Cheese Creme Brûlée from Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in North Glendale isn’t something that you would expect from an Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria but is SUBLIMELY Spreadable and OH so edible….. It’s spiced goat cheese with fig compote and crostini. You crack into a shattering crisp sugar surface and then the party in your mouth happens….It’s so great that you can enjoy it for either an appetizer or even dessert. It’s a shame that the cacciatore isn’t still on the menu because that dish sure belongs here. It was the best that I have ever tasted anywhere. I had the cacciatore from Pizzeria Bianco and it was good but the cacciatore from Bottega tasted like TEN TIMES BETTER…..like so great you’d drive across town for…..Well I’m mentioning it because maybe it will return to their menu sometime.

The Salmon Salad is very special from Pomo Pizzeria in Scottsdale. The salmon is from Chula Seafood. This one was melt in your mouth succulent with tasty grill marks. It POPS from the sweet grilled lemon and PINK PEPPERCORNS…that are a magical combination that I didn’t expect. The rest of the salad is fresh spring mix, gold beets, fennel and grape tomatoes…It’s only a salad so you can splurge for the Luna Gelato that is extra special too!

The Chicken from Valentine in the Melrose area of Phoenix was superb. It was smoky (but not too smoky), masterfully tender, moist, and flavorful. With that deep developed sauce, cabbage, durum wheat berries and kerned dill yogurt it was an explosion in every bite.

The Kokomo Chop Bowl from Little Cay Latin Caribbean Kitchen is one BAM-Diggitty-YUM-Dinger (When you add the seasoned Puerto Rican Pique sauce on the table) This Chop Bowl is full of yummy marinated chicken, yellow rice, black beans, curry mayo, rum soaked cranberries, add that pique sauce and it is FORKING BOMB!

I think a doughnut can be on this list if it is the FORKING BEST that I have tasted.

There is a donut shop on Bell Road in North Phoenix called Daily Donuts and Wings. I have only tried a few donuts so far and each one that I tried was the best of it’s kind that I have tried anywhere. I think my favorite might be the glazed lemon filled. These donuts are so fresh, have the perfect sweetness, seem light as air, and are DELICIOUS and overly easy to inhale.

The buttermilk fried chicken that is usually on the lunch menu from Confluence in Carefree is a OMG YUM kind of plate. It’s incredibly crunchy and crisp on the outside. The interior is JUICY, flavorful, EXPERTLY prepared tender chicken…..but I didn’t mention that INSANELY delicious sauce on it. The sauce is called chili tepid honey mustard sauce. It is a little spicy but not too spicy and is really FORKING plate scraping delicious. I also note that for me this is a very large portion and I make two meals from the chicken. My husband eats more than me and just eats the whole thing.

Taco Fusion in Glendale makes VERY GOOD Tacos (especially the habanero mild chicken taco with pineapple salsa) on hand made tortillas that are delicious. But this corn cake from Taco Fusion is amazing. It has a great corn flavor and taste like it’s a mix of custard and cake together. It’s just an AMAZING dessert! It’s better than the majority of desserts we get out at most places.

But I must mention this one…..

I have to give it to Fabio On Fire in Peoria again. This Strawberry Rum Cake is so good I’d tell a diabetic to eat it. It was really so delicious! I had to mention it.

My husband ate something very special that I didn’t eat so I want to mention it.

He REALLY LOVED the slow braised osso buco from the Italian Daughter in North Scottsdale.

It was falling off the bone tender. He loved digging into the bone and enjoyed the marrow. The sauce was nice and rich with the perfect deepness. He really enjoyed this and wants to have it again.

These were some of the Marvelously Great Foods that stood out in 2021 so far. I do note that many others are out there.

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Fiddlehead Ferns and Black Trumpet Mushrooms with Tahini Verde and Miso Aioli Recipe

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I took a trip up to Singh Meadows in Tempe AZ and picked up some amazing produce. Fiddlehead Ferns and Black Trumpet mushrooms are hard to come by and are highly prized by food lovers. You cook fiddle head ferns sort of like asparagus but longer. You MUST clean the fiddle head ferns very well and you have to cook them completely because they contain some sort of toxin that you have to cook all the way out. I read that if you boil them for 5 minutes that is enough so that is how I cooked mine. I think the sauces I picked go really well with this dish. This makes around 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb fiddlehead ferns – cleaned really well

6 oz black trumpet mushrooms – cleaned

1 oz unsalted butter

1/4 cup tahini (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh Thai Basil (tahini verde)

ice water (I didn’t measure but I think it was around 1/4 cup) (tahini verde)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (tahini verde)

pinch ground white pepper (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons white miso (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon sour cream or greek yogurt (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon mayonaise (miso aioli)

1 teaspoon garlic confit (miso aioli)

small splash rice wine vinegar (around a teaspoon or 2) (miso aioli)

sea salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

optional – white and black sesame seeds to finish

Directions

Make the sauces.

For the tahini verde blend together the tahini, tarragon, cilantro, Thai basil, sea salt and white pepper. You will need to add ice water to get it to the right consistency. I think I used around 1/4 cup off ice water. Put this to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Make the miso aioli. In a small bowl combine the miso, sour cream, mayo, garlic confit and rice wine vinegar. Mix well. Set to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Get a pot of water to boil the fiddlehead ferns. Medium boil them for 5 minutes. Shock them with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the fiddlehead ferns and put them on a serving platter. I used the same pot to cook up my mushrooms. I dumped the water out and melted the butter and then added the mushrooms. I cooked them till they looked cooked. Then I dumped the mushrooms and all the mushroomy butter all over the fiddlehead ferns. I served the sauces on the side and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. I also added a few white and black sesame seeds.

Fiddlehead Ferns & Black Trumpet Mushrooms with Tahini Verde & Miso Aioli

ENJOY!

The Forking Truth

The most CHALLENGING Recipe that I have ever tried…..

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When I do other people’s recipes I try to pick amazing recipes. I look for the most amazing recipes that I can find. I found this amazing sounding recipe on the web called textures of corn by a famous chef. This recipe was was a VERY complicated recipe that was something like 5 recipes in one. (corn parfaits, corn crumbs, purple corn crisps, peanut pesto, and corn salad) I think the recipe was full of typos. I don’t know if any part of the recipe was written correctly. Fortunately I was able to remedy everything that didn’t work out and came out with something even FORKING better than FORKING AMAZING.

The recipe starts with making a sweetcorn parfait that you chill and later char or fry. This was the recipe that worked more than most other parts. The corn parfait mixture was way too dry ……but was easy to fix by adding more liquid. I am not sure how much extra cream I added but it seemed like two or three times as much.

The next part was purple corn crumbs. I didn’t have purple corn and attempted this with yellow corn. You cook corn with salted water for around 40 minutes to a syrup consistency. I got my syrup consistency but I ran out of water at least 5 or more times. This recipe needs the water to be increased. I didn’t end up making the corn crumbles because I used this syrup in the next part of the recipe that didn’t work out.

I had the most trouble with the purple corn crisps. It is possible that the corn flour was ground different so a different amount of liquid might be needed. Anyways mine came out so dry that it was impossible to roll this into a dough. I added either 2 or 3 times the amount of butter and it was still too dry. Then I added the extra egg white that was leftover from the corn parfait…..STILL TOO DRY……Then I added the the syrupy liquid with the corn that I didn’t strain yet that I was suppose to turn into purple corn crumbs (with added biscuits)….This mixture gets chilled and latter rolled between two pieces of parchment. The mixture is suppose to turn into crisps at 248 degrees F for only 6 minutes. I did that and mine were raw. I upped the temperature to 300 degrees F and I think mine took close to an hour…. (but they do taste crazy FORKING Amazing) Now this baby is mine and it is FORKING INCREDIBLE….I will make again and publish.

Then I had trouble with the peanut pesto…mine turned into peanut butter. I fixed by starting over and crushed my peanuts in a grinder and added some dry parsley and some of the peanut butter.

The chalaquita recipe (Peruvian corn salad) was mostly very good. It is something that I will make again. I thought one lime was enough lime flavor for it. But the recipe says to use 5 limes.

This recipe was the most challenging recipe that I have ever done but in the end it really does taste like something that might be from the finest restaurant anywhere. I will have to make this again so I can write out a recipe that works. I am thankful to that chef who came up with the recipe because I wouldn’t have came out with this without it……..but won’t publish his name due to all the fails in the recipe.

Textures Of Corn – Corn Chalaquita, charred corn parfait, corn crisps with peanut pesto
The Forking Truth