I found these Lay’s Magic Masala Potato Chips at Asiana Market in Deer Valley in Phoenix. They are a medium size bag that weighs around 3 1/2 ounces. These chips are from India.
The ingredients don’t look bad. Not too many chemicals. I’m so glad that they used edible vegetable oil instead of the inedible vegetable oil.
I take a whiff before I try them. It really does remind me of Indian food. They do smell fragrant.
I spill some out.
The chips are on the small side. They have ridges and feel sort of powdery.
I taste one slowly.
It’s very spicy. The flavors I taste are heavy with onion, garlic and chili pepper flavors. There are other flavors…One is something sort of vinegary. I’m getting the tomato and maybe cumin. There are other flavors that fill in but the onion, garlic and heat over power those flavors. Ginger might be there. …It taste like maybe asafoetida is there. I think that is the mystery flavor that makes this Indian Masala.
My husband tries some. He thought he was eating smoky BBQ chips…(lol)
These chips sure are better than many of the Lay’s flavors. I would like more ethnic kind of flavor here but they still are good tasting chips. However these chips are only for people who can take spicy.
Someone in one of my food groups made a deviled egg stuffed Scotch Egg….As soon as I saw it I thought of doing some sort of Asian Meatloaf stuffed with a wasabi deviled egg so that is how this came to be. This makes around 6 servings.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
6 hard boiled eggs peeled
1 lb ground meat (I used lean 93% turkey)
1/4 sweet onion – fine chop
5 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon black vinegar
1 Tablespoon Sichuan chili crisp (I used Fly By Jing Brand)
1 Tablespoon hoisin (plus more to serve with)
1/4 cup scallions
1/4 cup pea sprouts – chopped
1/4 cup cilantro (just leaves and tender stems) – chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger powder (I didn’t have fresh)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 eggs beaten
1 1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
non stick spray
dry wasabi – to taste
Chinese mustard – to taste
mayonaise – to taste
about 4 oz. dumpling sauce (I used Fly By Jing Brand…or you can substitute hoisin sauce)
1 package of wonton wrappers (I used a little more than 1/2 a package)
Directions
Set the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray and set to the side.
In a large bowl combine the meat, onion, garlic, sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegars, scallions, ginger, red pepper, beaten eggs, panko, chili crisp, hoisin, cilantro and pea sprouts. Mix well and divide into 6 patties.
Roll each patty around one egg and set spaced out on non stick sprayed baking sheet. Repeat till done.
They go in the oven till cooked. Ovens and timing do differ but in my oven on the middle rack took 25 minutes.
When the loafs are cool enough to handle paint them with dumpling sauce.
Then you wet one or two wonton wrappers at a time and adhere them to the dumpling sauce coated loafs. Repeat till done.
slice what you need in half. Scoop out yolks. Mix yolks with a fork with wasabi powder, Chinese Mustard and Mayonnaise to taste and put back into egg whites.
You can finish with more scallions or chives, some sesame seeds, dumpling or hoisin sauce.
Wasabi Deviled Egg Stuffed Meatballs in Wonton Wrappers
Or you can leave the egg alone and eat them this way.
There are many great dishes to try from many metro Phoenix Restaurants. Some might inspire you to try to do a copy cat version. Here are some that inspired me. They are listed in no particular order.
Miso eggplant with bonito flakes and crisp enoki mushrooms
This miso eggplant with bonito flakes and crisp enoki mushrooms and peanuts was inspired from one of my visits to Confluence in Carefree AZ.
Reathrey Sekong is a Cambodian Restaurant that I have been to a few times in Phoenix. They make a Cambodian flavor paste to flavor some of the dishes and did it on video for our local newspaper. I watched and took notes. A combination of turmeric, lime leaves, lemon grass, galangal, shallots and garlic makes Cha Kreung Paste and that is what I used to flavor the above vegetables.
Ethiopian Style Chicken Stew
I went to Abyssinia Restaurant and Cafe in Phoenix. The Doro Wat Chicken was so delicious I had to find out on how to make it.
Flat Bread with Blue Cheese Butter and Pistou Inspired from Eddie’s house of Scottsdale AZ
Eddie’s House in Scottsdale is no longer in business but part of the complimentary bread basket inspired me to make a flat bread with blue cheese butter and pistou.
At Angel’s Trumpet Ale House in Phoenix I had this amazing salad that inspired me to do the above plate with the majority of ingredients that were in the salad. Up above are smoked beets, goat cheese mousse, oranges, pea sprouts, almonds, mint and orange champagne vinaigrette.
Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette
We enjoyed spaghetti squash with harissa from FnB in Scottsdale so I made something similar.
No Pasta Squash Manicotti
We often dine at Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante and one special they had was a squash wrapped manicotti. I thought that was a good idea and made up my own ricotta cheese and did the same.
Melon with Preserved Lemon, Lavender and Cream Cheese
The most memorable plate I tried from The Vic Bar & Grill in Buckeye was a melon salad with preserved lemon and lavender.
Reduced Fat Potato Green Pepper & Eggplant
Miu’s Cuisine was one of the best Chinese Restaurants. They had this dish with potatoes, green peppers, eggplant and black garlic that was so delicious. I attempted a reduced fat version.
Roasted then Fried Rutabaga topped with oven fried Lotus Chip
We enjoyed the Gilfeather Rutabaga from FnB in Scottsdale. I purchased the same rutabagas from the Scottsdale Farmers Market and did something similar. (should have used more chives)
Spicy Vegetarian Cauliflower Meatballs in Spicy Butternut Squash Indian Spiced Sauce
I really enjoyed the spicy cauliflower meatballs from Meat The Ball in Scottsdale. Sadly Meat The Ball is no longer in business but I still remember several of the meatballs I tried.
Indian Inspired Green Beans and Chickpeas
Even food from a buffet can inspire. There used to be an Indian buffet and restaurant called Mayuri Palace in Phoenix. I tried an okra dish that was marked kauai bhindi masala and gosh it was amazing. At the. time I was unable to find a similar recipe. Somehow I came up with this Indian inspired green beans with chick peas. I know it came out pretty good because this recipe has been featured in an Indian on-line publication and rates 5 stars on a certain recipe site.
Pickled Beet Israeli Couscous and Harissa Vinagrete
This pickled beet, Israeli couscous with harissa vinaigrette was inspired by a plate I enjoyed from Atlas Bistro in Scottsdale.
Focaccia di Recco
I tasted this AMAZING Focaccia di Recco at Pomo Pizzeria. This I didn’t know how to make so I followed Mary Ann Esposito’s recipe. Mine didn’t come out quite as amazing as Pomo’s but still was very tasty.
Brazilian Inspired Potato Salad
The Brazilian potato salad was really delicious from Carvalho’s in North Scottsdale. It’s different…Looks very creamy but the creaminess is made by over cooking the potatoes. Can’t get it there anymore because they are closed for business.
Indian Inspired Beets
I really enjoyed the beets poriyal from Vaigai that used to be open in Glendale. I looked up a recipe for them and they came out close.
Baked Asian Seasoned Broccoli and Cauliflower Bites
The bang bang broccoli from The Larry in Phoenix was SUPER tasty. I had to make something similar and I did!
Forking EPIC Guacamole
Thanks to my visits to The Barrio Grand Reserva (no longer in business) I was inspired to make this AMAZING guacamole. I learned some secrets there that I never would have came up with unless I tasted The Barrio Grand Reserva’s amazing food. This isn’t a copy of their guacamole but does copy some of the superb things I tried there. Some secret ingredients are Asain pears, chitepin peppers, home made pickled caccabella peppers and SEAWEED.
Matbucha
We used to have a very above average Mediterranean Israeli Style restaurant called Zabari Mediterranean Grill in Phoenix. One ultra memorable food item from that restaurant was a cold tomato sort of salsa called Matbucha. OMG it was so delicious I had to learn how to make it. I did a lot of research and I was able to figure a recipe that taste similar. This stuff is really great and I have no idea why this food isn’t main stream. I bet I could make a living just selling this.
Latin Inspired Red Lentils, Rainbow Chard, Dates and Almonds
From a visit to Deseo Nation Restaurant in Scottsdale we enjoyed this side order that was delicious. My version of it was made of red lentils, rainbow chard, dates and almonds.
Eggplant Caponata
Tasted an amazing eggplant caponata from Stratta Kitchen in Scottsdale. Always thought that I didn’t like eggplant caponata till I tasted the one that Stratta Kitchen serves. Made my own and it is awesome……(Thinking that most people don’t correctly cook the eggplant or study on how to make it right)
Burmese Style turkey soup
At FiGaMi Asian Fresh Restaurant in Phoenix I got an amazing Burmese Style Fish Soup. I had home made turkey stock at home and did something similar after I looked up on how to make Burmese Style Soup. (P.S. I went back to FiGaMi Asian Fresh for the same soup and it was different second time around)
Crisp radishes and capers in an anchovy caper dressing
We enjoyed a radish, caper and anchovy caper dressing salad from FnB in Scottsdale. My radishes were not as special but I did a pretty good job copy catting.
Those were some of my inspirations from Metro Phoenix Restaurants. I wonder what restaurant will inspire me next?
Here’s another way to do butternut squash. I hasselbacked it (the way I cut it) but you don’t have to do that. You can cut in slices if you like. Feel free to add a little goat cheese or a quality feta cheese that isn’t too tangy. They would work here but I thought I had enough going on so here it is.
1 butternut squash – peeled, remove membrane with seeds, (if you squash is very small with thin walls you can hasselback) (If your squash is medium or bigger then you need to roast it at 425 degrees f for 10-15 minutes to get it soft enough to hasselback) ****OR**** just cut it up into cubes or thin slices…it really doesn’t FORKING matter. Serving size is impossible to judge because the size of the squash will differ and also your appetite will differ.
Ingredients for about 8 servings
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter – melted
1 orange + zest – you need the fresh squeezed juice and keep the zest separate
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo red pepper (or substitute 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (this I guessed I just squirted the squash well with this)
1 hot pepper of your choice grated (I used a Mexican yellow pepper)
2 Tablespoons sugar
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 oz roasted salted pistachios – smashed
1/4 cup pomegranate
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
non stick spray
Directions
Set your oven to 425 degrees F.
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large bowl mix together the butter, orange juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. This mixture goes on your squash. Paint it on with a brush two times and then give it a spray of olive oil. YOU WILL HAVE EXTRA that you will use in about 15 minutes when you apply again.
In a small bowl mix together the orange zest, grated hot pepper and sugar. This gets sprinkled or rubbed on the squash. If you did cubes or slices add the thyme now. If you are doing hasselback add the thyme with the next 15 minutes.
Your squash goes in the preheated oven AGAIN for 15 minutes. Paint your squash again with the orange juice/butter mixture and put the squash back in another 15 minutes.
Now here is where things differ.
Depending on the shape and size of your squash and cutting the timing will differ greatly….If you did cubes the squash might be almost done.
If your squash is not done keep going every 10-15 minutes and paint on the thickened juices that are oozing from the squash till it’s done to your liking.
Apply pistachios, pomegranate and parsley and then serve.
Butternut Squash with Orange Vinaigrette Pistachios Pomegranate and Herbs
Lay’s Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Potato Chips have been out for a while now but I finally got up the nerve to try them. About a year ago I tried several different flavors of Lay’s potato chips that just didn’t do it for me so I gave up trying new flavors until recently.
These Lay’s Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Potato Chips smell just like a jar of dill pickle!
I got to look at the ingredients.
They have a few ingredients that are unexpected like whey and sour cream…..???? Why whey and sour cream? They don’t go into spicy dill pickles!
Here are the chips up close.
The chips are smaller in size and are a little powdery.
I taste one. It’s almost too hot and *****IS*****too vinegary for me.
My husband loves them and is woofing them down.
The chips for me are painful to eat slow.
If I eat them faster they don’t hurt my mouth and they really do taste like spicy dill pickles.
Pretty good and worth a try! …Just don’t eat them slow.
I had to come up with a delicious zucchini recipe and here it is. I made a tasty sunflower seed crust for the zucchini and it is really delicious with roasted tomatillo salsa and cotija cheese. Add a few pickled red onions to jazz it up if you make them. Zucchini doesn’t have to be boring anymore.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
3 medium zucchini – ends removed, cut in half long ways
6 jalapeños – stem and core and seeds removed – chopped
1 large onion – chopped
1/2 head garlic – leave the cloves in their skins…they get roasted that ways and pop out really easy after roasting
1/8 oz fresh epazote leaves – chopped
1 oz fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems – chopped
1/2 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
optional 1-2 chiltepin – crushed or to taste – your salsa will taste even better if you use chiltepin I got mine locally (I forgot from either Bly Sky Farms or Crocked Sky Farms) or you have to mail for them.
1/4 cup white vinegar
Directions
Make the salsa first.
The tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic, and onions all go under broiler till charred. You might want to do them separately because they get done at different times. Pop out the garlic from the skins and throw out the garlic skins. Then when they are all charred up you blend the tomatillos, jalapeños, garlic, onion, epazote, cilantro, lime juice, sea salt (chiltepin if using) and vinegar together. This is delicious and you will love it. If it’s a little too thick you can thin it with a little water. Either set this to the side or refrigerate if you are using latter.
The zucchini get laid out on a baking sheet cut side up. Paint the cut side up with the beaten egg. Season to taste with fresh crushed sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
Set the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a spice grinder ground the sunflower seeds till they are chunky and a little powdery. The ground sunflower seeds go in a small mixing bowl. Add the remaining salt and white pepper to the ground sunflower seeds.
The ground sunflower seed mixture gets sprinkled over each cut wet side of the zucchini. You will have a good layer of sunflower seed over each zucchini half. Then they get drizzled with oil. Then they go in the 400 degree F preheated oven till the zucchini is soft and the sunflower mixture gets golden. Timing will differ but in my oven mine took 45 minutes.
You MUST serve with the roasted tomatillo salsa. Cojita cheese, pickled onions and a little sour cream would be really great too!
Zucchini with Sunflower Seed Crust and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
How many times do you go out and you might have had a great meal but the dessert just isn’t up there with the meal? I think that happens often. Confluence in Carefree is a small upscale restaurant that serves an ever changing menu of elevated modern American food. This is one of the very few restaurants that I have been to that serves desserts that are just as amazing as the food.
Some say that you can eat with your eyes….So here we go! Get ready to enjoy!
Up above is chocolate mousse. It’s not ordinary. It’s the highest quality and detailed.
It goes a little further here. – caramelized white chocolate pudding, pine nuts, dark chocolate mousse, pistachio, gianduja chocolate semifreddo and hazelnut brittle.
caramelized white chocolate mousse, chocolate mousse, macadamia nuts, bananas and banana bread
vanilla creme brûlée
roasted peach with cheese cream and cocoa (this one was listed as an appetizer)
mixed fruit granite
peanut butter, peanuts, brittle, semi freddo, strawberries and port
The Copper Mule is an American casual restaurant and bar located in North Scottsdale Arizona.
They offer small plates for sharing, single pizzas, salads, sandwiches, street tacos (that come with chips and salsa), burgers, entrees, cocktails, wine and more. They have seating at the bar, table seating and patio seating that also is dog friendly.
We started with the Montauk fried blue cheese olives with sriracha ranch and lemon.
What’s not to like? Ours were fried to perfection. These are very VERY tasty. They are crisp with a meaty olive center that was filled with blue cheese. The sauce is tasty and the lemon just brightens it all up and is that just right touch here. I think that this is very detailed for what it is.
My husband had a pressed pork prosciutto Swiss cheese, dill pickle and mustard sandwich called the Havana. It comes with plantain chips but the nice server said that he could pick any side that he wanted and he went with tater barrels (tater tots).
The sandwich is really good! It has more prosciutto in it than expected. The serving of tater barrels is also very generous and they are fried to a crisp nice golden brown.
I went with the lemon dill salmon that comes with cheese ravioli and asparagus. It seems so wrong. I guess this is what you call a naughty combination……..
The salmon is prepared reasonably well and is seasoned with dill. It taste similar to most other $16.95 salmon entrees out from most places….(what that means is ……..a bit fresher than salmon from my local Fry’s, Safeway or Sprouts) I would call this neighborhood style restaurant fish…(not fish house style fish). The asparagus is freshly prepared…I was very surprised in a good way with the ravioli and cheese sauce. I figured for only $16.95 (subject to change) that the ravioli had to be from frozen…….Well I didn’t ask if the ravioli were frozen but they did taste fresh made (or might be really good purchased stuff?). The pasta seemed like just made and the inside was very fresh tasting with lots of creamy ricotta cheese. I’m so glad that the ravioli were without that filler that packaged ravioli usually taste like. The creamy cheese sauce was unexpected but was really delicious. It had that really rich American cheese kind of flavor. I could taste that this is mostly some sort of American type cheese. We enjoyed dipping the tots in it too. My husband sure didn’t mind eating two of my FOUR ravioli.
We were excited to splurge and try one of the desserts and went with the blueberry rum caramel bundt cake with ice cream. It was a nice light and fluffy cake that wasn’t too sweet embedded with some blueberries with a caramel drizzle. The ice cream seemed similar to Hagen Dazs Vanilla.
A nice sweet ending to a really nice casual meal out.
I’m always coming up with another way to do beets and this is what I’ve come up with for today. Beets are usually on sale and almost never go bad so I often have them in my refrigerator. I’m also growing fresh Thai Basil in my Areo Garden. I happened to be reading someone else’s recipe with Black Garlic Ketchup but it wasn’t anything like mine so I thought I could do a better black garlic ketchup. That is how I got the idea to do that and to add potatoes. I’m happy to say this recipe came out tasting great. My beets are always really great because I cook them different. I roast them with a mixture of sugar, vinegar and water so they are tasty and never too earthy. This makes around 4 smaller sized servings.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
1 lb beets – peeled (cut if you want or leave whole…if you cut they will get done quicker) (I left mine whole and mine took around 90 minutes)
1 potato peeled cut in any shape you like – (chips, fries, waffles)
salt to taste ( a very small amount to season potatoes)
pepper to taste ( a very small amount to season potatoes)
2 Tablespoons oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons minced black garlic (ketchup)
1 teaspoon soy sauce (ketchup)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar (ketchup)
2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar (ketchup)
3 oz tomato paste (ketchup)
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger (ketchup)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 pear – cut in slices
1 handful fresh Thai Basil leaves
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Get out a roasting pan and add the beets, sugar, red wine vinegar, water and a pinch of sea salt. Put this in middle rack of oven. Your potatoes also go on an oiled baking sheet and put them on either middle rack and drizzle or spray the potatoes with some oil. The beets are done when they are fork tender and the potatoes are done when they are browned then season them with salt and pepper to taste. Timing will differ……depending on size, freshness and oven placement. Most will be done starting in 35 minutes or more.
In a sauce pan heat up the tomato paste well then add the soy sauce, sugar, rice wine vinegar and ginger till the sugar is dissolved. You might want to thin this down with some water and then add the black garlic. Take off heat.
In a small mixing bowl add the soy sauce, honey, red wine vinegar, and sesame oil. (This gets poured on the beets when out of the oven.
Cut up a pear and squeeze lime juice on it.
Put it all together. You can’t see in picture but I stood the potatoes cup in tiny hills of the black garlic ketchup. Arrange anyway you like and add fresh Thai Basil leaves.
You might want to add a few pea sprouts, chives and sesame seeds to jazz it up.
Asian Dressed Beets with Pear, Potatoes, Black Garlic Ketchup and Thai Basil
This is a no recipe – recipe idea I had. I made the FORKING AWESOME Vivian Howard’s Sweet Corn Pudding Soufflé (recipe is here on this site from only a few days ago). The only problem with soufflé is that you should only make what you can eat because the leftovers fall. I cut the recipe in half and still had leftovers that I froze. The leftovers taste amazing. Just take them from the freezer. WEAR GLOVES….and eye goggles and a mask to avoid painful jalapeño mishaps. Cut off enough to fill a jalapeño (after you remove the core).
These are the raw jalapeños stuffed with Vivian Howards frozen corn pudding soufflé
Just throw them in the oven at 400 degrees F until it looks cooked up (around 30-40) Top with fried leeks if you like.
Jalapeños stuffed with Vivian Howard’s Sweet Corn Pudding Soufflé and topped with Fried Leeks
