Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante is an Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria located in North Glendale Arizona (Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide). This spot has been homes to Italian restaurants for over a decade. Over ten years back this spot was home to Tutti Santi. Around spring of 2015 this was Pomo Pizzeria and Toscana Osterio. Then around spring of 2017 it became the Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante that it is today. They offer Neapolitan Pizzas, Hand made pastas, Italian Foods, Brunch Foods, Seasonal Specials and MORE!
The patio is in a park-like setting and is equipped with shades, misters and heaters. Recently the patio has been extended.
I’m always looking for new ways to do beets. I came across Gordon Ramsey’s recipe for Beets Wellington. I didn’t have most of the ingredients that he used so I made up my own way to do it including the pastry…(and my pastry came out extra delicious too!). This recipe make about 6 portions.
Ingredients for around 6 portions
1 cup flour + more for dusting – pastry
1/4 teaspoon sea salt – pastry
1/4 teaspoon baking powder – pastry
8 Tablespoons sweet butter cut into pats – a colder than room temperature – pastry
1/4 cup cream cheese – pastry
1 lb beets – trimmed and peeled (I had three beets)
2 cups red wine vinegar
1 cup red wine
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 oz. scant star anise
1 Tablespoon mustard seeds
1 Tablespoon sweet better – duxcelle
10 oz mushrooms – chopped small – duxcelle
1 small leeks – trimmed – sliced extra thin on a mandolin – small chopped – duxcelle (If desired reserve around a Tablespoon of leeks for finishing pastry)
3 rice paper wrappers (you need one wrapper for each beet)
I Tablespoon everything bagel seasoning – for sprinkling on the pastry.
1 beaten egg yolk
non stick spray
Make the pastry.
Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Use an extra large fork or pastry masher to hand cut up the butter pats in the flour mixture till the butter is around the size of peas. Stir in the cream cheese and give it a few kneads. Dust the dough with flour and roll it out and fold it into thirds. Leave this chill in the refrigerator until ready to use. Cover with plastic wrap.
Braise the beets.
Beets go in a sauce pot with vinegar, wine, water, sugar, star anise, and mustard seeds. Give it a stir and bring to boil and then reduce to simmer and continue simmering until beets are fork tender. (You will need to add more water to the pot as the water goes down) Depending on the size and freshness of your beets timing will differ……could be less than 30 minutes and could be more. When beets are done remove them from the braising liquid. Set beets to the side and cover with plastic wrap.
Make Duxcelle
Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms and leeks and cook till slightly brown. Lower heat to medium low and add salt and pepper. Cook till all the liquid is evaporated. Add thyme and smoked mushroom powder (if using). Blend and set to the side.
Wrap beets with duxcelle and rice paper.
Rice paper gets pliable when you set it in a bath of warm water for a second. Take the rice paper out and spread it with 1/3 of the duxcelle (or 1/4 if you have four beets). Place beet in the middle and wrap. Repeat for each beet.
Get baking sheet(s) ready for the beets. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spray paper with non stick spray and set to the side.
Set oven to 400 degrees F and have a middle rack ready for your pans.
You pastry gets cut in thirds. One third for each beet. Wrap each beet with pastry the best you can and place on sprayed parchment lined baking sheet.
Paint each pastry with egg yolk
Sprinkle each pastry with everything bagel seasoning
If desired sprinkle each pastry with some leeks
Place sheet pan in pre-heated 400 degree F oven till pastry is golden brown and looks done. Timing will differ. Mine were done in around 30 minutes.
Wine Braised Beets Mushroom Leek Duxelles in Pastry
Universal Yums sells snacks from around the world. You can either subscribe or gift in a variety ways and different available sizes.
I get the basic Yum Box. These days it is 5-7 snacks and runs around $16. a month. My box includes a 12 page booklet with fun facts, a recipe and some games.
The first treat we try are the wasabi spicy potato strips.
They taste like they could be made by Pringles but in a long thin strip and wasabi flavored…Ummmm not bad. I’m surprised that they aren’t all busted up. Not bad..I’d buy them once in a while.
Next we try the baked Milk and Dark Chocolate Bar.
It’s a lot of wafers surrounded by a dark chocolaty wax coating. Not awful….but also not great…..I think mine is an off batch…I have next to zero filling between the wafers. It’s kind of dry. Oh well what’s next?
Next we open the Yum Bag. we try a juice filled Ukrainian mixed fruit jelly (yellow wrapper)……It’s weird….Not sure what it taste like….It’s coated with cornstarch and my mouth full of cornstarch…but is more jelly fruity and wet than corn starch…..It’s weird to me.
A day later I tried the other candy in the Yum Bag.
WOW! This candy is even weirder than the last candy. It’s really soft caramel with a strawberry fruit center that doesn’t taste like much. My husband found this candy less weird. He also agreed that you barely taste the strawberry and it’s mostly just a soft caramel…….I would never eat this again.
This is suppose to be a sweeter condensed milk cream cake. I don’t think mine wasn’t made right. It’s very dry and not sweet…I think it taste like it was made with saw dust………YUK! Neither me or my husband could stomach this one.
This one is a creme brûlée milk chocolate bar…It’s very sweet….like as sweet as thick donut icing….It’s too sweet. I think you can get diabetes if you eat more than one chocolate piece. This one was almost good.
Last snack is the roasted garlic rye chips.
My bread chips arrived mostly busted up. I go to taste one…..Not much on garlic taste….Mine taste like dry wheat bread mixed with wood pulp and they are very dry…..
I hope next month is better or I will have to cancel my membership.
Those were my Forking Thoughts on Ukraine Universal Yums
I was lucky and got a big bag of Brussels sprouts for $1.00 and a bunch of tarragon for $1.00 and that is how I came up with this recipe. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. I think a pound of Brussels sprouts makes around 4 servings.
1 lb brussels sprouts – cut in half
canola oil to fry
sea salt – to taste
ground black pepper – to taste
1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 garlic clove – ground to paste
2 Tablespoons white miso
2 Tablespoons French or Dijon mustard (I used Pommery Moutarde Royal with Cognac because I had it…..)
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup toasted cashews – slightly crushed
2 Tablespoons tarragon leaves
Directions
In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, garlic, miso, mustard and vinegar and set to the side.
Put a large sauce pan on medium high heat with slightly less than a half inch of oil for frying. When the oil is hot add the Brussels sprouts cut side down. Fry them till they are browned. Put them on a cooling rack or a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Fry them up till they are done. Salt and pepper the Brussels sprouts to taste.
Top the Brussels sprouts with the vinaigrette, cashews and tarragon.
Brussels sprouts with cashews, tarragon and lemon miso vinaigrette
Every now and then someone is going to serve you the “I already ate plate.” You might be wondering WTFork is an I already ate plate. It’s a plate of food that isn’t much and might not even be enough to nourish a hamster. Every now and then if you go various restaurants someone sometime is going to stick it to you with the “I already ate plate.”
Here is an “I already ate plate” previous to the one I just had (from a restaurant now closed for business).
It’s a small portion of food that looks more like an appetizer….or something that is a part of a tasting menu. Maybe someone at the restaurant was confused and thought I was doing a tasting menu?
Here is another “I already ate plate.” I do note that this also wasn’t a part of a tasting menu (this restaurant is also now closed for business).
This was my $16.00 lunch. I was still hungry after this. This isn’t enough food for a little pudgy tiny toy poodle dog that is dieting. WTFork was I suppose to do?………Am I suppose to hit a fast food place afterwards? AND I would LOVE to know what the heck did they do with the other half of the egg……They couldn’t re-use it.
Here is my first “I already ate plate of 2021. I do warn you that this plate appears to be large until you get a better look.
This is pla rad prik (fish in spicy chili sauce) from Tom Yum Thai Restaurant in Peoria.
I go and open up the fish to dig in.
Up above it appears that this fish was already consumed but it wasn’t. When they cleaned out the fish they also removed nearly all the fish flesh. I spent over $20. and all I got was some fish skin, rice, the sauce and a few over cooked soggy falling apart vegetables. What am I suppose to do? If I was dining in I would show this to someone. But I did take out……If I called them up they wouldn’t believe me….. I must note that normally this restaurant is better. I had no issues with my previous visit. I just don’t recommend fish dishes from Tom Yum Thai (salmon was very over cooked from a previous visit but chicken was good).
Every now and then someone sticks it to you with “The I Already Ate Plate.” And that’s The Forking Truth.
Every once in a while I taste a dish that is stupendously impressive. Something unexpected that is jaw droppingly astonishing. I’m not even a beef person it’s normally my least favorite protein that I still eat…….I actually partially gave it up (I gave up commercial ground beef). Anywho- I know that beef cheeks are usually very good on menus so I decided to try the confit wagyu beef cheek as a hot appetizer from the modern American Restaurant Confluence in Carefree Arizona.
This confit wagyu beef cheek wasn’t just good…or just great….It was EXCEPTIONAL.
I start by tasting a chunk of beef. It is infused with great flavors and really does melt in the mouth. It actually FORKING MELTS in your mouth…You don’t need teeth. But it turns MAGICAL when you get a piece of beef with some of the silkiest flavorful scrambled egg hiding underneath dripping with this amazingly developed sauce and a sweet nutty creamy bite of kabocha squash…..pops of celery….that taste more like celery than celery that I have at home. It was so unexpected and so surprisingly impressive. This truly taste more superb than I can possibly describe.
Just go and get it (FAST). *******(menus at Confluence are ever changing to the freshest of what’s out there so they change often)
The Confit Wagyu Beef Cheek – scrambled egg, celery, kabocha squash, black garlic, apple. It was listed as a hot appetizer on the dinner menu for $16.00 From Confluence in Carefree AZ.
Worth a Fork!
Worth A Fork!
The menus at Confluence are ever changing.
www.RestaurantConfluence.com
Everything is subject to change….That confit wagyu beef cheek won’t stay on the menu too long.
This came to extra delicious……I mean FORKING delicious. My husband snacked on it while I was walking a dog….He NEVER snacks on a vegetable. He said that it smelled so good he wanted to try it. Then he asked me what this was…….This was today’s version of a roasted cauliflower. I made a delicious sauce that got roasted onto the cauliflower. The same sauce can be used on other things like chicken. I think one of the reasons why it came out so delicious was because I used some of my home made brine from my pickled jalapeños. Another fine ingredient was my garlic confit……Incase you don’t know…garlic is more delicious when you make it confit style..It’s never harsh or too garlicky. The third reason why it’s delicious because I used an actual Asian Gochujang from an Asian Market. Gochujang from my local grocery store just isn’t comparable. Yours will taste different if you use different ingredients. Serving size may differ.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
1. head cauliflower – cut into florets
4 oz gochujang – preferably purchased from an Asian Market (home made would even be better)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 Tablespoons chilies in adobo (I used around 1 1/2 peppers minced with some of the sauce)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 Tablespoons pickled jalapeño brine (preferably from home made pickled jalapeños)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon garlic confit (a substitute would be a few garlic cloves (maybe 4) ground to paste)
sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup cotija cheese
non stick spray
Instructions
Set oven to 500 degrees F and have a middle rack ready to use.
Spray baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl add the gochujang, corn starch, sugar, cumin, coriander, chipotle in adobo, oil, jalapeño brine, tomato paste and garlic confit. Mix well. Add the cauliflower florets and keep mixing till the sauce is distributed well over the cauliflower. Space florets on baking sheet and leave in oven till cooked threw and slightly charred. Timing will differ. (Mine took 23 minutes)
When done add fresh crushed sea salt and pepper to taste. Top with shredded cotija cheese.
You might want to garnish with normal nacho type toppings like cilantro, scallions, pickled red onions, sour cream, lime wedges.
Enjoy!
Gochujamg Chili Cheese Cauliflower The Forking Truth
Dining out with dogs in metro Phoenix is just a “FLUFF” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It sort of started when my dog Louie was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. We were told that he probably only had 3 months or up to 6 month to live. He already was elderly and couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed eating and also going out to eat. I took Louie out to eat as often as I could and Louie made it another SEVENTEEN months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are many things you need to know about taking dogs out to eat.
Not all restaurants with patios are dog friendly. They are either certified dog friendly or they are not. Regardless it is always best to call a restaurant and ask if it is ok to bring your furry friend. You never know if the patio is booked for a party.
It is always BEST to dine out with dogs at off times to avoid other people and other dogs. Not all people like dogs and some are allergic to dogs. Other dogs enjoy barking at each other and you could be asked to leave. Avoid problems and dine at off times.
Do you know that most food and drink that you consume could be harmful and even toxic to your dog? Educate yourself and get a list of foods to avoid from your veterinarian. Usually a small piece of lean sauce free meat can be a safe bet. Bring a water bowl for your furry friend.
Here in Arizona we have to be aware that our dogs are not as heat tolerant as us. They can’t sweat and are always wearing a fur coat. They also absorb heat up their paws…. Just like people all dogs do have different levels of tolerance for heat. Not always but usually 90 degrees F and up is too hot to dine out with dogs. Keep it 90 or below in shade. When there is any doubt leave your best friend home.
There are some rules for dining out with dogs. Dogs must be by your side at all times. Dogs are NOT to sit on restaurant furniture. Dog are not to eat off restaurant plates.
Our first stop was Phila-Deli in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide. They are a casual sandwich shop that offers cheesesteaks, hoagies, salads and more. The nice people there offered my dogs water and some meat scraps. I said we didn’t need them today but they were extra nice and set a BIG bowl of water down for my dogs.
My husband got a large cheesesteak today with extra cheese and tomato sauce on the side.
I got a salad and already removed a lot of chicken for my dogs.
Chicken makes dogs happy. I think it’s a pretty nice salad for only $7.50 (+.75cents for avocado)
www.PhilaDeliAZ.com
We regularly go to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They are a Pho -Free Vietnamese Restaurant that offers most of your Vietnamese favorites except for pho. They are called Banh Mi Bistro V. E. because they offer around a dozen different Banh Mi baguette sandwiches. All the food is always delicious. They also give out very large portions and everything is $10 and mostly LESS! They used to offer out door tables but were told to remove the tables because they are not zoned for outdoor dining. We use a folding table here.
Today my husband got the grilled pork rice plate.
You can also see how it taste.
I got the curry chicken with rice today.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro in North Phoenix.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
The Bourbon Cellar is located in North Scottsdale. They are a small steak and seafood house but also offer some of the most amazing ground in house burgers ever! They offer seating indoors but have a unique lush water feature lined dog friendly patio.
Our server was very nice to our dogs and brought each dog a bowl of water.
We decided to start out by sharing the macaroni and cheese appetizer.
It’s very cheesy with lots of sauce. It took a little while but it was worth waiting for. My dogs also enjoyed some.
We took most of it home so we’d have room for the amazing burgers.
Here’s my husband’s fresh ground filet mignon burger with bacon, cheese and onions and a side of onion rings.
I got mine with a side of fresh made to order crunchy cole slaw and my burger was topped with onion rings and bourbon pickles.
It’s a really delicious burger. I think it’s the best one that I have tasted anywhere. It’s also very large so I cut mine in half and my dogs ate the other half.
The Bourbon Cellar was a really great choice today.
www.TheBourbonCellar.com
Next we were off to Cucina Tagliani in Glendale/Arrowhead/#UpperWestSide.
Cucina Tagliani is an American-Italian Restaurant that is also offering some steak and rib specials lately.
Today I got my usual strawberry chicken salad. The strawberries are always extra good and the dressing is delicious.
My husband got a Stromboli.
My dogs always enjoy all the visits to Cucina Tagliani.
www.CucinaTagliani.com
That was dining out with dogs in metro Phoenix. We hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month.
The Forking TruthIn Memory of Louie 5-5-2001 – 3-3-2017
Fry’s had ground turkey on sale and I had two acorn squash that I needed to cook and I thought I could turn them into chili so I did. Chili is something that I make completely different all the time and it is something that I don’t normally measure. I did something different that I never done before and guessed at the seasonings and made a spice mix. I thought it would easier instead of a million trips to my spice cabinet. Every time I cooked a part of the chili I seasoned it with the spice mix. In the end I didn’t use all of the spice mix and figured that I made about one ounce too much that I will use on something else….like cauliflower or chicken……so use the spice mix to taste. I would remove one ounce from your completed mix so you don’t over season. My idea of serving size will differ from your idea of serving size. I like chili in smaller portions so to me this makes around six servings. If you like a big bowl then it makes around 4 servings.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
2 acorn squash (my 2 squash weighed 2 pounds together) cut in half, seeds and membrane removed, covered and roasted in a pan with edges with a little water till soft. (around 45 – 60 minutes at around 400 degrees F) (scrap squash flesh out when cool enough)
1 lb ground turkey – (mine was 93% lean)
non stick spray (or oil)
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 red pepper – diced
1 small onion – diced
12 oz tomatoes (I used peeled that was slow roasted and then blended but canned crushed would be good too)
14 oz can Italian fine chopped tomatoes (They seem like crushed but are very good tomatoes)
1 Tablespoon garlic confit – you can substitute garlic to taste…guessing 4 or 5 cloves ground to paste
1 cup water (or a little more)
2 Tablespoons smoked mushroom powder (SVHarvest.Worldpress.com I buy from the local mushroom lady who grows all these mushrooms and supplies them to restaurants in Phoenix)
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon chipotle powder (or substitute chilies in adobo)
1 Tablespoon oregano
1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cocoa (unsweetened)
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
apple cider vinegar – to taste (I did a big splash….maybe 1/4. cup)
Directions
Make the spice mix. In a small mixing bowl combine the smoked mushroom powder, chili powder, cumin, chipotle powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cocoa, salt and pepper. You will end up with about an extra ounce of seasoning. Remove one ounce to use for something else.
Heat up a large fry pan with non stick spray or oil. Make 4 burgers out of the turkey. Season them on both sides with spice mix. Cook up the turkey burgers. When done put the burgers to the side.
Don’t clean your pan because flavor is there.
Add some oil and fry up the red pepper on medium high heat for about 5 minutes and then add the onion and add more seasoning. Cook till the onion and pepper are soft.
Add the Anaheims, the squash, tomatoes, water, garlic and MORE seasoning but not all the seasoning.
Turn down the heat to simmer.
Chop up the turkey burgers and add them.
Add more seasoning but not all the seasoning. (make sure that you removed one ounce) Add apple cider vinegar to taste. (maybe around 1/4 cup)
Taste.
Add more sea
Serve as is or add sour cream, scallions or maybe cheese.
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse is located in Scottsdale Arizona. They have around one hundred and forty locations in around thirty seven states. Menus, some recipes and some prices do differ at the different locations.
The Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse in Scottsdale Arizona is located on a second level above other businesses. You enter by either walking up the stairs or taking the elevator. They offer indoor seating.
And outdoor seating.
They start you off with a loaf of warm ordinary bread and ordinary butter. (My FORKING Thoughts are can’t they serve a tastier bread? and at least clip some fresh chives for the butter….maybe serve a fresh herb pesto????? This is going to cost an arm and a leg….Why is this is soOoooooo ordinary?)
The bread is ok but not tasty enough to want a second taste. The butter is just plain butter.
When I go to similar price point restaurants going out to eat I usually get bread that is more like this (pictured bellow). (those were my FORKING thoughts)
Twist by Pierre Gagnaire at Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas
or
L’ATELIER de Joel Robuchon Las VegasRuth’s Chris Bread and Butter
Oh Well the bread and butter are ordinary …lets move on.
Next we share a chopped salad.
It’s presented very nice. The crisp onions are tasty. This salad contains raw button mushrooms. Maybe it’s just me but raw mushrooms don’t taste good in a salad. This salad is bland. It’s like made for blue hairs in Sun City. It’s suppose to have blue cheese in it. I think we shared one small crumb of blue cheese…………( I think it should have a few teaspoons of blue cheese not just a small crumb). (My husband insist that this same salad at other Ruth’s Chris locations are much tastier and do include more blue cheese???……I’ve noticed that other locations do have different ingredients listed on the menu )……Oh well………
We share some sides because we are at a steakhouse so you have to buy the sides.
We tried the three cheese sauce potatoes au gratin and the grilled asparagus with hollandaise sauce.
The potatoes are ok but very ordinary. Like something you’d get at a family cook out. They are a smaller amount than expected. I took two chunks so my husband could eat the rest. The asparagus was tasty and nicely grilled. The asparagus might have been the highlight of the meal. The hollandaise sauce seemed fresh made but was very thick, laced with lemon and very mild.
My husband got the eleven ounce prime filet mignon.
$53.00
It came out on a very hot plate. My husband gives me a bite to try. It’s tender but I can’t eat this. It’s oddly tasteless. The beef is not flavorful and is so ordinary tasting and very bland. It really needs salt and pepper too. I don’t know why this filet is tasteless….It’s of high quality……Maybe they didn’t sear it enough???????…….I just had a ground up prime filet somewhere else and it was far more flavorful and cost less than half of what this cost. The last Filet I had also was far more flavorful, detailed and delicious, (pictured below) and also cost much less. (my husband did say that he has enjoyed filets from other Ruth Chris’s Restaurants…to him this one did differ….)
I THANK my lucky stars that I didn’t go with a filet at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.
The Chilean sea bass almost seems amazing after tasting the filet.
$40.
It looks like a large portion and it is enough but not as large as it looks. It is placed on a very small plate. (They are tricky here) This is a standard restaurant side plate….Like the type of plate you would serve a baked potato on or a side of vegetables. The fish is surrounded by small chunks of hard sweet potato and grilled chunks of pineapple in a coconut butter sauce. The fish is prepared well and is tasty with the fresh herbs, salt and pepper. This plate was mostly ok even with the undercooked sweet potatoes. For $40 I think it could have been a little more special. Maybe dressed with a nice vegetable like a few snap peas? A few pretty sprouts? Some toasted macadamia nuts?
For the same price I enjoyed many extraordinary fish entrees from Confluence in Carefree. (They always do fish extraordinary with crispy seasoned skin that is shattering crisp and extraordinary things surrounding the plate).
Hiramasa, huitlacoche, tomatillo, mango, pepitas, arbol chili
The above plate is far superior to-
This was a $300. night out (with tip).
In general there is nothing wrong with ordinary. I expect ordinary at most places but –
……Dinner tasted very ordinary (but was extraordinarily priced).
I left very underwhelmed.
We went to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse because we had a gift card.
I do note that each location does differ and your experience at Scottsdale could indeed differ.
www.RuthsChris.com
Everything is subject to change and your opinion may differ from mine.
