Tag Archives: #foodies

Forking Dining Out and DINING IN with DOGS in Metro Phoenix March 2020

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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. He was given 3-6 months. He already was old and couldn’t do a lot but he enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 months Louie made it another 17 months. Today my current dogs enjoy going out to eat.

Before you dine out with dogs there are some things to know. Most restaurants in Phoenix have patios but not all patios are dog friendly. It is always BEST to call any restaurant on the day of your visit and ask if it’s ok to dine there with your dog. That way you find out if it’s ok to bring your dog and you also find out if the patio is available that day. It’s also AWAYS BEST to dine at off times to avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. Not all people share your love for dogs and some people are allergic to dogs. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs like to bark at each other and you might get asked to leave.

You need to beware that when dining out with dogs that your dog must be by your side at all times. Dogs are NOT permitted to sit on restaurant furniture or to eat off of restaurant plates. You should bring a bowl from home for water for your dog. You need to be aware that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even TOXIC to your dog. You must get a list of safe and a list of foods to avoid from your veterinarian. Usually a small piece of lean meat that is without sauce is usually a safe bet. Here in Phoenix you also need to know that your dog is not as heat tolerant as you are. All people and all dogs do have different tolerances for heat. In general but not for all dogs I’d say over 90 degrees F is too hot to dine out with dogs. Maybe 90 degrees is tolerable but only in FULL SHADE. All dogs do differ. Hopefully you know your dog well enough to decide. When there is any doubt PLEASE LEAVE YOUR DOG AT HOME.

Now I will let The Forking Truth go to my dogs. They will tell you about their dining experiences.

“We were on our way to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante but my folks didn’t make it early enough and the patio was full of people so we left.” “BAH!” “But we did great at Phila-Deli.”

“The nice owner runs us out some turkey before my folks got their meals.”

“Our female human companion got a turkey wrap again.”

“It’s a different brand of turkey today.” “I think I like this one better because it’s more moist without that smoke taste and I really like the pepper jack cheese that gets pulled out for us.”

“We also really Forking love cheese steaks (without the onions for us dogs!’

“We always get a “Phila-Belly from Phila Deli…….(we enjoy that!)”

www.PhilaDeliAZ.com

“We are on our way to Culver’s in the Deer Valley part of Phoenix.” “Culver’s is a national group oof quick casual restaurants.” “Culver’s is famous for their signature never from frozen butter burgers, hand battered Icelandic cod and their daily made fresh frozen custard.”

“That butter burger is nicely caramelized and smells delicious.”

“We get the eat some yummy butter burger!”

“Our folks like the limited walleye special.” “It’s a very large platter.” “We helped eat that one too!”

“We always do great at Culver’s.”

www.Culvers.com

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

“Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery serves up most of your usual favorite Vietnamese foods except for pho.” “They are a pho-free eatery and post signs that say,”Eat a banh mi instead.”

“Today our folks got a lotus root salad ($5.00), chicken potstickers ($4.00) and a pork rice plate ($10.00).”

“We are doing so good today!”

“We loved everything we tried from Banh Mi Vietnamese Bistro!”

“Yep that was delicious!”

www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com

“Holy FORK!” “Now we are having a coronavirus crisis!” “Our folks did take out from Fabio On Fire today!” “We got to enjoy a small amount of sausage pizza.”

We didn’t get any of the bufalina pizza because it isn’t dog friendly with the balsamic vinegar.”

“So we were fed some eye roast she made.”

“We also did Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery this week because it’s very important to keep our local restaurants in business.”

1/2 of chicken banh mi

“Helped with two lunches out of one chicken banh mi.”

“We also helped with a delicious shaken beef banh mi ($8.00).

“We also got to eat food from Cucina Tagliani.”

www.CucinaTagliani.com

“Well that was Dining Out and DINING IN with Dogs in Metro Phoenix for March 2020.” “We hope for the best during this pandemic.” “We also hope that you’ve enjoyed and we hope to see you next month!”

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

Take Out During The Coronavirus in Metro Phoenix AZ – Fabio On Fire, Banh Mi Bistro & Cucina Tagliani

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We are supporting local restaurants during the coronavirus crisis. We did Fabio On Fire in Peoria and took out two pizzas.

They converted the restaurant to “CURB SIDE ONLY” and ordering and payment is online. They communicate with you by text messaging. Then you order is placed on an outside table. After you pick up your order the table is sanitized.

My husband enjoyed a sacciccia e funghi pizza $14.95. (sausage and mushrooms)

“Good Stuff!”

I enjoyed a bufalina pizza $15.95. (arugula, imported buffalo mozzarella, balsamic and extra virgin olive oil.

Another take out was Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix.

Everyone was doing take out from here because they ran out of rice, noodles and pork.

They are a PHO-FREE Vietnamese Eatery…Most of your usual Vietnamese favorites but no pho.

Eat a banh mi instead!

Today I took out a chicken banh mi ($7.00. I ate half today and will eat the other half tomorrow.

half the sandwich is pictured

I had some help from my furry friends.

My husband had a shaken beef banh mi ($8.00).

This is half

We always enjoy everything from Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.

We also did take out from Cucina Tagliani in Glendale.

The dinners came with lots of garlic toast.

I had grilled salmon with asparagus and spaghetti squash in a lemon caper sauce ($23.99). My husband had shrimp diabolo ($21.99).

My husband surprised me with an added on mascarpone chocolate cake.

It’s a very big slice and feeds at least four people but it really is delicious!

That was my take out in Metro Phoenix during the coronavirus.

Fabio On Fire

Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery

Cucina Tagliani

It’s important during these times to support your local eateries!

The Forking Truth

FUN EASY & FORKING DELICIOUS small batch RUGELACH Recipe

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I was watching a competition Food Network TV Show where the contestants had to make rugelach. It is a cream cheese and butter pastry that is wrapped around a filling such as jam, chocolate chips, nuts and or cinnamon and sugar. I looked up recipes for rugelach. Basically most are 1/2 flour and the other 1/2 is 1/4 cream cheese and 1/4 butter. I know these pastries are always delicious and now I know why……They are very rich and fattening. I decided that since these pastries are very rich I only wanted to make a very small batch and figured out on how to only make EIGHT small pastries. The FUN part is that you can make any flavor you want. Figure out what filling you want. Then you have to roll out the pastry in some sort of sugar…see if you can figure out something that matches your filling in the sugar. I went with pistachio. I had in imported pistachio spread. And I mixed crushed pistachios with the sugar that I rolled the dough in. These came out FORKING AMAZING….Next time I will do a high end Nutella filling and do my sugar mixed with hazelnuts. I think a date filling with chocolate chips would be delicious. I think orange marmalade with a orange zest sugar topping would also be delicious. We could do a cherry filling with crushed almonds and sugar…..Could go on and on and on….The fun is for you to pick your flavor! (This recipe does not include a filling recipe…you have to come up with that yourself)

Ingredients for 8 servings

1/2 cup flour

small pinch salt

2 oz cream cheese

2 oz unsalted butter – chopped into small cubes or grated (I grated on a big hole grater and lost some of the butter)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 egg yolk

sugar to roll dough….I used course raw sugar maybe two tablespoons, use any sugar you want like flour to roll sticky dough

optional -other add ons to sugar

A small amount of filling for your pastries (chocolate chips, jam, nuts and honey, peanut butter, etc)

Directions

Mix up the flour, salt, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and yolk with a fork. You don’t need to mix it up all the way more like 80%. This dough is rich and soft so you need to wrap it in plastic wrap in a disk shape and chill it in the refrigerator over night or give it a few hours.

When you are ready to roll.

Set your oven to 375 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Use your sugar like flour to roll out the dough and make it into a round shape. (I used raw sugar and crushed pistachios)

My sugar was mixed with crushed pistachios

Spread your filling on the dough.

Cut like a pizza in quarters and cut threw each quarter so you have 8 wedges.

Roll UP from the large or crust end and place on the parchment lined baking sheet.

Place on middle rack. Mine took 14 minutes in the preheated 375 degree F oven. Timing may differ slightly.

These are FORKING DELICIOUS!

Pistachio Rugelach

Enjoy!

Pistachio Rugelach
The Forking Truth

CoronaVirus Apocalypse and It seems like Famine in Metro Phoenix AZ – Week One

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I didn’t noticed much of a change shopping for food until this past weekend. I was at Costco a warehouse shopping type of store. I didn’t really need too many things so I didn’t look for too many things either. It seemed like they offered most of the foods they normally offer but they were out of paper products, eggs and bread. It’s possible that they were out of more things but I didn’t notice. To me it didn’t seem like a crisis but it sure did seem annoying.

First time I’ve seen empty shelve at Costco
Lots of empty shelving at Costco

Latter in the week I thought I’d go to Safeway for chicken because Costco sells a brand of chicken that I don’t like. I had no idea that Safeway’s shelves would be like this.

Not much here.

Tomatoes are usually here.

They have a few things. They have Japanese eggplants and it looks like yellow beans and green beans. On the other side is Savoy cabbage.

Here’s most of the rest of the produce.

No potatoes or onions.

The meat counter is out of meat. It’s not like I came in at an off time. I came Tuesday just after lunch.

They are out of all raw chicken and raw turkey today.

They have some meat but it’s vegetarian, some beef and some pork.

Not much here.

Not much here.

Not much here.

Not much here either.

This is a crisis. Nobody can live forever like this.

This is the FORKING CoronaVirus Apocalypses and this is what it’s Forking Like To Buy Food. It seems like Famine in Phoenix Week One. I can only hope that next week is better.

Everything is subject to change and I FORKING HOPE THAT IT DOES!

The Forking Truth

French Style Vegetarian Carrot Soup Recipe (The French Academy Style)

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I watched The French Cooking Academy’s video on French Style Carrot Soup that is actually called Potage Crecy A La Briarde. It looked very easy to prepare and I had all the ingredients ((except for one)). In the video he didn’t tell you most of measurements but it was pretty easy to guess. My idea of portion size might differ from your idea of portion size. This recipe makes around 6 medium sized bowls of soup…

Ingredients for around 6 servings

2 lbs carrots – trimmed, peeled, sliced extra thin on a mandolin

1/2 a large sweet onion – peeled, sliced thin on a mandolin

1 sprig fresh thyme

4 oz unsalted butter – (2oz to start soup, one ounce to finish soup and one ounce to fry bread cubes)

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/4 teaspoon sugar

10 oz potato – peeled and cut into small cubes slightly bigger than peas

4 cups water

2 Tablespoons creme fraiche (I substituted a high quality cream cheese that was without preservatives, gum and stabilizers…but in a pinch sour cream or French or Australian style yogurt would work)

1/2 a quality roll – cut into small cubes

1/4 cup canola oil to fry bread

2 Tablespoons fresh chervil or cilantro leaves

Directions

In a pot on medium heat melt 2 ounces of butter and add the carrots, onion, thyme, salt and sugar. Cover with lid or foil and let it steam for five minutes.

Add the potatoes and water. This needs to SLOW SIMMER for 15 minutes. (this did take a while…I left my pot on the medium heat….I started timing once it started to simmer and then I turned it down a bit more.

after slow simmering for 15 minutes

During this time you might want to fry up the roll cubes. Get a fry pan on medium high with the oil and one ounce of butter. Stir every so often and they get golden and crisp. (this doesn’t take too long…maybe? 5 minutes) When done remove from pan and put on a paper towel lined pan.

When your pot of soup has slow simmered for 15 minutes remove the thyme sprig. Blend with a stick blender. Add the creme fraiche to taste. (In the video he first said one tablespoon….then he tasted it and said I need another……then he put a third Tablespoon in….I thought two tablespoons seemed right in the batch I made but you might prefer more) Also blend in the butter. It should be very smooth and creamy. If you want to be prefect strain the soup.

Serve soup topped with fresh chervil or fresh cilantro leaves and only few croutons. (I added a pinch of piment d’ espelette)

French Style Vegetarian Carrot Soup

A special THANKS to The French Cooking Academy for making a video on how to prepare Potage Crecy A La Briarde – French Style Carrot Soup.

The Forking Truth

Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette Recipe

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This dish is inspired by a dish I enjoyed at FnB Restaurant in Scottsdale AZ. The chef is a James Beard Award Winner so you everything that chef Charlene Badman makes is amazing. I thought this dish didn’t have too many ingredients so I thought I’d be able to prepare something similar. Anyway it came out FORKING DELICIOUS. All you need to do is to cook a spaghetti squash (or two) and roast red peppers. You blend a few things into the red peppers and then you have an amazing delicious sauce that transforms spaghetti squash into something special. I used two very small spaghetti squash that might be around 5 servings. This recipe might make more sauce than you need depending on the size of your squash. I’d rather you have extra sauce than not enough. Extra sauce can be frozen or you can use it for an egg breakfast or on a grilled meat. My idea of a serving size might differ from your idea of a serving size. I used two very small spaghetti squash. I note that I had almost twice as much sauce as I needed.

Ingredients for around 5 servings

2 very small spaghetti squash

4 Tablespoons water

4 red bell peppers

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

6 garlic cloves – microplane or ground to paste

2 hot peppers – (preferably red) (or to taste)

2 lemons – (just the fresh squeezed juice)

4 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 Tablespoons tomato paste

sea salt to taste (you won’t need much)

ground pepper to taste (you won’t need much)

Directions

Roast the red peppers – anyway you like. Mine went under the broiler till blackened on all sides. Then I cover the pan with foil till they cool off. After they are cool remove skin, stem and seeds. Chop them up and put to the side. Keep any pepper juice that spills out and add it to the peppers.

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook off the spaghetti squash. Cut squash short ways though the middle and not long ways. Scoop out the seeds and membranes with a spoon.

Sprinkle baking sheet with 2 tablespoons of water for each squash. Place squash cut side down on baking sheet(s). Leave in oven till fork tender. Timing will differ but the average squash usually takes an hour.

While the squash is cooking you can make the Harrisa Vinaigrette. The red peppers, cumin, caraway, olive oil, garlic, hot peppers, lemon juice, vinegar, tomato paste all get blended. Taste it and decide if you want to add a little salt and or pepper.

When the squash is cool enough to handle scoop and fluff out the spaghetti strings.

Mix well with harissa. Top with a little more harissa. You can dress it up with a little peppered feta, cilantro or parsley if you like.

Spaghetti Squash with Harissa Vinaigrette

This really is FORKING DELICIOUS!

The Forking Truth

FORKING Cheese Wrapped Cheese Steak – YES WHEY!

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I saw these Folios cheese wraps at Costco. This sounds like a commercial but I read on the package that they are 100% parmesan cheese so I thought they would be fun to play around with.

I made a cheese wrapped cheese steak with the partially cooked cheese slices.

I think it was pretty easy to prepare. The cheese slices are wrapped in parchment and then you bake them at 375 degrees F for 6 minutes. Let them cool and bend them in the shape you want and then fill them up.

Here’s the back of the package.

My husband wrapped eggs in cheese. (sorry I didn’t photo them)

He really liked the cheese steak!

I had fun cooking with the cheese wrap. Maybe you can too!

The Forking Truth

Baby Eggplants with Bell Peppers Shallots Anchovy and Basil Dijon Aioli Recipe

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This is an easy light appetizer or side dish. All the vegetables get a squirt of oil and you roast them off till they are done. The sauce whips up in a jiffy and if you want to be fancy it’s a snap to crisp up a few basil leaves in the oven. Just squirt some basil leaves soon both sides and in around 6 minutes they will turn crisp. I do note that my recipe makes too much dressing. You can use the extra dressing for a salad, vegetable dip or a sandwich spread. Also my idea of portion size may differ from your idea of portion size. I used 6 baby eggplants. It made 12 small pieces. I think as a side dish it is around 4 portions but as an appetizer most people would only eat 1- 2 pieces so I’m guessing maybe 8 servings as an appetizer.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

6 baby eggplants (or a few more) – cut in 1/2 and score the cut surface

12 mini bell peppers (mine were extra tiny…you might need less) – remove stem, core and seeds – cut in slices

2 shallots sliced thin – (mine were very small shallots)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – this is a guess on how much olive oil got squirted on the vegetables

1/2 lemon – just the juice (this is to squirt over the eggplants

12 anchovy’s (or one for each eggplant half)

1/4 cup basil leaves (optional a few extra leaves to crisp up in the oven)

2 small garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

1 egg yolk

1/4 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard (I used Amora Brand)

fresh crushed sea salt to taste

fresh crushed black pepper to taste

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F

Scored halved eggplants go on a baking sheet. They get squirted with lemon juice and olive oil and go on a middle rack in the oven till done (you want them to look charred) Timing will differ….they should be done in 45 minutes or up to 60 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

The bell pepper strips and the sliced shallots go on baking sheets too. They also get squirted with olive oil and go in the oven till done. You want them slightly charred. Timing may differ. Mine were done in around 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

While everything is cooking whip up the aioli. Put the olive oil, garlic, dijon and egg yolk in a cup and use your stick blender and blend till emulsified. Add basil leaves and lemon juice and blend again. I didn’t think the dressing needed any salt and pepper but I used Amora Brand dijon that taste different from other brands. Add pepper if you think it needs it…remember the anchovy that you are adding is salty.

Assemble eggplants. Each one gets a pinch of pepper strips, a pinch of shallots. Then they get an anchovy and a squirt of aioli and the optional basil leaf.

Baby Eggplants with Baby Bell Peppers Shallots and topped with Anchovy and Basil Dijon Aioli and Fried Basil Leaf
Baby Eggplants topped with Baby Bell Peppers Shallots and topped with Anchovy and Basil Dijon Aioli with Crisp Basil Leaf

Tasty and light

The Forking Truth

Skewers Mediterranean Grill – Newly Opened – Glendale AZ – #UpperWestSide – Worth a Fork if you are in the area

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Skewers Mediterranean Grill recently opened in North Glendale in the area that is considered the upper west side of metro Phoenix Arizona. This is a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant. You order at the counter, pay and seat yourself.

They offer gyros and shawarmas cooked on vertical rotisseries. They also offer beef, chicken and kefta (seasoned ground beef) kabobs and falafels. You can have these items served to you in a pita, fry bowl, tortilla wrap or a salad. They also offer extra toppings, sauces and various salads.

Natural light comes in threw the glass front windows and door.

Hand painted figures of folklore and mythology accent the wall.

Today I went with the chicken kabob salad bowl with pomegranate vinaigrette ($7.50).

The chicken is moist developed with flavors and is nicely seasoned. It rest over a bed of fresh salad with feta cheese. it also came with pickled turnips, pickles and garlic sauce. No complaints here! It’s good!

My husband ordered the gyro salad with added garbanzo beans and lemon vinaigrette ($7.50).

The gyro meat (beef & lamb) was moist and nicely seasoned. This platter comes with tzatziki sauce.

We ordered a few extras that were good!

Four falafels that come with tahini sauce ($3.00).

The falafels were herby and seemed like they were free of oil.

Beet salad ($3.00).

It’s mixed with cucumber, garbanzo beans and fresh herbs. It’s light and refreshing.

Worth a Fork if you are in the area.

I haven’t found a website for Skewers Mediterranean Grill but you can find them on Facebook.

Phone# 602-607-5286

18589 N 59th Ave Glendale AZ 85308 and hours are Monday-Saturday 11am-8pm

The Forking Truth

Las 15 Salsas Mexican Restaurant Phoenix AZ – Outstanding Mole – Oaxaca Food – Worth a Fork!

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Las 15 Salsas is a small Mexican Restaurant that specializes in serving Oaxaca Foods. They are located in the Sunny Slope area of Phoenix Arizona. English is the second language here so if you don’t know your memelnitas from your enmoladas then ordering might be challenging but not impossible. There is some English on the menu and the people working there speak some English. A few years back they’ve moved across the street to a slightly larger location and have expanded the menu. Some of the things they serve are Oaxcoa appetizers such as los peques (II haven’t found a translation for this) mini memelnitas (stuffed fried masa cakes) and chapulines (grasshoppers). They also offer sharing platters, tamales in banana leaves, tlayudas (large Oaxaca tortillas with lard and pork, plate sized hand made empanadas, combination plates, seafood, stews, several mole sauces and more. I didn’t notice a bar here but my husband said he noticed that they sell tequila shots. This isn’t a fancy place but looks very authentic.

Inside is very bright and colorful. There are Mexican relics on the walls with Mexican TV and music filling the air.

They also offer patio dining.

We asked a few questions about items on the menu. Our server today didn’t seem to understand and asked us if we wanted to order more food.

Anywho-

They started us off with three kinds of salsas and a basket of chips.

Today we have a creamy green sauce, a smoky salsa and a creamy very delicious but extremely hot scorching sauce.

We started out by sharing an appetizer off the Empanada Section made with quesillo (an Oaxaca cheese) and huitlacoche (Mexican Corn Truffle). ($10.)

I didn’t know that an empanada could look like this……

It’s made with a handmade corn tortilia that is absolutely delicious. The cheese is melty and flavorful. I like the mushroomy huitlacoche. If you like mushrooms then you probably would like this.

We shared a chicken enchilada trio ($14.) and a filete empanizado ($13.) (a fish dish).

WOW! What a great sampling. You can get this plate with just cheese filling and you also have the option to add on Mexican Tasajo (dried beef) and or Cesina (cured meat like ham) for $3.50.

On the left is coloradito mole, in the middle is green sauce and on the right is black mole with rice and beans on the plate. Everything is delicious. My favorite is the black mole. It’s more flavorful to me.

I was all excited when I saw fish (filete and pescado) on the menu. I accidentally thought I knew what I was reading but was slightly off………I accidentally ordered plain breaded fish….But it was still good!

The fish is nice and moist. It seems free of oil. It’s a very large portion even for dinner. It’s like it comes with a lunch for the next day. I add some sauces to it for a little interest. It also comes with hot steamy tortillas.

Here are some of the previous dishes we enjoyed from Las 15 Y Salsas.

Chicken quarter with black mole and rice

white meat chicken stuffed tortilias with black mole

memelnitas with with anise leaf black sauce and house made beef jerky

chicken stuffed chile relleno

Mimi Quesadillas Fritas

La 15 Y Salsas – Phoenix AZ – Combo De Chile Relleno $9.00 (price might have changed)

Chicken Emmolladas

I’d have to say Las 15 Salsas is Outstanding Oaxaca Food and is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

They used to have a website but it appears to have been taken down. but you can find them on Facebook in Spanish.

They are located at 722 W Hatcher Road in Phoenix 85021

602-870-2056 I believe their hours to be 9am-8pm every day but you should call incase the hours have changed.

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

The Forking Truth