The 2019 Persian New Year Festival took place on the Scottsdale Waterfront in Scottsdale Arizona March 9th. Around forty venders participated. What you could find here was food, music, dancing, Persian Tea, jewelry, crafts, Persian Rugs, clothing, fortune telling and more. This was a free event with proceeds that benefit brain tumor research.
A few food trucks participated.
Parking was free and close.
www.PersianNewYearFestival.com
Believe it or not each pepper contains a whole zucchini that was spiral cut, salted, drained, mixed with a few vegetables and a small amount of Bomba……… Bomba Calabrese is an Italian spicy pepper condiment that is a POWERFUL BOMB of flavor. Only a very small amount of Bomba transforms zucchini into something delicious. It’s next to impossible to find Bomba Calabrese at any store so you have to mail away for it. I prefer the brands that are made with multiple vegetables but I do find that Bomba is a very inconsistent product. It goes from a little over mild to HOTTER THAN HELL even if you buy the same brand over and over but in general it is suppose to be spicy and it’s always delicious. You only need to use a small amount to make sauces and various dishes delicious.
Ingredients for about 6 side orders or 4 vegetarian meals
4 medium/small zucchini (around 2 lbs) – spiral cut
4 mild peppers for stuffing (today I used Anaheim Peppers…I note that when you use a thick skin pepper like a bell you might want to pre-cook it a little)
1 cup corn kernels
1 medium/large sweet onion – sliced up very thin on mandolin
1 Tablespoon course sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (or to taste) Bomba Calabrese
10 grape tomatoes – cut in quarters
1/2 cup parmesan cheese – grated
1/2 cup panko unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
non stick spray
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F and spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl combine zucchini, onion, corn, salt and pepper. Let the mixture sit for around a 1/2 an hour. Lots of water will come out of the zucchini so dump the zucchini mixture in a colander and squeeze the water out. Now you can mix in the Bomba Calabrese and the tomatoes. Set to the side.
You have to put slits in the peppers for stuffing. Make the slit with a slight “T” shape towards the stem part of the pepper so they are easier to stuff. Pull out the seed core.
It’s easier to fill the peppers if you squish the filling down to the bottom first and work your way up.
Repeat till you’re done and place peppers on sprayed baking sheet.
In a small bowl mix together the cheese, panko and dried basil. Sprinkle over the top.
I put them in a 350 F oven and after 20 minutes They smelled done but I wanted them to cook more so after 20 minutes I loosely covered with foil so they wouldn’t burn and let them cook another 20 minutes.
They are very tasty with a cheese crisp bottom and top.
Three NEW Internationally natural and artificially flavored peanut M&M’s have just come out. Here are Thai Coconut, Mexican Jalapeño and English Toffee Peanut M&M’s. It reads on the bags that if you vote for your favorite that it is a possibility that you might win a trip around the world.
I opened them all up and tried them all. The one really weird thing about all of them is that after trying all the flavors I noticed all the peanuts break down the middle in your mouth….M&M’s are one of the few candies I’ve eaten all my life. It’s been decades since I was a child but I remember decades back the peanuts never separated…….This might sound gross but as a child when we had a dinner I didn’t like at home I’d eat M&M’s instead for dinner( as a child remember)……..I ate them very slowly and saved the peanuts for last sometimes…..so I do indeed REMEMBER!…………..it seems like they use peanuts that are more dry……..or maybe older these days?
I’ll start with my least favorite….It’s the most unattractive one the English Toffee in colors that I’ll be nice and not describe…..I open the bag and it sort of smells something like butterscotch. Then I go to taste one and I almost gaged. It taste like a spoonful of bitter instant coffee followed by other taste like maybe artificial butterscotch and maybe artificial caramel all there….This has the usual chocolate with a peanut center but this one leaves an unpleasant chemical aftertaste……..This one I don’t like at all
For me it’s a bit of a toss up between the Thai Coconut Peanut and the Mexican Jalapeño. After my first taste of them I thought the Mexican Jalapeño had a slight edge because it tasted more like a Peanut M&M but with a burn…..When you open the bag it just smells like chocolatey M&M’s…….The Mexican Jalapeño M&M’s come in colors of yellow, red and green. They taste mostly like regular peanut M&M’s with a slight burn. Slightly disappointed because the burn doesn’t taste like jalapeño……….it just burns…….there is a very slight other flavor that might be something like cinnamon…..Not bad but not great.
The Thai Coconut package smells like coconut when you take a whiff. These Peanut M&M’s come in blue, lime green and yellow. The candy shells taste slightly different to me. Like the inside is coated with something that taste similar to saccharine mixed with coconut……but much more coconut to saccharine. It’s easy to taste the chocolate with this one. There is a slight other taste with the coconut but so slight and maybe too artificial for me to tell what it is suppose to be…….A few more Thai Coconut M&M’s later these M&M’s build up and remind me of coconut Easter Eggs. These Thai Coconut M&M’s are OK…not great..They differ from the Coconut M&M’s that were out years ago…..These are not as strong with coconut and also not as sweet. They don’t take me to anything Thai Food…….They are OK….like Easter eggs….kind of tasty……the peanut goes very well with these flavors…….not bad…not great.
Those were my thoughts on the International Flavor M&M’s of English Toffee, Mexican Jalapeño and Thai Coconut.
I do note your opinion and experience may indeed differ.
Confluence is a small casual but upscale restaurant located in beautiful Carefree Arizona. They offer Painstakingly detailed farm to table elevated modern cuisine.
The atmosphere is classic with modern touches.
Seating is available at traditional tables, the bar or on the patio with mountain views.
Tonight they started us off with delicious crusty complimentary house made country bread with house made black pepper and lemon ricotta cheese.
We picked a cold appetizer of Ceviche.
The Ceviche was very unique and full of delicious changing flavors with different textures. It was made with a mild New Zealand Fish with black garlic, yucca, black beans, cilantro, onions that were turned into crisps, avocado, tomato and guajillo chili.
Next we shared the Sweet Potato Ravioli.
Wow! What an amazing dish. Even the radicchio is ridiculously DELICIOUS….I really had no idea how it was made to taste so good..The waitress told me that the radicchio was cooked with red wine and brown sugar….who knew…? Same thing with the leeks….they taste better than leeks…I should have asked how they make leeks taste that good. Everything on the plate was better than very good…it astonishingly spectacular food………This plate was pure bliss.
I had the Red Sea Bream with moscato raisin, turnip, jicama, haricot vert, meyer lemon and gnocchi.
Not only is this a stunning plate visually……..The Flavors are mind-blowing. The fish is perfect and seasoned perfect. The little green things are the green beans…….They aren’t like anything I can describe…….They almost pop or burst in the mouth with this most amazing slightly sweet pickled kind of taste that is very complex….And then when you hit another vegetable it just adds another interesting layer. Then there are the gnocchi….They really do melt in your mouth…They have a toasted exterior and inside is just melty cheesy goodness.
My husband had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin, pork ragout, pine nut, beet, polenta, bacon.
My husband just kept saying, “this is really good!” and “This guy can really cook!”
Dessert is just as great as the food courses so you have to get dessert.
Was torn between all four offerings but went with the one called Peanut.
It’s a mix of all kinds of things Peanut, Strawberry and Port. There’s semifreddo, brittle, fresh strawberries, crunchy strawberries, cold smooth peanuts, peanut crunch, peanut dust…the port….every bite taste different.
Service was friendly and efficient!
Dinner at Confluence really is like from another planet delicious….The way things get transformed into mind-blowing is thrilling! It seems like magic!
Confluence is always Worth a Fork!
www.RestaurantConfluence.com
Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
Some prior dishes from Confluence
Our local grocery store Sprouts has been having some really good sales on ground turkey lately so here is a Southwest Style Meatloaf. I use a lot of ingredients to make it but it’s very easy and pretty quick to prepare. It comes out very flavorful, moist, a little spicy and Forking delicious. You and yours will enjoy it if you like southwest flavored foods. I placed each meatloaf in half of a pepper (cut not sideways but north to south and removed core) that I broiled first for less than 10 minutes on high and then salt and peppered slightly….so the 1/2 pepper is optional…..I planned to buy mild chili peppers but my Sprouts didn’t have any so I used medium/small sized green bell peppers. So if you are doing the half pepper underneath you need 6 of them. Leftovers freeze and reheat perfect!
Ingredients for 12 servings
2 lbs ground turkey (I used 85% lean)
4 eggs – beaten slightly
2 Tablespoons vegetable base (instead of salt…more flavor and less salt too)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 medium sweet onion (or a 1/4 of a large sweet onion) – fine chopped
1 medium/small tomato – chopped
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup plain panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup masa (NO SUBSTITUTIONS because this is for flavor)
1 cup cooked rice
1 cup corn kernels
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce with a little sauce – peppers fine chopped
3/4 cup scallions – thinly sliced
1 carrot – finely shredded
4 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane
1 teaspoon ground annatto (also called achiote)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro – use only leaves and fine stems – chopped
non stick spray if you aren’t using peppers
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl mix all the ingredients
You divide the meatloaf mixture into 12 portions. It’s easier to divide in half…..than in thirds and each third in a half.
You either set each meatloaf into a broiled and seasoned pepper half or on a nonstick sprayed baking sheet(s)
The meatloafs go in the oven for twenty minutes.
Today I served them with roasted fresh salsa that I made but they would also be delicious with an enchilada sauce…..
They really came out Forking Delicious. I got lots of compliments on them and you can too!
Dining out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started when my dog Louie got diagnosed with aggressive cancer and was given only a 3-6 months estimate. I thought the nicest thing I could do for him was to take him out to eat as often as possible since he enjoyed it and instead of the 3-6 months he made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat and they also enjoy it very much!
Most restaurants in Metro Phoenix have patios for dining but not all patios are dog friendly. It’s always best to call a restaurant before dining there with dogs and ask if it’s ok to dine with dogs. Even if the patio is certified Dog Friendly it could be booked for a party. Sometimes restaurants suddenly go from being certified Dog Friendly to No Dogs allowed suddenly.
It’s always best to AVOID PROBLEMS and dine at off times to avoid other diners and other dogs. Some people don’t share your love of dogs and complain. Others are allergic. Often dogs will bark at other dogs and both parties will be asked to leave. So call first and ask the restaurant if it’s ok to dine with dog(s) and it’s best to avoid others so dine at off times.
There are some rules for dining out with dogs. Dogs are to be close to your side at all times. Dogs are not to sit on restaurant furniture or to eat off restaurant plates. Most food and drink you consume can be harmful or toxic to dogs. You MUST get a list of recommended foods and Foods to Avoid list from your veterinarian. Usually a safe bet is a small piece of lean un-sauced meat. It’s also IMPORTANT to KNOW that DOGS are NOT as heat tolerant as you. Individual dogs do differ in tolerance to heat. Over 90 degrees F is TOO HOT FOR DOGS TO TOLERATE. I’d say for most but not all younger healthy dogs might be able to tolerate up to 90 degrees F but ONLY IN FULL SHADE. Hopefully you know your dog well enough to figure out their heat tolerance. When there is any doubt leave the dog(s) home.
I think we are ready to Dine Out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix now! I’m turning The Forking Truth over to my Dogs Now! The Forking Truth has gone to the DOGS!
“Angelina’s Pho and Grill is a Modern Vietnamese Restaurant that offers a changing Asian Fusion menu along with a variety of Flavorful Pho.” “Angelina’s Pho & Grill was recently featured in the Arizona Republic by the food critic as serving officially GOOD PHO and is included in the top 14 Metro Phoenix Vietnamese Restaurants for beef noodle soup!”
“Angelina’s Forking changed the menu again as they usually do.” “Today my female human companion went with the “NEW” Smoked Salmon salad.”
“The egg is prepared nice and forking jammy just how I like to “woof” them down.” The smoked salmon is pretty darn good too!” “Our male human companion got the fried rice plate that has shrimp and chicken on it and he added the lap suong (sausage) to it!
“We enjoyed everything we ate at Angelina’s Pho and Grill!” They don’t have a website but you can find them on Facebook.”
“Culver’s is a National Fast Food Restaurant that specializes in serving hand battered fried cod, butter burgers and frozen custard.”
“I really like Culver’s battered Fish and Butter Burgers!” “Culver’s was so generous and put out a buy one get one so I got to share a burger with my dog companion too!”
“I love butter burgers and battered fish too!”
“We enjoyed ourselves at Culver’s”
www.Culvers.com
“Phila Deli is a small sandwich shop in the Arrowhead section of North Glendale.” “They offer a limited menu of cheesesteaks and hoagies.”
“The patio is pretty nice for a small sandwich shop.”
“Dogs get complimentary beverages.”
“They Forking offered us meat scraps too!” “DID YOU HEAR ME?” “Meat SCRAPS, MEAT SCRAPS….WOOOOOOooooooooooo!”
“Our male human companion (and us) had a large cheese steak.”
“He picked out the onions for us and gave us lots of meat.” “We LOVE MEAT!” “Our female companion had a small fried chicken sandwich with sauce and hot and sweet peppers…..We don’t know know why the Fork she’d get a small when she could have shared a large.”
“We enjoyed our fried chicken.” “I’ve could have eaten more!”
“We Forking enjoyed ourselves at Phila Deli!”
www.PhilaDeliAZ.com
“Cucina Tagliani is an American Italian Restaurant that offers your usual American Italian Favorites and also offers healthy spins on American Italian foods like a spaghetti squash lasagna, about half a dozen fresh vegetable sides and healthier pasta options too.”
“Today our female companion got the Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad.”
“Today the chicken is a little dry but usually it isn’t.” “We don’t mind because we are dogs and we usually get to eat more when the meat runs dry so that is a WIN for us!”
“Our male human companion got the rigatoni with chicken and shrimp.” His chicken ran a little dry too today!” #WINNING
“We did Forking GREAT at Cucina Tagliani!”
www.CucinaTagliani.com
“That was Dining Out With Dogs in Metro Phoenix for February 2019.” “We hope that you enjoyed and we hope to see you next month!”
Monroe’s Hot Chicken is Phoenix’s first Hot Chicken Restaurant. They describe their chicken as Nashville Style. According to the Nashville Coalition that means the chicken is fried and coated in a dry spicy sauce made with oil or fat. The Chicken should be very hot but also very flavorful and is typically served with white bread and dill pickles. Monroe’s Hot Chicken offers their chicken as a boneless breast sandwich, a boneless breast waffle sandwich or chicken tenders with fries. The chicken is offered in southern style (no heat) mild, hot, extra hot and the hottest as shut da cluck. They also offer sides, desserts, milk shakes and more. This is a casual small restaurant that’s artsy, gangster industrial style.
…..Inside is busy and energetic with loud music.
As you enter you are welcomed from the kitchen. Next you order at the counter via a computer screen. Workers are there to guild you.
You grab your drink and pick a seat.
You name gets called by someone with a microphone.
We split a few things and start with a Hot Chicken Sandwich Extra Hot. It served in a deep open box with paper wrap.
Here’s my half.
The sandwich is served on a soft shiny roll with aioli fresh slaw and pickles. On first bite the sandwich doesn’t seem spicy but the spice does build to spicy. The chicken has a little crisp to it but the chicken is not bad at all but slightly dry today. It’s a tasty sandwich. It’s a GOOD sandwich as far as Chicken sandwiches go but the chicken breast is not as developed with flavors as some of the other Nashville Hot Chickens I’ve tried that include Hattie B’s. (I do note that it’s a possible opening hiccup and it could be my luck I hit them when the kitchen isn’t in the rhythm yet…..or forgot to marinate or whatever)
We also shared the Chicken and Waffle Sandwich in the Shut da Cluck Hottest Heat Level.
Here’s my half.
It is HOT….nose running hot…It’s builds to burning hot…..maybe nuclear…..a little past my comfort zone……There is an earthy flavor I didn’t pick up in the extra hot sandwich……..chicken breast meat is the same as the other chicken and is slightly overcooked.(a little dry)……chicken meat seems sort of plain. It sounds crazy but I think that warm spice could it be cumin??????……or maybe the spices are so toasted and I think I taste cumin??????…….. Waffles are tasty but are less cooked than I’m used too. To me the extra hot taste better than the Shut da Cluck…..I’m not a big fan of whatever that warm spice was.
We also shared one side and tried the Macaroni and Cornbread.
Fresh Herb topped creamy cheesy macaroni and cheese mixed with sweet corn bread. Different really different. I never tasted a macaroni and cheese that had a sweet salty thing going on. The macaroni was softer than I’m used to but I thought the flavors were very good. Fresh herbs added a nice freshness to it.
There are a few things that you might want to know before you try Monroe’s Hot Chicken. They are in downtown Phoenix and do not have street parking or a parking lot. You might consider using a parking garage at $4.00 an hour or hop on the Phoenix Light Rail and get there that way. Another thing you might want to know is when you order there are tipping options. The lowest easy to see option is an 18% tip (ours was $6.45 on $33.00 before tax). Normally I always leave at least 20% but here there isn’t wait service. YOU ring up your order and YOU pick up your food……so that means you are tipping the kitchen. One might prefer to leave a cash tip in the tip jar.
That was my trip to Monroe’s Hot Chicken in Phoenix.
I haven’t found a website for Monroe’s Hot Chicken but you can find them on Facebook.
Everything is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.
The Italian Festival took place February 22nd – 24th 2019 in Old Town Scottsdale. There was flag twirlers from Italy, Italian dancers, musicians, some goods, a demo, lots of food and more.
Hot or Cold Italian Coffee.
Fabio on Fire was there with lots of baked goodies and his mobile pizza oven so we tried some of his pizza.
Across from Fabio on Fire were Italian Dancers from Italy.
We tried arancini and meatballs from Maui Pasta…..
Saw a cute Red Alfa Romeo Car.
Ate like an Italian and tried Aiello’s Eggplant Rolatini and their Escarole with Beans.
Did a lot of Manga Manga because portions were very generous!
Tried some Lemon gelato from Dolce Vita.
Walked around a little more.
Someone was selling Italian T Shirts, hats, purses, baby bibs and more.
Someone was selling their Tomato sauce.
More Italian Food
Dancers are walking by.
I’m stuffed but my husband can try one more. Here’s Marcellino’s hand made pasta and sauce…
That was my trip to The Italian Festival of Arizona 2019.
Little potatoes that taste like deviled eggs! Besides just one egg to two pounds of potatoes there is NO ADDED FAT…..no butter…no cheese…only healthy ingredients that taste really great! …….I was watching someone on TV making deviled potatoes. They made them in a way that I would never do….with lots of mayonnaise like real deviled eggs. They made the potato shells unseasoned and the potatoes didn’t get reheated. These Deviled Potatoes here on The Forking Truth are more like twice cooked potatoes but with healthy ingredients. ….I liked the idea of deviled potatoes but I would never prepare them the way I saw on TV so here is my version. They taste just like deviled eggs! Remember that they are deviled so that means spicy! ….but not TOO spicy……
Ingredients for around 8 servings
2 lbs small red potatoes (around 12 potatoes) – boiled till soft in water with about 2 Tablespoons sea salt)
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard (preferably Amora Brand)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper sauce (preferably Frank’s Red Hot Sauce)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 egg beaten
non stick cooking spray
fresh ground sea salt to taste – to season both sides of potato shells
fresh ground black pepper to taste – to season both sides of potato shells
smoked paprika to taste – to finish potatoes
Directions
Set the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a baking sheet(s) with non stick spray and set to the side.
Remove and peel the 4 largest potatoes and put them in a large mixing bowl. Cut all the other potatoes in half. Scoop out the centers of the half potatoes. (a melon baller or a measuring teaspoon works well) The scooped out half potatoes are now potatoes shells for the filling. Sprinkle each side of potato shells with salt and pepper and place them on the non stick sprayed baking sheet and set to the side. Add the scooped potato halves to the peeled potatoes and either mash till smooth or rice if you don’t have a masher that gives smooth results. Add dijon, Worcestershire sauce, cayenne pepper sauce, black pepper, white pepper beaten egg and mix well.
Either spoon/scoop the filling into the potato shells or pipe the mixture into the potato shells. Sprinkle the deviled filled potatoes with smoked paprika. Place in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven for around 20 minutes or until they are hot.
Serve!
Most people will love them!
If you Love Deviled Eggs you will Love these Mini Deviled Potatoes!
When I came across this bag of White Chocolate Marshmallow M&M’s I thought this was a strange flavor. I also thought these M&M’s might be filled with marshmallow cream but they are not. These M&M’s are white chocolate that is marshmallow flavored.
I start by opening the bag and take a whiff……It smells like white chocolate mixed with a little yogurt……I’m thinking that these will suck…….
I spill some out.
The M&M’s are shiny and slightly larger than regular plain M&M’s. The candy shells are white, Robbin’s egg blue and like yellow ribbon color.
I taste one.
It’s very sweet……maybe too sweet for some people…but to me it’s as sweet as vanilla cake frosting….To me it’s just right for this flavor. It’s almost like you really are eating a marshmallow mixed with white chocolate. I think I really do feel and taste cornstarch in my mouth like from a real marshmallow. I eat a few more….when you eat more you get the sweet more……..These melt better in the mouth than most white chocolate M&M’s…they aren’t waxy at all. Instead of an aftertaste like I was expecting I got some cornstarch building up in my mouth…….It’s kind of weird.
I totally was expecting to hate these White Chocolate Marshmallow M&M’s but they are surprisingly realistic tasting and OK!
Adventurous Tasters might want to give the White Chocolate Marshmallow M&M’s a try!
You experience may or may not differ.
