Tag Archives: #foodies

Corn Cake SUPRISE Recipe

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Corn Cake Surprise

Corn Cake Surprise and Sous Vide and Pan Seared NY Strip

Here are Sweet Moist Corn Cakes that have an Egg and Roasted Poblano Pepper Surprise. The Batter is accented with scallions, sweet grape tomatoes and cilantro. Inside is a roasted poblano  that is stuffed with some batter and an egg. It gets inserted in the cup cake liner and gets baked. I made them with the points sticking out but you can do them however you like. These came out FORKING SCRUMPTIOUS! They are sweet and a little spicy with lots of flavors. Juices do come out from the poblano pepper and give great flavor to the egg and to the batter. The flavor makes people smile and you will be asked often if there are any more left…… I do NOTE ****THESE DO NOT FREEZE because the egg inside won’t freeze right. This recipe makes 6 servings. You can use them for breakfast or a side dish. I recommend to slice in half to serve.

Ingredients for 6 servings

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

6 poblano peppers

1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon corn meal

1 Tablespoon chick pea flour (once I accidentally added a small amount of chickpea flour to my corn bread and I thought it was really great…..that is why the chick pea flour)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon sweet butter – room temperature

1 egg – slightly beaten

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon course sea salt

1/4 cup non fat yogurt

1/4 cup scallions – chopped

1/4 cup cilantro – chopped

12 sweet very small grape tomatoes (mine were very small you might need less if they are bigger) quartered

non stick spray – canola or vegetable

Directions

To start with- You need to roast the poblano peppers and boil 6 eggs.

Put 6 eggs in your pot. Cover the eggs with an inch of water and add a teaspoon of baking soda. Bring the water to a boil. TURN OFF THE HEAT AS SOON AS THE POT REACHES BOIL. Leave the pot on the stove for 3 1/2-4 minutes NO MORE THAN THAT. Pour out the hot water and let cold water run over the eggs. Add some ice and let the eggs cool.

Turn the oven on to broil and place the poblano peppers on  baking sheet(s). Leave them under the broiler till the skin turns charred but the pepper isn’t burnt. Keep rotating the peppers till they are black all around and then cover the tray with foil so the peppers can steam themselves. When the peppers are cool enough to handle.

Pull the stem and you will remove the core at the same time.

The skins should slip off.

Eggs should be cool so they should be peeled. They might be slightly hard to peel….Usually softer eggs are harder to peel but don’t worry. Eggs don’t need to be beautiful or perfect here.

Turn oven on to 350 degrees F.

Add all the dry ingredients to a medium sized bowl. Then mix in all the wet ingredients with a fork. The batter should be thick.

Lightly spray the cup cake liners with non stick spray and set in cup cake pan. (set to the side)

Take a roasted poblano pepper and cut of the back third of it or it will be too much pepper and your corn cakes might turn gummy from too much of a good thing.

Spoon in a spoonful of batter into the liner.

Spoon in a spoonful into the pepper.

Now insert egg into the pepper and set this in the cupcake liner egg down so it looks like an evergreen tree or Hershey Kiss.

I smeared the small amount of leftover batter over the peppers…..

They went in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. (you should check them at 20 minutes incase your oven cooks faster)

I let them cool slightly.

Two of them disappeared quickly.

Corn Cake Surprise

Corn Cake Surprise and Sous Vide NY Strip

They come out FORKING DELICIOUS! The egg is still a bit moist too!

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

Refreshing Cucumber Herb and Lime Ice Recipe

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Refreshing Cucumber Herb and Lime Ice

I had extra cucumbers hanging around so I thought I’d make them into some sort of frozen ice dessert. Cucumber doesn’t have much flavor so at first I added just a teaspoon of fresh mint….often mint needs a companion herb so I added a small amount of dried basil and I thought it was good but needed just one more flavor and one lime was it…..the finishing touches were just a pinch of course sea salt and a secret small pinch of ground white pepper. This one came out with an icy texture. This cucumber ice might not be for everyone but it’s light, balanced and refreshing.

Ingredients for about 10 servings

2 lbs cucumber I used English. (was slightly over the 2 lbs)

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice

1 teaspoon fresh mint – finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

pinch course sea salt

pinch ground white pepper

Directions

Bring water and sugar to a boil. Reduce to simmer for a about ten minutes. Turn off heat and put pot to the side.

Chop up cucumbers. If the sugar-water is cool you can use a blender and add cucumber. OR- Add cucumber and the rest of the ingredients back to the pot and use a stick blender to blend. Pour in freezable covered tub and let sit over night. Next day scrape it up and it’s ready to serve.

Refreshing Cucumber Herb and Lime Ice

It’s Cool as a Cucumber and You can be too!

The Forking Truth

 

 

 

Sous Vide New York Strip Steak Directions and Recipe

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Sous Vide NY Strip

Who knew that tasteless tough steak could be delicious via the Sous Vide? We received a gift of frozen steaks. My husband cooked some up one night and he’s very good at cooking steak but these steaks came out tasteless and tough…we were about to throw the rest of them out. I said let me give them a try with the Sous Vide. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. I was watching Rachel Ray ( a cooking variety lifestyle TV Show). A Sous Vide Cooking Expert happened to be on and said NY Strip comes out amazing from the Sous Vide. All you do is set the Sous Vide to 130 degrees F (for medium/rare….that he recommends). Leave the meat out to warm to room temperature (at least 30 minutes)

Give the steaks a sprinkle of salt and pepper and then vacuum seal.

All three steaks I salt and pepper on both sides. The one in the middle I added some frozen garlic confit, cilantro and a jalapeño.

The steaks now go in the Sous Vide. I let them go 3 1/2 hours. One up to Four hours is recommended for best results.

(make sure the steaks are under the water)

After 1-4 hours (I always think the meat comes out best towards the higher recommended time)

Remove and you might want to stop the cooking process with an ice bath if you are not searing right away.

When ready to use remove from pouch. Blot dry. If you are using in a few hours you can leave out in the refrigerator a few hours uncovered to dry up (so you can get a better sear). Leave out in room temperature at least a half hour to warm up some before you sear.

Get a regular fry pan (don’t use non stick) on with a little bit of oil on medium high heat and sear about one minute on all ends.

Make sure you sear the sides too! (this was the other steak with garlic confit, jalapeño and cilantro…..I added garlic, hatch chili and cilantro to the pan to add a little more flavor).

Your steak should look something like this.

You don’t need to leave the meat to rest because it’s already cooked inside. Slice up and enjoy!

Sous Vide NY Strip served with my Sweet Corn Cake Surprise (I will publish that recipe soon)

Easy Salt Crusted Potatoes

I normally do my potatoes more like the one above…But I used a leftover potato from something else for the steak.

Sous Vide NY Strip

The Forking Truth

 

Gazpacho Recipe

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Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold raw vegetable soup. It’s light, refreshing and very healthy for you. My variation here is even lighter than most others because I don’t feel it’s necessary to add bread or olive oil like most people do. This is flavorful, a little spicy but not too spicy. I’ve been told it’s very good! Actually I’ve been told told I should bottle and sell this one!

Ingredients for 4-6 servings

2 lbs vine tomatoes – (about 6 tomatoes) cored and an X on the bottom (you will remove skins after boiling for 30 seconds)

1 English Cucumber – chopped (about 12 oz)

6 mini sweet baby bell peppers – remove stem and seeds then chop

1/2 large sweet onion – (about 9 1/2oz) – chopped

3 garlic cloves – grated or ground to paste

1 lime – just the fresh squeezed juice

1 pickled jalapeno – stem and seeds removed – preferably my recipe or home made from a farmer’s market – chopped

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon course sea salt

3 chitepin chilies –  THIS WILL NOT BE AS DELICIOUS IF YOU LEAVE CHITEPIN CHILIES OUT…….I know this pepper is expensive and hard to find…..but it a delicious taste with a building heat….It’s the secret here…….The only substitute that is close are Chili Pequin peppers…..they are inexpensive and easy to find at WinCo or any Mexican grocery store.

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

.7oz fresh cilantro – (about a small handful) – chopped

Directions

Put on a pot of water to boil.

You core the tomatoes and make a X in the bottom of each tomato.

The tomatoes get placed in the boiling water for only 30 seconds.

After 30 seconds remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon. You can chill them with ice to stop the cooking process.

If you didn’t chop up all your vegetables you can do this now.

You need to peel the tomatoes when they are cool enough to handle.

The skins should come off very easily. You should do your tomatoes like this for other dishes too.

Blend up everything together. Chill and serve.

Gazpacho

It’s Forking Delicious!

The Forking Truth

 

Corleone’s Philly Cheesesteaks offers a little Taste of Philadelphia

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Arizona is credited for the Chimichanga. Not everyone in Arizona will say so but the majority of the country credits New York for Pizza. Nashville is the Hot Chicken Capital. The meaty sandwich that represents Philadelphia is the Cheesesteak. A real Cheesesteak is sliced Ribeye (or chicken, or pork.. variations) fried up on a flat top grill. It’s acceptable to use American Cheese or  Provolone Cheese on a Cheesesteak but most people expect Cheez Whiz (a processed cheese food that comes from a jar or can).  A traditional Philadelphian Cheesesteak is also served on an Amoroso’s Roll.

From www.Corleones.net

Corleone’s is a bit of a novelty restaurant. People from Philadelphia feel at home here because Corleone’s pokes fun at Philly People but in a good way.

Below on the self serve beverage cup are 10 reasons you know your from Philly.

Number 1. is kinda true…..We went to Pudge’s…….Only locals from the subs-burbs (lol) would know about Pudge’s.

Number 2…? Do I say wooder ice instead of water ice?….My husband said we do so number 2 is also true.

Number 4 is not true……

Number 5 I agree.

Number 6 I disagree.

Number 7 & 8 are very true.

I’m an incredibly bad speller so I never was able to spell Schuylkill we’d call that expressway that ran down the Schuylkill River the Sure Kill Exspressway. So Number 9 is not true.

Number 10 – I can go either way on that one.

They also have a board inside of 20 Reasons you know your from Philly. There are some really good ones there..

There are also fun Philly Artifacts to look at.

Up on the left is a former Mayor Frank Rizzo….Below that to the right is a picture from the Rocky Movie that was filmed down in the city…..not far from Pat’s.

The Love Sculpture in Philly.

There used to be John Wanamaker’s Department Store. It was a really neat old time department store at one time. I believe the building and sculpture are still there and are a part of the Philadelphia Skyline.

Enough of that! …………… Let’s get to the food! Here’s the menu. We ordered and got our beverages and some proper condiments.

In Philadelphia they ALWAYS offer Cherry Peppers of hot and also sweet. It’s not a Philly Steak without Cherry Peppers!

We waited and looked around taking in the sights of memory lane. There is a lot to look at.

The Movie Rocky (filmed in Philadelphia) plays non stop on the TV.  Lots of Pennsylvania license plates on the wall. Lots of Cheez Whiz and all kinds of other things.

My husband got a full size cheese steak with American cheese. I got a small chicken steak and I added a bunch of hot and sweet peppers to mine.

My husband insist that this Cheesesteak is really good. I think the Chicken Steak is ok but I really like the hot and sweet cherry peppers. The fries are pretty good for fries….Onion rings are almost good…..just slightly burnt.

Haven’t tried the pizzas yet.

Been to the Tatum Blvd location before they closed.

Corleone’s is a little taste of Philadelphia in Phoenix in two locations. (as of April 2018)

www.Corleones.net

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

The Forking Truth

 

 

My Trip to Cafe Monarch – Fine Dinning Restaurant in Scottsdale AZ

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Cafe Monarch is located in Old Town Scottsdale. This is a Multi Award Winning, Reservation Only, Fine Dining Restaurant. Just a couple of the many awards they won are for most romantic restaurant in the country from Yelp an another recent award is from Tripadvisor that rates Cafe Monarch as #1 out of 956 restaurants in Scottsdale (April 2018). They have servers that are knowledgeable and all are sommelier trained.

When you walk in the first thing you see is the bar.

They have indoor and outdoor seating…..Today would have been a great day to sit outdoors but I didn’t specify my seat when I made the reservation so we got seated in one of the dining rooms at a secluded table.

You know me…….I have to tell The Forking Truth…..I’m in a lovely place in a lovely room….I’m about to enjoy a four course dinner soon…..But these chairs are in need of repair (or replacement) and are indeed uncomfortable. My husband’s chair and my chair both have broken springs and out butts fall threw the chairs…..The weird feeling sort of passes and we get used to it.

Our waiter greets us. He seems genuinely excited to wait on us and is very friendly and seems very knowledgeable…..I then get presented with a white linen napkin to rest on my black attire…..The Forking Truth is that this is a small thing but it slightly offends me because fine dining 101 is to match the napkin to the guest’s attire. They should have offered me a black napkin. We order and hope for the best.

Anyways…..

All is forgiving after the first course.

WOW!

The Squash Blossom Relleno is highly recommended by me.

God it’s amazing. It’s one of the best things I ate this year.

It’s layered and complex with all kinds of interesting textures.

The Squash Blossom Relleno is coated in the lightest crispest batter and rest on creamy black bean puree. Pickled red onions counter the richness of the Oaxaca Cheese. Poblano pepper, New Mexico Chili sauce and herbs add just the right flavors. There is a little heat but it’s very controlled. Just delicious in every way…..We both wished we could eat a big plate of these…..they were really extra great….I mean FORKING GREAT!

Second course was the Compressed Spring Watermelon Salad.

This was a small detailed plate that contained many ingredients. In the end it was light and refreshing.

Third Course for me was Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo.

Here was a rice cake that was topped with the freshest tuna laced with Calabrian Chili Aioli, Tare Sauce, Capelin Caviar, Chives and the tastiest micro green I have ever tasted. It tasted like a sweet pea. This was light and very delicious…….also with a light controlled heat. My husband tasted a piece of this and he said it was much better than what he picked.

He picked the Hanger Steak.

Not a thing was bad about the Hanger Steak…..It just wasn’t as bright and flavorful as the Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo. This was also a detailed many ingredient plate. It was prepared with prime beef, herb spaetzle, wild ramp béchamel, tomato confiture, asparagus, shallots, pecan pesto, garlic chips and pea tendril.

Fourth Course for me was the Citrus Crusted Sea Bass.

I eat mostly fish when I go out to eat and have had many dishes of fish called sea bass. This sea bass was unlike any sea bass I had before. It was a big thick generously sized piece of fish.This sea bass had the appearance of halibut but with a much less meaty texture and was a very light and sweet.  It was prepared close to perfect. We were light on the citrus here but the fish picked up a lot of the butter and some of the sweet beurre blanc sauce for flavor. There was a detailed sort of patty of basmati rice, roasted corn, ramps, peppadew peppers, taro root and squash that was tasty. A pretty yellow swipe of something was on the plate that tasted like sweet roasted corn to me.

My husband had the Bucatini ai Frutti di Mare.

All the Seafood was great….(Diver Scallop, King Crab Leg, Tiger Prawn, small piece of Lobster Tail)……The House made Bucatini was great too but the portion might have been overly petite. My husband said the sauce was excellent but he wished they gave him two shrimp and more bucatini.

I’m full but my husband insist that we order a dessert….He knows I’m a sucker for a good desert.

We decide on the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding.

Not a fan of the Bananas Foster Bread Pudding……(neither of us liked this dessert)………..It’s very dense and not sweet. Bananas don’t taste ripe or even flambé. …….Bad finish to a mostly lovely meal. I would come back but I doubt I’d ever order a dessert here again.

The Forking Truth is that I tell it how it was!

The menu changes ever other week at Cafe Monarch.

I would say everything except dessert was Worth a Fork at Cafe Monarch.

www.CafeMonarch.com

Amazing Atmosphere! A lovely detailed dinner…….except for dessert. I’ll go back again sometime……I’m just not sure if I would ever try dessert here again.

EVERY FORKING THING EVERYWHERE is subject to change and your experience may or may not differ.

The Forking Truth

Potato Fennel Apricot & Green Garlic Salad Recipe

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Potato Fennel Apricot & Green Garlic Salad

I had two fennels I had to use and didn’t want to do the usual fennel orange salad. I also recently got the most unusual giant red colored green garlic from Crocked Sky Farms at the Pinnacle Peak Farmer’s Market…..

A GIANT RED Green Garlic

I had to buy it when I saw it. I was thinking about treating it like a leek but the bulb had a very sweet onion kind of taste laced with mellow garlic and the tops are much more tender and sweet garlicky sort of…..fennel and this green garlic isn’t enough for a salad….I needed something starchy so I thought creamy red potatoes would work well and dried apricots helped to add a little maybe Moroccan kind of interest to this potato salad. My photo isn’t so great of the salad…It’s really more colorful than my photo shows.  This comes out to be a REALLY DELICIOUS Potato Salad. The potatoes are creamy and flavorful. you get sweet, tang and sour from the rest.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb red skin potatoes – already boiled (I like to boil potatoes with salt and a banana pepper because it adds TONS of delicious flavor) ((***I get the banana peppers from Asiana Market …they usually run ultra spicy and I only use to cook with but not to eat…they are very flavorful)

2 fennel bulbs  + some fronds – cores and tough outer removed and then sliced very thin

1/4 cup dried apricots – in a cup of hot water to add some life back then slice up

1/2 cup green garlic bulb – chopped (I think a sweet onion of any sort would work here)

1/4 cup green garlic  top – chopped (a substitute could be scallion tops and a shredded garlic clove)

1 celery rib + some leaves – peeled and sliced very thin on an angle

1 Calabrian Chili pepper – chopped fine (this is a pepper that’s spicy but has great flavor)

1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon dijon mustard

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons course sea salt

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley – chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – to add to salad before you serve

Directions

In a large bowl add the apricots (drained and sliced up), sliced fennel, green garlic bulb + tops, celery, Calabrian Chili mix. Add the salt and sugar and let sit to the side.

In a small bowl add the mustard, 2 Tablespoons olive oil and mix well. Add the vinegar mix well. Add the lemon juice and mix well.

The potatoes should still be almost hot. Chop them in large pieces. Add the potatoes to the large bowl and while the potatoes are still hot add the small bowl of dressing.

Toss in the remaining ingredients except for the 1/4 cup of olive oil.

Mix.

The hot potatoes probably drank up all the liquid. You add the 1/4 cup of olive oil just before serving.

Potato Fennel Apricot & Green Garlic Salad

Chance are if you make your potato salad the same way you are going to get compliments on this salad. It’s flavorful, delicious and unique!

The Forking Truth

 

 

El Pollo Correteado Restaurant Phoenix AZ – GOOD Fast Food Chicken

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El Pollo Correteado is not a fancy place. You don’t come here for the atmosphere. You come here for the Chicken. I tried to translate El Pollo Correteado to see what it means. I think it translates to The Chicken You Pursue or the Chicken you Chase After. El Pollo Correteado is a small postage stamp sized restaurant that serves Mesquite Charcoal Cooked Chicken. You order at the counter-

a half chicken ($6.57 April 2018 pricing) or a whole chicken ($13.12 April 2018 pricing). The menu is in Spanish on the wall but it’s easy for anyone to figure out. The man at the counter speaks Spanish but is bilingual. He calls your order in Spanish to the man in the kitchen and your chicken gets is served to you in a moment.

Your chicken comes in a styrofoam box and also comes with salsa, lemon, pickled onions, hot chili pepper and a stack (around 7) corn tortillas. The food comes from a window or a pass in the kitchen. Off to the side you see the grilled 1/2 chickens piled up as the man in the kitchen takes them off the fiery Charcoal Grill.

*****NOTE*******The 1/2 chickens in the window do have breast and wings……. three tables indoors or you can seat yourself outside on a bench.

We sat inside at the one remaining table…….I  watched many people picking up food and taking it to go. It was non-stop take out.

Ooooooh….I got a Forking funny looking half chicken……I was expecting an actual half chicken but I got a 1/2 chicken with three smaller sized legs and two partial thighs. My husband also had a funny looking half chicken with three legs, and a thigh and another thigh with 1/2 a breast.

Anyways-

The meat is delicious. It taste like it was marinated. It’s very juicy and flavorful. It’s not very smoky but it is delicious It’s great by it’s self.

Then I try some as a taco.

A squirt of lemon, a little pickled onion, a strip of hot pepper and a small dap of salsa….Now that’s the whole experience. Very delicious and a bargain for $6.57. I think it’s actually cheaper than national fast food chicken.

So you only come here if you don’t mind enjoying delicious dark meat chicken. I don’t know if the chicken pieces are served random or if you have to request white meat…………….They also offer macaroni salad, beans, mashed potatoes and a noticed a small sign outside that offered a 10 piece special.

El Pollo Correteado has two locations.

I went to 2904 W McDowll Rd in Phoenix

The other location is

1602 E Jefferson St Phoenix

No Website but they are on facebook.

El Pollo Correteado – Good Fast Food Chicken….it might be the Fast Food Chicken you Pursue……..instead of chicken from a national chain.

The Forking Truth is that everything is subject to change and YOUR experience may or may NOT differ.

The Forking Truth

My Forking Thoughts on NEW Crunchy Mint & Raspberry M&M’s Candy

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M&M’s have put out for a limited time three new flavors of M&M’s Candy – Crunchy Raspberry, Crunchy Mint and Crunchy Espresso. I’m only trying the Raspberry and Mint flavored M&M’s. On the back of the package they suggest that you text them your favorite of the three flavors. They also note that no prize will be awarded and there is little other information.

I start by opening the Raspberry Bag.

I take a whiff.

It smells just like those dark chocolate raspberry jelly rings that my sister loves.

Next I pour some out.

Odd colors for raspberry – white, red and brown….I was expecting purple like the bag…..and smaller irregular shapes and different sizes.

I go to taste one and let it melt in my mouth.

Hard shell that sort of taste like Raspberry Bubble Yum. Followed by a burst of a dark chocolate taste that is slightly bitter mixed with that candy jelly ring like raspberry taste…then I’m left with a crunchy center that taste like Rice Chex cereal.

I get more flavor when I eat about three of them normal……..I really like the texture…..this is what the crispy M&M’s should be like……..very crisp and light……but…I get…Ick!…a chemical after taste…ick!

Now I bravely go for the Crunchy Mint.

I open the bag and take a whiff.

It smells appetizing…..very chocolate and very mint…….reminds me of an Andie’s Candy.

I pour some out.

These M&M’s are also of different sizes and shapes but are larger than the Crunchy Raspberry M&M’s. They are a light green a medium green and brown.

I let one dissolve in my mouth.

Normal candy shell.

Taste like deep chocolate with lots of mint…….lots of mint…..clears my head….I like the very strong mint. Almost gives me a brain freeze. There is a cereal center…..when all the chocolate is gone the cereal taste like a Rice Chex.

I go to eat some normal.

Ummm I think these are pretty good.

A nice light crunchy texture with very strong mint and deep chocolate. Sort of like an Andie’s Chocolate Mint but with lots of textures.

I think these would also be really yummy with ice cream.

Opps!………… I ate a few handfuls….. they were yummy…..Now I get an artificial tic tac breath mint kind of mint build up and aftertaste…..wow it’s like sex that ends with a fart.

I guess the new Crunchy Mint is only good if you only eat a few.

I’m not big on the Crunchy Raspberry but it does have a nice texture. The Crunchy Mint also has a great texture and is great until you get that Tic Tac breath mint kind of build up.

Those were my Forking Thoughts on Crunchy Raspberry and Mint M&M’s…I note that YOUR FORKING OPINION may indeed differ.

The Forking Truth

 

 

Pane Bianco in Downtown Phoenix AZ – Worth a Fork!

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Pane Bianco is a small casual urban restaurant that focuses on serving a limited menu of mostly Italian accented sandwiches on wood fired fermented bread that’s made from local heirloom grains. The popular sandwich is the Tomato Basil made with local produce and house made mozzarella cheese. Each sandwich is painstakingly made. Here is the April 2018 menu.

Pane Bianco is a sister restaurant to the FAMOUS Pizzeria Bianco By Chef Chris Bianco. He is a James Beard Award Chef (Best South/West Chef) He is the first Pizza Chef (maybe only) that has won a James Beard Award. Pizzeria Bianco is considered to be the BEST PIZZA in the UNITED STATES and is also recognized officially by Bon Appetit, Vogue, Racheal Ray, Andrew Zimmerm, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, GQ and Gourmet. Sorry I know I got you hungry for the famous pizza now……I was lucky to hit Pane Bianco when they were also serving the famous pizza. I’ve tried several of the pizzas several times and my best memory of the pizza was from Pane Bianco.

Back to Pane Bianco. Originally you ordered at the counter, browsed or purchased some local and imported goods and did take out or sat outside on a community bench.

A few years back Pane Bianco expanded and added on a dining room with wait service.

I was surprised when I looked at the menu. There are more additions than what the website shows. I haven’t made it here in maybe a couple years because of menu changes but I see that old favorites have come back since my last visit.

This time I got the Albacore Tuna Salad Sandwich. Today it came with a sweet mustardy red cabbage and vegetable salad. It is a very large generous sandwich. You can make two meals out of it.

My sandwich was PACKED with LOTS of arugula that was massaged and made tender and was easy to bite threw. The Albacore Tuna doesn’t taste or have the the texture of canned……..It taste like there is balsamic vinegar and and oil. The tuna salad is studded with sweet marinated raisins that burst in your mouth and there are little pieces the highest quality gaeta olives. It’s all delicious together…This sandwich does differ from other tuna sandwiches I’ve had here but all of them were all very good.

My husband had his favorite sandwich. The Soppressata with aged provolone and wood roasted red bell pepper.

My husband thinks the meat and cheese are of the highest quality. He loves this sandwich! A few years back red peppers were very expensive and Pane Bianco wasn’t offering the red peppers on this sandwich….instead they used roasted onions.

This version is still good……but not as great.

One of the very BEST, Must GET, desserts in Metro Phoenix is the Crazy Great Nutmeg Ice from Pane Bianco. (also served at Pizzeria Bianco at the Town and Country location).

It’s not like any Italian Ice I’ve had anywhere before. It’s a little creamy but it’s a one note refreshing punch that knocks you out…….I promise you…. it’s AMAZING!

Town and Country Pizzeria Bianco presents the Ice a little differently with cookies.

a few things I had at Pane Bianco in the past. (most things I didn’t photo here)

Tomato, Red Onion and Cheddar Focaccia (once I had a lemon rosemary bread that was really great!)

Chicken Salad

Tuna Salad

Pane Bianco is Worth a Fork!

Worth a Fork!

www.PizzariaBianco.com

EVERY FORKING THING is subject to change and YOUR experience MAY or may not differ.

The Forking Truth