Shu Han Lee is a very high end food blogger, food writer, and food stylist. She has worked with Jamie Oliver and has written for magazines. It wasn’t really my intention to change her recipe but I didn’t have the more flavorful Hatcho miso in my pantry that I need for her recipe. I used regular white miso instead and bumped up the miso by adding a splash of yuzu hot sauce. I also cooked it only slightly differently like the way I cook certain Mediterranean eggplant recipes. What I wound up with turned out FORKING SCRUMPTIOUS. Serving size is always difficult to judge. I used one regular medium sized eggplant. My guesstimate is that you would eat a quarter of the eggplant so I’m guessing 4 small side servings.
Ingredients for around 4 smaller side servings
1 eggplant – cut in half long ways – score tops in diamond shapes
1 heaping Tablespoon white miso paste
1 Tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 Tablespoon (or to taste) yuzu hot sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Brand….it’s more yuzu tasting than hot)
5 Tablespoons hot water
non stick spray
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (to finish)
1 (or 2) scallion – diagonal cuts (to finish)
Directions
In a small mixing bowl mix together the miso, honey, oil, yuzu hot sauce, and hot water. Place the halved and scored eggplants and the mixing bowl liquid in a gallon Ziplock bag. Make sure the eggplant is cut side down in the bag so it can absorb liquid. Leave it on the counter for at least 30 minutes.
Set oven to 400 degrees F
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
Take the eggplants out of the ziplock bag but keep the unabsorbed liquid to the side.
Place thee eggplants cut side down on baking sheet and let them cook for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes turn thee eggplants over (cut side up) and pour extra reserved liquid over and into the eggplant halves. Leave them in the oven till they look slightly caramelized. Top them with sesame seeds and scallions.
Miso and Honey Marinated Eggplant
Enjoy!
A Special THANKS!!!! To Shu Han Lee for sharing her amazing recipe so that I could come up with what I got here!
Rags Real Chicken and Waffles is a small casual restaurant located in Youngtown Arizona. Incase you didn’t know…….Youngtown is a small-town of around six thousand in Arizona. It’s located between El Mirage and Sun City. Rags Real Chicken and Waffles offers a limited of menu chicken and waffles, fried chicken dinner, rib dinner, fried (catfish) fish dinner, fried shrimp dinner, kids meal, and a few more choices. Soft beverages are included with dinners. They do have a B.Y.O.B. sign on the wall so you can bring in your own booze. It’s not a fancy place. They have a mix of homey mix matched furniture. It’s also small and they have only three community tables and four seats at the counter. In the corner of the restaurant is a band area and dance floor.
The open kitchen is also very small. They don’t have room for a steam table so they use chafing pans on the counter to keep the sides hot. The chicken and the waffles are prepared to order so expect to wait at least fifteen minutes.
We try a dark meat chicken dinner and a white meat chicken and waffle. The White meat breast is Dolly Parton sized.
White meat chicken and waffle
The chicken in both platters is fried to perfection and both dishes the has a light crisp coating of corn meal. They are minimally seasoned so that you mostly only taste chicken. You can add salt and pepper to spice it a little more or used some hot sauce for a little zip……They also have BBQ sauce but I think it was too overpowering for the chicken…maybe it really goes with the ribs. Somehow the waffle didn’t get crushed as you would expect under that heavy breast. The waffle stayed light and fluffy. The chicken breast is really good and a very large portion. It certainly can be two meals for many people.
dark meat chicken dinner
The dark meat does have even more chicken juice and chicken flavor. It’s fried so expertly well that it doesn’t even seem fried. It’s also a large portion. The sides are like a neighbor or relative might have made them…..home style.
That was a little taste of Rags Real Chicken & Waffles in Youngtown AZ…You should be licking your fingers now!
Clever Ramen is a fast/casual Ramen Style restaurant located in the ASU part of Scottsdale Arizona. Clever Ramen is a sister restaurant of Clever Koi, Fellow Osteria, and Across The Pond. These restaurants are by Born and raised Hospitality. Clever Ramen offers Pre-Built ramen bowls, build your own ramen bowls (confit chicken thigh, lemongrass chicken breast, karaage chicken, bulgogi steak, pork belly, tofu, and soy egg), a variety of fries, extra vegetables like Korean spinach, and grilled bok choy. Extras like crispy shallots and nori. They also offer steamed buns of pork belly, Korean hot chicken, and kimchi cauliflower. They also offer soft beverages and sake cups, and canned beer and wine. We ordered and paid at the counter.
We got our drinks and sat ourselves.
It’s modern and sleek inside.
It was a nice day so we walked threw to the patio. Within only a few minutes someone runs our food to us.
We started out by trying a couple of steamed buns.
Crispy (not crispy) pork belly & Korean Hot (but not hot) chicken steamed buns
They are small so you can eat one and fit in some ramen. The better one today was the Korean hot chicken. The chicken was developed with flavors and was tasty fresh and juicy. It was good with the tasty house made pickles. It wasn’t hot it was just tasty. They put only a scant amount of sauce on mine today….it was almost dry so I hardly got any taste of Gochujang.
It wasn’t the best day for anything pork…Instead of crispy pork belly today it was mushy and chewy. Maybe it’s usually better?
I thought the Pre-Built Bowl of spicy kimchi ramen with confit chicken thigh was pretty good!
The broth is well made and taste developed with flavors. The chicken is tender and delicious. I taste kimchi but it’s not over-powering. Chili crisp is there to heat things up. The soy egg is ok but is missing that ramen taste that only mirin can give……..The only thing that can really improve are the noodles. The noodles are slightly over cooked and don’t have the chew that ramen noodles are known for. The noodles here are more like collage noodles.
My husband tried the pork ramen. Today wasn’t the best day for pork.
The crispy pork wasn’t crispy today and was mushy and chewy. The broth was weak today and the mushrooms were soggy. Maybe tomorrow this dish might be better?
That was my trip to Clever Ramen in Scottsdale AZ.
The Dish Fest is a food and drink festival based on the January/February Phoenix Magazine article naming the one hundred and one best dishes picked by Phoenix Magazine editors. This festival was held February 27/2022 at the Clayton House in Scottsdale Arizona. Ticket holders were entitled to unlimited bites and sips (hard and soft) from participants. This was an indoor and outdoor event with food trucks. Some of the proceeds benefited the Joy Bus Diner.
Here is most of what I came across in no particular order, I did skip most of the libations because the point of being here was tasting today. I couldn’t taste everything but I did sure taste a lot.
Chef Christopherfrom Christopher’sPitchBlack SheepPostinoinsideWeft and WarpWeft and WarpWeft and WarpChula SeafoodValentineObonObonOakCitizen Public HouseCitizen Public HouseCaldwell County BBQCasa De FalafelAimees Swine HouseFlavors Of LouisianaSuperstition MeaderyPA’LACasa CorazonIsland Boys Jerk HutSalsa BitesAioli BurgersRandom AFTempura takeover
That was a little taste of the 2022 Dish Fest at The Clayton House in Scottsdale AZ.
I had a bag of potatoes and also some cheeses that I needed to use so this is what I came up with for today. OMG YUM! did this come out delicious…..Somehow everything just turned into a delicious tomato-ee, cheesy, soupy sauce with lots of potatoes. Gratinated means buttered crumbs. There is a small amount of buttered fresh bread crumbs on the top. Dauphinoise potatoes are a fancy French term for potatoes baked in milk and or cream and cheese. Serving size is always difficult to judge because I don’t know if you want a tiny dish or a big bowl. I used 6 medium sized potatoes so I am guessing a half potato a person so I will guesstimate 12 portions.
Ingredients for around 12 servings
6 medium sized russet potatoes – peeled and sliced thin one a mandolin
1 onion – peeled cut in half and sliced thin on a mandolin
4 garlic cloves – ground to paste
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 Tablespoons fresh basil (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 dried Calabrian pepper – crushed (or substitute a small pinch of crushed red pepper)
8 oz stracchino cheese thin slices (as best you can..this cheese is sort of soft)
5 oz taleggio cheese (sliced thin)
2 eggs – lightly beaten
10 oz. can cut tomatoes (whole can with liquid…..or you can use a large farm fresh ripe heirloom tomato that taste good)
6 oz tomato paste
8 oz heavy cream
1 Tablespoon of vegetable stock paste (soup paste)
2 oz parmesan cheese – shaved (I used a vegetable peeler)
non stick spray
small roll (almost 2 oz) – to grate for crumbs (topping)
Spray a large baking dish or half buffet pan with non stick spray.
In a large bowl mix together the cream, tomato paste, soup paste, and eggs. Mix Well.
Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, black pepper, salt, Calabrian pepper, stracchino cheese, taleggio cheese, 2 Tablespoons basil, and the contents of the can of tomatoes. Mix well. Put this mixture in you non stick sprayed dish or pan.
Top this with 2 oz parmesan.
Cover tight with foil.
This goes in the middle rack of your preheated 375 degree F oven for 90 minutes.
During this time grate around 2 oz of a good tasting roll ( I used a mini sourdough roll). The roll will be easier to grate if it is stale or partly frozen. Grate the butter into the crumbs and grate the cheese into this mixture and mix it up.
I spread this out on a baking sheet and threw it in the oven when the potatoes were at 80 minutes or ten minutes before the potatoes were done.The crumbs are super crunchy this way. Add the crumbs to the top of the potatoes when they are done.
Top with a little fresh basil.
Tomato and Cheese Gratinated Dauphinoise Potatoes Tomato and Cheese Gratinated Dauphinoise Potatoes
Dining out with Dogs in Metro Phoenix AZ is just a “Fluff” story about taking my dogs out to eat. It all sort of started with my dog Louie. He was elderly and diagnosed with aggressive cancer. We were told to only expect him to live 3 months more or maybe up to six. Louie couldn’t do a lot but he always enjoyed. eating and also enjoyed going out to eat so I took him out to eat as often as I could. Instead of the 3-6 month diagnosis Louie made it another 17 months. Today I take my current dogs out to eat when I can.
There are many things to know about dining out with dogs. One thing is that not all patios are dog friendly. You usually see a “Dog Friendly Patio” sign. If you don’t see a sign you must call the restaurant to find out if it is ok to bring your furry friend. It is also best to dine at off times and avoid as many people and other dogs as possible. It’s best to avoid people because some people out there really hate dogs and other people might be allergic to dogs. It’s best to avoid other dogs because dogs like to bark at each other and this can be a disturbance and you might be asked to leave.
When dining out with dogs here in Phoenix you have to consider the temperature because your dog is not as heat tolerant as you. Dogs wear fur coats, they can’t sweat and dogs also absorb heat up their paws. All people and dogs have different heat tolerances. In general 90 degrees F and higher is. too hot to dine out with dogs. When there is any doubt it is always better to keep your furry friend heathy and leave them safe at home.
Do you know that most food and drink that you consume can be harmful or even TOXIC to your dog? You need to get a list of safe foods and foods to avoid from your veterinarian. Usually a small lean piece of un-sauced meat is a safe bet. You should also bring a doggie water bowl with you so your dog can have some water.
Now that you have made to the restaurant patio with your dog you need to know that there are rules to dining out with dogs. Dogs must be close and by your side at all times. Dogs are NOT permitted to sit on restaurant furniture or eat off of restaurant plates.
Wraps ‘N’ Curry is an Indian fast food but made from fresh casual located in North Phoenix. They offer wraps on fresh made to order wraps, fresh baked other breads, and Indian dishes. They recently got a community patio at the strip mall near the restaurant so we took the dogs there.
Today I got the goa fish curry.
I think it’s tasty. I lick the sauce off of the fish for the dogs because some of the spices might not agree with them.
My husband had a spicy chicken wrap………sort of……He asked them not to put the sauce on…….but they did anyway.
It was dressed with mint mayo (and my husband won’t eat mayo) so he only picked at it and left the fresh made bread because of the mayo. (he ate something when we got home)
www.WrapsNCurry.business.site
4221 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-866-1907
Another restaurant that we went to was The Craftsman Cocktails and Kitchen in North Scottsdale. They are a craft American kitchen. They have a very nice dog friendly patio and the food is very good there. They also are a distillery too! One of their dishes that my husband LOVES there is the muffuletta and had it several times already. It’s served on house made herbed focaccia and he got it with their tasty house made potato chips.
I had the fish and chips….but without the chips and substituted a salad.
The Craftsman vodka crust on the fish is shattering crisp and fresh cod is the flakiest cod that I have ever had. The dogs enjoyed the cod ass well as some parts of the muffuletta.
www.TheCraftsmanAZ.com
20469 N Hayden Rd Scottsdale AZ
480-401-1102
We also went to Cucina Tagliani in North Glendale. They are an. American Italian Restaurant. They offer sandwiches, salads, build your own pasta dishes and offer more vegetable sides than most places that are similar. They also offer pizzas, pork ribs, a few steaks, some other entrees, and more.
I got a strawberry chicken salad.
The chicken was a little dry today but my dogs didn’t mind.
“Wining!!!!” “We get MORE chicken when it’s dry!” “WHOOHOO!”
My husband got the Stromboli today.
“Stromboli is always a good choice.”
“We are ready for some more chicken!”
www.CuucinaTagliani.ccom
17045 N 59th Ave Glendale AZ
602-547-2782
We also took the dogs to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery in North Phoenix. They specialize in serving the Banh Mi Baguette sandwiches and offer around a dozen different varieties. They also offer other Vietnamese favorites except for pho.
Today I got the curry chicken with rice.
My husband got the beef banh mi (the beef really is very good here…….It’s tender like filet mignon but it is really ribeye)
Portions are very large (and prices are low) so we have plenty to share.
We always enjoy going to Banh Mi Bistro Vietnamese Eatery.
www.BanhMiBistroAZ.com
2340 W Bell Rd PHX AZ
602-843-3637
Well that was Dinning Out With DOGS inn Metro Phoenix for February 2022. 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
Harumi Sushi & Sake iis a small casual sushi restaurant that recently opened in North Peoria Arizona. They also have their first and original location in downtown Phoenix. Their sushi is a bit unique and differs some from most other sushi restaurants. It’s made with healthier purple forbidden rice that does have a slightly different taste. The big deal here is that the fish they select to use is from fresh and was never frozen. This kind of fish gives you that melt in your mouth texture…… They use shipped overnight Scottish salmon and Nova Scotian tuna. They top most fish with fresh wasabi that is not from concentrate. Sushi is a treat here!
Inside is small and tight.
We were packed in like sardines.
The tables were so close that we couldn’t get out until the table behind us got up.
Depending on where you are sitting plates might be flying over your head.
We started with a specialty roll called The Hot Havana.
It is hot but is made with the kind of fish that melts in your mouth. I like that they make the rolls with a thin layer of rice so you don’t get too stuffed. This Hot Havana Roll was made with yellowtail, cucumber, avocado, jalapeños and mango habanero sauce.
The yellowtail collar (hamachi kama) was fried and served in ponzu sauce with lemon.
Today this was overcooked and dry….Usually this is the best part of the fish because the collar is the most flavorful and succulent part……We weren’t checked on.
Our last plate was the blue fin tuna nigiri and seared salmon nigiri. (my husband said that he checked Toro and un-seared salmon……???)
Both nigiri were were melt in your mouth fresh.
Service today wasn’t the best. In addition to not asking how the collar was and possibly serving fish different than what we ordered…….the Forking Truth is that nobody even considered clearing out our three rounds of plates.
Service can use improvement but the sushi is what you come for here and really was melt in your mouth fresh.
They were still constructing a patio on our visit that might be ready by now?
First & Last at this time (Feb/22) is a newly opened modern American restaurant located in downtown Phoenix Arizona. They serve an ever changing seasonal menu of starters plates and vegetable plates, fresh pastas, and interesting and different entrees, cocktails, local beers, small production wines and more!
Innside might be shotgun style. The restaurant is mostly long and narrow but also is open and airy. There is a high ceiling with hanging plants and lanterns.
In the picture below if you look at the middle of the picture above the bar you might be able to see that they also have some seating above the bar.
They also have a small patio with a few smaller tables.
Tonight we sat inside.
We started out by sharing a vegetable plate of butternut squash.
Butternut squash
The butternut squash was adorned with a little heat from chilis, some sweetness from grapes, some yum from pine nuts and was tied together with a ras el hanout (Moroccan spice blend) vinaigrette. This was interesting and different and not too heavy.
But my GOSH!! The WINNER WINNER was the Chicken Dinner called Chicken Et Crouton. It was FORKING FANTABULOUS!
This chicken was developed with delicious flavors and was so tender and deliciously juicy…….It just was a YUM! DINGER! Chilis, crispy Swiss chard, sweet tomatoes, lemon and rosemary pan sauce just enhanced everything and there also was this fresh made focaccia in there that just soaked up all the goodness. I do have to say that this was one FANTABULOUS dish.
My husband tried the grilled quail dish. We both were a little worried that it would be dry because almost nobody knows how to prepare quail.
No worries here! This quail was moist and delicious! It came with a little spinach, goat cheese, truffle salt, farro porridge in a brown butter jus.
I made sure that I save a little room to try dessert. They only had one dessert tonight and it was a cheesecake. Generally we both are not fans of cheesecake but we were assured that the cheesecake here wasn’t the typical cheesecake that is heavy and dense (and taste sour to me).Tonights dessert was a lemon ricotta cheesecake with a little fig jam.
It’s not a beauty but……….
It was embellished with fresh whipped cream and a little sharp tasting fig jam. The cheesecake is LIGHT and fluffy, not too sweet, with a really great cheese taste……..(It taste like my own home made ricotta)………I have to ask about the cheese and I was right. The chef made the cheese too for this dessert. I can taste it. WOW! what a great dessert this was!
First & Last Restaurant Phoenix AZ – Fantabulous Modern American Cuisine – Worth a Fork!
Worth A Fork!
First & Last
www.FirstandLastPHX.com
1001 N 3RD AVE PHX AZ
602-975-8297
Parking may or may not be difficult because it is in downtown Phoenix. They have a few parking spaces by the entrance and there is a small free parking garage across the street.
Okomomiyaki are Japanese cabbage pancakes. They usually are drizzled with mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce that usually is a combination of ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce. I was about to fry up the pancakes and I could tell by looking at it that if I didn’t add more batter to them that they wouldn’t stick together and wouldn’t come out………So I figured I could bake them in a cupcake pan. AND THAT WORKED! Mayonnaise is very fatty and then I remembered mustard tofu sauce from a Michael Voltaggio recipe I followed for shishito peppers…that is creamy and healthier…But today I used Chinese mustard instead of dijon mustard and it was. even tastier. Instead of traditional Okonomiyaki sauce (ketchup, Worcestershire, soy, sometimes honey or sugar) I used a black garlic, ketchup, hoisin, Worcestershire and thought that was tastier. This recipe makes 8 small cabbage cakes so that will be around 4 side servings.
1/4 small cabbage – fine shred
3 scallions – sliced thin
1 teaspoon oil – canola or coconut
1 inch peeled ginger – grated
1 garlic clove – ground to paste
1 carrot – peeled – shredded
2 eggs – lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon Tamari (or substitute soy sauce)
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds (I did 1/2 white and 1/2 black seeds)
6 or 7 Tablespoons flour (your amount of cabbage might differ slightly…you might need slightly more or slightly less flour)
non stick spray
6 oz silken tofu
1 + 1/2 Tablespoons Chinese mustard (or to taste)
1 head black garlic – peeled
1 Tablespoon ketchup
1 Tablespoon hoisin
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire
2 big pinches bonito flakes for finishing
2 big pinches crumbled seaweed sheets for finishing
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Spray 8 parts of your cupcake pan for your 8 cabbage cakes.
On medium heat heat up a small pan with the oil garlic and ginger..just heat until you can smell it. Or microwave it in a dish for a minute. Set to the side to cool.
In a large mixing bowl combine the cabbage, scallions, carrot, eggs, tamari, sesame seeds, flour, and garlic and ginger (now that it is cooler) mix well.
Pack them tight into the non stick sprayed cup cake pan.
Put them in a middle rack for 25 minutes. While they are in the oven you can make the sauces.
For the tofu mustard just blend together the tofu and mustard.
For the black garlic sauce blend together the black garlic, ketchup, hoisin, and Worcestershire.
After 25 minutes the cabbage cakes should be done. They need to cool off a little before you can remove them from the pan. You might need to use a butter knife and loosen them from the sides.
Serve them with the sauces and sprinkles of bonito flakes and seaweed flakes.
Okonomiyaki Style Baked Cabbage Cakes with Tofu Mustard and Black Garlic Sauce
I was food shopping at my local Fry’s supermarket and came across these Kroger Reuben Potato Chips…….I thought to myself I gotta try them. I glance real fast at the ingredients to make sure nothing really strange is in them.
They do have some chemicals in them……
Then I happen to notice that the chips are marked kosher and dairy.
I can be now be relieved that they aren’t made with castoreum (beaver butt juice actually from a gland by the butt) because beavers are not a kosher animal to eat. Castoreum is never listed as an ingredient because it is a flavoring. It is listed as natural flavor because that is what it is.
I get the bag home and take a whiff.
It truly DOES SMELL LIKE A REUBAN!
Incase you are not familiar with a reuben it is a sandwich made of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, Russian dressing on grilled rye bread or Russian pumpernickel.
The chips are slightly speckled, a little powdery, and are extra crisp.
I gobble a few down……
They are very tasty but at first they taste mostly like mild sauerkraut …….it maybe only slightly cheesy and laced slightly with a rye bread taste.
I eat one very slowly and it taste completely different.
When you eat them slowly you get the rye taste dominating the other flavors.
They are very tasty and extra crunchy.
Those were my Forking Thoughts on Kroger Reuben Potato Chips.
