Eating Our Way Through Phoenix...

 

I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Phoenix.  It’s a city with lots of good memories for me and one very bittersweet one.  That bittersweet one is Shelly.  One of my dear friends who we lost WAY to early to melanoma many years ago.  Last time I was out there it was for a women’s conference.  Shelly and I had a lovely breakfast together.  It was the last time I saw her. 

During that same conference a group of us gals wandered down the street to a lovely pizza joint.  Little did I know the delightful proprietor, Chris Bianco, was on the cutting edge of the artisan pizza movement in the US.  All I knew was that we all shared an extraordinary meal.

Then, there are our friends Fred and Mary.  They couldn’t decide exactly where they wanted to wind up during retirement.  So, they tried Grand Rapids near one daughter’s employment.  Then they were off to Phoenix.  That was followed by Glacier, WA in a funky house WAY up in the mountains.  Finally, they settled in a lovely home in Bellingham WA.  We visited them at each location.  Phoenix was probably our favorite because of Queen Creek Olives and the Heard Museum.  Oh, I can’t leave out the arboretum!  This time we wanted to revisit Queen Creek and the museum.  Too much education time for the arboretum.  Sad but true. 

Connie did his normal restaurant research.  Most iconic, most romantic, most beautiful, best sandwich…  Nine different choices.  I went thru and chose three and made reservations at the two who accept reservations.  Plus, of course, I wanted him to experience Pizzeria Bianco!  We had time open for three lunches and two dinners.  The rest of the time we were noshing between sessions at the resort.  Which I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention.  The conference was held at Talking Stick Resort and Casino.  I’m happy to report that we broke even at the casino.  That’s what happens when you don’t bet anything!  The resort itself was excellent.  The food was great as was our room.  And, the conference facilities were really fantastic. 

First up was a return visit to Queen Creek Olives.  It has expanded its footprint hugely in the ensuing years.  The lunch choices had also expanded greatly.  I got a chopped salad with crispy chicken and Connie got the kalamata sandwich.  That was salumi with kalamatas.  Both of us were VERY happy with our choices!!  

After lunch we went shopping.  It was SO much fun to chat with Esther who was from Fort Wayne but now lives down the street from the olive mill and works there.  We stocked up on olives, olive oil, barbecue sauce, asiago cheese dip and a few other goodies.  That box arrives in a day or so.  YAY!

Our next opportunity for a meal out was to be Pizzeria Bianco.  I wasn’t certain which one I’d been to and nothing on the maps looked right so we chose one of the locations.  And, it wound up being not the same one but was actually a tad bit better.  It was in Heritage Square.  Next door was Bar Bianco.  A charming house converted to an equally charming bar.  The pizzeria itself was something to behold.  There was the HUGE pizza oven and a herd of servers and bartenders and cooks and folks zipping this way and that taking care of all of us.  We started with spiedini.  Unlike any we’ve had anywhere else.  Melty cheese wrapped with prosciutto on top of lightly dressed spinach.  Major YUM!  Then we got the Rosa pizza.  Olive oil, rosemary, red onion and pistachios on a perfect thin crust. 

Lon’s at The Hermosa has been named the most beautiful restaurant in Arizona.  From what we could see it totally deserves the honor.  Angela took such good care of us.  I had the shrimp cobb salad and Connie had the Caesar with white anchovies.  A stop in the gift shop meant a cookbook.  Phoenix Cooks.  There are tons of fabulous recipes from many Phoenix restaurants, including Lon’s.  As I was leafing through I realized we were sitting at the table shown in one of the photos.  Angela was kind enough to snap a photo of us.

After Lon’s we headed to The Heard Museum.  It’s very well done.  I wish we’d had a bit more energy to take in more but we were both bone tired so headed back to the resort for naps! 

That evening we were off to Quiessence at the Farm.  Neither of us had any idea what to expect but it had been rated most romantic so we had high expectations.  Those were certainly met.  We splurged with the five course tasting menu.  First up was an amuse bouche with a thin slice of smoked salmon and an edible flower and some other goodies.  Then oysters with Meyer lemon mignonette.  Those were followed a radish soup.  With poached pears with cinnamon and red wine.  Connie had to try the fois gras macaron.  Despite my trepidation, it was this morsel of intense flavor. Then, the salad.  Well, a lovely composed plate of leaves and flowers and all kinds of goodies.  We had two choices for that course so we chose to have one of each.  The other was parmesan tacos with beef tartare.  Then, an incredible pappardelle with white bolognese.  Beef, veal and duck bolognese.  Next up was a kitchen tour followed by the intermezzo of pomelo sorbet.  Then, our entrees.  Connie had the duck breast with lentils and I had the salmon with chickpea puree, a grilled morel mushroom and a couple of ramps. 

Looks like the photos loaded bassackwards...  You need to start from the bottom.

Then, the romantic part REALLY kicked in.  A young couple had been seated next to us.  We’d not even exchanged pleasantries.  Out of the corner of my eye I see him unfolding himself from his chair.  And, getting down on one knee.  My brain said PHOTOS!  Yes or no?  Intruding or would they want them?  Do it before it’s too late!  Turns out I was able to airdrop them to him and they were thrilled to have them

. 

Last meal in Phoenix before the flight home.  We had several choices.  But, we’d chatted with Angela from Lon’s and she’d said Valle Luna was the place to go.  It was listed as the most iconic.  We split a chimichanga and I was still stuffed five hours later.  Turns out that was our one meal that day.   And, what a meal it was.  Alicia was our exuberant and amazing waitress.  The food was perfect.  And, the atmosphere was great. 

All in all it was just about a perfect trip.  I learned a LOT and met loads of delightful colleagues.  The resort was spectacular.  And, our meals?  I just can’t say enough good things about the Phoenix dining scene. 

Pantry Beef Stew and Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

 

Every year we hike down to Florida to visit with our clients who either live or winter there.  I pack a cooler full of fridge food and take bags of pantry groceries so we don’t have to shop as much while we’re there.  When we head home I invariably have some goodies from Bayway and from Ted’s Smoked Fish and from the citrus store.  And, a few leftovers.  This year the leftovers were pretty sparse.  A heart of romaine and a couple of bell peppers and half a sweet onion. 

 

Thanks to two days on the road and consequently two days of crummy road food, both of us had grumbly tummies when we finally got home.  The first evening we’d just gotten home and so we pulled out the Triscuits and the smoked fish dip from Bayway along with the smoked salmon from Ted’s.  Easy peasy. 

 

Saturday we slept.  And, slept.  And, slept.  Then when I finally got to the kitchen I really didn’t feel like cooking.  One of the recipes I’d read was from a Pampered Chef cookbook.  It was for Greek Lemon Chicken soup.  That sounded like it’d do really well with a grumbly tummy.  And it did.  It was so easy to put together.  I even used a can of chicken!  We had this for dinner and then I had it for lunch for three days and was ready to make more when that was done. 

 

Then, Sunday evening we felt better but after working all day I just didn’t have the energy to cook a big meal.  Pantry stew was created!  There’s a recipe for beef and noodles from a gal who used to own a noodle making business.  It calls for a can of beefy mushroom soup.  Something I’d never used until I wanted to make that recipe.  Then, I couldn’t find it at the grocery so ordered a case from Amazon.  You’re seeing what happened here, right?  Use up the soup!  There was also a can of roast beef from Costco that’d taken a tumble on its way to the shelf.  Dented cans should always be used asap as long you know when the dent was created.  Otherwise, they should be discarded.  Too risky!  Note please that I didn’t measure, just dumped…

 

Pantry Stew

Ingredients:

Handful of carrots (par-cook til al dente)

Onion

Garlic

Olive oil

Red wine – maybe a quarter of a cup

Tabasco

Worcestershire

Consommé

Beefy mushroom soup 

Can of beef

Handful of peas

Noodles

Directions:

Heat the olive oil to shimmering in a sturdy saucepan.  Once it’s hot toss in the carrots and onions.  When the onion is translucent, add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.  Then, deglaze the pan with  the red wine.  Add in a couple of good dashes of Worcestershire sauce and some Tabasco.  Then, pour in the soups and add the noodles.  You’re going to let the broth in the soups cook the noodles.  Finally, when the noodles are about three minutes from being done toss in a handful of frozen peas. 

 

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

2 c chopped cooked chicken

2 t olive oil

2 medium carrots, coarsely chopped

½ c chopped onion

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 t lemon zest

¼ c lemon juice (I used double the lemon)

2 T snipped fresh parsley (I omitted this)

1 can cream of chicken soup

42 oz chicken stock

½ t freshly ground black pepper

2/3 c uncooked long-grain white rice

 

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven.  Add the carrots and onions and cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes.  Add the lemon juice, zest, cream of chicken soup, broth, and black pepper.  Once this mixture boils, add the rice, cover the pot and simmer on low for 15-20 minutes.  If you’re using the parsley, sprinkle it on top when serving. 

 

 

Thanksgiving Sliders

 

FriendsGiving and Halloween

We live on a four-house private lane so the odds of trick or treaters is virtually zero.  Instead, we drive a few miles down the road to our friend Uncle Lou’s.  He and his crew from the Norwaldo group set up a tent and chairs and a fire pit and have LOADS of candy for the neighborhood kids.  And, all the kids who come in from other neighborhoods.  

In the past we’ve done the trick or treat thing and then had a lovely Friendsgiving.  Well, that’s getting tougher and tougher for those of us still working.  Friendsgiving has been moved to a non-school night so Halloween is heavy appetizers. 

My mind immediately went to the yummy ham and cheese rolls using Kings Hawaiian rolls. But how could I turn them into a pre-Thanksgiving treat?  How about turkey, swiss and cranberry sauce? 

I’ve got to tell you these were a HIT!  Lou made chili.  Bill made one of his famous concoctions (bourbon and apple cider were the base,) Diane made chicken salad sliders, somebody brought some wonderful gruyere dip, Jillian bought cheesecakes at Costco and we had our sandwiches.  Despite the spitting snow we kept warm and well fed and enjoyed watching all the fun costumes.  Well, that and catching up!

Ingredients: 

Kings Hawaiian rolls – 24 pack is what we used

Deli sliced turkey breast – we used the majority of a 22 oz package

Jarlsberg or Swiss cheese – enough shredded on the large holes of a grater to cover well

14 oz can whole berry cranberry sauce

1 T Triple Sec or orange juice

Bell’s seasoning – I made my own

¼ c butter

 

Directions: 

Either buy Bell’s seasoning or make your own.  I found a great recipe from Mary’s Nest.  (https://marysnest.com/wprm_print/4855)  Connie is the one from Boston so he’s the expert on Bell’s seasoning since it’s not a Midwest kind of thing.  He took one sniff of the finished product and said OH YES!   Mary’s recipe called for putting this thru a coffee grinder.  I wanted a more “chunky” topping so chose to keep is as is.  

Melt the butter. 

In another saucepan, mix the whole cranberry sauce and the Triple Sec or the orange juice.  Let it simmer just a bit. 

Put the rolls on a piece of lightly oiled foil on a half sheet.  Cut them in half and put the tops to the side.  

Brush the bottoms of the rolls with the cranberry sauce.  Use all of it. 

Top the rolls with the sliced turkey.  Then, top that with the shredded cheese.  It’ll need to be pretty thickly covered.  What you see in the photo is about half the amount of cheese we used. 

Top the rolls with the tops and brush with butter.  

Top with sprinkles of Bell’s seasoning. 

Put another piece of foil on top and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loaded Hash Browns

 

What a day!  We were startled by an alarm at the Cape Cod condo.  Some friends who were staying there had set the alarm to stay and forgot and opened the sliding door to the deck to check the weather.  Then, as soon as we fell back asleep the doorbell rang with a FedEx envelope.  We were due down the street to get our toes done.  Ok, fine, our talons cut.  At that point we said what the heck and got up.  After our toes Connie had to take Abby the dog to the vet for an ear infection – better, an eye infection – much better, and a potential urinary tract infection – don’t ask me about the urine collection we’ve got to do.  I dug in to my office work for a few hours until it was time to go get my eyes checked.  I LOVE visiting with Paige. She’s just one of the nicest human beings ever.  While we were on Cape Cod I broke my ONE pair of glasses.  The good folks at Lenscrafters managed to cobble them back together so other than the daily headaches from them not setting exactly where they should, I’ve been fine.  After Paige we headed a block north to Goodwill.  Let’s see if I can remember the highlights…  A Belgian cookbook, a Martha Stewart Light, one on margaritas, one from the Culinary Institute of America, and a couple of others.  Then, we were off to Costco to order our new glasses and to shop for the Girls Night Out party this coming Saturday.  We’re doing chicken green bean casserole and salads.  Two friends are bringing appetizers, one each is bringing homemade rolls, a pasta dish and a dessert.  I’ve also got some cheese to put out.  I just had to look at the cookbooks at Costco. There were only three selections.  I had two of them.  What I didn’t have was Gina Holmoka’s Skinny Taste Simple.  That problem got solved poste haste.  Then, on our way out of Castleton we made our first visit to Saraga International Market.  And, fell in love with the place.  Goodness.  I can’t even begin to remember what all we bought.  I can remember that I didn’t see arugula, baby endive or escarole.  Or, rolled anchovies with capers or consommé soup.  Otherwise, we found all kinds of things we’ve either had to go over to Cincinnati to shop at Jungle Jim’s or we’ve had to order online. Connie who always shops with a list and doesn’t really buy anything that isn’t on the list literally walked every aisle with me.  We found ground duck, garlic paste, Kewpie mayonnaise, teff flour…  A long list of happiness! 

On the way home I started reading Gina’s cookbook.  The plan for dinner had been some fish from the freezer with a tomato salad with pecan pesto.  Something about starting pesto at 7pm didn’t quite appeal to either of us.  Connie made an Agave Maria from our new margarita cookbook.  I was vacillating between Meridian Hills Special Salad, chili stuffed baked potatoes and a new recipe from Gina’s cookbook.  Gina won out.  We’d put green onions in our cocktails as a garnish so they were ready to be chopped.  I had two slices of bacon I wanted to use up.  You’re right.  The bacon isn’t in the original recipe.  And, there were a couple of wedges of cheese that needed to be used up.  Plus there’s a big bag of Yukon Gold potatoes hanging out in the kitchen…  Loaded waffled hash browns it was.  Except I didn’t want to dirty yet another piece of kitchen equipment so I went for her alternative and made a big hash brown patty.  Connie who is not particularly fond of potatoes exclaimed it one of the best potato dishes he’d ever had.  We both rated it a five on a scale of one to five.  Alongside we had once again sliced tomatoes with shallots, basil and a Dijon mustard vinaigrette.  YUM!

Loaded Waffled Hash Browns

Serves two

Ingredients:

1 large Yukon Gold potato, not peeled

2 green onions, finely chopped

2 eggs

¼ cup shredded cheese, cheddar or something else assertive

2 strips thick cut bacon (my addition)

 

Directions:

Brown, drain and finely chop the bacon.  While that’s getting happy, grate the potato on the large holes of a grater.  Plop the grated potato in the middle of a towel, head to the sink and squeeze all the liquid out.  Toss the potato with the chopped green onion.  You can either make waffled hash browns or you can coat a non-stick skillet with olive oil and make one large hash brown patty.  Gorgeous or pretty.  Tougher to make and keep warm or super simple.  Your choice.  

As soon as the hash brown patty has been flipped – that is once the bottom is nice and brown and you CAN flip it, you’ll want to crack two eggs into the pan where you cooked the bacon. Yes, you’ll want to drain the bacon fat first.  Just leave a thin coating in the pan.  Enough to flavor the eggs…  Top the eggs with the shredded cheese then put a lid on the skillet and cook the eggs until the whites are done but the yolks are runny and the cheese is melted.  

To assemble you’ll cut the potato pancake in half and slide it onto a plate.  Top that with one of the eggs then sprinkle the bacon over the top.  Repeat and you’ve got dinner.  

Super simple and super good.  We loved the green onions in the potato pancakes.  The whole dish was just fabulous and will be a regular around here.

 

Adapted from SkinnytasteSimple by Gina Homolka

Char-Grilled Asparagus with Warm Bread Salad

Late last December I started keeping a log of recipes we’d either tried or made again along with a list of recipes to try.  By now in September we’re up to about 145 recipes.   Ninety-six of them are new.  That’s an average of ten new recipes a month.  You can tell when the wheels came off since I went from 15 in January and 21 in February down to 10 in March and less than 10 a month during April through August.  We stuck to a lot of old favorites those months!  Comfort food was what we needed.  Now, it’s time to once again try some new dishes.  Month-to-date in September we’ve made 15 new recipes.  Our average score on a scale of 1-5 is 4.3125.  That’s just slightly below February’s 4.286 and slightly above January’s 4.267.  The bottom line is that we tend to like most of the new recipes we try.  I’ve still got about 50 new recipes to try with half a dozen cookbooks to be added to the mix.  Yes, I LOVE statistics.  My brain thinks in Excel…  One of the reasons I love cooking so much is that it uses a different part of my brain.  So it’s relaxing after a long day of work. 

Tonight the menu was mahi-mahi with a mango cilantro chutney.  Took the mango chunks out of the freezer and let’s just say fruit doesn’t last much past it’s expiration date in the freezer.  Mango chunks in particular.  So I grabbed one of the tomatoes Connie had picked up for Wednesday’s tomato salad with pecan basil pesto.  BLT’s!  Along side I was thinking something with potatoes or cauliflower but the asparagus with warm bread salad from Flavoring With Olive Oil really caught my eye.  We didn’t have the sourdough bread the recipe called for but I was happy to substitute what we had.  Typically I buy the thinner asparagus spears but this bunch came from Imperfect so I didn’t have a choice. 

What did we think?  Absolutely a recipe we’ll make again.  And this is a great winter recipe too.  We’ve found from previous recipes tried in this cookbook that the quantity of olive oil used is immense.  I’ve noted what we actually used…

Char-Grilled Asparagus with Warm Bread Salad

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus, the thicker the better

1 T olive oil

1 slice whole grain bread

½ T white wine vinegar

1 T olive oil

Sprinkle of garlic powder

1 hard cooked egg, peeled and chopped

2 t capers

1 large sprig flat leaf parsley, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

White wine vinegar for drizzling

 

Directions

Cube the bread and put it in a bowl.  Drizzle in the 1/2 T of vinegar and toss it well.  Heat the 1 T of olive oil in a small skillet.  When it’s shimmering add the bread cubes  and sprinkle them with garlic powder.  Saute until the bread cubes are well browned.  

While all of that is going on, heat a grill pan and coat it with olive oil.  You’re going to want to cook your asparagus until it’s blistered on all sides.

Put the cooked asparagus on plates.  Top with chopped egg, capers and the bread cubes.  Drizzle with white wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil