Last night our dear friends and neighbors, Scott and Amy Kilpatrick, invited us to go to dinner with them at the soft-opening “friends and family” event at SOL Mexican Cocina. SOL is located in the Scottsdale Quarter and makes its public debut tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20 at 4:30 PM.  (Hey Amy, Don’t be mad at me for posting this snapshot, I know you weren’t expecting it, I was just trying to get a photo of the interior before we left 🙂 Even though I think that you and Scott look cute, as usual! xoxo)

Scott and Amy have a strong connection to SOL’s Operating Partner, Rich Howland.  Scott and Rich are the original founders of RA Sushi and have been friends since attending kindergarten, right here in Scottsdale.

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Happy Valentine’s Day! And Happy Centennial to my Native State – Arizona – 100 Years Young today!

Yes, Arizona, “The Grand Canyon State”, “The Valentine State”, and “The Baby State” turns 100 today!  The “Baby State” because Arizona was the last state of the contiguous United States to join the Union, on February 14, 1912. To see a wonderful slideshow of our beautiful state, GO TO THIS LINK, and enjoy. That is from where I snatched all of the Arizona pictures I have here today.  As a special birthday bonus, there’s a little Arizona quiz and a fun name game at the end of the post – just in case you want to play along.

Oh, and I have a fruity salsa recipe to go along with the fruity guac from yesterday too.

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As I mentioned yesterday, the Phoenix New Times was going to put up a little article on their food blog, Chow Bella, about my dream food day. It was supposed to go up today, but instead, it was posted early yesterday morning. I love how it turned out and I’d love it even more if you would go to THIS LINK and check it out and also check the little “like” button there or leave a comment.  Just in case you’re not up for all that… here it is below. :-0

Oh, and hopefully you’ll notice that I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk! Several of my favorite things are already shared here with you in my previous posts… from the Brussels Sprout Salad to the Bacon BonBons and the De Lujo Margarita. I’m always thinking about you people!

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If you’re anything like me, when you think of margaritas, you think of a warm summer day. Last week I was introduced to a cold-weather margarita that will knock your socks off! Chef Jeff Smedstad was the visiting chef teaching at Barbara Fenzl’s Les Gourmettes Cooking School last Monday night and everyone in the class swooned when he served this luxurious (de lujo) concoction.

Chef Smedstad is the chef/owner of Elote Cafe in Sedona. Dave and I dined at Elote the first night we were up in Sedona, last month. I failed to mention it before because back then, it was all about my sprained ankle. And that’s a shame because it was one of the best meals we’ve had in a very long time.  For a fantastic rundown (with drop-dead gorgeous pictures) on Elote go to my friend, Gwen Walter’s blog and check out her professional and spot-on review.

While you’re reading the review and drooling over the photos, enjoy this somehow “warming” cold margarita. Chef Smedstad calls for Añejo tequila. Añejo or “aged” tequila sits in oak barrels for at least one year and up to two years, eleven months, and thirty days. On the next day (3 years), it would be called Extra Añejo. Although the Añejo or Extra Añejo really make this drink shine (see Chef’s notes at the bottom of the recipe) you may use Blanco (white) tequila or Reposado (rested) tequila, just be sure to use a high-quality tequila and not anything along the lines of the dreaded José Cuervo!

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I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy True Food Kitchen. In fact I celebrated with two different birthday lunches there, the first with my dad and the second with my good friend, Karen (who was one of my bridesmaids, all those years ago).  When Dad and I were there, the two women at the table across from us were enjoying this huge bowl of vegetables. It is True Food’s gorgeous crudités bowl with tzatziki and black olive dips. The next week, when Karen and I went, I had to order it so that I could check it out more closely and recreate it at home. I think this is one of the prettiest ways to serve crudités that I’ve ever seen! That is True Food’s bowl above… and mine is below.

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Last night was the first time I’ve cooked any sort of food for Dave and myself… in… let’s see… 11 days. Unbelievable! I think that is the longest stretch of “no-cook” time for me since back in 2008 when we were traveling through France and Italy with the kids. But, I’m back and the recipes will again be flowing, thanks for hanging in there with me through the trip to Sedona, the foot injury, and birthdays. 😀

On Wednesday, my dad took me to True Food Kitchen at Scottsdale Quarter for my birthday lunch. I usually order the light and luscious Edamame Dumplings, or their delicious Herb Hummus, or the fabulous Wild Ahi Sliders… but this time I decided to try the Mediterranean Chopped Salad. Good choice! Actually, I’ve never had anything I didn’t enjoy from the menu. The photo at the top is the True Food salad – taken with my new iPhone 4s, which I LOVE!  Once I got home, I just had to recreate it for Dave.  He, of course, loved it… and you will too.

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photo courtesy of http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/

On Saturday, Dave and I drove 25 miles from Sedona to Clarkdale to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad through the Verde Canyon along the beautiful Verde River in Northern Arizona. The train passes by ancient Sinagua Indian dwellings carved into the mountainsides and ends up in Perkinsville, a deserted ghost ranch, and then turns around and comes back.  In the 1960’s a few scenes from the classic western “How the West Was Won” featuring George Peppard, Debbie Reynolds, and Eli Wallach, was filmed in Perkinsville.

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I am done whining, back to a recipe! I am certain you are thinking, “It’s about time!”

At the request of a kind follower, Dagmar, I am also putting up a few more pictures of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon.  Tomorrow, I’ll share a few photos from our trip on the Verde Canyon Railroad, along the beautiful Verde River.

The recipe may have a long name, but it couldn’t be easier to make. Tri-Tip is a classic cowboy beef cut that is thick, nicely marbled, and very flavorful. It is the triangular cut at the tip of the sirloin.

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Isn’t this view, oh so pretty!?!

And how about this one?

Yeah, not so much… this is my sprained ankle.

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We spent yesterday in Jerome with Connor. If you’re not familiar with Jerome, you can CLICK HERE to learn all about Arizona’s famous mining and ghost town – turned artist and tourist town.

Besides roaming around downtown, we also toured the Jerome State Park and checked out the mine shaft at The Audrey Head Frame Park.

This is the mine shaft you can look down… it is deeper than the Empire State Building is tall… just a bit of a drop!

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