I spent the last couple of days in beautiful Payson, Arizona at the summer home of my dear friend and mentor, Barbara Fenzl, along with Kim Howard, who rounds out our “3 Amigos”. 

Kim and I drove up on Tuesday morning and the three of us spent a wonderful day relaxing, catching up, and cooking together. Then early on Wednesday morning, we hiked for about 90 minutes up and down the Horton Creek Trail before heading back for a yummy lunch at the Chaparral Pines Country Club (recipe to follow tomorrow for my take on their sumptuous Ahi Tuna Sliders!)

Kim headed back down to the Valley after lunch, while Barb and I drove north to Strawberry, Arizona to check out Fossil Creek Creamery.

We tasted and purchased their lovely goat cheese, which you will find on fine dining menus around the Valley; including Binkley’s, T-Cooks at The Royal Palms, Quiessence at South Mountain, and Kai at Wild Horse Pass. While the cheese is tasty, the best part was petting the baby goats – adorable! The little black and white cutie at the top of the page was my favorite!

Now, what to make with this fabulous fresh goat cheese… I can’t think of anything better than these amazing biscuits that are served at Art Smith’s southern-style Chicago restaurant, Table Fifty-Two. Art Smith was the personal chef to Oprah Winfrey from 1997 to 2007, so the biscuits have a pedigree! Enjoy!

P.S. Funny how things work out… my own adorable daughter talked about goats on her blog just a couple of days ago… strange when you think about it – how often do people you know actually mention goats?

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Two weeks ago, Dave and I went down to Tucson for a long weekend. On the first night, we decided to go to J Bar, my friend, and James Beard award-winning chef, Janos Wilder’s, casual restaurant which is right beside his acclaimed upscale namesake restaurant, Janos. After perusing the menu, we wanted to order everything on it!  Instead, we decided we’d control ourselves and just come back the next night, which we did. One appetizer we just had to have was the J Bar Nachos. They did not disappoint – I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind since!  When Janos came to the Valley last week to teach a class, I asked him to please share the secret of “the out-of-this-world” chili con queso that pushed the nachos into a league of their own. Turns out the con queso had an Italian twist in the form of mascarpone. I didn’t ask for the exact recipe, although he offered, Dave and I think this is pretty darn close. The Salsa Fresca is from Janos’ cookbook, The Great Chilies Rellenos Book, which is a must-have if you love Rellenos. I used heirloom tomatoes from the farmer’s market I visited this morning.  See, I took my own advice and went this weekend, hope you got a chance to get to one too!

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While our family was in Italy during the summer of 2008, I had Asparagus with Prosciutto di Parma, Parmegiano Reggiano, and Poached Eggs. The dish is a common sight on Italian menus.

I’ve taken quite a few liberties, basically Americanizing and bastardizing it at the same time! The inspiration to do so came after a cooking class on Monday night with Chef Chris Curtiss of Noca, who made these outstanding fried poached eggs and served them on top of a fabulous salad with pickled red onions, bacon, and red wine vinaigrette – truly amazing!

I often serve the asparagus as a side dish and it has already been featured on this site, but this is a wonderful light, refreshing, and satisfying main dish for any night of the week. Of course, it would also make a great brunch dish.

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Just like yesterday, today we have a dish that was inspired for our Easter menu by a dish we enjoyed at the new FnB restaurant in Scottsdale (here is the link). The night we went, Dave had the most amazing chicken dish. Mind you, chicken is not something either of us generally orders at a restaurant, but I’d read rave reviews about Chef Char’s chicken with spaetzle. Those reviews were right on the mark – fabulous!

Spaetzle is tiny dumpling-like noodle nubbins from Germany and Austria that are made with flour, eggs, milk, salt, and nutmeg. The spaetzle dough can be firm enough to be rolled and cut into slivers or soft enough to be forced through a sieve, colander, or spaetzle-maker directly into boiling salted water. They rise to the top and then are drained and sautéed in butter or mixed with a sauce. Spaetzle literally translates from German as “little sparrow”. In Germany, spaetzle is served as a side dish much like potatoes or rice and is often accompanied by a sauce or gravy.

There are spaetzle-makers that consist of a hopper to hold the dough as it slides across a metal plate with holes, others that look like ricers, and a third style that is a food mill with a handle and a paddle to force the dough through the holes of a special spaetzle blade (which is what I have).

I served the wild mushroom spaetzle with my Pomegranate Molasses Lamb Chops which you can find in this previous post.

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I was inspired to make chilaquiles for Easter brunch after learning about them at FnB, a fabulous new restaurant in downtown Scottsdale, (click here for link) where Chef Charleen Badman traditionally makes them on weekends for the late-night crowd.

Chilaquiles are a traditional Mexican dish. Typically, corn tortillas cut in quarters and lightly fried are the basis of the dish. Red or green sauce is poured over the tortilla triangles, called “totopos.” Scrambled eggs and/or shredded chicken are sometimes added. The dish is topped with queso fresco and crèma.  Usually, chilaquiles are eaten at breakfast or brunch. This makes them a popular recipe to use leftover or stale tortillas.

I’ll be using two of my favorite “convenience” items – 3 garlic cubes (purchased at Trader Joe’s) and 4 chipotle cubes(homemade using empty garlic cube trays – see this previous post on how to do so).  You can too, or just follow the recipe for the “traditional” method of peeling and mincing.

Marissa, Sloane, and Connor in the shade at Easter Brunch

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…That is the slogan for a fab new restaurant in town, The Grind.  My beautiful sister, Sloane, and I enjoyed a delectable dinner there last night.

Chef Matt McLinn is at the helm, so you know it’s gonna be good (that’s Sloane and Matt, pictured above). I first met Matt nine or ten years ago when he and Sloane worked together. They dated for quite a while and that meant that we shared some wonderful holiday meals together too.

It’s no wonder Matt’s food stands out, he has cooked alongside some of the culinary world’s most recognized names – such as world-renowned Chef Alain Ducasse of the Michelin three-starred restaurant Le Louis XV of the Hotel Paris in Monte Carlo and Chef Dominque Bouchet of the Michelin three-starred restaurant, Les Ambassadeurs, located in Paris, France. He also studied at the Michelin two-starred Le Hotel Carlton in Cannes, France, and Michelin one-starred Le Maison du Seigneur in Brussels, Belgium. He is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and a member of the James Beard Foundation.

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It is just now beginning to warm up here in “The Valley of the Sun”.  That means if we’re going to have soup, hot soup anyhow, it better be now!  I was inspired to make this after assisting a class last night at Barbara Fenzl’s Les Gourmettes Cooking School. Paula Lambert, of the Mozzarella Company, was the instructor and she made a Pea Soup with Minted Mascarpone. This mascarpone will be flavored with basil and orange in the place of mint, with a base of tomatoes instead of peas for the soup… just goes to show how versatile soup is.

Paula founded the Mozzarella Company in Dallas, Texas in 1982, and believe me, she is one talented bundle of energy and a laugh a minute!  Her delicious cheeses are available by mail order, check them out at this LINK, I promise, you won’t be disappointed!

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In yesterday’s post we were able to use preserved lemons that we made two weeks ago, today the wait will be a bit longer. Eighty days to be exact, that does take a bit of patience! The first step takes 40 days and the second step another 40 days, so if we get going on it today, we will be sipping our limoncello at the end of May, just as the kids are getting out of school (at least here in Scottsdale, when the last day is May 26th!) On April 17th, we will do step two and on May 26th, we will not only complete the process but there will be a wonderful celebratory pie recipe using limoncello awaiting you too! It WILL be worth it!

Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur produced mainly in Southern Italy in the region around the Amalfi coast and the islands of Procida, Ischia, and Capri. Traditionally, it is made from the Sorrento lemon, although any lemon will produce a fine limoncello. It is traditionally served chilled as an after-dinner digestive, served in small ceramic glasses which are also chilled.

Limoncello has only recently become well known in other parts of the world. It is a popular ingredient in cocktails, as it brings a strong lemon flavor without the bitterness of lemon juice. The liqueur gained notoriety in the United States in November 2006, when actor Danny DeVito appeared on The View still drunk from drinking limoncello the night before with his friend George Clooney. DeVito announced, “I knew it was the last seven limoncellos that were going to get me.”  I’ve never before wished I could have been Danny DeVito! Ah, to be enjoying the wonderful limoncello with the wonderful George Clooney, is a dream come true!

There are many recipes for Limoncello, my favorite comes from Joanne Weir, an award-winning cooking teacher, cookbook author, and chef. This version comes from her book, Weir Cooking – Recipes from the Wine Country. Joanne is an annual teacher at Les Gourmettes Cooking School and always produces the most fantastically flavorful food. Joanne’s recipe makes 4 bottles (750 ml each), I only make that much during the holidays to give as gifts, here I’ve cut it in half for my own supply.

A little explanation of the pictures: #1 The jar doesn’t need to be That big – but it does need to be large because, after the 40 days, an additional 4 1/2 cups of liquid will be added. #2 No explanation needed – it’s George Clooney for goodness sake! #3 It is extremely important to wash the lemons well, with soap, and then rinse well. The only part of the lemon you are using is the peel and you need it to be clean! #4 The lone piece of peel on the right has too much pith on it, the other pieces are perfect, just use a light hand when peeling the lemons, don’t press in too hard.

CLICK HERE for Step 2

CLICK HERE for Step 3

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Today I am sharing another Southwestern-inspired recipe from my friend and mentor, Barbara Fenzl of Les Gourmettes Cooking School. I helped Barb teach a couples’ class earlier in the week and this was just one of the six delectable dishes the class made. If you’re looking for something special for you and your sweetheart on Valentine’s Day, these quesadillas will fit the bill. Enjoy them before you head out to a romantic dinner, or make them together and then sit down, relax, and enjoy them with the champagne. Avec amour (with love) xoxo

Here is a picture of the roasting of the two peppers used. A poblano has a much thinner skin than a bell pepper, so watch it more closely and turn it more often, it will roast more than twice as fast as the bell. These two peppers began roasting at the exact same time, but as you can clearly see, the poblano is ready to be covered with plastic wrap to steam, and the yellow bell still has a ways to go.

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Today at 4:30 PM, a new weekday half-hour show is debuting on Channel 12 (Phoenix NBC) called Valley Dish. Host, Tram Mai, will be cooking with a chef/cook each evening. “The new local lifestyle program will spotlight the best of Arizona people, places, and pets. The cornerstone of the show will revolve around cooking up simple, creative dishes viewers can easily make at home.”

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