Donut Heaven

Dining Destination{/}Something I love: I had a little slice of heaven on Saturday morning. I had been looking forward for weeks to driving up north to Yavapai County for the annual Yavapai Cattle Growers BBQ & Calf Sale. Back in June I was in Peeples Valley touring a race horse facility and they had given us donuts when we arrived. They weren't just any ordinary donut...they were magically delicious. I ate two that day--and I didn't regret it.

They were from what I learned was a little bakery down the road in Yarnell called Cornerstone Bakery. They have perfected the donut I tell you! It has this perfect outer crust that isn't hard but seals in the light, fluffy almost cake like middle and when you take a bite...well I don't want to spoil it for you but I called it euphoria. They had plain ones, cinnamon/sugar, maple, vanilla and chocolate coated. I believe it was 50cents each or $7.50 per dozen and worth every penny!

In addition to this place having the best donuts ever, it is located in small-small-small town Arizona which makes me love it more! I was in such a hurry to get to the calf sale I didn't peruse the other baked goods too much but I did see a freshly made cinnamon roll that looked uber edible.

Finally, if you ever are driving on Hwy 89 passing through Yarnell I recommend you stop in to Cornerstone Bakery and get a little piece of heaven with a hole in it!

Arizona Restaurant Week

Dining Destination(s): So I should have posted this a week ago so you could have enjoyed it more...but Arizona Restaurant Week is/was happening September 19-26. Basically it allows us folks in the Phoenix Metro and Tucson area to enjoy 3 course meals from fabulous chefs and restaurants for only $29 or $58/couple. Some places even included a glass of wine with it like Avanti {Thomas & just west of 28th street} where me and some friends dined on Tuesday evening. Let me divulge the menu--

First Course (choice of):
Avanti 'Signature' Caesar Salad
Involtini of Eggplant {this is basically an eggplant made to be a big ravioli}
Fried Calamari with Marinara Sauce *My pick and a fantastic one at that, just scrumptious. The marinara had some crushed red pepper in it so it had a nice kick but not too much*

Second Course (choice of):
Chef's Pasta Combination of the Day
Parmesan encrusted Salmon
Chicken Francese with Lemon white Wine capers
Veal Parmigiana served with Linguini *My pick--I loved the veal and the linguini was okay*

Third Course (choice of):
House Made Flan
Chocolate Mousse *I don't eat flan so mousse it was and I had no problem eating the whole dish*

Additional Items (choice of):
Glass of House Red Wine *I did enjoy a classic glass of Pinot Noir*
Glass of House White Wine

After it was all said and done my 4 friends and I really enjoyed ourselves. The staff were very kind and helpful and I would recommend it to other Italian food lovers. Ooh and I almost forgot they did have a divine toasted bread with a little bit of pesto on it as a table appetizer, loved it!

Matt's Big Breakfast

Dining Destination: Located on 1st street & mckinley in downtown Phoenix is a tiny little cafe called Matt's Big Breakfast I heard about it and thought, "what the heck!" I had heard that it was featured on the food network, which was correct. {please note Guy Fieri spray painted on the wall}

I do have to say that although the place was charming I wasn't crazy about my food. I ordered the burger based on the waitress' recommendation {vs. the BLT--I wish I would have got it} My friends got: a waffle which she said was delicious; a chicken sandwich, she said it was wonderful; another burger and the special of the day the chili cheese burger.

It wasn't that my burger was bad, it just wasn't amazing. On the topic of ground beef I'm a fan of cooking it to 160 degrees--this is the safest temperature and the level where you eliminate the risk for foodboorne illness. I don't care if you grind up a chuck or round I still want it at 160. However, I find that a lot of places don't understand how to cook a burger to 160 without drying it out so I asked for, "medium well with as little pink as possible, without making it a hockey puck." I got something that had more pink than I wanted but nonetheless I ate it and didn't get sick thank goodness! *Please note the onion on my burger of which when I asked for it she said, "Raw onion, or cooked?" I thought it was funny that she referred to it as raw. So I got it and sadly it was a $1 charge extra--I could have bought a whole onion for that at the grocery store.

If I do ever make it back to MBB I will definitely go for the breakfast route, Sarah's waffle did look appetizing!

Home Grown Tomatoes

One of my favorite things in life is home grown tomatoes from my mom's garden. Other peoples gardens too, but my mom's are the best. So this song by Guy Clark fits perfectly for my love:
Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden
Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one
Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes
You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with egss, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the site put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle
If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed`
Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes


You can also watch it on youtube since I have not figured out how to put it in my post!

I heart cupcakes!

Something I LOVE: Cupcakes are one of God's gifts to humans. I'm 110% certain of this.

I really can't explain in words how much I love and cherish a moist, light, fluffy cupcake topped with delicious frosting. And when I say topped I mean smothered/piled/covered in frosting since it is really the most important part. Nobody picks out a cupcake based on the cake it's all about the eye appeal of the top, right?! Here are some of my favorites:

Tammie Coe makes some phenomenal cakes and a delightful cupcake called the Ooey Gooey. It is chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream frosting. I'm not a big chocolate fan but this cake is very light and not too dense.

I recently had the pleasure of trying a new cupcake at a baby shower a couple weeks ago. The carrot cake with cream cheese cupcake from Petite Pea was wonderful. {pictured above w/ the chocolate}

There are two places that I got to try at Phoenix Cooks! which was held Saturday of Labor Day weekend at the Westin Kierland Resort in Scottsdale. Butter & Me I have seen before in the Phoenix Magazine and I was ecstatic to try her red velvet mini creation. Another one I try every year at the event is the Pink Champagne Cupcake from the Victorian Cake Company.

I have mentioned the importance of frosting and one place in particular knows how to load up a cupcake. Sprinkles in Scottsdale does a fabulous job. I especially enjoyed their lemon as it was not too tangy or sweet.

Finally I will end with the cupcake I probably have consumed the most which is at Wildflower Bread Co. Not only does this place have my favorite iced tea and amazing sandwiches they make a pretty darn good cupcake. Mine is obviously the vanilla on the right and the chocolate belongs to my friend Shauna, who if you know her know how much she loves chocolate.

Fresh Flowers

Something I Love: Last night I had a little dinner party and one of my favorite things is to have fresh flowers on the table. I really love the fun, fresh and warm vibe they give to a room. My most favorite place to get flowers for a good deal and that last a long time is Costco. You can get 2 dozen roses for $13.99 or a garden bunch for $8.99. These pretty little {not so little} sunflowers came from Costco as a garden bunch and brought a special touch to our dinner.

I don't eat to live, I live to eat

Dining Destination: Let me just start by saying I stole this phrase from my sister, but it pretty much sums up both of us in one sentence. We always want to know when and where our next meal is coming from--we're not always hungry but we need to be at peace when it comes to our food. {Also, I apologize for getting a little picture happy with this post:)}

After college in Tucson I moved to the Phoenix area and was so sad because I had so many favorite restaurants in T-Town that were family owned and I loved dearly. I was especially upset because my most favorite Mexican food restaurant in the world, El Charro, was down south and I didn't know if it could ever be replicated. Now, I did not find a replacement but I did find a restaurant that filled my heart and cravings.

Tradiciones is located at 16th Street & Roosevelt in Phoenix right next to a Pros Ranch Market--side note if you ever get to go in one, do it they are a blast! Anyway Tradiciones is home of the best green salsa I have ever had and a really fun atmosphere. The place is huge and if I ever needed to throw a party I would use this place. On the note of the green salsa, they only bring the red to your table with chips you must request the green. It is simply divine and tempts me sometimes to want to drink it with a straw...I'm kidding. Okay I'm serious, but I've never done it.

I vary my order between 3 items: Enchilada Suizas--chicken stuffed enchilada topped with fresh green salsa, crema and melted cheese. Seafood Enchiladas--two flour tortillas stuffed with shrimp, crab and topped with lobster sauce and melted menonita cheese. Or during happy hour carne asada street tacos I believe they are called. I have taken many people to it and have been known to eat lunch and dinner there as many as 4 times in one week! I love it so much and will miss it dearly as transition to living full time in Yuma County.

Seafood Enchilada

Pull Me, Push Me--Love, OXO

Something I love: So in the whole wedding registry process you fall in love with a ton of wonderful things out in the retail world. It's hard to limit your decisions of things you want and it's hard to decipher what you'll really need. One thing that everyone needs is an OXO SoftWorks silicone sink strainer:

This gadget has changed my life and my kitchen sink for the better. We do not have a garbage disposal in our sink so obviously I want to be relatively careful when it comes to what falls in there. But once this baby is in place I don't have to worry because I can easily pluck her out and do as the sticker says: push and pull it to flip it inside out and all the debris falls into my trash can. Then I set her back in place to catch the next spaghetti noodle or piece of lettuce. I love it and I'm sure my kitchen pipes love it too. You can grab it at Target for $8.39 or a similar one from Bed Bath & Beyond that includes a stopper for $9.99.

The Basque Etchea

Dining Destination: It's geography lesson time-with a twist! What is 2 hours and 15 minutes southwest of Phoenix? What is 3 hours and 15 minutes east of San Diego? What is 1 hour and 15 minutes northeast of San Luis, Mex? And finally what is 15 minutes from my house? Oh you've guessed it The Basque! One of my favorite restaurants in the world for many reasons:

1. It's owned by Spanish Basque people of which my husbands family is also.

2. The owners are in every day and you get to visit with them when ever you like.

3. You can buy an American sheepskin at the register for $49.95

4. 2 words: salad bar [it's small but quaint]

5. Sunday night special is a chicken and chile dish that makes my mouth actually water for chicken

6. The jukebox! 25 plays for $5 is unbeatable!!

7. It's the local hot spot for teachers on their last days of school to throw back a few in the bar


The Basque is located in Tacna, an even smaller town than Wellton and is right next door. It pretty much consists of the restaurant and a gas station but that is all I really need.

Sweet Sangria

Recipe:

Sangria has various definitions: "sweetened red wine and orange/lemon juice with soda water" or "a wine punch typical of Spain and Portugal" or "A cold drink, originating in Spain, consisting of red or white wine, brandy or sherry, fruit juice, sugar and soda water and garnished with orange and other fruit."

I take the simple route and found it to be rewarding. In the past I have spent way too much time looking up the perfect recipe online and asking friends for their secrets and in all of that research I found the best way to make it is so easy anyone can do it!

First get you some red wine (merlot, cabernet, pinot noir, etc.) a bottle to be exact. Pour it in a lovely pitcher add 2 tablespoons of sugar and let chill in the fridge. Chop up any amount or kind of fruit that you would like to garnish the pitcher and each serving with. {I have used apples, grapes, oranges, pears and more} then put them in a little ziploc and put in the freezer. *This folks is where you make happy customers* When they take a drink and slurp in a piece of fruit and find it's been frozen crisp it brings a party to their mouth and smile to their face! It's a nice surprise and gives each drink an extra umph. Finally when the fruit is frozen , wine is chilled and glasses are ready I pour most of a 2 liter bottle of ginger ale in with the wine, garnish with fruit and serve! I hope you enjoy it as much as me and my friends!

Hot Sauce

Something I love/Dining Destination: Well it is my hope to write about rural food joints and various hole in the wall locations, however I have to write when there is just good food in general. Yesterday I ate at Macayo's --I know not rural joint nor hole in the wall since they have 14 Arizona locations. However I enjoyed myself because I appreciate the two options of salsa they provide. They have one chunky mild salsa and one smoother texture hotter salsa--but not too hot {my nose didn't even run nor did my eyes water} Anyway if you're ever in the mood for some good hotsauce check them out or I hear you can even buy the hotter one in the grocery store.

Lemi Shine Up Your Dishes

Something I love:

So if you have hard water you will want to read this post, or if you want cleaner dishes. If you are perfectly content with the status of your dishes you may pass Go and collect $200. Seriously before this product my sisters dishes were a very not nice shade of milky--is that a shade? Anyway, I was introduced to this product by Kim and Don on Culinary Confessions and have not looked back since.

For your first use you should allow your dishwasher to shed it's old nasty soap scum skin and run it once completely empty. Then if you have the same problem as my sister I would load up the whole thing with all your glasses and watch them change before your eyes (okay not before your eyes--unless you have a clear door on your dishwasher--now that would be cool!) But seriously you may shed a tear when you open the door and see all the shiny, sparkly, clean potential of your dishes.

Lemi shine is to be used with regular detergent, powder is preferred and you can find lemi shine at Wally World and most anywhere-even Amazon! To learn more about it check out the website: http://envirocontech.com/products/Learn-More-about-Lemi-Shine.html Read the directions for use and thank me later!

My Hope

My first blog, well it's my hope to be able to write about ways life is delicious. I hope to share recipes, decorating tips, secrets on rural food joints, hole in the wall places and all around great dining destinations and various things that make this wonderful world a more delicious place! I hope you find it enjoyable, thanks for stopping by.