Simplify....

For a while now, I've been posting on two different platforms, blogger and wordpress.

I've got nothing against blogger, but in order to streamline and simplify my job, I'm going to only post over at wordpress.

If you're a regular visitor to this site, I hope you'll switch over with me. Same great taste, less filling (up my schedule).

www.penandfork.wordpress.com

See you there!

Gwen Ashley Walters
food writer, cookbook author, blogger, cook, dishwasher and dog walker.

Phoenix Files: 5 Must Try Fries

(Image courtesy Bourbon Steak)

French fries never go out of style.

But lately, fries have made a resurgence of sorts, appearing on the menus of high dollar steakhouses, quirky neighborhood spots and upscale fast food joints, not to mention gracing the cover of Gourmet.

Some may think that the big daddy of all fries is found under the golden arches. While we'd like to poo-poo that idea, the truth is Micky D's set the standard for hot, skinny, salty fries.

We'd rather have a hot batch of spuds from one of these five - make that six - Phoenix area restaurants.

Didn't really want to put a chain at the top of the heap, but the fries speak for themselves and nobody does a better fry than Bourbon Steak. Oh, and they're free - a gratis nibble before the main meal.

So, without further ado, here are five fries that are worth the caloric splurge.


(drum roll, please...)






1.Bourbon Steak. Without a doubt, the best French fries in the Valley are the trio of duck fat fried sticks from Michael Mina's sleek steakhouse at the Scottsdale Fairmont.

Three silver cups filled with crispy spuds - one speckled with garlic and herbs, another glazed with truffle oil and a third dusted with spicy smoked paprika. The accompanying sauces - oniony ketchup, creamy truffle aioli, and smoky barbecue sauce - are just icing on the cake.

Maybe the presentation has something to do with it, but more than likely, it's the duck fat.


2. Cafe Bink. But only because the chef cooks them not once, not twice, but THREE times. A gentle par boil first, followed by two rendezvous with the fryer. The result? Crisp on the outside, airy and tender on the inside.


3. Christopher's Restaurant and Crush Lounge does two kinds of frites. One type is crispy matchsticks but we're more taken with the russet and sweet potato fry medley. The truffled, spicy ketchup is a bonus.


4. Maizie's Cafe & Bistro. This cozy uptown neighborhood bar serves French fries that, (are you sitting down?), actually taste like potatoes. Amazing, but true.


5. The Tuck Shop. Just because they're not called French fries, doesn't mean they're not. Patatas bravas are fat sticks of herb-crusted taters served with garlicky aioli and a bowl of smoked paprika spiked tomato sauce - a Spanish twist worth seeking out.


Honorable mention: Wrap-N-Frappe. No, seriously, they have fantastic sweet potato fries, but it's the honey dipping sauce that landed them on the honorable mention roll.

How to Cook Swiss Chard

I'm standing in line at the grocery store and the cashier starts ringing up my basket. He has to look up every single code on the produce, save bananas.

He's young.

When he picks up the Swiss chard, he says, "what's this?"



I tell him it's spinach on steroids. A light bulb goes off in his head.

And then he asks me what I do with it. Cook it, I say. Oh, he says, followed by how?

Now, he's maybe 16, so I know he's not going to go home and cook a batch of Swiss chard, but I tell him anyway, just in case. I mean, I'd like to think that the young ones are interested in cooking.

The first thing I do is trim the stalks from the stems. You can cook the stems, if you like, but they need more cooking than the leaves, and I don't like the texture, so I discard them (to the compost pile if you have one!)



Cutting the stem is like cutting a "V" from the leaf. Once the stems are removed, I fold the leaves in half, lengthwise and roll them up. Then I just chop them a few times.

Next, place them in a bowl and cover with cold water to rinse off any grit.



If the chard seems particularly dirty, give them another bath. Swish around the chard with your hand and then let them rest, so any dirt will sink to the bottom of the bowl. Gently grab a few handfuls at a time and place them in a salad spinner basket.

What? You don't have one? Why not? It was going to be No. 11 on my top ten list of best kitchen gadgets, but then it wouldn't have been a top ten list.



I like the OXO salad spinner, with the hand pump on top. Let's you get out a bit of aggression. They have two sizes, but the larger one is the most useful. I've given it as a gift to some of my favorite people.

I don't like the brands that have a pull string to spin the basket. Maybe I'm too rough with it, but I usually end up ripping the darn string out. The pump style is much more durable for people like me.

Back to the chard, the reason it needs to be dry is because we're going to saute it in a skillet with a little olive oil, maybe even a little garlic, but I'm getting ahead of myself here.

If it's not dry, then the water droplets will hit the oil and make it splatter. Messy.



Now, this pan looks ridiculously full. It is. And that's only about 2/3's of the batch. Pour about a tablespoon (or teaspoon if you're using a non stick pan and watching your girlish figure) into a pan and heat over medium heat. Add as much Swiss chard as you can fit, and it's OK if it mounds up higher than a kite.

Let it cook a couple minutes, then with tongs, gently start to turn the chard, pulling the leaves on the bottom up to the top. Soon, right before your very eyes, it will shrink. (And darken to an very unattractive shade of green, which is why I usually hide it underneath the rest of the meal.) As the chard wilts, add any extra that didn't fit in the pan.

Once it is all wilted, you can add some minced garlic and cook that in with the chard for flavor. Minced shallots, too, if you're feeling frisky.

It only takes about 7 to 8 minutes to fully cook. You know it's done when you taste it and it's tender but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper and call it a day.

I debated long and hard about whether or not to include this last picture. Cooked, chard isn't really all that attractive (hence, the hiding underneath, say beautiful sweet potatoes, or a saffron scented rice pilaf, for example).



Swiss chard is in season now and it's so good for you - full of those antioxidants the experts say we need (vitamins A, C and E) - plus a ton of vitamin K (good for blood clotting and bruise-healing) and a bunch of B vitamins to boot.

Despite the health benefits, I think it really tastes good.

Like spinach, on steroids, only better.

Christopher's Louis Jadot Wine Dinner

This must be wine dinner week in Phoenix.

On Tuesday, May 19, just one night before the Binkley's-Duncan Farms dinner and the Autostrada wine dinner, Christopher's & Crush Lounge presents a five course dinner paired with five wines from the famed Louis Jadot winery (and a port from Portugal for dessert).

Just for fun, I've put a little glossary together at the end of this post, just in case you run across a word you're not familiar with.

Amuse bouche: panna cotta of creme fraiche with a millefeuille of house smoked salmon and brioche paired with Chablis.

1st course: ravioli of scallops with essence of truffles, lobster, tomato tea and fines herbes paired with Meursault.

2nd course: braised veal cheeks with vinaigre de xeres, parsnip puree, confit of leeks and foie gras paired with Pommard.

Main course: pigeon roasted with wild mushrooms, cipollini onions, and oeufs en meurette in burgundy paired wth Gevery Chambertin.

Dessert: chocolate tart with chocolate sorbet and espresso sauce paired with Fonseca Bin 27.

Details: 2502 E. Camelback, (at the Biltmore shopping center), Phoenix, (602) 522-2344, $75++/per person.


Glossary:

amuse bouche: a little nibble to stimulate the palate.

brioche: a soft, eggy yeast bread.

confit: cooked in its own fat (like duck confit) but in this case, the term is used with leeks, so the leeks will be cooked in fat.

creme fraiche: a dairy product made with heavy cream and buttermilk, similar to sour cream only more delicate in texture.

fines herbes: a particular French combination of the herbs chervil, chives, parsley and tarragon.

millefeuille: a traditional French dessert made with layers of puff pastry and vanilla cream. Looks like Christopher will be replacing the puff pastry with brioche layers and the vanilla cream with his house smoked salmon.

oeufs en meurette: eggs poached in a dark red wine sauce.

panna cotta: an Italian dessert made with cream and usually gelatin for thickening. In this case, it will be a savory dish, made with creme fraiche.

vinaigre de xeres: sherry vinegar

Autostrada or Binkley's?

Next Wednesday, May 20th, two wine dinners are happening in the northeast valley and wouldn't it be great if you could clone yourself so that you could go to both? Take a look at the menus and wine pairings, and call to make a reservation before the rest of the valley finds out.

Autostrada's wine maker's dinner will feature Toscana wines, imported from Italy by Giuliana Imports of Boulder, Colorado. The five courses of rustic, Italian-inspired cuisine from Chef Aaron May will be paired with selections from resident Sommelier, Dave Johnson.

First course: Mixed baby lettuces with white wine poached pears, sheep's milk ricotta, roasted hazelnuts and cherrywood balsamico, paired with Fontaleoni Vernaccia Di San Gimignono.

Second course: porcini crusted halibut with roasted baby beets and chive sauce, paired with Mocali Rosso Di Montalcino.

Third course: torchio pasta with broccolini, chile flake, grated bresaola and pecorino nero, paired with San Giusto A Rentennano Chianti Classico.

Fourth course: roasted lamb on sweet pepper ragu with salsa verde, paired with a Super Tuscan - Uccelliera Rapace.

Fifth course: almond and semolina souffle with candied orange, paired with the sweet Piazzano Vin Santo.

Details: May 20, 7 p.m., Autostrada, 20825 N. Pima (DC Ranch), (480) 513-2886, $75++/* per person


Binkley's and Duncan Farms are teaming up, along with AZ Wines of Carefree, to create a six course extravaganza. Starting with passed hors d'ouerves and a sparkling Cava from Spain, Kevin Binkley will roll out six "art on a plate" courses featuring the organic produce from valley favorite, Duncan Farms.

Halibut Carpaccio with haricots verts, gold nugget tomatoes, amethyst onions and tomato water vinaigrette, paired with the Frederic Giachino "Vin de Savoie" Abymes, France.

Soft Shell Crab with fried green tomato, charred spring onion, olives and horseradish, paired with Gerard Nuemeyer, "Les Hospices" Riesling, Alsace, France.

Desert Squash Blossoms, stuffed with sweet peppers, Italian sausage and Parmesan, paired with Benovia, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast.

Duck Breast and rillette with pineapple, fennel and blackberries, paired with Qupe Vineyards, "Bien Nacido" Syrah, Santa Maria Valley.

Ribeye with honey bear squash, baby beets and leeks, paired with Cade, "Napa Cuvee" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley.

Carrot Cheese Cake with coconut, raisins, pistachios, cinnamon phyllo and chocolate, paired with Lilly Pilly "Noble Blend" from Austrailia.

Details: May 20, 6:30 p.m., Binkley's Restaurant, 6920 E. Cave Creed Rd, Cave Creek, (480) 437-1072, $105++/* per person

* ++ means plus tax and gratuity.

Coddling Baby Fennel...

Don't you just love the name baby fennel? It sounds much more beguiling than just fennel.

Baby vegetables are either cultivated to be just babies or, including this baby fennel, are harvested before they reach maturity, so they are miniature versions of the fully matured vegetable. Generally, that means they're not only more tender, but also more delicate in flavor.

Fennel is sometimes mistakenly labeled anise, which is a completely different plant from fennel.

If you have fennel seeds in a spice jar in your pantry, those also are not from the same species that produces this lovely, off-white bulb. Confusing, I know.

Fennel seeds come from the common fennel plant and the bulbous vegetable is called Florence fennel, or finocchio in Italian.



Florence fennel can be eaten raw or it can be cooked. Raw, it has a crisp crunch and a delicate, understated flavor of licorice, much milder than the fennel seed.

Roasting the fennel, like you would butternut squash, sweetens the fennel, making it silky tender, too.

To use the fennel in a salad, cut the bulb from the green stalks. The feathery fronds on the stalks, which resemble dill in appearance, can be used as a garnish.



I like to shave the fennel using a mandolin, and the one in the picture above is my favorite mandolin. It's a Japanese Benriner.

Once cut, the fennel will oxidize (turn brown), so shave it just before you plan to serve it to retain the whitish color.

Tossing it with a delicate acid, like orange juice, will slow down the oxidization.



We're making an orange and fennel salad here, so after shaving the bulb into delicate ribbons, peel the pith from an orange, and separate the segments of the orange.

Squeeze the pulp of the orange after you've removed the sections over the fennel and toss.

To finish the salad, toss the shaved fennel and orange segments together, and then snip pieces of the fennel fronds over the top. Season with a little salt and pepper before serving.



If you are so inclined (and don't live with an olive hater) adding a few chopped black olives would really enhance this salad, adding a salty element to the sweet taste of the orange and fennel.

I especially like the wrinkly, dry-cured black olives. But, alas, I do live with an olive hater, so no olives for this salad.

Jicama - The Mexican Potato

We've seen this brown, bulbous root vegetable in our markets in the Southwest forever, yet without fail, someone in the grocery store will stop me and ask me what it is, followed by "what do you do with it?"

I use it as a paper weight. (Kidding).

Jicama, a staple in Mexican and South American cuisine can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. The flesh glistens pearly white.



It's full of fiber and water, so it has a lovely crunch. My favorite way to serve jicama is as a component in a salad. It can be the star or a supporting cast member.

The first thing you have to do is peel the thin brown skin. I normally peel it before I cut it in half but I wanted you to see the inside first.



Once peeled, you can cut it any way you like. Cut it into matchsticks or cube it.

I made a jicama, orange and jalapeno side dish to go with barbecue, so I cubed it, added some orange sections and minced jalapeno.



Squeeze the orange after you remove all the sections over the jicama and then give it a good toss.

You could add a little olive oil for richness, but it's fine to leave it fat free.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and you've got a refreshing, crunchy salad.