Garlic Goodness.

Garlic was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians, chewed by Greek Olympian athletes, and thought to be essential for keeping vampires at bay. It is also good for zapping bacteria, keeping your heart healthy by lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure, regulating blood sugar in diabetics, and warding off coughs and colds. For example, if you have a cold, put lots of chopped garlic into chicken soup, or even just the broth (if you cannot down the noodles and veggies in a soup).

I have grown garlic; it is very easy, and takes little space in a garden. Buying garlic braids not only adorns your kitchen, but garlic is just in your reach; or even buy it already minced or sliced, soaking in olive oil which you can
keep in your refrigerator.

When garlic is roasted in the oven, the cloves become very soft and sweet; it can be used as a spread, in dips, salads, etc.

Roasted Garlic Bulb

Ingredients:

1 head garlic
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Remove the outer papery covering of the garlic. Slice off the top of the head so most of the cloves are exposed. Place on a square of aluminum foil for easy cleanup, or select the smallest baking dish you have. Drizzle the oil over the cloves.

Fold the foil over the head to completely enclose it, or cover the baking dish with foil. Roast for about 45 minutes, until the garlic is completely soft and lightly browned.

To serve, separate the head into individual cloves, or squeeze out the cloves into a small serving dish. If you have leftovers, squeeze out the pulp into a small dish, cover with olive oil, and store, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Now here's a recipe for a very easy to make meal which is garlicky and spicy.

Garlic Chicken with Soba Noodles

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp sesame oil (if not available, use canola oil)
1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
3 Tbsp minced garlic
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into ¼” slices
½ cup soy sauce, divided in half
½ cup sliced mushrooms
½ cup diced red bell pepper
1 cup snow or sugar snap pea pods
1 cup chopped Bok Choy, Chinese cabbage (Napa) or white cabbage
12 oz Soba noodles, cooked and drained

Preparation:

In a Wok or large skillet, medium-high heat, heat the oil and pepper flakes for one minute. Add the garlic and let cook for an additional 30 seconds before adding the chicken and half the soy sauce. Stir fry until the chicken is thoroughly cooked; remove, set aside and keep warm.

Add into the Wok, or skillet, the mushrooms, bell pepper and pea pods; stir fry until bell pepper begins to soften. Mix in cabbage; as soon as it begins to wilt add in the remaining soy sauce, chicken and noodles. Mix thoroughly; stir fry for 2 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Fattboyz Grillin' Gettin' Fatter.

Fattboyz Grillin' of Monticello

296 East Center Street (aka Route 491-across from Maverik)
Monticello, Utah, 84535

(435) 587-2819

Website: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Fattboyz-Grillin-of-Monticello/216520631748982

Reed Sampson, owner of Fattboyz Grillin' in Blanding, has expanded his girth and brought his recipes for downhome barbecue to Monticello.


As with the original Blanding location, Reed is starting out in a small location; Guy Fieri of Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" would most likely classify it as a "dive", and enjoy the food. The location is a boon for tourists, truckers and locals alike. The goal is to eventually build bigger as the word gets out about Fattboyz' good grub. There are five tables which can comfortably fit 4-6 people; take out service is available. There are plans to have a small salad bar brought into the establishment; however, salads are on the menu and made fresh to order.


The menu is a smaller version of what is available at Reed's larger Blanding location. Since take out is available, picking up sandwiches and salads for a picnic in the mountains or the Canyonlands would be perfect. There are kid friendly meals and for us kid like adults...Hot Wings!




For lunch, I enjoyed the pulled pork sandwich platter. The sandwiches are huge, so come hungry or expect to take some home. There is enough meat in this sandwich to actually make two sandwiches; I had to cut mine in half to eat it without wearing it. If you're brave, pick up the whole thing, but be warned, the meat will be squeezing out the sides. The macaroni and cheese is creamy and cheesy while the deep fried onion rings were crispy on the outside with tender onions inside. I managed to finish it all, but was not surprised to have to skip a meal for dinner; I was so full!

Monticello, Utah is at the crossroads of Routes 191 (to and from Monument Valley) and 491 (Cortez, CO) and hungry folks will be flocking to Fattboyz Grillin'.

Mary Cokenour

Update: On Friday, May 4, 2012, Fattboyz of Monticello was forced to close its doors due to lack of business.  To those of us loyal to Reed Sampson and his Fattboyz Grillin restaurants, this is a loss to us; but we still have his site in Blanding which is doing well.

Stonefish Sushi Revisited.

Stonefish Sushi and More
16 West Main Street
Cortez, CO, 81321

(970) 565-9244

Website: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stonefish-Sushi-More/129798563719697

In May 2011, my husband and I first visited Stonefish Sushi and were blown away by the atmosphere, friendly servers and the food. Unfortunately, there were so many things going on in our lives, we didn't have the opportunity to go back until recently.

Let me tell you right off the bat that nothing much has changed (mainly the menu) and that is a big positive for Stonefish Sushi; and why they are so popular. The atmosphere: as soon as you enter, you can feel the stress slowly flow off your body. The hostess and servers are friendly and attentive. The food is still excellent quality. We decided to try some new dishes and an old favorite...lets get the favorite out of the way.


The Vegas Roll contains: salmon, avocado, cream cheese, fried tempura style, spicy mayo, unagi sauce. It is absolutely one of the most delicious specialty rolls I have ever eaten. Smooth, creamy, so decandent; it should be listed as one of the deadly sins.


Ok, now on to the new dishes; as an appetizer we tried the Veggie Tempura Bowl. Bite sized pieces of fresh zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, broccoli and asparagus; tempura battered, fried light and crispy. The sauce that is served with it is on the salty side, so dip lightly; but then again, who would think of saturating tempura and making it soggy?


The Stonefish roll contains eel, avocado, krab, cucumber, eel sauce; it's a very mild tasting roll and the freshness of the ingredients is a dominant factor. A little, and I mean little, dab of wasabi will only make the flavors pop, but doesn't ruin the essence of the roll. Please, don't be soaking this baby in soy sauce.



Now for the finale, the Bananas Foster Bowl - bananas fried tempura style with scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Now I am one who dislikes bananas, however, I found myself not being able to resist the ones in this dessert. We finished the whole thing; yes, it's a large dessert, so be willing to share.

Stonefish Sushi is an absolutely fabulous place to dine; keep up the great work!!!

Mary Cokenour

Meat Butter.

So you read the title of this post and said to yourself, "Say what!?!"  and are wondering what the heck "meat butter" could be.  It just happens to be a nickname that my husband gave to a particular type of meat, namely veal.  Veal is what the meat of a young calf (2-35 days old) is called and used in many dishes such as "marsala", "scallopine", "parmagiana" and many other Italian specialties.  Whether is has already been sliced into thin cutlets, or pounded out (1/4 inch is standard), veal is so delicate that, if cooked correctly, will melt in your mouth like butter...hence "meat butter".  If overcooked, however, don't waste your money, and it is expensive, buying it, just pull the tongues out of some old shoes and cook those up instead.

Making veal parmagiana is very similar to chicken parmagiana with a few differences. Since veal is very delicate in texture and taste, you have to be careful to not overcook it, or to overwhelm it with flavorings, such as homemade pasta sauce. In my recipe, I use just a half cup in the baking dish for the veal to rest on and very little as a topping; it simply doesn't need much. Don't overwhelm the flavor of the veal with cheese either. Sargento came out with a perfect cheese combination of mozzarella and provolone cut into thin slices; just the right size for a 4 ounce portion of veal.

Again, don't overcook the veal and you definitely know you have when it shrinks in size and is tough as shoe leather. Whether you splurge on yourself or your loved one(s), you won't regret trying this dish. Enjoy!

Veal Parmagiana

Ingredients:

Olive oil
4 veal cutlets (4 oz each)
1 egg
2 Tbsp milk
½ cup Italian style dried bread crumbs
4 slices mozzarella/provolone slices (Sargento ) or just use 4 slices of either if you cannot find combo.
½ lb angel hair pasta
4 cups homemade pasta sauce

Preparation:

In a large skillet, pour enough oil to reach 1/2 inch; heat on medium-high heat. While oil is heating, beat egg and milk together in a wide bowl; place bread crumbs into separate bowl. Dip cutlets into egg mixture, and then coat both sides with bread crumbs. Oil is ready when a drop of water sizzles in skillet; carefully place breaded veal in skillet. Fry each side for 1 1/2 minutes; drain on paper towels; breading will just be browning…DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8” x 8” baking dish with nonstick spray and spread 1/2 cup of sauce over bottom. Place fried veal into dish, place 1 slice of cheese over each; spread 2 Tbsp of sauce over each. Bake for 15-20 minutes; sauce will be bubbly and cheese melted. While veal parmagiana is baking, prepare the angel hair pasta by cooking in pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Remove veal from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving with pasta; use remaining sauce for the pasta.

Option: place baked veal on toasted Italian bread to make a sandwich.

Makes 4 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Hunny! Make Me a Snack...Please?

So the conversation goes on Sunday, March 24th:

Roy: I'm hungry, but not alot hungry, just a little hungry.
Me: There's plenty of leftovers in the fridge, go heat something up.
Roy: I don't want anything big, just a snack.
Me: So just heat up a small portion.
Roy: What do we have again?
Me: *sigh* Chicken Tortellini Soup, Veal Parmagiana and the Venison Shepherd's Pie.
Roy: That's too much information, I can't deal. Do we have any mini quiches left?
Me: No; what do you mean you can't deal? Just pick something and heat it up.
Roy: Can't you do it for me? *pathetic pouty look*
Me: *bigger sigh* You are so lucky that I love you.

...and off to the kitchen I went; yeah, I'm a sucker when it comes to my hubby. Nine years together and our friends still tell us that we're "poster children for a truly real, happy marriage".

Opening the fridge door, the first container I spy is the Venison Shepherd's Pie and I posted that recipe here on March 20th. I also spotted a container of Pillsbury Grands biscuits and the image developed in my mind. I do that with many recipes I come up with, picture the ingredients in my mind, putting them together, even the taste comes through. Weird I know, but it works.

There are eight biscuits in the container and once separated in half, I now have 16. Pressing them into muffin tins, I formed little biscuit cups, or as I like to call them...baskets. Carefully I removed the mashed potato topping from a section of the Shepherd's Pie; spooned about a tablespoon and a half of the filling into each "basket". I then pressed a tablespoon of mashed potato over each filling. While I was doing all this, the oven was preheating to 350F and was ready for baking once I was done with the muffin tins. Baking took 20 minutes for the biscuits to brown perfectly and the filling to be warmed all the way through.

...and here you are, "Shepherd's Pie Baskets". Little hand held snacks, or use a fork, either way they are satisfying and tasty. Enjoy!

Mary Cokenour

Miguel's Baja Grill Serves it Up Fresh.

Miguel's Baja Grill

51 North Main Street
Moab, Utah, 84532

(435)259-6546

Website: http://www.miguelsbajagrill.com/

After climbing and hiking around Arches National Park, a good meal in a relaxing atmosphere is most welcome. Miguel's Baja Grill may be small in size, but big on taste; based upon the cuisine of Baja California Sur (one of the Mexican States) Our waitress, Rafaela, was all smiles, welcoming and very helpful with the menu questions.


The Salsa was a type we had not tasted before; the taste of lime and cilantro was predominant which enhanced the flavor of the chunky tomatoes and diced onions; heat was medium.


The Guacamole was a chunky mixture of avocado, onion and tomatoes; sprinkling a little salt over it all helped to enhance the flavors.

An appetizer of Chicken Flautas started off this dinner adventure. Tortillas were tightly wrapped around slices of tender chicken, deep fried and served with what could only be described as a salad on top. Taking a bite of flauta with a bit of the salad was a taste sensation and fun to eat.

My husband had Steak Tampiquena for his main course; a nicely seasoned flatiron steak which is grilled; served with two chicken flautas (what can I say, they were good) and an enchilada. He chose mole sauce for the enchilada; however I did not care for it as the chocolate flavor was too overwhelming for me.

I enjoy Baja Fish Tacos, so definitely ordered that dish when I spied it on the menu. It must be popular, as I kept hearing people around me ordering it also. The batter on the deep fried Mahi Mahi was light and the fish was flaky. The "special sauce" served with it tasted like buttermilk ranch dressing, so I ignored it. Instead I used the shredded cabbage, salsa and sour cream; definitely yummy.

Miguel's Baja Grill opens for dinner only at 5pm; we arrived at 5:45; only a few tables were still open. By the time we left, it was packed and there was a waiting list; tourists and locals alike know a good place.  If you're looking for "not run of the mill" Mexican cuisine, try Miguel's.

Mary Cokenour

Feeling Welcomed at Iron Horse Pizza.

Iron Horse Pizza

400 S. Camino Del Rio, Unit B
Durango, CO, 81301

(970) 259-9089

Website: http://www.ironhorsepizza.com/

When we first entered Iron Horse, we were welcomed by Ryan; a very friendly and personable man. We later learned that he originally came from Florida, lived in a primarily Greek area and brought many of the recipes and cooking techniques with him to Iron Horse.

Iron Horse looks like a typical small restaurant, but while red or green diamond patterned tablecloths remind you of a Italian pizzeria, the murals on the wall speak of the Southwest. There is a patio area for outside seating, but what we noticed inside and out was that everyone was laughing, talking and having a good time. The atmosphere at Iron Horse emits good feeling and no one was fighting it.

The menu contains items such as Subs, Gyros, Stromboli, Calzones, Pasta and most especially, Pizza - Neapolitan (round) and Sicilian (square). There is also an extensive salad bar which you can order slices of pizzas with or without, or as a side. I wished I had read the menu a bit more carefully before ordering, as I would have certainly gotten the Sicilian, but we ended up ordering Gyros.

The Greek Gyro is loaded...loaded with thin slices of a beef and lamb mixture, freshly diced tomatoes, sliced onions, delicious gobs of feta cheese and a fabulous tzatziki sauce. Make sure to have plenty of napkins for the sauce runneth over, but is oh so yummy...fresh and delicious are the key words for this and....

the Chicken Gyro. The same ingredients as the Greek Gyro except for large slices of tender and juicy chicken. Oh, and the pita bread for both were warm and tender; delicious bread pillows indeed!

Definitely hit up Iron Horse Pizza if traveling through Durango, Colorado and can't decide where to eat; you will not regret the decision!

They do have specials and the current one we saw advertised was called "Four Corners Family Pizza Special", $35 for 6 sourdough knots, large bowl of salad, 14 inch pizza up to 4 toppings, 4 soft drinks or a 2 liter bottle - take out or dine in.  Save $15 off regular prices.

Mary Cokenour