For years, the hunt has been on for just the right sweet/salty/spicy nut mix recipe, to no avail. Either the recipe calls for something hard to find (an unusual spice), something not very appetizing (some of us just don’t like rosemary or other plants in our nuts) or a step…
Long before we were on a first name basis with Martha, there was this recipe for sugar cookies, passed down from a friend. It’s Xeroxed from an ancient cookbook, maybe “Joy of Cooking,” very old school. You don’t want to see the recipe; the paper’s tattered and covered with the remains of…
The Arizona chapter of the American Food & Lodging Association held its annual luncheon this month, and honored the Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa with two awards: one for being green and the other for hosting John McCain’s election night party. The green thing tends to get lost on us around…
In his second installment of Forking, C.M. Redding explores the strong virtues of the simple garlic bulb. Appropriately, here’s his incredibly easy recipe for roasted garlic. And a slide show of him making it in his kitchen. Bon appetit! Roasted Garlic How to Prepare: Go to the store and buy…
What would the holiday season be without a festive homemade liqueur? This limoncello recipe http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/limoncello comes from Martha herself, and it’s a very easy one — particularly when you make a few adjustments. In terms of the odder supplies, all you really need is a great big jar, a grater (a…
Monday Night Martha has its roots a couple years back, in a now-defunct book club. The book club had been around for years — members had come and gone — and the thing really was on its last leg, when we decided (well, I decided — it was my pick that…
This week we are proud to present our new column, Forking, by C.M. Redding, the writer formerly known as Booze Pig. Redding has a way in the kitchen — and the bedroom. (We’ll take his word for it on the latter.) And he’s promised to share. Each time we publish…
Hot Topic is selling Twilight shwag, but the homemade fashions were much more popular this morning at Tempe Marketplace. The crowd for the 10:30 movie was strictly 30 and over (except for the toddlers and babies eager moms hauled along — hey, this was local author Stephenie Meyers’ crowd, The…
Our own Senator John McCain reportedly put out a statement today in support of President-Elect Barack Obama’s pick of Governor Janet Napolitano as head of homeland security. Um, duh…
Everywhere from Facebook to corporate boardrooms across town, speculation about what will happen with now-Governor Janet Napolitano — and when — is fast and furious. Here’s some early-morning water cooler talk: The money is on Napolitano taking the dog of a job (who’s going to succeed in that position?!) and…
By Amy Silverman A bottle of Excedrin was improperly stored at Sluggo’s Sports Grill in Mesa — one of many things the restaurant inspectors noted after a recent visit. I’m guessing Sluggo had some headache when he read the inspection report. The raw eggs were stored above the watermelon. Dishwashing…
By Amy Silverman If you really want to quell your appetite, read “no award” inspection reports for meat markets. From the most recent report for Lam’s Market on West Indian School Road: THE DUNGESS KRABS OBSERVED STORED IN MURKY/TURBID WATER INSIDE TANK. Turbid water? Can’t be good…
By Amy Silverman The Quilted Bear on Scottsdale Road has had its share of run-ins with Maricopa County restaurant inspectors lately. Several recent reports reflect a “No Award” rating, and the most recent was pretty bad. The worst of the litany of complaints: OBSERVED CHEF ENTER EMPLOYEE RESTROOM WITH GLOVES…
By Amy Silverman One of my gripes with The Phoenician — the tony resort with the Phoenix name, the Scottsdale address (I think they changed the city boundaries to accomodate themselves) and the dangerous past (TP was opened by Charlie Keating, John McCain’s former BFF) — is that the place…
By Amy Silverman I know sex is supposed to be dirty. Call me a prude, but the concept just doesn’t translate when it comes to food, even at a place called the Better Than Sex Cake Cafe. I admit I found the name of the Chandler restaurant intriguing, when I…
By Amy Silverman Like Chelsea’s Kitchen a couple blocks away, Fenix Eatery & Bar on Camelback Road recently received back-to-back “no award” ratings…
By Amy Silverman Sure, everyone has a bad day now and then. But back to back “no award” inspection reports for a restaurant as tony as Chelsea’s Kitchen — the fun and funky casual dining spot on the north bank of the Arizona Canal? Yuck. And even after the inspectors…
By Amy Silverman A late September inspection at Coach & Willie’s — a bar/restaurant not far from the ballpark in downtown Phoenix — revealed a litany of concerns. The report is pretty straightforward: The cooled chicken wings weren’t cool enough; the bar sink was out of paper towels; the sweet…
If you want to know what it’s like to be a veteran in John McCain’s home state, stop by the Justa Center in downtown Phoenix. On a Thursday morning not long ago, a volunteer named Twyla stands in front of a group of clients at Justa, a day program for…
By Amy Silverman I’ll be honest: Raw fish does not pass these lips. But I know enough to know that if you’re going to eat it, you want it to come from a very, very clean place. The Maricopa County restaurant inspectors apparently understand that, too, because they seem to…
By Amy Silverman I have always believed that diners should have a separate rating system, when it comes to cleanliness. C’mon, haven’t you ever heard the term “greasy spoon”? But apparently the Maricopa County health inspectors don’t share my nostalgia for a time when waitresses smacked gum and no one…
By Amy Silverman At this point, I’ve gotten accustomed to seeing news of cockroaches and soda guns with “bacterial slime” — both of which afflicted the Texas Roadhouse on Stapley Drive, during a recent inspection. But there was something about the litany of complaints involving hands that got me: A…
