Catching up with a great friend over a taco

"Taco, taco, burrito!" Or at least that's how Jennifer Lopez (played by Cartman) put it on the episode of South Park where Jennifer Lopez morphed out of his hand.

Yes, I must watch too much tv, you will say.

I will maintain that South Park is very entertaining.

I digress. Tonight I had tacos with Jason, a very good friend. Good friends can be far and few between in this life, so when we can spend time with them, it is a great thing. And over tacos...well then, it is a fabulous thing.

Don't have pictures of our tacos tonight. We had a lot of catching up to do and wern't concentrating on picture taking. But they were crispy and the chicken was juicy and flavorful. Suffice it to say, Carlos O' Brien's has great tacos (and rice) so you should go as soon as you can.

PHOENIX 1133 East Northern Avenue (602) 274-5881

(also in Scottsdale)

Cost Plus - birthday goodies

My booty from Cost Plus.

Before starting this post I need to give a big thanks and shout out to my Mom and brother Mike who had me over for dinner tonight. My Mom made a dish with pork chops baked over rice that had a medley of veggies in it. Delicious! And she also showed me how to make a "catalina" style salad dressing using the blender with catsup, olive oil, garlic and red wine vinegar. I told her I'm going to be making it a lot for myself, since I love salads.

I digress, here we go with the main topic of this post. Birthday goodies!

Saykham, my father's girlfriend sent me $20 in today's mail, along with a pretty bamboo placemat/napkin/coaster/chopsticks set.

It was burning a hole in my pocket (my purse) so I made a trip over to Cost Plus. I have recently been reading a chocolate blog called Chocablog and it talks about chocolate from all over the world. Here's the link if you want to check it out. It's quite entertaining, and informative, if you are a big chocolate eater. http://www.chocablog.com/

I enjoy good chocolate, but I an not a snob, I also like Hershey's :) Since I've been reading Chocablog I've been inspired to check out chocolate from different countries, and you can do that at Cost Plus. They have candy that typically you won't see at Walgreen's or the supermarket. When you want to try something different, head over to Cost Plus.

I also enjoy alcohol (in moderation mind you) so I picked up a 6 of Hefeweisen and a Tempranillo from Spain. Not sure which one I'm going to start with. First I'm going to unwrap a candy bar, and get a sugar rush, and then get a little "happier" if you know what I mean.
Makes for great birthday finale, in this kitchen wench's humble opinion.

http://www.worldmarket.com/home/index.jsp

Sacred Hogan - fry bread and red chili beef stew

What else could the Kitchen Wench ask for on her birthday?

My aunt and I went to Sacred Hogan today for lunch. Her treat, since it's my big day.

You gotta go, is all I gotta say.

We both had the red chili beef stew and fry bread. She had the 16 oz portion and I had the smaller 8 oz portion; both come with fry bread. The stew has a lot of veggies and tender beef. It is not too spicy if you are dining with people who can't tolerate too much. I spied another patron eating a "taco" made with fry bread, beans and beef. I'm going back for that, you can bet on it.

Their fry bread is so yummy. It is really good winter food.

Get yourself to Sacred Hogan soon. And bring a friend!

842 East Indian School Road Phoenix (602) 277-5280

New gadget and a Sonoran hot dog

A Sonoran hot dog a la kitchen wench.

A new gadget!

The Kitchen Wench's birthday is coming up and little gifties are starting to pour in. My Mom gave me a swiffer set (got to keep the kitchen clean) and my brother gave me an ultrasonic toothbrush. My teeth have never been so clean. My Aunt is taking me to lunch for Frybread at the Sacred Hogan on Wednesday and my Mom is making dinner (a surprise). I am feeling rather well gifted these days.

Tonight at Food City I spied a kitchen gadget I have been needing but have been putting off for some reason. They have lemon/lime squeezers in lots of different colors for two bucks in their produce section - so get down there quick and get one. I used it already and the quality is pretty good for the price.

I was at a Women's Finance Meeting tonight and came home rather hungry. Thank goodness I had a hot dog in the refrigerator and some beans, onion and spicy brown mustard. Made myself a "mock" Sonoran hot dog (no bacon). I used a bolillo roll for the bun and it makes a great (GREAT) hot dog bun. You've gotta try it if you haven't yet.

You can also get a great Sonoran hot dog in front of the mattress store on 20th Street and Indian School Road. They come wrapped with bacon and are placed in a steamed bun. You get the choice of all kinds of toppings like beans, mushrooms, salsa...I don't remember all of them but they are plentiful. The little hot dog stand is there most nights, so go check it out.

Another place that is good to try if you want to get your Mexican eats on is Tortas Paquime on 24th Street and McDowell. They have this sandwich called a Torta Milanesa de pollo (a breaded chicken sandwich) and it is so delicious. It comes with tomato, lettuce, onion, jalapeño and slices of avocado. They also make a drink that has lots of chopped up fruit and it is very creamy, but I don't know what it is called. You must go to Tortas Paquime and try their yummy food.

Sacred Hogan 842 East Indian School Road Phoenix (602) 277-5280

Nogales Hot Dogs 1945 East Indian School Road, Phoenix (602) 527-0208

Tortas Paquime 2541 E Mcdowell Rd # 100, Phoenix - (602) 244-1188

(2 other locations, one on west Van Buren and one on west Indian

School)

Here comes the judge - Pie Social - November 13

I've applied to be a judge at the Pie Social this coming weekend, presented by Ciao Bella (of Phoenix New Times) and Roosevelt Row.

I let them know my leg is hollow and ready for multiple tastings.

How fun would that be?

Here are the details:

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bella/2010/11/want_to_be_a_judge_at_pie_soci.php#comments

Hope to see you there!

Spicy shrimp with oil and garlic angel hair pasta

The leftovers from last night's yummy dinner.

My aunt gifted me a pound of frozen shrimp (ez peel) last week and my friend was coming over for dinner last night... so, what's a girl on a budget to do? Make lemonade! Or in the kitchen wench's case, spicy shrimp, with oil and garlic pasta.

This is a great, economical and tasty meal. I was really impressed. The garlic after roasting becomes sweet and is a nice flavor for the pasta. You don't miss not having a "sauce" as most of us are used to. The shrimp cook quickly, so make sure you cook them until they are just pink and firm. Mine came out perfect, and my dinner guest (not divulging the name to protect the innocent) proclaimed it a very yummy dish.

We also had the "herb salad" in the bag from Fresh and Easy with a couple of sliced roma tomatoes, a few tablespoons of golden raisins (Fresh & Easy has these too, and they are good for baking), some pepperoncini slices and a bit of sliced bell pepper. A simple vinaigrette was all this salad needed.

My friend brought the wine, so we were in good shape for dinner. It was a winner.

(Modified from Rachel Ray's version that is for more people, and uses anchovies).

Spicy shrimp:

1 pound shrimp

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, crushed & peeled

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add your shrimp. Cook for 3 minutes until pink and just firm. Set shrimp aside on a plate.

Garlic oil:

1/4 cup olive oil

6-8 large cloves garlic, crushed & minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

coarse salt

1 pound angel hair pasta, cook to "al dente"

Heat your oil on medium low and add your garlic, pepper flakes and a dash of salt. When your pasta is done cooking, drain it well and put it in the same pan with the oil, add your shrimp and turn the pasta around to coat with the oil.

This is such a great dish.

Happy cooking!

Christmas Cookies - via Germany

These would be nice with some lemongrass tea.

Don't these look really tasty? Mmmm.

After the dough comes together you form "logs"

and then refrigerate a bit before slicing into rounds.

Yecla sent this recipe and pictures for Christmas cookies. They look delicious! She also said you could add a bit of honey or a spice for flavor variation (I am thinking lemon zest would be nice in these).

250 grams butter, room temp

300 grams flour

dash of salt

125 grams sugar ( I will use Zulka moreno)

This is a pretty simple recipe, I like that it has few ingredients.

Mix the ingredients together and make four "logs" as shown in the picture. Then leave it in the refrigerator to "set." Cut your logs in 0.5 cm (I am thinking like 1/6-1/4") and place them on parchment paper (or a silpat). Bake at 180 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Happy Winter Baking!

The Spanish version: (thank you Yecla)

Mezclar los ingredientes, amasarlos un poco y hacer los 4 rollos de la foto, despues dejarlo en el frigo, mientras limpias la cocina y recoges todo lo que has sacado. Después cortar los rollitos en galletitas de 0,5 cm, las mias eran un poco más grandes. (ver foto) Y dejarlos en el horno a 180° durante unos 10-12 minutos. Me salieron dos bandejas.

The ingredients list in German, for those of you who sprechen sie deutsch.

Zutaten

für ca. 70 Stück

250 g Butter Raumtemperatur,
300 g Weizenmehl Type 550 + Mehl für die Arbeitsfläche,
Salz,
125 g Puderzucker