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

How to take care of your sweet tooth

My aunt and I were at Costco today so she could do some shopping. She buys chicken breasts in bulk, where I prefer the 4 pack. We may disagree on how to obtain the food, but we are pretty much in tune as far as what we like to eat.

After Costco she took me to lunch at NYPD Pizza at Camelback and 20th Street. She had mussels in red sauce with linguini and I had spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce. We both had a glass of red wine and shared a salad. Their vinaigrette is quite tasty. Char was very pleased with the large portion of mussels and I inhaled the meatballs (just a few strands of spaghetti were left). Afterwards somehow we managed to share a tiramisu. Now this is a good way to take care of a nagging sweet tooth. I could taste the Kahlua and the dessert itself is very creamy but not overly sweet. It is new to their menu, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Speaking of sweets, at Costco we spotted a cannoli kit - I kid you not. It comes with the shells and the filling. It's less than $8.00 and I think the price is right. You get 24 small cannoli so if you are having a party or celebrating at Thanksgiving or Christmas and don't want to bake, this might be a nice option.

My aunt usually makes cannoli at Christmas and she reminded me today that she doesn't want to make them this year since they are so much work. Instead she and I are going to make a big batch of apricot and prune kolochkis (spelling?). The cookie part is like a shortbread that is not too sweet, it also uses cream cheese in the dough and you roll the dough like you would for sugar cookies and then cut them in squares, putting some filling in the middle and then folding opposite sides together to form sort of an envelope. Then after baking you sprinkle them with powdered sugar. You can also use other fillings like raspberry. These are very tasty and quite addictive. I will take pictures when my aunt and I make them before Christmas, and share the recipe with you.

One more thing worth mentioning...I also spied chocolate covered caramel apples today at Costco and they are $5.99. They look enormous and they are a bit less expensive than the ones I have seen elsewhere here in town. Would make a nice hostess gift if someone you love is making you dinner.

Jean Reno, steak salad and a beer

Yummy steak salad (pre slicing).

Jean Reno (left) is easy on the eyes.

Tonight over dinner I'm watching the movie Wasabi with Jean Reno. Does anyone else out there think he's hot? I fell in love with him for the first time when I saw The Professional. Talk about a spicy man!

I digress. I had some skirt steak so I decided to make a steak salad for dinner. I used green leaf lettuce, 1/2 of a large tomato, the rest of my candied pecans (need to go to Trader Joe's and get some more) and a handful of dried cranberries. Put a lot of fresh cracked pepper on this salad and cook your steak for just a short time so it is still pink in the middle. Let is rest a few minutes before you slice it so the juices stay inside.

I had this with the same vinaigrette I used for winter salad posted recently. Olive oil, red wine vinegar, kosher salt and a squeeze of dijon mustard.

A tasty salad and a beer with Jean Reno. Life could be worse!

If you like skirt steak, you should head over to the Herb Box (2 locations in Scottsdale) and get the steak sandwich on ciabatta bread with carmelized onions. It is so delicious and I had a business meeting yesterday and was the happy recipient of a free (and tasty) lunch at Herb Box on 69th St./Shea.

They are opening another location soon. They also cater, if you or someone you know needs yummy eats at a party but doesn't have the time to do it.

http://theherbbox.com/