I may have been a bit tipsy last night, but I meant everything I wrote.
I'm still in Phoenix and had a very splurgey dinner last night. I stayed at the hotel and went to
The Compass restaurant. A rotating restaurant on the 24th floor of the hotel. It was a pleasurable night.
Let's get started. First. The rotating thing. Barely noticeable. I think the rotation is one full rotation an hour. After the first hour, it's the same view. Still pretty. Phoenix is a very large, FLAT city with dots of mountains in the city and around the city. Having no car, I can't go...and having no time due to the conference I'm here for...that's ok...I'm getting out at lunch and dinner today.
First thing. They brought me a little cornbread. With it came this cute tray. L-R, regular butter, honey butter and sea salt. The cornbread was ok, not the best, but the butter and sea salt combos were fun.
I ordered a half bottle of wine. They have DRYLANDS Sauvignon Blanc...oh, but wait, they didn't have it. So I found this funny. The waiter actually brought the next sauvignon blanc for me. He saw it was an SB and said, hey, why not...or the bar said that...but it wasn't anything like the New Zealand wine I love...it was a Californian SB and very smoky and a little woody. I had to turn it away, not what I wanted. So, I went with a red. Craneford Cabernet Sauvignon from Barossa Valley, Australia. A spicy red with a higher alcohol and low acid. Notes of dry fruit and warm spice. Tasty.
This was my appetizer and I could have eaten a second one. Braised Bacon with Marjoram-Maple grits and a poached pair. YUM. Now, Braised Bacon? Really. Well, it's not bacon in the fact of sliced, fatty pieces of pork. It was more of a meaty piece of pork belly that was placed under the broiler for a minute to caramelize the fat. Divine. Savory, with a hint of smokiness and sweetness. Paired perfectly with the grits and pear. I didn't get the overt flavor of marjoram and maple, but the subtle sweetness was lovely. The pear was just another sweet layer. YUM. The grits were some of the best I've had. This dish fought with the wine. That's ok, I'll save it for the entree.
My entree was a bit more on the standard side. Roast chicken breast with two shrimp and an onion ring. The shrimp were great. Seasoned lightly and grilled until perfectly crisp. The Chicken was seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper. The salt might have been on the higher side for some, but it was perfect for me. Especially when paired with the cheesey, creamy polenta. The skin on the chicken was very crispy. The onion ring was a fail. Boring flavor, flabby and dry. The wine worked very well with this dish. They played like good friends.
Then I was presented with the dilema of dessert. J-lo wanted me to try the pumpkin cake with maple gelato. I wanted the creme brulee. The waiter said there was a trio I could try. Pumpkin Cake, Creme Brulee and another Smore's dessert. Here's the deal. I don't know if the waiter had all the information right. When he told me the specials he said something about a "three onion risotto" which sounded tasty. After I ordered the wine he mentioned it again and said "three onion couscous." Not as exciting sounding to me. Here, I think he got things wrong again.
1) The cake was great. Should have just ordered it! Lovely spiced pumpkin flavor and a light, maple gelato. Perfect.
2) The creme brulee...when presented, the waiter said it was flan. OK, I asked...he said it was BOTH? BOTH? What? Well...the creme part was nice, but there was no brulee. The syrup with a flan is usually a light caramel. This was more of a dulche de leche, which is fine, but it was too heavy, creamy things coming together and it was too much.
3) The smore thing. Skip. The Marshmallow on top looked nice, but I can't eat marshmallows yet. (Got sick when I made them last year...still churns my stomach). The cakey part...could barely get my spoon into the cup. Very firm. And the chocolate flavor...for a dark chocolate it was too sweet and boring.
Overall, if I were to rate the restaurant on a scale of 5...I think I'd do 4. The desserts were hit or miss. The wine issue turned me off a little bit. Overall though, with the few and the good food, a very nice place.
Happy Thanksgiving
Potatoes, Mustard, Shallots, Olive Oil, Pepper, Salt.
Well mixed.
Ready to bake.
Golden brown and delicious.
I served the potatoes with green bean almandine and pan seared, smoked pork chops.
I know some people will chastise me for having my drink on the rocks, but it feels good on my sickly sore throat. And it's doctor approved! Seriously. Mmmm, feel the burn.
You need a flavor base for the mole sauce. Onions & garlic in olive oil with herbs and spices. Toasting the spices in the olive oil brings out their flavors. 
When the flavor base is read, add some tomato sauce and some baking chocolate. For this version I also added a little honey to temper the slightly bitter flavor of the chocolate. It was a nice, subtle addition. About 1 tablespoon. Also, this time I had boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I wanted to braise in the sauce, so I added about 1/2 cup of water to make the sauce a little thinner, for braising purposes. I added the chicken, covered and simmered for 20 minutes.
When the chicken is done, chop it into bite size pieces. Make the enchiladas by adding chicken and cheese. If you have some veg you'd like, go ahead and add it. Roll the tortillas and place, seam side down in a baking dish. Spoon some sauce over the top, sprinkle with cheese. Place under the broiler until the cheese is melted, lightly brown and bubbly. 
Enjoy! Spoon over additional sauce if you like. Serve with sour cream. Yum. 
Mango-Ginger Glazed Pork Chops
The chicken is seared with salt/pepper. The chicken does not cook all the way thru, it will finish cooking later in the braising liquid.
This the bottom of the pan. All the bits and fat and yumminess, that's fond. That will yield a lot of great flavor when dissolved in the wine.
Onions, wine and garlic.
Notice how the wine has nearly evaporated, leaving a rich flavor base for the tomatoes to stir into.
The chicken has been nestled into the sauce and braising has begun.
Served up with rice. Make sure to serve a little extra sauce for the rice to soak it up. 
sorry...i got sick people germs on the plane back from phoenix...it's kicking my butt...
First thing. They brought me a little cornbread. With it came this cute tray. L-R, regular butter, honey butter and sea salt. The cornbread was ok, not the best, but the butter and sea salt combos were fun. 
I ordered a half bottle of wine. They have DRYLANDS Sauvignon Blanc...oh, but wait, they didn't have it. So I found this funny. The waiter actually brought the next sauvignon blanc for me. He saw it was an SB and said, hey, why not...or the bar said that...but it wasn't anything like the New Zealand wine I love...it was a Californian SB and very smoky and a little woody. I had to turn it away, not what I wanted. So, I went with a red. Craneford Cabernet Sauvignon from Barossa Valley, Australia. A spicy red with a higher alcohol and low acid. Notes of dry fruit and warm spice. Tasty. 
This was my appetizer and I could have eaten a second one. Braised Bacon with Marjoram-Maple grits and a poached pair. YUM. Now, Braised Bacon? Really. Well, it's not bacon in the fact of sliced, fatty pieces of pork. It was more of a meaty piece of pork belly that was placed under the broiler for a minute to caramelize the fat. Divine. Savory, with a hint of smokiness and sweetness. Paired perfectly with the grits and pear. I didn't get the overt flavor of marjoram and maple, but the subtle sweetness was lovely. The pear was just another sweet layer. YUM. The grits were some of the best I've had. This dish fought with the wine. That's ok, I'll save it for the entree.
My entree was a bit more on the standard side. Roast chicken breast with two shrimp and an onion ring. The shrimp were great. Seasoned lightly and grilled until perfectly crisp. The Chicken was seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper. The salt might have been on the higher side for some, but it was perfect for me. Especially when paired with the cheesey, creamy polenta. The skin on the chicken was very crispy. The onion ring was a fail. Boring flavor, flabby and dry. The wine worked very well with this dish. They played like good friends.
Then I was presented with the dilema of dessert. J-lo wanted me to try the pumpkin cake with maple gelato. I wanted the creme brulee. The waiter said there was a trio I could try. Pumpkin Cake, Creme Brulee and another Smore's dessert. Here's the deal. I don't know if the waiter had all the information right. When he told me the specials he said something about a "three onion risotto" which sounded tasty. After I ordered the wine he mentioned it again and said "three onion couscous." Not as exciting sounding to me. Here, I think he got things wrong again.
Here is the pre-baked spaghetti squash from the other night. Yum. We have one more and are going to share it with some friends some night. Can't wait.
Thursday to Sunday, we had family in town. Which means sight seeing and dinner and lunch out. We went to Jaleo and had a lovely lunch with the family and some of their friends who live locally. I enjoyed a lovely bowl of rice pudding after my meal. Just the right amount of sweet, with a light lemon flavor. Wonderful.
Friday night I made dinner at home. Here are white sweet potatoes that I made. They are virtually the same as the orange/pink sweet potatoes. I was surprised, as I was peeling the tubers, they started to discolor; like apples and avocados when exposed to air. I don't remember this happening the last time I made them. So, they were peeled, chopped and placed in a pot of water. I boiled them until tender and mashed them with a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Divine.
I also made my first roast chicken. Here's the flavoring. Garlic, Rosemary and Lemon.
Here's the bird. She was pretty good. The technique came from Martha Stewart's new book; Martha Stewart's Cooking School. A lovely book by the way. So, rinse the chicken, take out the reserved parts the manufacturer gives you, then pat the chicken dry. Rub a little butter on the skin and season with salt and pepper, inside and out. Stuff lemon, garlic and rosemary into the cavity. Roast at 450 for about and hour. Let rest for 10 minutes, carve and enjoy. I under cooked my chicken by about 5-10 minutes...my thermometer is shot...so I carved around those parts and enjoyed the rest.
I also enjoyed a glass of wine. I tasted raisins, chocolate and dried strawberries. Mmmmm.
On Saturday we had some folks over, so I made soups. It was a Souper Party. We had Butternut Squash Bisque, Corn Chowder and Chili Verde. Here's the butternut squash bisque cooking. Everyone seemed to have their own favorite soup, which is exactly what I was hoping for. The bisque was the mildest. I expected the chili verde to be super spicy, but it was my heavy had on the cayenne pepper with the chowder that made the creamiest soup the spiciest! Yeah!!!!
Here are the main ingredients for the chili verde; tomatillos, garlic and peppers. Roast them under the broiler for about 10 minutes until charred and soft. Whiz quickly in the blender, then stew for a few hours with some spices and meat.
Sunday we brought the family back to the airport, so we decided to head to Del Ray, VA for brunch and some fun shopping. We ate at Evening Star Cafe. What a sweet little place.
I had the Cinnamon Apple French Toast with sausage. The french toast was great. Eggy and dense, full of flavor and large chunks of apple. The sausage was some of the best sausage I've had at a restaurant in a long time. Very good. I'd go back!
After a few hours of shopping I wanted a snack. I was lured into a little shop for this cookie. Drool. Right? Well, the cookie was good, but the filling. Well, the filling wasn't a cream filling like I thought it was. No, it was marshmallow, which is still prohibited since last year's stomach flu the same day I made marshmallows. My stomach still churns. And the filling was very, very dense, really chewy. But the cookie was good.
