Desserts

Sweet Republic Ice Cream

I love ice cream! It’s my dessert on most nights at home. However,
it’s been a while since I’ve found truly inspired ice cream…until
today!
Sweet Republic has been in a lot of magazines and on the news here in
Arizona recently. Today on the news I saw them hand an news host a
cone of blue cheese and date ice cream. I knew I had to pop over
before work and try it out.
Blue cheese and date ice cream: so tasty! Blue cheese is not
overwhelming which is what I was afraid of. It’s a beautiful melding
of flavors done well! You must try it!
Caramel: classic and also well done. I hate when I get caramel and
there is little caramel in it…Sweet Republic caramel is oozing with
caramel!
Two good size scoops for under $5! You can’t beat that!photo.jpg

Late night chefs and how Asian Al got his name

When I decided to become a chef, one of the appealing aspects was going to be getting together after service, having a few drinks and cooking for each other. Up to this point, we have gone out to eat at our favorite late night spots, but the cooking has been kept to a minimum. 

Last night though, after a beer at Papago, Mlle Vino, her boyfriend, Llama, and our friend Asian Al (who is ironically not Asian, but cooks some mighty tasty Asian food!) headed back to taste some of Asian Al’s (AA) cooking.

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AA had just been to the Asian market, filling his fridge for $120. Those groceries at a regular grocery store would have cost about $300…not too shabby! 

He started by wiping up a simple sauce…simple for him, I still can’t remember everything that he put in there and it was a lot of different ingredients. AA even grinds up his own spice mix. I took a big whiff and there was definitely some star anise in there. 

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I literally walked out of the kitchen to change the song playing, came back, and this is what I found on the stove:

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It smelled so good! Especially at 1am when we were all starving! The sauce was slightly creamy (coconut milk) and had a little bite to it (chilis), but not too spicy that you totally loose the flavor and can only feel your mouth on fire.

The finished product was quickly delivered to Mlle Vino and myself lounging in the living room, while mocking lame porno that Asian Al had recorded on his DVR. 

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Asian Al, after entertaining a lady friend the night before, only had a few pieces of pork egg roll leftover, but he fried them up for us and they were probably the best egg rolls I’ve ever eaten. They were spicy, filled with ground pork and a myriad of ingredients, layered upon each other. Mlle Vino and I were sad that AA and his lady friend had eaten them all because we could have sat and stuffed ourselves with 100 of them! 

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Excellent presentation as well. Ha ha

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Llama was orgasmic about the sauce and kept dipping his duck bones in the sauce to lap it all up. He kept pacing the room exclaiming “this is the best Asian food I’ve ever eaten!” Mlle Vino and I just sat, with full, happy bellies, and laughed.

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We quickly planned for a feast to occur on Sunday night. Asian Al will cook, I’ll make dessert and Mlle Vino will bring wine and sake. Llama, will sadly have to work, but we will save him a plate…maybe. 

It will be a feast to remember…stay tuned for pictures and commentary. I promise to take better notes on what Asian Al throws in his wok!

Much Love, Croi

Song of the Day: Pink Cloud Tracing Paper by: Asobi Seksu

Creme de Menthe Dreamin’

When I was young, my family frequented a restaurant where we were close friends with the owner. The waitresses knew us from the time we were in baby carriers and we were always showered with attention and shirley temples (with extra cherries).

The owner, a rotund man, would sit at a table in the corner of the restaurant, chain smoking cigarettes while greeting his patrons. He would let us run wild and to my extreme delight, allow me to pop in and out of the kitchen. It was my first taste of getting to pass beyond those mysterious doors and into the kitchen world I would someday call home.

I can still taste the cube steaks, ravioli, fried zucchini, fillets, and fried potatoes, but the best part of each visit was dessert. I can not to this day recall any of the items on the dessert menu other than the creme de menthe sundaes. Perfect round spheres of vanilla ice cream swimming in a pool (yes, pool, I love me some creme de menthe, and they would let me pour to my little sugar-fiend hearts content) of bright green minty liquid treasure. Presented to me in a petit metal cup, I would always make sure to give myself enough creme de menthe with each bite of ice cream, yet save enough so that I could tip the cup to my mouth at the finale and drain every last drop. (There may have been a little licking of that metal cup, I’m not going to lie to you.)

Tonight, in a bout of nostalgia, I recreated my minty pleasure. It’s very simple. Find a gorgeous bowl. Scoop Haagen-Dazs vanilla. Pour creme de menthe over. Eat. Take a trip down my memory lane. Don’t forget to lick the bowl. 

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Much Love, Croi

Song of the Day: One Line by: PJ Harvey

Coffee and snack at La Grande Orange

Granola, fruit and yogurt at LGO…has apple, strawberry and oranges
in it. Only problem is that the granola is soggy…yuck!
Drinking a Havana Latte…of course! Great night for sitting outside
at Postino with bruschetta and a glass of wine. Wish I didn’t have to
work tonight.photo.jpg

A goat named Creampuff

Hello, my name is Croi, and I’m a cheese addict. I just can’t seem to get enough. The other night while out with one of my girlfriends at a wine bar, I ordered two servings of a gouda with black truffles flecked through it, and ate almost the whole double order. Goat cheese? Don’t even go there, I will eat every last nibble of it. Throw some warm bread in the mix and I’ve just died and gone to heaven. 

This addiction is why the new magazine “culture” is perfect for me. It is the ultimate of food porn with big glossy pictures and a great deal of information on all different types of cheese. Page 41 of the most recent edition has a recipe for goat cheese and bacon tart…yes, friends, you must buy this magazine. 

It is a little pricey at $9.95 and issue, however it is only published 4 times a year and honestly I feel a must have. 

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If you need me, I’ll be in my kitchen making goat cheese and bacon tart!
Much love, Croi

Song of the Day: New Years by: Asobi Seksu

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