JBug's Kitchen Antics

Date Night Out

Big Guy took me out on a date last night so once again, there wasn't anything going on in JBug's Kitchen. 

We hit The Parish, a fairly recent addition to the Tucson restaurant scene. It is a "gastro-pub" with a Louisiana twist and amazing food. To be honest I really wanted to say it was terrible because the place is going to be incredibly busy when word gets out how really delicious it is but one must give credit where credit is due, so when you go you might have to be prepared to wait. We didn't have to but fair warning, right?

Having been to the Parish before, we'd already tried the Gumbo as well as an Oyster Poorboy, so this time we went for something different although I could hear the gumbo calling my name from the kitchen. Big Guy ordered the Hot Legs le'Jean - 5 lovely little froggie appendages wrapped in bacon and deep fried to a crisp outside and moist tender inside. He wasn't sharing, mostly because I didn't ask. They looked wonderful but there's no way I could get past the fact he was eating the little gaffers that used to serenade this farm girl to sleep as one of the first signs of spring where I grew up in Northern Ontario, Canada. No way, no how could I touch any of those legs but the guy I married doesn't seem to have the same soft hearted attachment, particularly when it comes to grub. 

I ordered the Lamb Chorizo Flatbread, a crispy concoction of spicy homemade lamb chorizo with olive tapenade, goat cheese and the most outstanding herb aioli ever tasted. It is stupendous and big enough that I had to share it. We also split an order of Crawfish Hushpuppies - tennis ball sized fritters with tons of crawfish in 'em in a super crunchy coating and served with a spicy sweet dipping sauce. They are everything a hushpuppy should be and more, much much more. To say we rather overindulged is putting it mildly but we managed to leave nary a crumb behind.

If you live in Tucson or plan to visit, believe me you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to eat. The selection of craft and draft beers, great wine and special house drinks never mind attentive but never intrusive wait staff and unbelievably talented people in the kitchen will reel you in, hook line and sinker. They sure have our attention! We can't wait to go back.

As for our plans on this long holiday weekend - we've finally agreed on a backsplash tile, so once we've done a few more wall repairs, slapped on a coat of primer and a little more paint, we'll be putting the tile up. Hopefully it can be accomplished without too many trips to Home Depot and minus any finger walking through the yellow pages looking for divorce lawyers. Keep us in your prayers for peace, OK?

Personally, I think the boys might have the best idea. Trouble is there isn't room on the desk for all of us. Pity, wouldn't you say? 

A year ago - Braised Chicken with White Wine and Pancetta

Two year's ago - BBQ Pork Sandwich

A Night Off

Someone cooked dinner last night but it sure wasn't me. I was all settled in to enjoy a night off because Big Guy had a school commitment, when low and behold he called after his late class and said he'd be home afterall. Was I in a panic or what!

With not one thing planned except for a possible pbnanner sandwich and no desire to russle up anything, I did the absolute best thing and made a brief very satisfying call to Rosati's and let them take care of the issue. My better half picked up the birthday dinner his way home while I whipped him up an extra dry dirty martini.

Not a bad deal is it and what's even better ...there's a bunch left over and I just happen to adore cold pizza. Sure worked that one out right didn't I? Don't worry though. The birithday boy's special dinner requests will be taken care of Friday night and posted for your reading pleasure on Saturday.

A year ago - Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie

Two year's ago  -  Chocolate Raspberry Cream Pie 

Desert Bloom and Other Sundry Stuff

This is just a preview of what we have to look forward to this spring. With all the rain we had in November and December those in the know are forecasting a record wildflower crop. This picture's from way back when, but it'll give you an idea of what we're in for. 

As you can imagine, there was nothing cooking in JBug's Kitchen last night as the Big Guy's off doing his annual huntin', fartin' and story tellin' with his buddy John. I did however receive a phone call last night actually several because of really poor cell phone connections wherein my great white hunter indicated he'd been successful. He was moaning however that he may need to reconsider his fire power because he might have had "too much gun for the job".

In the same breath he asked if I could put out the feelers for some great sausage recipes which can only mean one thing - there may not be a lot of "big" roasts left on that poor little peccary. So here we go - help please! Oh and Lea - do you have a recipe for Andouille? Highly spiced preferred. You know me and wild meat aren't the best of friends. If I can't taste it I'll be able to pretend it's just pork. Right?

Homeward Bound

We just arrived in San Bernardino on the second of our three day trip back to Tucson. We've done it before a couple of times in 2 days but that schedule kind of negates the word "vacation", so now we've got it down to a 3 day science.

The drive through California's Central Valley still amazes me, although I have to admit the Big Guy bought me one of those neck pillows cause I've been suffering some and low and behold I slept through about half the drive today. It's a shame because the valley is really just one huge garden for as far as the eye can see, but I gotta admit, the drive was a lot more enjoyable with the pillow.

Last night we hit Redding, CA for another feast from Cattlemen's Restaurant and tonight we're at the La Quinta in San Bernardino and dining fine via takeout from the Lotus Garden just down the street. This is the place that inspired us to make our own version of Crispy Orange Beef which you can find by hitting the link. Believe you me, it's about as close an approximation as we could get to the Lotus Garden's original and really worth giving a try. If you haven't made it yet, well shame on you!

Sorry people - no pictures. Our camera(s) are MIA. We'll catch you all in Tucson on Monday because tomorrow's going to be a blur. We finish the drive, partially unpack and get the Big Guy packed up for his 6 AM flight East to even hotter temperatures. Lucky him, right?

Road Trip

We're on a road trip to Pendleton, Oregon home of the Pendleton Round-up, Saucy Mama and the Big Guy's 40th high school reunion.

It's been a trip down memory lane for my Eastern Oregon cowboy and of course things are not exactly as he remembers them - certainly not the town or the people. I mean really, everybody's got so old!

Perception is kind of funny isn't it? I mean honestly, does the man look like the dog or the dog like the man? Is it the grey hair or the mustache?

Mmm... perception. From our point of view, after living in the browns, olives and sages of the desert, the rolling fields of amber grain and vivid green of the trees and grass against a glorious blue sky is amazingly beautiful never mind that Max, our desert dawg, has a blast running in the tall grass and trying to decide which tree to do his business on without fear of having his little peeper pierced by a thorn.

More on perception - From our point of view inside our cozy suite last night, the sound of the woman outside our door valiently trying to use her key card to get into our room for a good 2 or 3 minutes was incredibly funny, while for her, standing there with 2 grumpy kids and a tired luggage loaded husband, it was just the end of a long and rather trying day. Oh that we'd had a picture of her through the peephole when the Big Guy's deep voice informed her she was barking up the wrong tree.

Anyway, it's been quite the experience. Here's a few pictures of scenes from our drive and points of interest. We'll have more later. 

View of the Columbia - we follow it most of the way east from Portland

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We stopped at Lewis and Clark State Park to walk under the trees (Donna, this is for you)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  A distant view of Multnomah Falls

 

 

 

 

 

Going Home to Nana's Irish Pub

When you're away from the place you love for 11 months out of the year sometimes the things you remember don't live up to the actuality. That certainly isn't the case with Nana's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Newport, OR.

As we commented to our beautiful server last night, we've never ever had a bad experience at Nana's.

The food is consistently delicious, the servers smiling, helpful and absolutely happy to be alive and even more important, they're having fun. There's not a sour face to be had in the place - why they even make your four legged best friend welcome on their front patio not that our lazy little lout took advantage of it. He wouldn't leave the comfort of his pillow in the Jeep.

We hit Nana's for lunch our first week at the Coast and split an order of Scotch Eggs as well as a Reuben Sandwich. If you remember, Nana's was the inspiration for our version of scotch eggs a while ago and as for their Reuben Sandwich - well it's a masterpiece made from corned beef cooked on site, braised cabbage, honey mustard and swiss cheese all on a sweet spicy marbled rye. It is absolutely dream worthy, I kid you not.

Last night the Big Guy tended to his oyster craving with oysters rolled in panko and pan fried, and we both enjoyed the fish and chips - moist tender cod dipped in a light as air beer batter. It is in one word - stupendous.

If you're ever in Newport Oregon and heading down to the Nye Beach area you've just got to stop at Nana's to quench your thirst and satisfy your hunger. You can bet your Irish eyes we'll be heading there at least one more time before we leave.

By the way, I'm sure you're wondering if I'm ever going to cook again. I do realize this is a cooking blog and I've certainly been taking a rather long vacation from the kitchen. There is a reason for that and I promise I'll fill you in on it soon, but what - pray tell, am I going to do with these monsters...and I don't mean the one in the middle! Can you guess what they are? 

Halibut Tacos and the Dawg

Yes, it's true people. We went to the Salty Dawg again yesterday but for lunch this time. Hey we love the people ...

and the food is wonderful (Mexi burger on left loaded with jalapenos, and regular cheeseburger on the right)

so when you find a favorite place and they have Black Butte Porter on tap, ya' just have to keep going back. Right?

I got off the hook for dinner too because the Big Guy fashioned these lovely tasty halibut tacos for dinner. Dredged in flour, then an egg wash followed by a dip into bread crumbs and a quick fry, the fish was crispy on the outside and tender moist and flakey on the inside. Topped with a perfectly ripe avocado, some peach and mango salsa, fresh tomatoes and a touch of broccoli slaw it was a lovely beachy dinner.

Course we had to go and finish the day by heading out for some Tillamook Ice Cream, and that after beer, burgers and tacos....you can imagine what the scale's saying this morning. If you're having what my friend Lea would call the "envie", walk a mile in my shoes. OK, so make that 10 miles on the elliptical would ya? It ain't lookin' too pretty.

 

The Dawg

Went back to the Dawg

 

Slept like a log

Had to go back

 

So cut us some slack

 

Friday Night at the Dawg

As I indicated earlier yesterday, dinner last night was at the Salty Dawg, an Alsea Bayside restaurant/bar that's a local favorite and one of ours too.

The food is darn tastie basic diner style with some extra twists - like the panko coated cod I had last night with chips, the Big Guy's calamari with chips, and burgers they really fuss over ...as in flat top cooked with huge fresh grilled buns and darn near every topping you can imagine. They have fabulous fried chicken and surprisingly good Mexican food, never mind a special every night (last night's was fresh and I mean fresh grilled halibut). 

Alas the oysters the Big Guy was craving were not available so we'll be making a trip to Newport to pick some up at the oyster farm PDQ. Meanwhile, you'll be hearing about the Salty Dawg again because we love the place, their great food, fabulous service and cheeky smiling waitresses.

It's a beautiful day

This is what our world looks like this morning. Amazing isn't it?

The Big Guy's out clamming, and the Maxer and I just came back from a long walk on the beach and he's bugging me to go again. I've slept like a log 3 nights in a row which has got to be a record and we're feeling fit and fiesty. I also have to admit I didn't cook again yesterday.

We hit the Big Wheel Drive In for lunch and pigged out on burgers, onion rings, tater tots and a fabulous peanut butter hot fudge milkshake. Doesn't it look like a blast from the past? I mean, not only do they have great old fashioned yummy food, but happy staff too and it's about as far from a franchise kind of place as you could possibly get.

As you can imagine, last night's planned 3 coarse dinner (if you can believe that, I've got some swampland in Tucson to sell you) was kicked to the curb because we just weren't hungry so we had a plate of munchies along with a bowl of leftover soup.

Tonight it's oyster night at the Salty Dawg, so I won't be cooking again. Oh dear! Should I be feeling guilty?

Sushi Garden Rocks

I've been a cookin' cleanin' decoratin' fool for the past week getting ready for our big party on Monday night. The only problem is I can't share any of it with you yet because there's people coming that read the blog and I don't want to spoil the party. Ha. As if that hasn't already happened.

The big guy's been sharing menu secrets with anyone that will listen. Course I didn't tell him not to. Our last big Christmas party he told everyone we were having finger food (which we were, of the heavy appetizer kind) and a bunch of them stopped to eat before they came over. We had food up the wazzu...everything from a whole Country ham and biscuits to a b'zillion savory tarts, tortes and rolls, finishing with 5 different kinds of desserts including a flippin' croquembouche. This time we're following the K.I.S.S. rule. Just hope we have enough to eat because if I'm only supposed to be cooking for the people that bothered to respond to the invitation, we have about 12 out of 60 or so showing up.

We've been craving sushi for a very long time and hopefully last night's feast took care of that for a little while. We started with miso, moved on to tempura and finished with a lovely platter of gorgeous stuff. The food was wonderful, fresh and flavorful, the company was superb and the bonus was being able to watch a classic purple/pink desert sunset while we enjoyed dinner. Who am I kidding? The real bonus was not having to cook or clean up after!

 

A Rant - Total Wine in Tucson a Disappointment

Yesterday was the day we do our running around including but not limited to grocery shopping, although because of the El Tour de Tucson bike race, we had to get a much earlier start than usual. Along with the usual 9,000 plus riders participating in the race there are at least double that in spectators which means if you're not into the event, you definitely want to be as far away from the race route as possible.

Consequently we took the back route and finished our day's errands at Total Wine - or so we thought. We had every intention of stocking our liquor cabinet in time for the holidays, assuming this huge booze warehouse would have the best prices in town. Well you know what happens when you make assumptions! While their lower prices may be true for some things, it's at a cost - their service sucks.

Having collected everything else on our list, we stood for some time with our cart at the glassed in Brandy/Cognac cabinet where the premium stuff is locked up, only to be completely ignored by the "gentleman" manning it. I guess he was too caught up talking to the mystery person on the other end of his bluetooth, or maybe he was just completely overwhelmed by his job. Whatever, after being invisible for far too long, we finally asked whether we needed to go "pick a number" in order to receive service. He finally obliged but took back the rather expensive bottle of Courvoisier we'd selected, saying he needed to walk it to the cash register on our behalf. Understandably, I mean it was imported and here we were trying to export it out of the store...legally of course.

The sad part was our bottle of Courvoisier never made it to the cash register and we left Total Wine totally ticked off, sans our bottle of holiday cheer. Funny how it only takes one bad experience in a store to make you swear you'll never go back there.

We ended up stopping at our local Walgreens - you know the chain drug store that Tucson has a proliferation of. There is one on practically every corner and oh, the people that work at the Thornydale/Overton store just happen to be really, really nice. They were having a "clear out" sale in their liquor department and low and behold we purchased cognac for $9.00 less than the bottle we were going to buy at Total Wine. Isn't that a kicker?

Not only cheaper, it just happened to be a different brand - our favorite Remy Martin which tickled us pink because we certainly wouldn't have paid the price they were asking for it at Total Wine. To top it off Walgreens was clearing out discontinued wines at 75 percent off their regular prices - ($2.87 for Ravenswood Merlot; $1.99 Turning Leaf Cab; $1.99 Turning Leaf Merlot, $3.19 for Coastal Estates Pinot Gris, etc.). By the time we left, we'd saved ourselves over $80.00.  Yippee, our bar is stocked for another year ...maybe. Isn't it a beautiful thing?

 

Date Night

This cook was wined and dined last night as we hit our favorite Vietnamese restaurant for a mess a' Pho and Bun.

We started with an order of pork and shrimp spring rolls and kinda' moved on from there. In fact we were so darn busy eating we were half done before we realized the camera and eyeglasses were still sitting on the table waiting to be used, so by necessity this post is going to be very short. Suffice to say, the food at Miss Saigon is fabulous and that's why we keep going back.

I am curious to know however, what your favorite places are when you go out for a night on the town. Do you have a yen for a specific ethnic dish or are you a regular at your local version of the Salty Dawg? Fill me in, OK? Inquiring mind wants to know.

Darn it all anyway

I forgot, quite simply forgot to bring the camera last night. You see, the big guy took me out for sushi.Dinner out on the town again ...twice in one week. I'm truly blessed. In fact other than whipping up a cake yesterday that needed some time in the fridge before it can hit tonight's table, I spent absolutely no time in the kitchen yesterday. Ya' think maybe the vacation's already started?

So where in this desert town you ask, does one go for sushi? We have two favorite places but we went to the one closest to home this time - Sushi Garden at Foothills Mall. This location, one of two Sushi Garden restaurants in Tucson, boasts a bright modern interior and fabulous service but more importantly the fish is very fresh and of very high quality. It's also busy, which means the turnover time is quick so there's a good chance everything you order will be made of the freshest ingredients. That's important when you're eating the stuff.

For those of you who are curious to know, there are several different types of sushi, namely

• "Sashimi:  Raw seafood served chilled and sliced and elegantly arranged.It's usually prepared with fish fresh from the water, refrigerated but never frozen. How to slice the fish for sashimi is one of the most rigorous skills to learn during the itamae's training. Fish cut too thick or too thin make a different impression on the taste buds, and different fish require applying different techniques.

• Nigirisushi: Nigiri means something like "hand pressed". This type of sushi is the most common type at the sushi bar: A small oval made with rice, with an expertly cut slice of fish on top, and with a dab of wasabi on it. Most types of nigirisushi are meant to be dipped in soy sauce, and must be eaten in one bite, slowly. Close your eyes and feel the different textures in your mouth while you eat every piece.
• Gunkan: Battleship sushi. This looks like a nigiri piece wrapped once in seaweed. It's called "battleship sushi" because it resembles the cylindrical sail of a submarine or battleship. Most caviar sushi (e.g. uni, tobiko, ikura, masago) are wrapped in the gunkan style.
• Makisushi: Maki means "rolled". This kind of sushi consists of fish (or crab) and vegetables rolled in a sheet of nori (roasted seaweed) and rice. Makisushi is usually served sliced into bite-size portions. In some restaurants it will be listed as norimaki (seaweed roll) in the menu. Makisushi is an excellent choice for those venturing into the sushi bar for the first time, particularly if they are squimish about eating raw fish. The taste and crackling texture of the the seaweed, the visual delight from its appearance, and the combination of salty seaweed, sweet rice, and delicate fish and vegetables soon win even the most reluctant experimenters.
• Temaki: Te = hand. Temaki describes the hand rolls, something like a Japanese nori taco, that you bite into. Many of the ingredients you'll find in makisushi also exist in temaki."

If you're one of the people that turns your nose up in disgust and won't eat "raw" fish you can always order California rolls that are made of cooked seafood and fresh vegetables. Hey if you're a wimp and that's what it takes to get you to try it, why not? You might just be converted to the real thing! I for one am gradually being won over and my very favorite item at the sushi bar is Salmon Nigiri. The texture of the salmon is just like butta'. Love it, love it, love it!

Anyway, there's several great sites on-line that will edu..ma..cate you regarding the glories of sushi so for heavens sake if you're not a fan, do a little homework but don't knock it if you haven't tried it.

 

While we neglected to take the camera with us so we could gloat over the boat full we had, I did remember to bring home the order chit which is proof we're no slouches when it comes to eating sushi. Good thing Sushi Garden has an "all you can eat" option for $19.95 a person. The big guy's already into his hour on the elliptical to burn off some calories and I'll be heading there as soon as he's finished. Worth it? You bet!

By the way - happy Father's Day to those of you who are. Personally I think these holidays were created so merchants have an excuse to promote their sales and card companies can make a bundle. I mean, shame on us if we only celebrate the people we love once every year when we should be showing our appreciation the full 365 days. I mean I don't need a "Father's Day" to appreciate the fact that when I married the big guy he came as a packaged deal.  I also acquired a sweet, wonderful, kind, gentle, funny little Dad that's at least a laugh a minute and a joy to be around and THAT I appreciate 365 days a year, 366 every four and twice on Sundays.

Date Night at Zinburger

I did NOT cook last night. What can I say - I'm a lucky potato. The big guy took me out on a date to Zinburger for ...hold on to your shorts...a burger. Yup a burger but not just any old burger.

Zinburger Wine & Burger Bar is part of the FOX Restaurant Concepts family - "a collection of original, thriving boutique restaurants in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Kansas" created by U of A alum, Sam Fox. The guy has great vision and is building quite the empire of restaurants known for their fresh well prepared food and great service in a classy atmosphere. It was our first time visiting Zinburger and certainly won't be the last.

It just so happened that we arrived during what was their happy hour and benefited by enjoying wine and draft beer at half price. They've got a fabulous selection of wines by the glass and of course great beer on tap too. As for dinner, the big guy had his first sliders, the special of the week...three lovely petit burgers that must have been really good because he didn't say much while he was chowing down.

As for me, I had the Zinburger which should be called a "Sin burger" - Angus beef fresh ground on site and cooked to a lovely medium rare topped with manchego cheese, zinfandel braised onions and lots of mayo. It was honestly the best burger I've EVER had in any restaurant - all about the moist tender meat, perfectly cooked on a soft whole wheat bun...the whole thing just dripped with flavor. It was amazing!

The other benefit to happy hour at Zinburger is all sides are half price too. In an attempt to be "semi good" we split an order of Sweet Potato Fries and boy were they ever good - crisp and perfectly cooked and they're not the only choice either. Check out the menu and see for yourself. 

All in all it was a fitting end to a wonderful day OUT of the kitchen. I confess we also ate breakfast out at Lupita's - our favorite Mexican restaurant. Kind of proves something does it? Eventually if you whine enough and you're very very patient, you always get your own way in the end. Ha. Happy Sunday everyone! I'm off to work off that burger so I can cook us up a BIG breakfast.

Technical Difficulties

Please be advised JBug's Kitchen Antics will be unavailable due to technical difficulties. Regular programming with resume in a moment.

Don't you just hate those canned messages? I mean, what in the world are "technical difficulties" and what is a "moment". The down and dirty is my computer has once again gone south. Now I am tremendously directionally challenged, but at least after much instruction from the big guy I now know where "South" is and that's where my window to the world is currently in residence. Hopefully it'll be back in a few days, since I just dropped it off at the computer doctors. I write to you at the moment from my local library branch, but time is an issue - their's not mine, so consequently this message is short.

In the meantime, I refer you to a blog post written in April that will hopefully keep you going for a few days. Watch out for Jillian!

TTFN.

A Date!

The kind you go on - not the kind you eat. Yup, I actually left my kitchen last night to venture out into the cold, dark world to meet the big guy and one of our "girls" for dinner at Firebirds Grill. It was a lovely evening, though I have to admit the drive wasn't that wonderful. I am night blind so can't see for nothin' which combined with the fact there are limited street lights in this burg -something about reducing ambient light so you can see the stars or some such hooey, the 25 minute drive there and back was a bit of a challenge.

Dinner was wonderful. Firebird's Rocky Mountain Grill is a chain of 17 restaurants that began life in Charlotte, NC. Its relaxed atmosphere, fabulous food and great service make it one of our favorite places to go in Tucson. You see, we have this theory that if you can do better at home, you eat at home, and the way the big guy can grill a steak puts a lot of pressure on any restaurant to do it better. Firebirds wins the award in our books because they do a fabulous job of putting out consistently good quality, great tasting food.

The big guy and Jordyn started their dinners with Firebird's BLT salad, a plate of "chopped lettuce, tomatoes, applewood smoked bacon and roasted garlic ranch dressing." It looked delicious and some day, I'll have to give it a try. I seldom order an appetizer with an entree (usually one or the other), because I belong to the clean plate club. If I have both, I'd finish both and you'd need a crane to get me out of my chair and a front end loader to get me to the car. Not that both aren't imminent at the rate I'm going. 'nuff said.

Main courses - there's no question what the big guy's having when we eat at Firebirds - how 'bout a 14 oz. rib eye steak, cooked blue rare topped with blue cheese sauce, covered in port mushrooms and served with a medley of fresh veggies. Jordyn hit the cluck department and had Cilantro Grilled Chicken breast with a smoked tomato jack cheese sauce and parmesan mashed potatoes. I had the seafood special which was chile rubbed salmon topped with a crab, queso sauce over parmesan mashed spuds. There was a vinaigrette on the plate that was incredible too - I have to say they've got a saucier back in their kitchen who turns out some incredible, creamy, tasty utterly decadent sauces.

I'm including some pictures along with an apology as to quality. In the interest of remaining as inconspicuous as possible, I didn't bring the tripod with the camera and they all show varying degrees of "jiggle". Sorry 'bout that, but at least you get the idea.

  
  
Enough about dinner - it was wonderful seeing Jordyn again and catching up on her life since graduation. You see it's almost two years since we saw her last, during which she's traveled the world via Darley Flying Start which is an "International Management Training Programme specializing in thoroughbred breeding and racing founded in 2003 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai." Jordyn graduated from the program in July and is now employed by Darley in Kentucky. She's wonderful - healthy, happy and loves her job but more important, she's a fabulous person (course she always was). We're so proud of her!