Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are so thankful for your tremendous friendship and support. We will miss you this Saturday as we will not be at the Old Town Scottsdale Market, but we hope to see you next week as we resume our normal market schedule.

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

The McClendon Family

Cool beans...

We recently started carrying Rice Beans. This cute little beans look like large grains of rice and have an incredible flavor. Marsha prepared some for me to try the other night and they were wonderful. When I asked her how to prepare them, her reply was "Oh, you know, just like you make beans."

Umm... okay.

I did get a little detail from her, including that rice beans do cook faster than other types, which was good to know. The result is definitely worth it.

Rice Beans

3 cups of rice beans

Water

Chicken Stock

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 ham hock

1/2 tsp. of salt

1/2 tsp. of cayenne pepper

Cover the rice beans with 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken stock, enough to cover the beans with 2" to 3" of liquid. Add the garlic, onion, ham hock and seasonings. Simmer in a crock pot or on the stovetop for one hour.

These beans would be really good with chopped kale, chard or spinach. Just a thought!

My toast to Fred...

Ahh… Tarbell’s!

Walking into Tarbell’s feels like a sort of homecoming for me. I don’t remember exactly the first time I set foot in this Phoenix mainstay, but over the past fifteen or so years, Tarbell’s has been the site for many fond memories. Quiet and cozy and sparkling like a jewel box by candlelight, dining there has always made lovely moments all the more special. Sean and I had one of our first dates at Tarbell's and several since. I have also celebrated holidays, milestones and once reserved their private dining room to surprise my mother on her birthday.

But when I go to Tarbell’s it is always my dear friend Fred who I remember most. I could always count on seeing him at the bar, eating his dinner and holding court. He loved being there. I don’t know if it was the food or ambiance or just that he seemed to know everyone who entered. More often than not, when we went Fred was there. He passed away not too long ago and had made clear instructions to have a party for his friends there months later. This came as no surprise to any of us who knew him. It was a wonderful celebration. Tarbell's outdid themselves to honor their friend too.

Something about that says more to me than any of the awards or kudos Mark Tarbell and his team have rightly won over the years. The food is all wonderful, but I have always been most partial to the Scottish Salmon. On our recent visit, I stuck with my favorite, while Sean had the Alaskan Halibut with kohlrabi and Napa cabbage. We did both share in Mark's Mom's Mac and Cheese. I do love that Tarbell’s is generous enough to have listed a number of recipes of their signature dishes on their website. I have tried my hand at a few, but I always enjoy them more there. Over dinner we reminisced and drank a toast to our friend. I wish we could have sent him a drink too. He would have liked that.

Tarbell’s is just that kind of place.

Tarbell's

3213 East Camelback Road

Phoenix, Arizona

602.955.8100

www.tarbells.com

Thanksgiving Week...

We are very excited that the holidays are upon us. We look forward to seeing everyone and helping you prepare for your Thanksgiving feasts. McClendon's Select will be at the Town & Country Farmer's Market on Wednesday, November 25th during our normal hours from 8:30am to 2:00pm.

However, McClendon's Select will not be at the Old Town Scottsdale Market on Saturday, November 28th in order to give our employees a chance to share the holiday weekend with their family and friends. We will be returning to the Scottsdale Market on Saturday, December 5th.

We hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday and a chance to celebrate with those dearest to you.

Interview: Jay Wisniewski, Caffe Boa

I recently had the chance to sit down and talk with Jay Wisniewski the owner, head chef and wine specialist of Caffe Boa in Tempe.

Jay has owned Caffe Boa since 1994. Their original location was a small venue down Mill Avenue from where they are currently. I had enjoyed many wonderful meals on their old patio hanging out with friends or grabbing a bite before attending events at Gammage. Their current location has the same winning combination of a great patio, upscale menu and friendly staff. It is as warm and inviting as before, but now with a new sophistication. They have been in their current space for the past six years, but the change in venue is not the only change they have made over the past few years.

Jay explained to me how his approach to food has evolved since originally opening Caffe Boa. At one point he had owned three locations of the café. When Jay decided to consolidate and focus on solely on his Tempe restaurant, he wanted to make sure that he did it right. His focus first and foremost was on finding the highest quality ingredients, with an emphasis on organic, locally grown produce, handmade pastas made daily from scratch and fresh seafood, such as sustainable wild oyster and mussels and wild caught shrimp and halibut. They use reduction sauces and demis made without butter, flour or cornstarch so that the true flavors of the dish come through. The bottom line in all of these decisions was in finding the best flavor. Which, as Jay pointed out, always seems to come when you find foods that are grown correctly and protect our environment for the future generations. I couldn’t agree more.

They also turned their sights on their wine list. Caffe Boa has an impressive selection, with over 500 choices available from their 2,500 bottle wine cellar. Even more impressive is Jay’s dedication to being knowledgeable on wine and how it complements and works with food. Jay and his wife are both certified at the advanced level of wine specialists by the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Society of Wine Educators. They also have seventeen servers on their staff who have been through the certification process as well. They want everyone to be able to work with their customers to find the perfect wine to enhance the flavors of each dish.

What hasn’t changed is Caffe Boa’s emphasis on providing great service with a welcoming hospitality. Many in the staff at Caffe Boa have been with Jay for over a decade. They know their customers and want to create a sense of community for their clientele. Jay even serves on the board of the Downtown Tempe Community. With that kind of loyalty to staff and customers, it is no wonder that they have had loyalty returned with a dedicated following over the years. With all of the changes I have seen along Mill Avenue, it is nice to have mainstays like Caffe Boa that have kept that culture of family-owned, community-friendly businesses alive and well.

Caffe Boa is expanding once again. They are opening a second location in Mesa within the next few weeks. With so much careful detail put into their Tempe restaurant, I am sure their new location will be thriving quickly.

With everything he has going on, I was very grateful Jay took the time to sit down and talk with me.

Best of luck Jay!

Caffe Boa

398 S. Mill Ave.

Tempe, Arizona 85281
480.968.9112

www.cafeboa.com

Soup! You know why...

I was going to name this post Unpleasant Dental Surgery - Part Two, but decided no one would want to try a recipe with that title. I know I wouldn't. That said, I am currently suffering through the aftermath of another less-than-fun trip to the dentist. For the time being I am off most foods (and wine), so you can imagine how fun it is to write about restaurants and recipes.

Lucky for me, I do have a wonderful recipe for Butternut Squash Soup, that I will be enjoying quite a bit this week. I hope that you enjoy it as well, even if you can eat solid foods.

This recipe is REALLY good with chunks of green apples included right before serving. Maybe next week...

Butternut Squash Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion

1 medium carrot

1 medium sweet potato

2 medium butternut squash

32 ounces chicken stock

salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste

Peel and cut the butternut squash into cubes. Chop the onion, carrot and sweet potato. Melt the butter in a large pot and add all of the vegetables for 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the chicken stock and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 40 minutes.

Pour soup into a blender and puree until smooth. You may add milk or any remaining chicken stock for desired consistency.

Bolognese Revisited...

I mentioned once, months ago, a little something about Amy's Bolognese at Cafe Bink. This entree really deserves to have a little more that a postscript written about it.

I know that there are other things on the menu at Cafe Bink, although I really can't tell you much about them, because I only order Amy's Bolognese when I go. Bob is the same way. In fact, Kevin and Amy Binkley have even threatened to print a different menu for Bob without the Bolognese listed, just to make him try something else.

The story Kevin told us about the Bolognese is that it resulted after a friendly competition between he and Amy and, well, guess who won. Her winning version is rich and decadent and served with a creamy parmesan polenta, rather than pasta, which is brilliant. The combination of flavors work perfectly together. This dish is ideal for cooler weather, which would be nice if we could get some. But rain or shine (or ridiculously 90+ degrees in November) I will continue to order Amy's Bolognese, even if the Binkley's do print a new menu.

Okay, moment of truth, I did also order the roasted beet salad. Loved it! Sean had the salmon and raved about it. But, alas, I was too busy enjoying my own meal, so I never had a chance to try it.

I will take his word on it.

Cafe Bink

36889 N. Tom Darlington Drive

Carefree, Arizona 85377

480.488.9796

www.cafebink.com

Nutty for the holidays...

Years ago Marsha made this dish to help celebrate in the New Year. I loved it so much, I could have eaten it all year long. As we are getting closer to the holidays, I found myself thinking about it again. So much so that we had it for dinner. I love holiday memories, especially the ones with food.

Butternut Squash Mash

2 medium Butternut Squashes

Olive Oil

Sea Salt

1 cup of baby arugula

1/4 cup of blue cheese crumbles

1/3 cup of pine nuts

Cut the Butternut Squash into quarters and lightly coat with olive oil and a little sea salt. Bake the squash at 400-degrees for 45 minutes, or until soft.

Toast the pine nuts with olive oil until browned.

Remove the skin from the butternut squash and mash. Mix in the pine nuts and blue cheese. Top with the baby arugula right before serving.

Enjoy!

Appetizer for the obsessed...

Three words for you… Griddled Corn Cakes!

If you haven't tried the Griddled Corn Cakes at Phoenix City Grill, then you have been missing out and you didn’t even know it. The only problem, well my only problem, with them is that once I have them I tend to obsess about when I can go back for days. They come with achiote chicken, Manchego cheese and salsa fresca next to a side of black beans.

Heaven! Trust me.

Luckily for us when Sean and I shared this appetizer they split the plates… since sharing this appetizer is much akin to making toddlers divide a cookie.

Phoenix City Grille

5816 N. 16th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85016
phone: 602-266-3001
fax: 602-266-3745

www.phoenixcitygrille.com

Five-minute recipe...

Aidan and I enjoyed watching The Next Food Network Star over the summer. I love seeing what they prepare and he loves anything that is a competition. One of the winning recipes was a five-minute potatoes gratin from the show's winner Melissa d'Arabian that was promised to be easy enough to have your kids help you make it. She was right. And it really does only take five minutes to prepare. This recipe is now in the heavy rotation at our house.

I did substitute the two Russet potatoes originally listed in the recipe for fingerlings. Also, I used a Mandolin on the potatoes, it seems to cook better the more thinly sliced the potatoes.

Potatoes Gratin

Olive Oil

6-8 good sized fingerling potatos

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

2 green onions, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Use a muffin tin and coat well with olive oil. Layer potato slices, cheese, and onions into each muffin cup. Season with salt and pepper and top each gratin with 1 or 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, removing the foil halfway through cooking time.

Invert gratins onto plate and serve.