Oh, and hopefully you’ll notice that I don’t just talk the talk, I walk the walk! Several of my favorite things are already shared here with you in my previous posts… from the Brussels Sprout Salad to the Bacon BonBons and the De Lujo Margarita. I’m always thinking about you people!

Linda Hopkins’ Perfect Food Day
By Jennifer Woods Tue., Nov. 29 2011 at 7:00 AM

Linda Hopkins has been a Phoenix culinary mainstay for more than 20 years. She’s best known for starting the Valley’s first and longest running children’s only cooking school called Les Petites Gourmettes. The name is a nod to her love of all things French. Each summer, Hopkins helps  kids from ages 8 to 18 spend 4-5 day weeks by getting their hands dirty and their minds filled with the technique and love of food and cooking. She got her education at culinary schools in France, San Francisco and New York. You can find her exuberant posts and many recipes on the Les Petites Gourmettes’ blog and twitter (@LHop1027). Her recipes have been included in several cookbooks, including Cooking with Les Dames d’Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink — she’s also a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier International, the invite only club for female culinary professionals. Today we’ve invited her to share her perfect food day.

Here’s Linda Hopkins’ perfect food day:

To make my Perfect Food Day work, I would need to be able to apparate from one place to another, à la Harry Potter. And we will also assume that apparating in this manner burns off all calories consumed and all feelings of a full stomach. For it to be a truly Perfect Food Day I would also need to be able to partake in these meals with my favorite people, so here we go…

Pre-breakfast stop: Essence Bakery Café for a croissant and to pick up a huge box of Eugenia Theodosopoulos’ heavenly macarons, at least a dozen of each luscious flavor, to sustain me and my dining partners throughout the day.

Breakfast: I would travel to Flagstaff to enjoy a leisurely brunch at Criollo Latin Kitchen with my son, Connor. We would indulge in the Huevos Español; Two Poached Eggs with Jamón Serrano on a toasted English Muffin topped with a spicy Hollandaise and served with Home Fries. And wash it down with a Bloody Mary.

Lunch: Connor and I would meet up with my husband, Dave, and all my girlfriends and their kids and share huge portions of Brussels Sprout Salad from Chelsea’s Kitchen, the perfect Braised Leeks from FnB, and a stack of Housemade Mozzarella, Local Tomato, and Basil Sandwiches from Pane Bianco.

Happy Hour Part 1: We’d leave my husband and the kids to their own devices and the girls and I would travel to San Francisco and meet up with my daughter, Marissa, at the lovely Gitane Restaurant and drown ourselves in Gitane’s fruity sangria and devour platters full of their Bacon Bonbons; Prunes stuffed with Goat Cheese, wrapped in Smoked Bacon, swimming in a Spiced Port Glaze. Oh my!

Happy Hour Part 2: Next I’d pick up Connor and we’d all grab our significant others and head to Florence, Italy to revisit a place that my family has been dreaming about since May 2008! Ballerini Pasticceria il Cioccolato is just around the corner from all the car rental agencies, near the train station in Florence. It is a chocolate shop that also has breakfast pastries and a focaccia counter in the back. The focaccia is like no other. It is a double-crusted or filled focaccia and the top crust is delightfully thin, crispy, and salty. The Margarita, Spinach and Feta Stuffed, and the Sausage and White Cheese are what we enjoyed all those years ago, but I just have to go back and try all the varieties they offer!

Happy Hour Part 3: Back in Arizona, we would go to Elote Café in Sedona and indulge in the namesake Elote appetizer; fire roasted corn with spicy mayo, lime, and cotija cheese, served with crisp corn tortillas. Chef Jeff Smedstad recently taught a class at Les Gourmettes and served the most wonderful “fall and winter” De Lujo (Luxury) Margarita. Even if it’s not on the menu, we’d have to request several pitchers for the table.

              Photo courtesy of PenandFork.com

Dinner: No question about it. We would be at Binkley’s Restaurant in Cave Creek, order the 6-course tasting menu, with wine paring, and delight with awe at each and every one of the multiple amuse-bouche and courses that Chef Kevin Binkley placed in front of us! If frog’s legs are in season, that would be the Pièce de résistance to my Perfect Food Day!

If you’re anything like me, when you think of margaritas, you think of a warm summer day. Last week I was introduced to a cold-weather margarita that will knock your socks off! Chef Jeff Smedstad was the visiting chef teaching at Barbara Fenzl’s Les Gourmettes Cooking School last Monday night and everyone in the class swooned when he served this luxurious (de lujo) concoction.

Chef Smedstad is the chef/owner of Elote Cafe in Sedona. Dave and I dined at Elote the first night we were up in Sedona, last month. I failed to mention it before, because back then, it was all about my sprained ankle. And that’s a shame because it was one of the best meals we’ve had in a very long time.  For a fantastic rundown (with drop-dead gorgeous pictures) on Elote go to my friend, Gwen Walter’s blog and check out her professional and spot-on review.

While you’re reading the review and drooling over the photos, enjoy this somehow “warming” cold margarita. Chef Smedstad calls for Añejo tequila. Añejo, or “aged” tequila sits in oak barrels for at least one year and up to two years, eleven months, and thirty days. On the next day (3 years), it would be called Extra Añejo. Although the Añejo or Extra Añejo really make this drink shine (see Chef’s notes at the bottom of the recipe) you may use Blanco (white) tequila or Reposado (rested) tequila, just be sure to use a high quality tequila and not anything along the lines of the dreaded José Cuervo!

Elote’s De Lujo Margarita

Base Mix
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
5 cups water
Margarita
Ice
Añejo tequila
Grand Marnier

Base Mix: Briskly whisk until sugar is completely dissolved.

Margarita: In a 14-ounce glass with a salted rim (if desired) and filled with ice cubes, pour a full-shot of Añejo tequila. Then almost fill with the base mix and top off with a half-shot of Grand Marnier.

Drink and Enjoy!

Chef Smedstad’s Notes:  “Why brown sugar, vanilla, and lemon… brown sugar and lemon are soft and rich. The name lugo means luxury and the vanilla mirrors the oak notes in both the Añejo tequilla as well as the Grand Marnier.

I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoy True Food Kitchen. In fact I celebrated with two different birthday lunches there, the first with my dad and the second with my good friend, Karen (who was one of my bridesmaids, all those years ago).  When Dad and I were there, the two women at the table across from us were enjoying this huge bowl of vegetables. It is True Food’s gorgeous crudités bowl with tzatziki and black olive dips. The next week, when Karen and I went, I had to order it so that I could check it out more closely and recreate it at home. I think this is one of the prettiest ways to serve crudités that I’ve ever seen! That is True Food’s bowl above… and mine is below.

Crudités Garden Bowl with Caesar Dip and Tapenade

Green and yellow green beans
Snow peas
Long baby broccoli stems
Thin asparagus spears, tough ends snapped off
Ice
Cherry or teardrop tomatoes
Long and thin carrots, peeled and cut in half lengthwise if needed
Persian cucumbers, cut in half lengthwise
Red and white Belgium endive, separated into spears
Caesar Dip (1/2 recipe)
1 small jar black olive tapenade spread

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and fill a large bowl with a lot of ice and just enough cold water to cover the ice.

Drop in the green beans into the boiling water and blanch for 1 minute, then lift out with a slotted spoon and drop immediately into a large bowl of ice water. Once the beans are completely chilled, lift out of the ice water and place on paper towels to drain. Next, blanch the snow peas in the same manner. Now, the broccoli and finally the asparagus in the same way.

Keeping the four vegetables separate, roll up in damp paper towels, wrap each roll in plastic wrap and refrigerate to crisp the vegetables, for a least 2 hours.

When ready to serve, fill a large serving bowl one third of the way full with ice. Sprinkle with ice with a couple handfuls of cherry tomatoes.

Now start “planting” your garden. Poke the various vegetables into the ice, finishing with the endive spears. Sprinkle with more cherry tomatoes.

Place the tapenade in a food processor and thin with 2 tablespoons water. Use the pulse button to smooth just a bit. Place the Caesar dip and the tapenade in two separate bowls and serve alongside your beautiful vegetable crudités garden. Enjoy!

Last night was the first time I’ve cooked any sort of food for Dave and myself… in… let’s see… 11 days. Unbelievable! I think that is the longest stretch of “no-cook” time for me since back in 2008 when we were traveling through France and Italy with the kids. But, I’m back and the recipes will again be flowing, thanks for hanging in there with me through the trip to Sedona, the foot injury, and birthdays. :-D

On Wednesday, my dad took me to True Food Kitchen at Scottsdale Quarter for my birthday lunch. I usually order the light and luscious Edamame Dumplings, or their delicious Herb Hummus, or the fabulous Wild Ahi Sliders… but this time I decided to try the Mediterranean Chopped Salad. Good choice! Actually, I’ve never had anything I didn’t enjoy from the menu. The photo at the top is the True Food salad – taken with my new iPhone 4s, which I LOVE!  Once I got home, I just had to recreate it for Dave.  He, of course, loved it… and you will too.

True Food uses red quinoa in their salad, I had the white on hand (you can also find black quinoa), otherwise, this salad tasted exactly like the one you’d be served at the restaurant. They also offer the salad with the addition of grilled chicken or salmon, obviously you can too.

True Food Kitchen’s Mediterranean Chopped Salad Knock-off

2 cups cold water
1 cup uncooked quinoa

Lemon-Oregano Vinaigrette
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 of an English cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 large handfuls green beans, trimmed and steamed
2 cups cherry or teardrop tomatoes
3/4 cup Marcona almonds
3 cups arugula or spinach leaves
1 cup crumbled feta or queso cotijta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the quinoa and stir, simmer over medium heat, stirring often, until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside for 15 minutes.  Fluff with a fork and spread out on a plate to cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooking and cooling, make the vinaigrette. Place the garlic, lemon zest, juice, vinegar, mustard, honey, oregano, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl and blend well.  While continually whisking, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, until dressing is emulsified.

In a large salad bowl, toss together the cucumber, olives, green beans, tomatoes, almonds, and arugula. Add the cooled quinoa, cheese, and vinaigrette.  Toss until all ingredients are coated with the vinaigrette, taste for seasoning, and serve.

Serves 4

photo courtesy of http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/

On Saturday, Dave and I drove 25 miles from Sedona to Clarkdale to ride the Verde Canyon Railroad through the Verde Canyon along the beautiful Verde River in Northern Arizona. The train passes by ancient Sinagua Indian dwellings carved into the mountainsides and ends up in Perkinsville, a deserted ghost ranch, and then turns around and comes back.  In the 1960’s a few scenes from the classic western “How the West Was Won” featuring George Peppard, Debbie Reynolds, and Eli Wallach, were filmed in Perkinsville.

There are three types of accommodations on the train; coach, first-class, or the private caboose, which may be rented for $600 for up to 6 people.

photo courtesy of http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/

We went first-class, and the treatment and seating were just that – first class!

This is a fully restored vintage train, powered by FP7 locomotives, two of only 12 remaining in North America. The cars are climate-controlled and each has a restroom.

In addition there are open-air cars, complete with benches, shade structures, and a knowledgeable guide to tell you about everything you are passing by.

photo courtesy of http://www.verdecanyonrr.com/

It was the prefect way to spend a relaxing and gorgeous Arizona fall afternoon… with my bum foot, iced and elevated. ;-)

I am done whining, back to a recipe! I am certain you are thinking, “It’s about time!”

At the request of a kind follower, Dagmar, I am also putting up a few more pictures of Sedona and Oak Creek Canyon.  Tomorrow, I’ll share a few photos from our trip on the Verde Canyon Railroad, along the the beautiful Verde River.

The recipe may have a long name, but it couldn’t be easier to make. Tri Tip is a classic cowboy beef cut that is thick, nicely marbled, and very flavorful. It is the triangular cut at the tip of the sirloin.

Roasted Poblano Chile Pepper & Pomegranate Molasses Marinated Tri Tip

2 pounds tri tip
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 poblano peppers; roasted, peeled, cored and seeded
1/2 cup pomegranate molasses
Fresh cilantro, garnish

Generously season the tri tip with the salt and pepper on all sides.  Place on a plate.

Set aside 1 of the poblano peppers. Place the 3 remaining peppers in a blender or food processor. Add the pomegranate molasses and blend until smooth.

Pour the puree over the tri tip and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes or up to 1 hour. Coarsely dice the reserved roasted poblano pepper and set aside for garnish.

Prepare a grill to medium-high heat. Remove meat from marinade. Discard marinade. Grill meat to desired doneness, about 10 minutes per side for medium-rare (about 130 degrees on an instant-read thermometer). Transfer to cutting board. Tent with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Place on a serving platter and garnish with the diced poblano and cilantro.

Serves 4

Isn’t this view, oh so pretty!?!

And how about this one?

Yeah, not so much… this is my sprained ankle.

Photo taken only about 30 minutes after the first two above. Dave, Connor, and I were hiking the Devil’s Bridge Trail in Sedona. On the way back… on flat ground, mind you, my right foot just went all crazy on me. I fell to the ground, in tears, accompanied by a plethora of cursing.  Connor, who was behind me, said that while I was going down, I looked exactly like one of those wooden toys, where, when the button on the bottom is pushed, they immediately collapse. That pretty much describes what it felt like.

It takes quite a bit to bring me to tears of pain. Quite. A. Bit. Emotional tears, that happens at the drop of a hat, but tears of pain … it hurt! It still hurts. I limped back to the car and came back to our condo and got directly onto the web to self-diagnose. Here is what I have found and how I am treating what I believe to be, my “grade 2 sprain.”

Grades of Severity for Sprained Ankles

Sprained ankles, as with all ligaments sprains, are divided into grades 1-3, depending on their severity:

Grade 1 sprain:

• Some stretching or perhaps minor tearing of the lateral ankle ligaments.
• Little or no joint instability.
• Mild pain.
• There may be mild swelling around the bone on the outside of the ankle.
• Some joint stiffness or difficulty walking or running.

Grade 2 sprain:

• Moderate tearing of the ligament fibers.
• Some instability of the joint.
• Moderate to severe pain and difficulty walking.
• Swelling and stiffness in the ankle joint.
• Minor bruising may be evident.

Grade 3 sprain:

• Total rupture of a ligament.
• Gross instability of the joint.
• Severe pain initially followed later by no pain.
• Severe swelling.
• Usually extensive bruising.

Treatment of a Sprained Ankle

Treatment of a sprained ankle can be separated into immediate first aid and longer term rehabilitation and strengthening.

Immediate First Aid for a sprained ankle:

Aim to reduce the swelling by RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) as soon as possible.

• R is for rest. It is important to rest the injury to reduce pain and prevent further damage. Use crutches if necessary. Many therapists advocate partial weight bearing as soon as pain will allow. This is thought to accelerate rehabilitation.
• I is for ICE or cold therapy. Applying ice and compression can ease the pain, reduce swelling, reduce bleeding (initially) and encourage blood flow (when used later). Apply an ice pack or similar immediately following injury for 15 minutes. Repeat this every 2 hours.
• C is for compression – This reduces bleeding and helps reduce swelling. A Louisiana wrap bandaging technique is excellent for providing support and compression to a recently injured ankle.
• E is for Elevation – Uses gravity to reduce bleeding and swelling by allowing fluids to flow away from the site of injury. So put your feet up and get someone else to wait on you!

That very last sentence is my favorite part! Taken word-for-word from the internet, no less. Connor has driven back to Flagstaff for a work shift, so that leaves Dave to wait on me.

Perfect! He is the one who wanted to go hiking. So far he has had to ply me with Advil.  Set up my ice-pack and elevation station. Go to Walgreen’s to buy the compression wrap. Place said wrap on my foot, twice, the first time he had it so dang tight that my foot turned blue within 3 minutes. Get me lunchtime food and drink. Listen to my whining at regular intervals. Order take out for dinner and go pick it up, along with a Red Box movie (Bad Teacher). And get me up and down the stairs to bed. Gosh, Im tired just thinking about how I’m running him around!

But come on – we’ve been married for 26 years, you would think that he would know by now that I am an “indoor girl” not an “outdoor nature girl”. Payback’s a &#@*!

We spent yesterday in Jerome with Connor. If you’re not familiar with Jerome, you can CLICK HERE to learn all about Arizona’s famous mining and ghost town – turned artist and tourist town.

Besides roaming around downtown, we also toured the Jerome State Park and checked out the mine shaft at The Audrey Head Frame Park.

This is the mine shaft you can look down… it is deeper than the Empire State building is tall… just a bit of a drop!

But the thing I most enjoyed was torturing my son by making him pose in front of the famous Connor Hotel, over and over and over again.  He is a very good sport and an extremely patient son! Love you, Con. xoxo

If you live in Arizona, and you don’t already follow Chow Bella, you really should! Doing so, is the best way to stay up to the minute on all food related happenings. You can CLICK HERE to go to their web page. Or CLICK HERE to go to their page on Facebook and then get updates by “liking” them. Or you can always follow Chow Bella on Twitter.  If you’re saying to yourself, “Why should I trust you and bother to do any one of those things?”  Well, if you’re going to be that way… here is just one fun reason why… from Chow Bella today…

Nine Awesome Ways to Get Candy Corn-ifed for Fall

Although I’m posting a few of the nine pictures, you’ll need to click on the above article title to see the rest and to get to the links for these fun and fabulous Candy Corn inspired recipes/ideas. Trust me, I’ll be making several of them! TOO CUTE!!!

I was fortunate to sit next to Jennifer Woods, one of the Chow Bella contributors, at an event last night. We were at a fundraising dinner for Share Our Strength. SOS is an amazing organization… to learn more about them and to sign their “No Kid Hungry Pledge”, CLICK HERE.  I know, that’s a whole bunch of clicking going on… but it’s all good stuff, I promise.  More about the event tomorrow… until then – have some candy corn – you deserve it!

Except for the very discouraging fact that our AZ Diamondbacks dropped the first two games of the National League Division Series and our AZ Cardinals lost their third (3rd!!!!) game in a row – we had a great weekend. Third game in a row!!! Ouch!

Tram, Matt (Valley Dish producer), Linda, Ginger, and Mario 12/10

On Saturday night, Dave and I dined at our friends, Mario and Ginger Vincitorio’s, restaurant in Tempe… called VinciTorio’s Restaurant.  The evening was extra special because we went with my dear friend, Tram Mai and her adorable husband Steve.

Not only is Tram the host of EVB Live on NBC channel 12, but she and Steve own Press Coffee Roasters, with locations at CityNorth and the Scottsdale Quarter… and another opening at Sky Harbor airport in spring 2012!

Mario and his gorgeous wife, Ginger, are the nicest people and most gracious hosts in the world! We had the absolute best time, closing down the place and laughing at all their side-splitting funny stories. Ginger, like me, is an Arizona native and Mario is from Puglia, Italy.

Photo by Chris Bassett, Phoenix Magazine

Their restaurant is beautiful and the food – the fresh pasta – out of this world. As Tram said to me, “I wish Mario and Ginger were closer… but then again, we’d be 500 pounds!”  Well tiny Tram would never see 500 pounds, but the rest of us, yeah, probably!

Yep... 500 pounds, easily! - photo from VinciTorio's website

To top off the weekend, I just learned that Tram is the cover-girl for the October issue of  Frontdoors Magazine – accompanied by a lovey article about lovely Tram. CLICK on THIS LINK to check out the cover and read the article (beginning on page 26)… then you’ll know why my friend is such an amazing, sweet, and authentic woman. Congratulations Tram, well deserved!

I was searching for something sweet and quick to put together today for not only this post but to bring along to a lunch date I have this afternoon. I’m meeting up with my kids’ 1st grade teacher and her daughter and two granddaughters. We’ve stayed in touch all these years later, thanks in part to Facebook and this blog. Mrs. Tunheim (Ginger, to me) was both Marissa and Connor’s favorite teacher. In fact, Connor had her three times; 1st grade, 3rd grade, and during high school he went back and was a teacher’s aide in her class for a semester… yup we all love Mrs. T! Her beautiful daughter, Kim, assisted me one summer of cooking classes back when she was a single college girl.  Kim is now married with two adorable little girls of her own, so I’m bringing along these sweets to share with them.

I also want to take this opportunity to extend exuberant, hearty, and heartfelt congratulations to my friend and colleague, Gwen Walters and her wonderful Pen & Fork, for winning Best Food Blog 2011 award given by Phoenix New Times!  Yay Gwen!!!  You can always check out Pen & Fork by just clicking on the link over there on the right side of this very page… it is AWESOME!

Finally, some of you probably LOVE to bake…. and you probably know that I really don’t… so you might be feeling hungry for more sweet recipes.  If so, the blog where I snagged this recipe from (BakerGirl) looks luscious and is probably right up your alley.  So, because I’m such a thoughtful person,  I’ve added a link to it over there on the blogroll too, so you can get your sweet-tooth on whenever you feel the urge. I had to alter the recipe to fit the items I had on hand – for instance; I mixed cinnamon and chocolate graham crackers since I did not have any regular in my pantry. I also only had regular sized marshmallows, so I just cut them into 6 pieces each to make them “mini”. Oh yeah, and I only had a couple “giant” Hershey bars in my freezer, so I used one of those instead of the 4 regular bars and just cut it into smaller pieces.  Let this be an example to you… you can always make it work if you have to!

S’mores Cracker Candy

recipe adapted from Bakergirl

16 sheets of graham crackers
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3 cups mini marshmallows
4 Hershey bars (1.55-ounce), broken into pieces
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends; spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers on the foil, cutting any as needed to cover the pan completely.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes together and is smooth and the mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers, spreading with an off-set spatula. Bake 6 to 7 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, chocolate bar pieces, and chocolate chips over the crackers.

Return pan to oven for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up.

Cool completely. Carefully lift out the foil and place on a cutting board. Cut into squares and enjoy!

 Makes 1 to 28 servings, depending on if you want to share or not!

If you have ever eaten at Chelsea’s Kitchen, here in Phoenix, then you have most likely enjoyed or watched someone else enjoy the out-of-this-world Brussels sprout salad.  The only thing I can’t get over is the price… $14 for a salad seems a tad pricey. Luckily this delicious salad is easy to make at home for just pennies on the restaurant dollar.

And this mustard vinaigrette… one of the best and most versatile vinaigrettes you will ever make. So although you don’t use even half of it for this salad, you are going to want to use it on salads from here on out!

Brussels Sprout Salad

Salad
1 pound Brussels sprouts
1/4 cup dried Trader Joe’s Triple Fruit Treat, or a mix of dried cranberries and blueberries
1/4 cup whole Spanish Marcona almonds
2 ounces Manchego cheese shavings (using a vegetable peeler)
2 slices maple bacon; cooked crisp, drained, and crumbled

Mustard Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
1  1/2 tablespoons Champagne or white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons whole grain mustard
1 large garlic clove, peeled and minced
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Slice the end off of each Brussels sprout and peel off the outer leaves. Once the leaves become difficult to remove, slice off a bit more of the bottom of each sprout until the leaves come off easily.  Discard the cores or save for another use. You will have about 6 loose-packed cups of leaves.

In a large pot of boiling water, blanch the Brussels sprouts leaves for about 1 minute, or until they are a vibrant green and just tender-crisp.

Use a slotted spoon or spider to lift out and immediately transfer to a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

Drain and place in a single layer on paper towels, layering paper towels, if needed.

Then roll up the paper towels and place in the refrigerator to chill and crisp the leaves for at least 45 minutes.

In the meantime make the vinaigrette: In a large bowl, whisk together the honey, vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, mustard, and garlic. Continue whisking while slowly drizzling in the olive oil until the oil is thoroughly incorporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill.  (Makes about 1 cup which is more than is needed for this recipe.  It will keep for 1 week, covered and refrigerated.)

In a large bowl, toss the Brussels sprouts leaves, dried fruit, almonds, and just enough vinaigrette to lightly moisten.

Mound the salad on a plate, and top with the Manchego cheese shavings and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately.

Serves 4

For the first time in months, the high temperature has been under 100 degrees. The high 90′s may not seem like much a of reprieve to most people, but for those of us in the Valley of Sun, it’s a huge difference. It is most likely more of  a break mentally, but it makes us happy and gives us hope that fall is finally on its way!

So, duck is not traditionally thought of as a warm weather dish, but it was surprising refreshing, even on a 96 degree day. It was inspired by a recipe I’d seen by Tyler Florence, one of my favorite celebrity chefs.

I saved the water used for steaming the duck, poured it into a large glass measuring cup and chilled it. Then I removed the top layer of fat and used the water underneath to boil jasmine rice as an accompaniment for the duck. Finally, I seasoned the rice with salt and a few dashes of Chinese five-spice. 

Although this recipe takes about 2 hours to cook, the actual hands-on time is less than 10 to 15 minutes.

I also cooked the excess skin that was removed and used a bit of the resulting duck fat (CLICK HERE to learn how- It is EASY) for oven-roasted sweet potato fries and served them with a side of Sriracha Mayo. YUM! The fries and the mayo are winners! I’ll post that easy-breezy recipe tomorrow.

Five-Spice Roasted Duck

1 whole (5 to 6 pound) duck
1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Six 1-inch thick slices fresh ginger
5 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
1 large orange, peel only; cut off in long strips
4  green onions, cut into thirds crosswise

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/3 cup agave nectar or honey
1/2 cup soy sauce

Trim off the excess fat from the duck, generally found at both ends.

Remove the giblets and sauce packet (if included) from the cavity. Rinse the duck inside and out and then pat dry thoroughly with paper towels.

In a small bowl, mix together the Chinese five-spice powder, sugar, and salt. Use your hands to rub all of the spice mixture over the outside and inside the duck.

Stuff the cavity of the duck with the ginger, garlic, orange peel, and lastly the green onions. The onions will help hold the smaller items inside.

Tie down the wings and tie together the legs with kitchen string.  Use a small paring knife to poke the duck breast a couple of times, piercing the sink. (This helps release more of the fat while steaming and helps shrink the skin some, producing a crispy skin while roasting later.)

Place a large dutch-oven on the stovetop over 1 burner or a roasting pan on the stovetop over 2 burners and fill with 2-inches of water, turn the heat to medium high. If your dutch-oven has a steaming rack, place it inside or set a V-rack inside the roasting pan and lay the duck on the rack, breast-side up. Cover the dutch-oven with a lid or tightly cover and seal the roasting pan with aluminum foil. Steam the duck on the stovetop for 45 minutes, checking the water level after the first 25 minutes. (Steaming the duck before roasting helps melt away some of the fat, shrinks the skin, and obviously reduces oven time.)

In a small saucepan combine the vinegar, honey, and soy sauce over low heat. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until thick.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Take the lid or foil off, remove the rack with the duck, and pour out the water and all the fat that has rendered out (Chill and save this water, remove the fat that rises to the top, and use water in other dishes like boiled or fried rice, if desired.)

Put the rack with the duck back inside the dutch-oven or roasting pan. Baste the duck with the vinegar mixture, until all the skin is completely coated on all sides. Place in oven, uncovered, and roast the duck for 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes with the remaining glaze. The glaze caramelizes during roasting, making the skin crisp, brown, and oh so delicious.

Test the legs after an hour, they will wiggle easily when it the duck is done. Carve as you would a roast chicken and serve.

Serves 4