Switch!

If we were playing word association games and you shouted the word 'switch' at me, I'd respond with 'Will Smith.' If you don't remember his 2005 segue into almost real-ish hip hop I suggest you look it up. You'll be singing it all day. It was a solid hit Will, I give you that.

I am going somewhere with this.

Tonight we ate at a restaurant called Switch, and not only was it amazing, but I have been singing that stupid song ever since.

I'd never heard of Switch before tonight, but came across it in a magazine that I blatantly stole from my chiropractor's office. Sorry Dr. Cas: you make me wait, I steal magazines. It was the most recent edition of Phoenix Magazine and the cover story was the 21 best sandwiches in the Valley. While a sandwich is not my go-to, Jim lives and breathes for a good one and I knew this mag would come in handy. I conveniently slipped it into my purse on my way out. (Once a clepto, always a clepto, that's for another post).

I was so excited with my booty* that I called Jim on my drive home to tell him. In hindsight, I was acting with a sense of euphoria that would have made you think that in a million years neither of us could ever possess the $3.95 required to have our own copy of a real magazine. Once I got home we poured over the amazing photos of sandwiches and decided there was no way we weren't indulging tonight. We picked Switch based on location and the photo below. Hello, beautiful:

I was thrilled to learn upon arriving here that it's owned by the same folks who've brought us FEZ and Ticoz, two fantastic dining establishments. The atmosphere is what my brother calls hot and chic. Basically, a place with fancy high top tables, trendy light fixtures and weird unisex bathrooms, among other criteria. There was a pretty decent crowd for a Wednesday night so I looked past the hotandchicness and ordered with an open mind.

We started with the bruschetta appetizer and it was hands down the best bruschetta I've ever had. Yes, even better than Postino. Here's their description: "Grilled baguette with sliced tomato, roasted onion, EVOO and balsamic (3) and parmesan, white bean spread, sopresetta ham and roasted red peppers (3)."

For dinner I had to go with the sandwich featured in the mag: The Murano. "...It starts with an excellent, crusty, artisanal roll, piled high with just the right proportion of mild roasted chicken and salty prosciutto. A layer of gouda cheese brings a little tang to the party, and chopped Greek olives, ripe tomato and a slick of aioli finish it off for $9.95." Not sure why this baby shares it's name with a Nissan SUV but I'm okay with it.

Jim ordered the french dip** which is something you'd never, ever see me order, but it was really, really, really good. Both sandwiches came with a side Caesar salad which I really appreciated over fries.

Fyi to all you Phoenicians, this place is just off the Light Rail, and I hear people are wearing pants on the trains again so it's safe.

 
* I'm not sure if it's ever really appropriate to use the word booty when not referring to the body part. Still deciding.

** I was going to capitalize the word 'french' in french dip since I capitalized Greek olives, but after recently reading Sarah's Key I am not so fond of the French at the moment.

Thai Coconut Curry

We love Thai food in this house. Sometimes we're bold enough to experiment with making our own. Tonight was a success, and so simple:

We cooked some onions and mushrooms in a skillet and added frozen green beans. I suppose you could add any veggies you like.

Next we added a jar of Thai red curry sauce (we got it at Safeway) and a can of light coconut milk from Trader Joes. Season as you wish with chili powder and garlic.

Add some cooked chicken and serve over rice. Delicious.

How to ground a flying dog:

When we moved into our house last year the backyard was closed in with a chainlink fence. We wanted a more secure fence for our dogs (and ourselves) so we had a masonry company come put in a six foot tall block wall. Up until two weeks ago this seemed to do the trick in containing the pups.

Our surprise came two weekends ago when we heard Bruno barking like crazy at the neighbors dogs. This is not a strange occurance, but he sounded different (yes I can decipher dog barks like Cesar Milan, amazing, I know). We decided to investigate.

Turns out the little guy can now leap onto the top of the wall and hang there to get a better view into our neighbors yard. That's right - my dog is a peeping Tom. This photo isn't him, I found it online, but it's exactly what we saw:

After recovering from our initial shock we immediately scolded him and saw that from jumping up on the wall he was cutting himself up pretty badly. A little home first aid did the trick but I was terrified that he'd take his newfound jumping skills and get all the way over the wall. I don't imagine our neighbors dogs would be all that pleased with a strange collie plummeting into their turf.

I turned to Google for help - my trusted advisor on all strange situations, and we got some great ideas on ways to modify our fence that wouldn't leave it looking like a penitentiary. I opted for fence modification over any sort of electric collar or underground fencing in that Bruno would likely find a way to get around this system or hurt himself - he's rather accident prone. I was floored at hoe much info's available on modifying fences to keep dogs from jumping. I took comfort in the fact that my little hurdler wasn't alone in his plight to escape. This site was particularly helpful: http://www.dogsdeservebetter.com/clova.html.

It took a lot of trips to Home Depot and a day's worth of work but we found a way to contain our dog. We affixed wire (similar to chicken wire) as almost a rim to the side of the fence he was jumping onto. Cross your fingers - but it's been a week and he's still grounded. Now if only I could find a vine to grow along the wire and make it prettier...

Fuego Bistro

It's rare to discover a restaurant on a whim that exceeds all of your expectations, but tonight we succeeded.

I tend to spontaneously buy any Groupon that's close to the house, and jumped on one for Fuego Bistro last month. I paid $10 for a $30 credit. I remain obsessed with Groupon, but that's really for another post.

I'm glad we looked this place up before we headed out because we never would have found it. That's part of the appeal for me - it had immediate hidden gem potential, provided that the food, service and ambiance were all high quality. We eventually located it next to a ballet studio and walked in through the beautiful courtyard. I have a thing for eating outside, and it was beautifully lit, although even with space heaters I chickend out at the idea of eating outside in January.

There are only about eight tables inside alongside an impressive bar. Out hostess and server were both outgoing and pleasant. Jim was excited with the extensive drink menu, and chose one of their specialty mojitos. The have over 90 kinds of rum which means very little to me, but was fascinating for my other half.

We shared the special appetizer of the evening: three mini tostadas topped with organic black beans, pickled cabbage homemade salsa and a chipotle cream sauce. Fabulous.

For my entree I ordered a chicken dish that featured a chicken breast stuffed with goat cheese, apricots, shrimp, spinach and crimini mushrooms. The sides I picked were twice baked chipotle mashed potatoes - which were amazing, and green beans - also amazing. I'm starting to sound like the YouTube parody of wedding vows: "Amanda, you always say things are amazing because you have no other words in your vocabulary..."

Jim ordered the slow roasted pork and the mashed potatoes but also got their green chile creamed corn, it was one of the best things I've ever tasted. If you've ever wondered what you'd take with you if banished to a desert island, I suggest you take a heaping serving of this corn.

I can't say enough good things about this place, it's likely to become one of our go-to places, especially considering we can bike to it.

Chicken n' Dumplings

This is embarrassing, but until this weekend I had no idea what a dumpling was. I associated it with it's Asian cousin the pot sticker - ok gyoza, but really had no clue. I had a predetermined dislike for dumplings based on their named. Too similar to Humpty Dumpty or something.

But...ever since we started dating Jim's been asking me to learn how to make chicken and dumplings. I'd been successfully procrastinating by not asking his grandma for the recipe, but out of sheer boredom - and love - took the plunge this weekend while I was quarantined with a cold.

The recipe I used came from a google search. I bypassed Rachael Ray and Paula Dean to find a somewhat more generic version (without EVOO - heavens!) from Taste of Home called Grandma's Chicken and Dumpling Soup. You had me at hello.

The recipe was a tad too complicated for my sick self, in that I was unable to leave the house, so I improvised this into my own version, here goes:

Take a few boneless skinless chicken breasts; boil in 2 qts of water w/  chicken buillon cubes for an hour until chicken is softened.

Skin any foam/fat; Remove and chop chicken then add chopped carrots, celery, onions (as much as you like), a can of cream of chicken soup and a can of cream of mushroom soup, salt and pepper and a bay leaf.

Cook for another hour at a gentle boil.

Then for the Dumplings -

Combine two cups of flour, a tsp of salt and 2 tsp of baking powder. In a separate bowl combine 2 tsp melted butter, 3/4 cup of milk and one beaten egg. Add wet to dry and blend into a stiff mixture. Add salt and pepper. Some of my dumpling research said it should be the consistency of mashed potatoes - but mine was very sticky. I wanted to keep it simple for my first go at dumpling (look at me using it as a verb) but I imagine it'd be delicious to add grated Parmesan cheese or seasoned breadcrumbs to the dough.

Then all you do is drop spoonfuls of the dough into the boiling soup. It made a lot more than I anticipated! Cover the pot and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Tada! All done.

The dumplings make the soup a great creamy consistency - must be all the flour.

I was too sick to remember to take a picture; here's the one from the recipe site...

Can I note that this experience revealed to me that a dumpling is nothing more than a glorified matzo ball?! Who knew. This was as shocking as learning on a middle school field trip that McDonald's hash browns are actually big latkes.

In the three years I've been dating and cooking for Jim I don't know that I've ever gotten this exuberant of a reaction to anything I've created. Unfortunately, I'm so congested that I can't tell what it tastes like, so you'll have to try for yourself.