Two years ago, Nantas Sodano quit his day job and joined the family restaurant business. He opened CM2 Pizzeria & Bake Shop right next door to Casa Mia, his family’s eatery in North Scottsdale.
To make a good pizza crust, Sodano says you must give the dough time for the gluten to develop, but don’t over handle. “Allow the dough to rise and rest,” he says.
If you’ve ever tried to make ice cream at home, you know it’s pretty easy – just combine the ingredients in an electric ice cream maker, churn and freeze. The same simple directions also apply to making frozen yogurt, says Kody Harris, chef/owner of Fresko Mediterranean Kitchen.
Keeping with Fresko’s Mediterranean theme, Harris whips up a batch of tahini frozen yogurt that her guests are wild about. “Even though tahini is a savory ingredient, once it’s added to the yogurt with a little bit of sugar, it’s got kind of a peanut butter flavor,” she says.
If you missed National Fried Chicken Day (July 6) and didn’t get a chance to feast on fabulous fowl, don’t fret: Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles is celebrating all month by offering a free side dish for the table with the purchase of any “Hood Classics” meal.
But if you’d rather try making your own, Larry White, the Valley's king of fried chicken and founder of Lo-Lo’s Chicken & Waffles, has rustled up a variation of his secret fried chicken recipe.
If you’re looking for a quick summer dish to serve at your next barbecue, chef Michael Goldsmith of Joe’s Midnight Run shares a flavorful chicken recipe that he also makes at the funky restaurant housed in an old liquor drive-thru on 7th Street. The secret to the dish is the Ras el Hanout, a Moroccan spice mixture of cinnamon, clove, coriander and a few other ingredients, which Goldsmith says you can pick up at Mediterranean markets across the Valley. (Or, here's a recipe on Epicurious.) “I like to try to get out of the box a little bit and incorporate flavors from around the world and keep them as traditional as possible,” Goldsmith says. The recipe also includes a couscous salad and a tangy yogurt dip and can be served as an appetizer or entrée.
As I took a bite of Chef Jeff Smedstad’s "pay de queso" (Mexican cheesecake), my mind took me back to my childhood’s kitchen. I pictured my mom baking pays for the holidays and a younger me eager to eat. This is the real deal I told Smedstad. The chef and owner of the reknowned Elote Cafe in Sedona says he was influenced by a trip to Veracruz where he learned about the craft of homemade Mexican cheesecake sort of a lighter, less sweet, less dense version of our beloved New York cheesecake. He put a spin on the traditional Mexican dessert with goat cheese from Fossil Creek Goat Farm in Strawberry, Arizona, near Payson. The result is absolutely exquisite.
What makes a summer beer summery? Light, refreshing, fruity and way too easy to drink, these 10 Arizona beers are summer-crush-worthy.
Travel & Leisure named Phoenix the best pizza town in America. Other publications put us in the Top 10. Fake news? Not even. Peek inside to find out why.
Drink in the lovely ambience at this art-inspired Scottsdale resort restaurant – it might be the highlight of your evening.
Despite its pedigree and positioning, this underperforming Camelback bistro just isn’t a contender.
So many crunchy, savory, spicy discs of deliciousness, so few hours in the day.
Outflank summer heat fatigue with crisp, cooling, reliably refreshing wedge salads.
Happy meals are a given at these burger- and beer-driven early bird haunts.
Confection goddess Tracy Dempsey elevates her popular caramels with fernet, an herbal amaro spirit.
Vegan, gluten-free fried cauliflower crêpes don’t lack for depth of flavor at Proof American Canteen.
With the Blister in the Sun, Okra bartenders synthesize the Mexican method of eating fresh fruit with citrus and chile heat.
