Dining Out and Phoenix Farmer's Market

This weekend has been a busy one.  Hubby and I started this weekend with a date night, how romantic.  We went to Morton's at the Esplanade.  Dinner was good, right, everything you'd expect from a great steak house.  I had the prime rib and he had a rib-eye.  The souffle was awesome, but the belle of the ball was a 2003  Franciscan Cabernet.  It's cherry undertones were very pronounced and it was very smooth.

Saturday, we were invited to a birthday party.  The guest of honor hails from the Pacific Northwest and spent a good amount of time in Alaska.  That said, he's a fish snob.  I guess when you grow up with the good stuff, it's hard to turn back.  So, in a effort to please, we got him a gift certificate to the Alaska Salmon Company.  It's a family owned fish company right off of 32nd Street and Camelback.  They get new shipments in almost daily and most fish is on display only 8 hours after being caught.  I think it's amazing.  I think it's great.   I'll report back in once, I get the final verdict from the expert.

For dinner, we celebrated at Maggiano's Little Italy.  I'd only been there for drinks and appetizers, and had no clue on the amount of food that would soon be coming to our table!  We ordered family style and had so much good stuff.  We had fried cheese, veal and mushroom ravioli, pastas, beef medallions and roasted chicken.  Featured wine was a 2005 Robert Modavi Pinot, it was only $30 and fantastic.  Dessert almost put me over the edge!  There were so many great choices; Cheesecake, Boston Cream Pie, Banana Pound cake, Apple tarts.   I had been quiet the whole dinner, allowed everyone else to choose our entrees.  Now, we were at the part of the meal where I had an OPINION.  We, ahem, I choose the cheesecake and the apple tart.  They did not disappoint.

Now it's Sunday, and I finally get a minute to be the captain of my own ship.  I finally have a block of time, where I can get into the kitchen.  Yesterday morning, I finally made it to the Roadrunner Park Farmer's Market. 

Roadrunner Park Farmer's Market

It's a far cry from the Dallas Farmer's Market, that for a while Hubby and I could walk to, but it looked like a nice group of growers and home cooks.  There were a few fresh produce stands with bushels of okra, egg plant and cabbage.  There were also stands where local cooks were marketing their secret sauces and seasonings.  I found Molly's Tamale's, where they had fresh, beef, pork, bean, and chicken tamales.  I snatched up a few, and had the beginning of some great inspiration.  I found another stand selling, Nana's Sassy Salsa.  We had met Nana at a party back last fall, and it was nice seeing her again.  I snatched up a jar of her Pineapple Margarita Salsa.  So, between loads of laundry and other domestic chores, I hope to put together a tasty dinner. 

Have a good week, y'all!