Holiday How To: What Should I Bring to the Party?

If there is one thing this time of year is never short on, it is get-togethers and parties.  From the holiday luncheon at work to your neighbor’s holiday open house to New Year’s at your sisters, the opportunities to spend time with friends and family this time of year abound.  And where there are get-togethers, there is food which has us all asking, “What should I bring?.” 

To help you get a handle on your holiday planning, here are some great holiday recipes that will help you stretch your food dollar while filling up the plates at all of your holiday functions.

Appetizers

T-A-B-L-E Cosmos from Sharman Hickman, Hickman Family Eggs. 

Made with tomatoes, avocados, hard boiled eggs, and bacon, this tasty appetizer is both filling and flavorful.  Serve it in a cosmo glass for a unique twist.

 Green Chili Wontons from Dawn E. Urton, Case Grande Valley Cotton Wives.

Even though this recipe is quick and easy, it is full of flavor and offers the perfect finger food for any holiday event.  This recipe is great for times when you have to pull something together at the last minute.

Baked Goat’s Cheese Appetizer with Shrimp & Basil from Black Mesa Ranch in Snowflake, AZ.

Distinctive and delicious, this is a great option for when you need fancier fare.  The buttery phyllo dough mixed with the savory shrimp and creamy cheese is sure to have everyone asking for the recipe.

Side Dishes

Julie’s Oven Roasted Red Potatoes & Asparagus from Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau Marketing, PR and Ag Education Director.

A great option to liven up the table at any potluck, this recipe updates roasted potatoes by adding the flavor and color of asparagus.  Flavored with rosemary and thyme, this recipe offers a fresh take on an old favorite.

Mexican Cole Slaw from Gladys Brooks, Phoenix Cotton Wives.

Serve up a taste of the Southwest with this side dish that is sure to be a people pleaser.  It won’t add to your holiday stress since it needs to be made ahead of time so that the flavors have time to develop.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole from Debbie O’Donnell.

Falling right in between baked potatoes and mashed potatoes flavor-wise, this side dish is sure to be a crown favorite.  This recipe is perfect for pot lucks of any kind because potatoes pair well with any protein. 

Desserts

Grandma Nell Hickman’s Christmas Pie from Hickman Farms.

Break out of the traditional mold and bring this delicious banana-based pie.  This recipe offers something a little different than the more savory selections regularly found on holiday dessert tables.

Cheri’s Classic Prickly Pear Cheesecake from Cheri Romanoski of Cheri’s Desert Harvest.

Featuring local flavors, this cheesecake is perfect for any holiday party.  The uniqueness of the prickly pear is a great addition to the creamy texture of traditional cheesecake.

Harvest Pumpkin Bars with Icing from Paula Jensen, AZFB Staff.

Full of fall flavors, these bars are great for events that call for a more finger-food friendly dessert option.  Covered in cream cheese icing, this recipe is the perfect pairing of sweet and savory.

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Join us at Fossil Creek Creamery in Strawberry, Arizona on September 4, 2011 from 5:00 – 8:00 PM for a dinner benefiting Pine Strawberry Fuel Reduction Committee. The organization aids area homeowners in protecting their forested properties from wildfires by creating defensible space around their homes.

Fossil Creek Creamery will host the top chefs from around the state for a farm dinner, an inspiration of Chef Akos Szabo, from Top of the Rock Restaurant. They will be combining their talents to offer sweet and savory delights for country and city folks alike.

Ticket Price: $75 per person and can be reserved by calling 928-476-5178 or email:  info@ranchatfossilcreek.com. Seating is limited to 80 people and includes:

• Chef Szabo’s cranberry barbeque glazed pork belly, mac & Fossil Creek Cheese and herb salad.
• Chef Gerardo, owner of Firewood Café in Payson will prepare special appetizers, using fresh produce from local growers of the Vita Mart network in Payson.
• Tracy Dempsey, owner of Tracy Dempsey Originals, will prepare Fossil Creekgoat cheese desserts.
• Tammie Coe, owner of Tammie Coe Cakes, will top off the list with a mouth-watering chocolate truffle cake.
• Guests will enjoy the sounds of Chuck and Barb Casey and the Old Thyme Fiddlers.

Enjoy the delightful tastes of Arizona’s best chefs, producers and foodies while supporting an important cause.

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Located just a few miles off Interstate 10 in Willcox, Brown’s Orchard has been

the home of heirloom apple and pear trees for almost 50 years.   Mr. Brown, who built the orchard  in 1963, tended the trees for more than 35 years.   In 1998, he sold the farm to June Windstein, who looked past the overgrown trees and saw only the potential to restore vitality to this wonderful orchard.

Brown’s Orchard is known as much for its pears as it is for its apples. The farm produces four different kinds of pears, Bartlett, Starking Delicious, which ripen in August, and D’Anjou, and Bosc, which will be ready for picking in September.  Apple season at the Orchard also begins in early August with Gala, Early Blaze, and Yellow Transparent varieties ripening on the trees.  Come September, the other nine types of apples grown at the Orchard will be available for picking.  If you are looking for fresh heirloom fruit that is grown without chemicals, herbicides, or fungicides, head over to Wilcox with your bucket or bag.

This is a special year for the Orchard, according to June, as it is the first time they have had fruit in 4 years.  One of the biggest challenges an orchard faces is a late frost which kills the newly budding fruit and leaves the trees barren for the whole season.  This year, June used some creative solutions and time-tested techniques to protect the pears and apples when the final frost endangered them.  Before winter, the trees were pruned and the dead branches were stacked here and there throughout the orchard.  In the spring, when the final round of frost threatened the crop, they used the stacks of branches to light controlled fires throughout the orchard, warming the trees enough to protect the new forming fruit.

Despite the hard work and frequent disappointments of a fruitless season, June loves being a farmer and is particularly fond of the impact the orchard can have on her visitors.  She loves interacting with people who haven’t been apple-picking since their childhood and who are transported back to cherished memories of time spent with grandparents and family.  There is something special, from June’s perspective, in seeing someone pick fruit from a tree for the first time, in watching as they get to experience the harvest of their own food.

In addition to U-pick pears and apples, June offers all cuts of grass-fed lamb, sweet fresh-pressed apple cider, and an experience that is sure to leave you with a lasting memory.  There are picnic tables in the orchard which provide the picture perfect setting for a picnic lunch.  Brown’s Orchard is open for U-pick from 8 to 5, Thursday thru Sunday and there is no individual charge for entrance.  A minimum purchase of a 2 gallon bucket of apples or pears is required for a fee of $12.50.  June is offering a special two-for-one deal during the 2011 harvest.  Buy one 5 gallon bucket of apples or pears for $25.00 and get a second 5 gallon for free.  Bring the family out for a fun day of picnicking and fruit picking and give your children or grandchildren their own cherished memory of time spent skipping through the orchard and eating apples right off the tree.

Here’s a great recipe from June:

Apple Cider Syrup

Take 1 gallon of apple cider and put it in a large thick bottom pot, boil on high heat, making sure to stir the apple cider often so it doesn’t burn.  Boil on high till the apple cider becomes thick like honey.  Use on pancakes, vanilla ice cream or on anything you would use syrup on.  It is sweet from the natural sugar in the apples  so no need to add any sugar.

Brown’s Orchard is located at 5774 N. Atwood Drive in Wilcox, AZ 85643.  You can reach the orchard by phone at (520)384-3671, email appleadventure@yahoo.com or on the internet at  http://www.youpickapples.com/index.htm.

Related Articles:

• Apple-Pear Salad
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Here in Arizona the sun shines and the fruit grows all year long. We are blessed with bountiful harvests that span longer growing seasons than most other states. The long growing season is especially true for peaches.  Our local peach growers, like Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek, boast some of the first peaches in the nation with varieties available as early as April.  August, which is National Peach Month, farms like Apple Annie’s in Wilcox host their Peach Mania event as they wrap up their peach growing season.  Where most peach seasons last only 6-8 weeks, Arizona has fresh local peaches from spring to fall.

Celebrate National Peach Month by finding ways to incorporate the third most popular fruit in the country in new and different ways over the course of the month.  While peaches make wonderful desserts, there are so many other ways this flavorful fruit can bring variety and color to your meals.  To help you out, here are some home-grown Arizona ideas you can use to fill your plate with perfect locally grown peaches.

Brighten-up Breakfast

Whether cooked in a muffin or served atop waffles, peaches make a great addition to almost every breakfast.  Dice them and add them to your morning cereal.  Toss a handful of sliced peaches in your oatmeal or add them to a plate of eggs and toast.  Make peach pancakes or try something different and make the Oatmeal Peach Muffins by Arizona’s Chef Amee featured on the azfamily.com website.

Soup & Salad

Chef Stan Reinhold, named Arizona Chef of the Year in 2008 by the American Culinary Foundation’s Chef Association of Arizona, was featured on inthesoup.com for his Cold Peach Soup recipe.  This delicious dish is perfectly suited for the August heat and offers you a new and interesting way to bring peaches into your meal.  This soup is great for a weekend lunch or to start of a Sunday dinner.

Try-out the recipe for Green Bean & Balsamic-Roasted Peach Salad with Hazelnuts featured on the Green Living magazine website for a great salad with peaches as its star.  This scrumptious salad uses peaches roasted with balsamic vinegar for a twist on the traditional flavor of the sweet fruit.  Paired with fresh green beans, which are also in season right now, this salad is perfect for lunch at the office, a Saturday dinner on the deck, or as your potluck contribution to the neighborhood picnic.

Delectable Dinner

Show off your culinary prowess and impress your dinner guests with Chef Eddie Matney’s recipe for Moroccan Halibut with Peach and Jicama Fresca available from the Mesa Food Examiner website.  Served on a bed of lightly seasoned greens, the Moroccan spices used to flavor the halibut combine with the peaches and jicama to create a unique, flavor-filled dish that is as pretty to look at as it is to eat.

Delicious Desserts

Go traditional and bake up a batch of peach-filled goodness with Chef Bear’s Peach Cobbler recipe available from Kim and Don’s Culinary Confessions radio show website.  This is the recipe made famous by Regis Philbin when he dubbed it the best peach cobbler in the world after eating it at Robert’s Creekside Restaurant in Sedona.

For a fabulous treat that everyone will love, try the Peach Paradise recipe from Carrie Schnepf of Schnepf Farms in Queen Creek brought to you right here on Fill Your Plate.  A twist on a traditional pie, this dish has a tasty vanilla wafer crust that is filled with fresh peaches and topped with a heaping helping of whip cream.  Peach Paradise is the perfect way to finish off a beautiful August day in Arizona.

Looking for more Arizona produce? Check the Arizona Produce In Season section of Fill Your Plate and the Recipe section for more healthy ideas.

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Yum! Ice cream. So, do you have a favorite flavor? How often do you eat your favorite ice cream?

This is the month to really celebrate one of America‘s favorite desserts. Since July is ice cream month (proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1984) it’s reason to celebrate your favorite.

Did you know, it takes approximately 1.4 gallons of fresh, Arizona milk to make one gallon of ice cream! And the first ice cream parlor opened in New York in 1776 (probably to counter the challenges of starting a revolution).

American Farm Bureau Federation recently completed a Foodiecast highlighting this special month. Listen to July ‘National Ice Cream Month’ here.

Remember to go to Fill Your Plate, to search for an ice cream maker.

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By Cyndie Sirekis, American Farm Bureau Federation

Food holidays, whether feting a day, week or month, have been around for quite some time. And it’s true that some consumers, as well as farmers and ranchers, may be suffering from a surfeit of food holidays. But there there are some options to stave off food holiday fatigue:

Pick a food holiday and plan a special meal or party theme around it. Options in July include bison, fried chicken, barbecued spareribs, caviar and a bevy of desserts (gingersnap or sugar cookies, apple turnovers, pecan pie).

Celebrate all the permutations of a particular food group highlighted during a specific month. Launched in 1937, June Dairy Month may well be the doyenne of food holidays, but July is no slouch when it comes to recognizing dairy delights. In addition to National Ice Cream Month, July also boasts Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day, Strawberry Sundae Day and National Peach Ice Cream Day.

Buy a local food product, go on a farm tour or meet a farmer in your area. If you’re not sure where to start, all state Farm Bureaus maintain websites, many featuring information on farm tours and what foods are in season (more info, http://bit.ly/raMHNw). You can look for a farmers’ market in your state at http://apps.ams.usda.gov/FarmersMarkets/.

Join online conversations with farmers and ranchers about food. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube allow consumers to connect with all types of farmers and ask questions about how food is produced. If you’re on Facebook, check out the Real Farmwives of America and Friends. Here you can catch a glimpse inside the world of real family farms from the unique perspective of a dozen or so talented women bloggers.

“Social media is a valuable tool that allows us to communicate with others across the country about our farming operations while we are working on daily tasks,” says Mike Haley, a fifth-generation grain and cattle farmer in northern Ohio and founding member of the Ag Chat Foundation. Connect with @FarmerHaley on Twitter or find Haley Farms on Facebook.

Play up a historic day not typically associated with food. For example, serve charcuterie on National Bastille Day (July 14). This French national holiday commemorates the storming of the Bastille fortress-prison in 1789. The French word charcuterie is based on chair cuit, meaning cooked meat. It refers to preserved meat products sold by a charcutier, such as hams, sausages and pâtés. Originally limited to pork products, charcuterie platters today often include veal, game, vegetables and fish.

Learn more about food holidays and find one that tickles your taste buds online at http://www.thenibble.com/fun/more/facts/food-holidays.asp.

Cyndie Sirekis is director of news services with the American Farm Bureau Federation.

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If you are looking to stretch your food dollar while offering your family healthy options for desert and snacks, you can get a big bang for your buck with blueberries.  Because blueberries are not one of the traditional fruits associated with Arizona, you might overlook them in the grocery store or at the farmer’s market but recent research into this kid-friendly fruit may encourage you to put a few pints in your cart.

Blueberries have long been touted as a healthy food option because of the high dose of antioxidants they offer and in recent years USDA scientists have been conducting studies into the quantifiable health benefits a diet containing blueberries might offer.  Three studies published last year used blueberry supplements to track the effectiveness of the fruit as a dietary supplement in counteracting three specific health problems.  The findings are promising and will lead to further research into the healing power of blueberries.

The first study was lead by Jin-Ran Chen, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas in the Medical Sciences, and looked at the effect of a diet supplemented with blueberry products on bone growth and osteoporosis.  The study, which was published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, tracked differences in the bone growth of rats that ate a diet consisting of 10% blueberry powder compared to a control group who ate a normal diet.  The rats who received the blueberry supplement not only showed more bone mass at the end of the observation period, but also had an increased osteoblast count, meaning their bodies were making more bone forming cells than the bodies of the other rats.  The initial theory based on these results is that the polyphenols, the chemicals that make blueberries bluish purple, are helping the rats to build bigger, stronger bones.  Over the long term, these findings may help in the development of programs to prevent osteoporosis and new treatment options for those affected by the disease.

The second study was published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry and looked at the correlation between blueberry supplements and cholesterol.  USDA chemist Wallace Yokoyama used hamsters to prove that a diet supplemented with blueberry products has a positive effect on cholesterol.  As with the other study, one group of hamsters received blueberry products as part of their diet and another group did not.  The researchers found that the hamsters whose diets included blueberries had a better total plasma cholesterol score, averaging 22-27% less than the control group.  Additionally, the hamsters that were eating the blueberries had almost half as much VLDL, a type of bad cholesterol, in their blood at the end of the study than their control group peers.

The third study, which was lead by Xianli Wu from the University of Arkansas Medical Center and was published in the Journal of Nutrition, used a similar process to look at the effect of blueberries on atherosclerosis in mice.  Wu found that the size of atherosclerotic lesions in the aortas of the test mice were 39-58% smaller than those of the control group after 20 weeks of eating a diet supplemented with blueberries.  This is the first study to show a direct link between blueberries and improvement in existing cardiovascular conditions and may lead to the development of new treatments for this disease, which is the leading cause of both heart attacks and strokes.

All three studies pave the way for additional research to be completed that will try to replicate these effects in humans and may lead to new preventative care programs and additional options for treatment of these devastating illnesses.

Convinced to give blueberries a try? Grab a pint next time you are out shopping and try out this great recipe from FillYourPlate.org for  Baked French Toast recipe. Blueberries also make a great addition to a mixed berry Trifle for desert, just layer sponge cake, whip cream, and blueberries, strawberries and raspberries for a desert everyone will love.  They also make a great snack for kids in the summer heat.

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Parents around the country are concerned about the continued rise in the rate of childhood obesity and worry about what they need to do to help their children make healthy choices in a world that doesn’t often make that easy to do.  In recent months, local and city governments in California and other states have decided that relying on parents to help their children learn to make the right choices isn’t enough and have passed ordinances that ban fast food promotions targeted at children.  In San Francisco, an ordinance makes it illegal to include any incentive, like the popular toys found in McDonald’s Happy Meals, in any meal marketed for children that exceeds a specific amount of fat and calories.

In an effort to head-off these types of ordinances, the Arizona legislature passed HB 240 which will go into effect July 20, 2011.  This law prohibits local governments within the state from imposing regulations that limit the right of local businesses to offer incentives that appeal to children including toys, crayons, placemats, coupons, and games.  The aim of the law is to protect free enterprise and to limit government intrusion into the lives of Arizona residents. On the childhood obesity front, the Arizona lawmakers prefer to leave the responsibility for raising healthy children in the hands of their parents is a good idea.

So what can you, as a parent do, to help your children learn healthy habits and make healthy food choices?  Get them involved and give them opportunities to make healthy choices.  Here are 5 tips to help you to help your children develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

1. Get Them Involved

One of the best ways to help your children develop healthy attitudes about food is to involve them in more ways than just asking if they want something special at the store or which fast food restaurant they want dinner from.  Give them the opportunity to plan a dinner each week.  Let them find the recipe, make the shopping list, and help with the shopping and preparation.  Getting your children involved in menu planning gives them a foundational understanding of what constitutes a healthy, well-balanced meal and how to go from a menu to a meal.

2.         Get Them Moving

In the 21^st Century, we live more sedentary lives. Have your children spend more time outside. Limit their time on the computer playing games. In fact, if your child’s interest are more around video games and high-tech stuff, make sure he has some kind of extra-curricular activity that is sports or outdoor related. The key is to get their heart rate up and to burn calories.

3.         Get Them Planting

Start a backyard garden with your children. Or, a simple tray of herbs can inspired their understanding of food. Don’t garden? All of our county extension services have master gardener programs. Even if it’s just a few vegetable plants, when a child grows their own, they want to try them.

4. Get Them Connected

One of the unhealthiest eating habits Americans struggle with is eating for the wrong reasons including emotions, comfort, stress, and even boredom.  To help your children develop a healthy attitude about food, get them connected to why we eat and why the food we eat matters.  Food is our fuel and remembering that is one of the keys to developing a healthy lifestyle.

5. Get Them to the Source

Build your child’s food intelligence by taking a family trip to a local farm to see how food is grown, where milk and eggs come from, and how farmers help provide the key ingredients for a healthy meal.  Visit a farm stand or the local farmer’s market to learn how to pick a good watermelon and how many different kinds of leafy greens you can use to make a salad.  Spend an afternoon at a local farm where they let you pick your own apples or berries so your children can connect to the source of their food.

6. Give them Choices

Today’s families are always on the go and one of the reasons that salty, sugary snacks and drive-thru kid’s meals have become such a staple of many children’s diets is that they are fast and easy.  Empower your children, and yourselves to make healthy choices by making them just as fast and easy.  Put together snack packs of carrots and celery or a mix of berries in snack size plastic bags and then keep them where your children can reach them in the fridge.  Fill your pantry with healthier alternatives to traditional after school snacks that are split into individual serving sizes.  Prepare a few dinners ahead of time and freeze them to ensure you always have a quick, home cooked meal on hand even when you are short on time.  Make it easy to make healthy choices.

7. Give them a Good Example

The most important thing parents can do to help their children build healthy eating habits, is to be a good role model.  Instead of reaching for the bag of chips, crunch some carrots or a fresh apple.  Skip the soda and have a cold glass of milk.  If you want your children to have a healthy attitude about food and make healthy choices, you need to show them how and lead by example.

Whether there are toys in Happy Meals or not, the bottom line is that parents are in control of the food their children eat and the habits they develop.  Give them the best start at a long healthy life by getting them involved and giving them the knowledge and experience they need to make healthy choices.

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If you are like us, your stress level is at an all time high and you are beginning to feel the effects of prolonged stress in your body.  The constant release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline weakens your immune system and leads to dangerous health problems like high blood pressure and heart disease.  Living a lifestyle that counteracts effects of stress should be part of your overall plan for wellness and self care.  Diet is a powerful lifestyle tool that can alleviate stress and mitigate the damage it does to your body.

Certain foods are natural mood enhancers that help you remain calm in stressful situations.  Other foods actively repair the damage stress does at a cellular level, giving your body a powerful ally to fight the effects of stress.  There are lots of different foods that will help you with stress management; these foods generally fall into the following five categories:

1.       High in vitamins that fight the effects of stress and strengthen the immune system like blueberries, almonds, broccoli, beef and oranges

2.       High in potassium and/or magnesium like spinach, avocados and apricots

3.       High in folate/folic acid like leafy greens, broccoli, artichokes and arugula

4.       High is Omega 3s like walnuts, fish and spinach

5.       High in fiber like whole grains, artichokes, oats and broccoli

By combining these types of foods you can use your diet to help manage the level of stress in your life.  Many foods in these categories are available throughout the year in Arizona.  The wide variety of fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy and herbs available from local farms, at the farmer’s market and in local grocery store give you a rich resource for creating a delicious, stress busting diet.

Let’s see how you can eat across these categories throughout the day to maximize the stress management benefits.  Below is a sample menu offering ideas on how to incorporate the different types of foods at every meal.  Full recipes can be found at Fill Your Plate via the links provided.

Breakfast

Start the day off right with a delicious bowl of oatmeal which is full of fiber and helps to boost the level of serotonin, a mood enhancing chemical, in your brain.  Add a handful of blueberries and you get a rich source of vitamin C, additional dietary fiber and stress-busting antioxidants.

For a hearty brunch option, serve up a Zesty Papa Protein Scramble that incorporates spinach and avocados which are filled with magnesium and potassium and fiber-rich artichokes into an appetite appeasing, stress fighting meal for the whole family.

Lunch

Looking for a light lunch?  Try The Farmer’s Favorite Salad which is filled with stress-busting magnesium-rich spinach, walnuts that offer the benefits of Omega 3s and leafy greens packed with folate and topped off with a delicious dressing.

If you are in need of a hearty mid-day meal to fuel your afternoon, Tostados made with lean steak offer the stress reducing benefits of beef and the heartiness of beans, corn, and cheese.  Whip up some fresh guacamole to add the stress busting benefits of avocados to your tasty Tostado.

Dinner

Beginning with a fresh Avocado & Tomato Salad, a dinner filled with stress reducing foods is easy to pull together and fabulous for gathering the family around the table.  Choose Rosemary-Sage Steak with fresh steamed broccoli for your main course and keep everyone at the table with Apple Crisp with almonds for dessert.

The variety of stress busting foods available from Arizona’s farms make it easy to eat a diet designed to fight the stress in your life and keep you healthy and hearty for years to come.

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By Wendy Kenney, AZFB

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, and Brent Murphree’s post about his favorite Mexican Restaurants in the Southwest, I thought I would add mine.  Now if a restaurant is not on a list doesn’t mean I don’t like it, it just means that I haven’t been there or don’t know about it.    As a side note, I live in the East Valley.

1.            Guedo’s Cantina & Grille. My husband and I have been going here for years.  And although this place looks a little worn for wear, the food is absolutely amazing.  We always get a two mixed steak and pork tacos with cheese, and a side of rice.  It’s a family-owned business and as far as tacos go, it’s our favorite.

2.            Tia Rosa’s, Gilbert, Arizona.  Tia Rosa’s has been in the East Valley for many years and is family owned as well.  Their meats are slow cooked and melt in your mouth.  But what I go there for is their fish tacos; fresh grilled, buttery sweet, white fish on corn tortillas, with plenty of cheese and a tasty homemade salsa.  I also always have a shrimp taco.  I’m always amazed at the plump little white shrimp, nestled in two corn tortillas, covered with home-made pineapple salsa and mounds of freshly grated cabbage, and cheese.

3.            Matta’s was voted best Mexican Grill and Cantina in the East Valley for 2011 and it’s certainly no mystery why.  When we’re looking for traditional style Mexican food with plenty of cheese and gravy, we go here.  Their enchiladas can’t be beat!

4.            Blue Adobe Grill, with food cooked in the New Mexican style, this restaurant is a chili-lover’s dream.    The food is different from any of the traditional fare you’re used to.  If you’re a foodie, this restaurant is a must.

These restaurants are my favorite’s, what are yours?

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You are invited to help create the Piñon Grill Spring/Summer Dinner Menu. On April 28, 2011 at 6pm guests will be dazzled with large sample portions of 18 different items. There will be three items in the six categories of soup, salad, beef entrée, pork entrée, seafood entrée and desserts. For just $39 guests will taste and vote for their favorite dish in each category. Items receiving the most votes will be included on the new menu.

For an additional $16 those over 21 years old will be provided a wine pairing with each course.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Foothills Food Bank & Resource Center that serves the needy in the Valley of the Sun.

Reservations are required. Call 480-367-2422 and make your reservation today! Piñon Grill is located at Millennium Resort, 7401 N. Scottsdale Rd., Scottsdale 85253.

You’ve heard that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away and while that may or may not be true, apples are definitely an American favorite.  So much so that we celebrate the apple throughout the year. .”  In Arizona we have access to delicious apples all year round.

Here are some little known apple holidays.  December 1^st is designated as National Pie Day and Eat a Red Apple Day, December 2nd is National Fritter (we are thinking Apple Fritter) Day, and December 3rd is National Apple Pie Day.

Apples are in season in Arizona from July to September but farmers are able to keep us supplied with these delicious treats long after the season has ended.   The holidays bring our favorite apple cider, apple pie, chocolated covered apples, and many other apple desserts.   We also like to decorate our holiday trees and tables in luscious Red Delicious apples.

Here are some fun apple facts.  Did you know that?

• The average person eats 65 apples a year?
• The largest apple ever picked weighed more than three pounds
• Apples float because 25% of their volume is air
• One medium apple contains only 80 calories
• China produces more apples than any other country
• There are more than 7,500 varieties of apples in the world with about 2,500 of those varieties being grown in the U.S.
• Red Delicious apples are the most popular with Golden Delicious coming in a close second
• The only apple native to North America is the crab apple
• More than half of the apple crop in the United States is turned into applesauce and apple juice
• The more apples a person eats, the lower his or her risk of developing lung cancer
• Apple juice was one of the earliest prescribed antidepressants
• Johnny Appleseed was actually John Chapman, an American pioneer born in 1774 who planted apple seeds in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio
• Apple cider vinegar While long used as a folk remedy, became well known in the U.S. in the late 1950s, when it was promoted in the best-selling book Folk Medicine: A Vermont Doctor’s Guide to Good Health by D. C. Jarvis.
• Fresh apple cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment.  It is typically sold during the fall and during holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.
• Hard apple cider was the most common fruit beverage in the U.S. up to the mid 19th century. Without refrigeration, fresh juice was very perishable, so apple juice was allowed to ferment to a low alcohol content, usually around 5 percent alcohol. Next to water, this cider was the cheapest and most widely available beverage year-round.

Here’s a delicious Apple-Raspberry pie recipe you could cook up to celebrate National Apple Pie Day in style.   Go to FillYourPlate to discover Arizona Apple Farmers and to look up more delicious apple recipes.

Apple-Raspberry Pie

• Pastry for 2-crust pie
• 4 lg. apples (Gala, Golden Delicious or Granny smith)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Roll out half of the pastry and fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Spread raspberry jam over bottom of the pie crust. Thaw and drain raspberries. Pour juice into a small saucepan, stir in cornstarch and  a ¼ cup sugar. Bring mixture to a boil over low heat; stir in the drained raspberries; cool. Combine flour and 1/3 cup sugar.

Peel, core and slice apples into thin slices. Toss apples in flour/sugar mixture; pour into pie crust. Spoon raspberry mixture over apples. Roll out remaining pastry and place over the filling; trim and crimp edges. Cut slits in top crust for venting. Beat egg white and water with a fork until frothy; brush over top crust. Sprinkle sugar evenly over top of pie.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30-40 minutes until crust is golden and juices bubble. Let pie set at least 1 hour before serving.

Provided by: Apple Annie’s Orchard

The Thanksgiving dinner is a great time for friends and family to gather to celebrate the year while feasting on a Thanksgiving meal, lovingly prepared. Chances are, by now, you’ve already begun pulling together the menu and started shopping for the ingredients. You know that your Arizona farmers and farmers’ markets have almost everything you need to feed the family and all the guests who will be arriving.

Whether you’ll be serving the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce or shaking things up with Arizona beef and different fixings, check with the local farmers for their offerings for your holiday table. When you sit down to your dinner, you will be carrying on a tradition that started with the Pilgrims and Native Americans in 1621. Did you know, though that Thanksgiving wasn’t recognized as an official American holiday until 1941?

One Thanksgiving holiday favorite is beef and there is nothing like Arizona Legacy Beef; they are the growers of Criollo Beef – this beef is aged for 18-21 days, is naturally lean and is antibiotic and hormone free. Can you imagine a juicy cut of prime rib as an addition to your succulent turkey?

For an appetizer, why not try 5 Minute Stuffed Medjool Date Appetizers made with fresh Arizona dates?  Green salads are always a hit at Thanksgiving; why not try our Grilled Romaine with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette on your table?  Did you know that Yuma, Arizona, is the winter lettuce capital of the world? Arizona  ranks second in the U.S. in head lettuce, leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, cauliflower and broccoli production, ingredients that are mainstays on our nation’s Thanksgiving table.  Look for Arizona farmers like McClendon Farms at an Arizona farmers market for these and all the fresh produce you need for your Thanksgiving dinner.

If you’re baking pies, look for Arizona’s own Hickman’s Eggs for the eggs to add to your recipes. As a matter of fact you can check out this delicious pumpkin pie recipe from Grandma Gertie – it’s sure to be a crowd pleasing dessert. You can also make homemade whipped cream to top off your pies or pour a tall, cool class of milk from Superstition Farms or Shamrock Farms to enjoy with your desserts.

Have some lime trees in your back yard? Why not make some limeade or use lime juice — squeezed from them after you’ve picked them fresh from the tree – to drizzle over your roasted or grilled veggies to add a unique flavor?

And if you’re thinking of wine, Arizona has award winning wines.  So for a local winery on our https://fillyourplate.org website.

Because November in Arizona is still warm, you might not want to heat up your kitchen with the turkey so we’ve provided you a recipe for a grilled turkey from our Fill Your Plate site.

Citrus Marinated Grilled Turkey

• 4 Oranges or Tangerines
• 1 Lemon
• 1 Garlic Head, Halved
• 4 Sprigs Rosemary
• 4 Sprigs Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1-12 lb Turkey
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper

Directions

Put all the marinade ingredients into a bowl and pour over a generous amount of olive oil. Squeeze everything together with your hands to blend flavors. Have the butcher cut the turkey into 4 pieces and remove the bones from the breast. Save the neck and backbone for the gravy. To marinate, put the turkey on a large platter and pour on the marinade. Turn the turkey over in the marinade to make sure it is well coated on both sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight. Remove the turkey from the refrigerator about 1/2 hour before you are ready to grill it. Heat the grill to medium and wipe the grate with some oil. Wipe the marinade from the turkey and season it well with salt and pepper. Put the turkey on the grill, skin side down, and cook for 30 minutes. Turn the bird over and continue grilling, basting with more olive oil until the juices run clear and the internal temperature of the thigh is 180 degrees, about 1 hour total. Set aside, cover with foil, and let it rest for about 10 minutes before carving.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving!