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----- Original Message -----
From: Kirsten
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 6:50 AM
Subject: Seeking recipe (or ideas) for Monument Valley Salad
Dear Unc,
I am seeking a recipe for a salad called "Monument Valley Salad" that was
served in a restaurant called "Arizona's" here in Virginia, Minnesota...it
was later called "Laurentian valley salad" to reflect our local mountain
area. It was amazing and their best selling dish, hands down. I believe
that Arizona's is a small chain restaurant because I see a few other
restaurants online with the same logo. The restaurant infused southwestern
cuisine with asian/Thai cooking in such a way that it was just fabulous.
Even if you cant find the exact recipe, I would be thankful for ideas or
suggestions. It was just amazing and I crave it constantly...but the
restaurant closed up because I guess the hotel the restaurant was located
in would not give the chef what he wanted to continue working there.
(It was a huge mistake on their part because now restaurants are rolling
in and out of there constantly. Anyway..).
Description of the salad is as follows. It is a traditional iceberg lettuce
salad served in a deep-fried tortilla bowl. The chicken topping is strips
of grilled chicken, marinated first, then served warm over the lettuce with
cooked green and red peppers. There is a light, salty/sour/sweet, dark,asian
inspired sauce on the chicken and peppers.
The main sauce is thin in consistency, and very spicy, as it has a generous
amount of crushed red peppers in the "Colt 45" sauce (as the restaurant called
it...perhaps it suggests that there might be some beer in the sauce? Not sure,
but might have been). I would think that the sauce has a somewhat "Thai" feel
to it, but NO PEANUTS. There are cashews, instead. The sauce was also served
warm, and was so good we would sometimes order an extra bowl of it on the side
to really drench the lettuce....
On top of the chicken, there are chopped scallions, gouda and cheddar cheese.
THEN...on top of that already insane food miracle, you put delicious creamy
cucumber salsa...which seems to have lemon juice (the waitress spilled a clue),
sour cream, finely diced cukes, cilantro, and dill...it was a little like a
jazzed up tzaziki sauce with southwestern touch. They called it "Creamy Cucumber
Salsa" (oh and I can tell you that there was NO mayo or Miracle Whip in the salsa.
I hate it and can taste the stuff anywhere)
I don't think the cashews were terribly important to the dish, because they would
sometimes forget them and it tasted the same. The brown, thin sauce definitely
had the "umami" factor, but I can only be certain that there is some kind of asian
soy thing, and perhaps sugar for sweetness, and the crushed red peppers.
Gosh, I hope you can give me some kind of idea. This seriously was so fantastic
would be my last meal if I had to choose one.. I know it is a long shot, but
maybe you can suggest something.
Thank you very much for your help.
Sincerely,
Kirsten
Hi Kirsten,
Sorry, I had zero success with both "monument valley salad" and "laurentian
valley salad". There does not appear to be any mention of either on the Internet.
The menus that I found for other "Arizona's Restaurants" did not have a salad
like you describe. Since there is no mention of it on the Internet and it is
not found at other restaurants with the same name, then any hope of finding
the exact recipe is small. If this is just a particular chef's version of a
salad that goes by another name, then perhaps one of my readers will recognize it.
Here is the contact information for the restaurant. The hotel is "The Park Inn".
Arizonas Restaurant & Lounge /Park Inn.
502 Chestnut Street
Virginia, MN 55792-2532
Phone: (218) 749-1314
Your best bet, Kirsten, might be to call or visit the Inn. You might find a
sympathetic employee who can give you a recipe or tell you the name of the
chef and where he might be working now. If you can find him, you might beg
a recipe
I know of no other way to pursue it, sorry.
Phaed
----- Original Message -----
From: Sharon
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 7:14 PM
Subject: vegetable lasagna made with celery
Vegetable lasagna made with celery in place of the lasagna noodle.
Found the recipe in a Woman's Day or Family Circle magazine 20 years ago.
Ingredients:
Celery sliced
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Hamburger
Can of diced tomatoes
Italian seasoning
Misplaced the magazine and cannot remember the ingredient amounts.
Thanks,
Sharon
PS
I emailed both magazines and got no response.
Hi Sharon,
Sorry, I had no success with this. There are dozens of "vegetable lasagna" recipes,
but the ones without noodles that I found used either zucchini or eggplant in place
of them. I did not find any recipes that substituted celery for the noodles.
Phaed
----- Original Message -----
From: Margie
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 11:59 PM
Subject: dairy queen seasoning for burgers
Missing the flavor of the Brazier burger at Dairy Queen. What is the seasoning
they used on it?back in the 60's
Thanks. love the site.
Margie
Hi Margie,
Sorry, I had no success with this one.
Phaed
I worked in a Dairy Queen in 1959 and believe me, making those ice cream cones
wasn't as easy as it looked, especially the large ones that had to have three
humps plus the tail on top. IF you got it lop-sided the ice cream would topple
sideways and drop. The little pig tail at the top had to be done just right and
dipping those cones upside down in warm chocolate always amazed me. But the
brazier seasonings request -- let me help. The brazier concept was introduced
in 1957, but took a few years to get into the restaurants and many balked because
of the need for vent hoods that could handle the smoke. The secret of the Brazier
was a charcoal grill and the advertising said: "char-grilled" and the slogan:
"Flavored in Flame." The seasoning was simple -- a shake of salt from a canister
and the meat patties were fresh, not frozen. The fire was hot and the meat developed
a char. That's it!
JAMES
----- Original Message -----
From: "Karalee"
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 5:46 PM
Subject: Hokey Pokey Stew/Soup
I'm looking for a forty year old recipe that appeared in a Better Home &
Gardens magazine. It's called hokey pokey stew/soup and is a New Year's
dish with black eyed peas.
Thanks for your help.
Karalee
Hello Karalee,
Sorry, no luck. The only "hokey pokey" or "hoky poky" stew or soup recipe
that I can find any mention of at all is a British cream of nettle soup that
is made with wild stinging nettles, which are considered to be a spring
tonic. The traditional New Years' dish with black-eyed peas is here:
"Hoppin' John".
Phaed
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