Category: Blog (Page 12 of 30)

I always think it’s interesting to hear someone say, “I was pleasantly surprised.” On the surface this appears to be a good thing, and in fact, it probably is. However, to me, this phrase indicates that one wasn’t planning to be surprised at all, and anticipated that a particular encounter or event would indeed suck. Have you ever heard someone say that he/she was unpleasantly surprised?  Well, maybe you have, but that’s not the point….or is it?

What is the point then, you ask? No freakin’ clue, dude! Perhaps it was an attempt to point fingers at those “glass half-empty” people (Cheer up, Charlie!). Of course, it could be the fact that I recently watched “Pretty Woman” and haven’t been able to shake what struck me as a poignant exchange between Edward and Vivian. Edward (Richard Gere) says something to the effect of “…people rarely surprise me,” to which Vivian (Julie Roberts) counters, “Yeah, well you’re lucky,  because they surprise the hell out of me.”

To be surprised means lots of different things in lots of different situations.  Webster defines it thusly:

1. to come upon or discover suddenly and unexpectedly; “Don’t surprise the cat like that!”

2. to make an unexpected assault on (an unprepared army, fort, person, etc.); “The ENTIRE German army, well Surprise, Surprise!”

3. to elicit or bring out suddenly and without warning; ”Put that away, you’re surprising me.”

4. something that surprises someone; a completely unexpected occurrence, appearance, or statement; “I was pleasantly surprised when the service took a turn for the better and our meal was a complete…um, surprise?”

While numbers 1 and 2 don’t do much for me and 3 could be taken completely out of context and ruin someone’s career, number 4 seems to fit the bill for an encounter I had last week.

While my glass was half-full in anticipation of meeting Eric Gitenstein (MF Tasty) and Jeff Kraus (Truckin’ Good Food), it developed a slow leak when Abbie and I were greeted (if you can call it that) at the reception stand of a local eatery. There were 4 people in the place, it was 4 p.m. and there were going to be 4 of us in about 4 minutes– no problema, si?  NOT! 

Gratuitous whispering ensued, management was called into play, and we were grudgingly told that they USUALLY don’t seat a party until everyone arrives, but today, they would make an exception (Happy Valentine’s Day!). Next time, if they were busy, we’d have to wait.  Drip, drip, drip.

Things start looking up as cute waiter number 1 steps in…until he brings his serious attitude to the table. Drip, drip, Drip. I order my Pinot Grigio (really small pour) and Abbie gets a flat Sprite with lipstick stains on the glass.  Drip, drip, drip. Mr. Attitude gets repositioned to the patio and cute waiter number 2 enters (stage left), with a shiny new Sprite for Abbie, a big fat smile, and announces the stupendous happy hour pricing. One leak plugged.

Eric and Jeff (and his wife, Erin) arrived and were actually nervous to meet me. They must have read EaterAZ’s article about me being “Bat Shit-Crazy” or they hadn’t listened to my show and thought I was ‘proper’. The hell with that! After dropping a few gratuitous “F- Bombs” and a few shady jokes, we were well on our way to being–what do the kids call it nowadays? BFFs?

Everyone relaxed and we shared some snacks, some stories and some serious laughter, and soon, my glass runneth over!  Were they pleasantly surprised?  I sure hope so. 

by Emily King

The next time you’re browsing the glass pastry case for an edible companion to your morning cup of coffee, consider passing on that sad-looking low-fat blueberry muffin and indulging in the buttery goodness of one of those lovely golden puffs on the very next tray . Yep, you’ve got it—the croissant!  Once thought of as a somewhat exotic treat, croissants are now a staple in coffee shops and supermarket bakeries. But they made an awfully long journey to achieve their station on the shelf next to the other breakfast goodies.

Like most of our favorite pastries, the croissant hails from across the vast Atlantic. But don’t let the French name fool you; these cafe staples actually originated in Austria. Food historians are skeptical about the lore behind the development of the croissant (or should I say Kipfel—the German word for ‘crescent’), but who wants a boring story about some Austrian baker who was fooling around in his kitchen and happened upon such a delicious confection? Not us!

The more exciting (albeit fanciful) legend has it that the Kipfel was created by bakers who assisted in the Austrian defeat of the Ottoman Turks attacking Vienna in 1683. After surrounding the city for months, hoping that the Viennese would surrender from starvation and exhaustion, the Turks became impatient and began tunneling under the walls. Hardworking bakers who were up late at night heard the tunneling intruders and warned the city’s defenders. The warning gave the Viennese time to call on King John III of Poland, who brought an army that defeated the Turks and freed Vienna. In celebration, the bakers created a crescent-shaped pastry representing the symbols on the Turkish flag. People devoured the pastries as voraciously as King John’s army had “devoured” the invading Turks.

Kipfels became a beloved snack among Austrians, including the Austrian Princess, Marie Antoinette who married (then) Prince Louis XVI of France in 1770. French bakers made batches of the pastries for the Princess’ arrival and soon Parisians were going crazy for Kipfels! In fact, the only thing the French saw fit to change about the pastry was its decidedly un-French name. Voilà! The “croissant’ was born.

Go ahead–take a bite of that perfectly flaky, feather-light croissant. Slather it in butter. Lick your fingers. Think of the bakers who got out of bed long before the sun was up, and lovingly rolled, folded, and rested the dough to create those 81 heavenly layers.

And please don’t feel sorry for the low-fat blueberry muffin. All of the preservatives, fake sugar, and fat-alternatives will surely keep it case-stable for another day.

And don’t forget–you can always get your croissant-fix and other premium bread products from Capistrano’s!

Visit Capistrano’s Wholesale Bakery online by clicking here.

Click Here to read more Breakin’ Bread Features

Or, in Arizona, Capistrano’s artisan breads are available at Vincent’s Saturday Market on Camelback when it is open, at Holsum Outlets, and now at Luci’s Healthy Marketplace. Here are the locations.

• Apache Junction – 10107 E. Apache Trail
• Casa Grande – 823 N. Pinal
• Chandler – 7275 W. Detroit
• Peoria – 9210 W. Peoria
• Tucson – 2801 S. 4th Avenue
• Luci’s Healthy Marketplace -1590 East Bethany Home Road, Phoenix

I’ve never been a great fan of St. Valentine’s Day or the number 14 (which in Mandarin means “imminent death” if pronounced incorrectly).  Chocolate never did much for me unless it encased a strawberry rimming a glass of sparkling wine. Red roses, heart-shaped cards, and expensive dinners were never really my thing. As for boys, well, that’s another matter entirely!  

When I was in kindergarten, my teacher would put on music and me and my ‘boyfriend’ Tony would dance around the classroom with complete abandon.  I was very popular in elementary school and at one point had two boys walking me home: one carried my books, the other, my plaid lunchbox. It was fun, relaxed, and comfortable.

Valentine’s Day in elementary school was the deal! What was so neato was that regardless of how anybody felt about anybody else, everybody got a valentine’s card…and a party!  Could you ask for more?

Then, thrust upon we unsuspecting 12 year-olds, was the dreaded “MIDDLE SCHOOL”. All of a sudden it became a big, fat deal to have a boyfriend; or, at least, be stalked by several. You know what I had to say to that?

 “Buzz Kill!” 

Thus, life and (Valentine’s Day) turned into relentless pressure to conform– and lame dances were par for the course. Ugh.

Who needs additional pressure upon entering “The Middle”?  What an appropriate name for that period of life. It’s as if you’re locked in a time warp of change and anticipation. Seriously, you’re smack dab in the middle of acquiring social skills, battling skin issues, daily dealings with CHANGE, body awareness, image makeovers, and trying to figure out just what “cool” really means. Again I say, “Buzz Kill!”

However, being a social creature by nature, I still wanted to be cool, to fit in, to get a freakin’ card and perhaps a box of chocolates or a lousy flower.  Alas, I didn’t.  And, I never truly did until I met my husband nearly 18 years later. 

In fact, 18 years ago we were on our way to Victoria Island in the province of Vancouver, Canada to stay at a little place on the coast called Tai Na Mara.  There, over Valentines Weekend, we fell a little deeper in love, had strawberries, chocolates, and champagne. We exchanged roses and mushy cards and we went out for a very expensive dinner. Oh, and we danced with complete abandon as only 5 year olds and lovers are wont to do.

When I try to be cool, it really never works because, basically, I’m a dork.  I think that the only time I REALLY force it is when I put on my Simpson (maiden name) attitude and attempt to prove some lame-ass point to Dave – still doesn’t work. As my daughter often says, “Epic Fail!” Case in point…last night, at Big Earl’s BBQ (James Porter’s new bent), Emily and I were pretty much standing alone – as we tend to do at most of these shindigs.

Hold on, hold on!  That is not the fail!! However, in most circles I’m sure that hangin’ with your driver kills all hope of achieving the popularity that many strive for in this business ~ yeah whatever. Anyhoo…there we were, eating pork in every form known to man and drinking copious glasses of a nice Merlot when I started pointing and jumping up and down (I do this a lot) and slurring (I do this a lot, too)….”Isn’t that the guy from that show, um you know–The Middle! No, no, it’s the other one, you know, the guy, the Dad, with the weird hair and hot, neurotic wife?”. 

For those not “in the know”, I was referring to Phil from Modern Family; however, the gentleman in question was actually Mr. Rich Dahlquist, meteorologist extraordinaire from ABC Channel 15. 

Flashback to 1992…..

…so there I was at a Country Dance Bar in Tukwila, WA. I don’t remember why I was there or who made me go, but, hey! I can groove with the best of them and believe whole-heartedly that line-dancing is an art. Well, on this particular evening, an extremely interesting gentleman asked me to dance and since I was on a break, I said, “Yes.”

There we were, twirling ‘round the dance floor when someone dosey-do’s by and says to this extremely interesting gentlemen, “Hey, aren’t you Bill Ny the Science Guy?” Epic Fail!!  He was actually very popular in Seattle at the time and did a bit on a local late night show, but, of course, I didn’t have a clue. So, there I was…..on another break.

Rich the Meteorologist, on the other hand, didn’t desert me to the wallflower waiting room or question my integrity because I wasn’t aware of who he was or what he did. We did, however, strike up the best conversation I’d had that evening (aside from exchanging pigeon stories with Emily) and I completely enjoyed myself.  I love it when you meet people for the first time who can trigger true belly laughs, make you feel comfortable, and don’t give a shit what anyone else thinks. 

Along with his great sense of humor and complete sincerity, Rich asked for a code-word. Since fried pickles were one of the down-home delicacies flying off the trays at this function, I blurted out “Pickle!” Emily and I raced home – well, we stopped for a quick drink at Dillon’s – and watched the 10:00 o’clock weather report on Channel 15.

Rich Dahlquist:”It’s gonna be cold out there” (something, something, something) “but if you’re in a pickle….”  And there I went again, jumping up and down, pointing at the TV. Yep, totally UNCOOL!! David was tickled because that’s why he loves me. Then, I got a kiss. Thanks, Dick!!

Psst…Hey Readers! This is Emily…Don’t tell Heidi I’m hijacking her blog for a minute or she might stop feeding me leftovers and taking me on incredible business trips. I just wanted to drop a few names of the products I really liked at the food show so you can look out for them when they hit the market.

Here are my Lucky 7:

1.) CookieZen, LLC: They make and package sweet and savory cookies, then suggest appropriate wine pairings for them. I see some type of cross-promotion with Tampax in CookieZen’s future.

2.) BigLittle Fudge: This is some seriously delicious stuff and it’s so rich, one piece’ll do ya. I liked the Mega Maple-Nut flavor. It was a burst of buttery, rich, maple-drenched pancakes topped with nuts. When this stuff touches down in Arizona, I’m going to need a personal trainer.

3.) Thai Away All Natural Coconut Curry Sauces: It saddens me that these guys are based in Canada, but they are well on their way to making it onto the shelves of U.S. markets! What they managed to whip-up with a rice maker and a hot plate would put even the most skilled dorm-room chef to shame. I think I had three or four samples before they cut me off. The green curry is the stuff that dreams are made of.

4.) The Modern Cocktail: Yes, this was the “hand-dandy carrying case” (see Heidi’s Blog) company. These are pre-packaged mixers: Just add booze! I know what you’re saying: “But I can buy my own mixers and make my own drinks!” But trust me, you can’t mix like this. Can you make a blood orange margarita? I didn’t think so.

5.) Justin’s Nut Butter: I’ll admit, I was a little bitter after an over-eager broker cut me off as I was talking to the crunchy-hippie dude himself, but I have to hand it to Justin, he makes a mean nut-butter! Go ahead and snicker. Highschool locker room humor is always funny. Don’t you feel better?

6.) Montchevre Cheese: With so many cheese vendors, we had to pick and choose wisely to avoid major system failures within our bodies, but the Bucheron that Montchevre was showing-off was worth the wait. Goat’s milk cheeses were all the rage this year, and Montchevre was definitely on  top of its game.

7.) J&D’s Bacon Salt: I know, I know. You think bacon is tired, right? I would have agreed with you a few weeks ago, but J&D have a different spin. The bacon-flavored popcorn is what it’s all about! It’s classic microwave popcorn with a hint of bacon-flavor and it’s shockingly delicious. If nothing else, buy the popcorn because these guys are hilarious. In addition to the salt and popcorn, their display was littered with random “schwag” including bacon-flavored soda pop and bacon-flavored chapstick. My dog ate it shortly after my return home. Good thing I didn’t put it on my lips.