Rules Shmules....No really, here are the rules:

SO...I think there might be some confusion on just what "following" means...

You can see my "Followers" to the right of this blog, and in order to appear on that list, and be entered into the first of hopefully many drawings) you must click either the "Follow" button, right above the "Followers" list, or for some, on the top left-hand side of the blog's screen.

If you haven't heard, you will be entered into a drawing to win a $25 gift card to the restaurant of your choice, and like I said, I hope this is just the first of many drawings or contests to win cool stuff. 
The more people I have on my Followers list, the more awesome the prizes will be, so help me by following and sharing!

Don't worry, I don't send out spammer emails or anything like that. I just post blogs that contain reviews on restaurants, good and bad.  Oh, I also LOVE to cook, so there will be more delicious recipes to come!

I also love a good critique, so if you ever try out one of my recipes, please let me know how it turned out!

 

CONTEST!!

HELLO to all you LOVELY ladies 'n gents!  

If you FOLLOW my blog between now and May 15th, you will be entered to win a $25 gift card to any local restaurant of your choice!

Not only that, but if you mention @MyMouthToYours on Twitter, or post a link to http://www.frommymouthtoyours.blogspot.com on Twitter OR Facebook, and you will receive FIVE extra entries into the drawing!

Okay, now if there is anything cooler than a (basically effortless) gift from a total stranger....please post it in the comment box so we can all benefit. :)

Triple D...

BRANDY'S RESTAURANT - Flagstaff, AZ

I must admit, I have been a lover of Food Network since it was added to the basic cable channel lineup. One show in particular always has the ability to make my mouth water,
and that show is Diners Drive-ins and Dives, hosted by Guy Fieri.
His over-the-top personality is great entertainment, but I really only watch it for the food.

He has visited Flagstaff twice now, but the episode that stuck in my head was for Brandy's Restaurant. Now, I grew up in Flagstaff and Brandy's had always been known as a great place for pastries, a cappuccino, and maybe a turkey sandwich on your lunch break. I had no idea they were even open for dinner,
my favorite meal. Since then, every time we pass it I think about how we need to eat there for dinner, and I tell myself to remember the next time we are in a conundrum...
Whenever that same ol' question comes up, "Where do you want to eat?" my boyfriend and I always say the same thing, "I don't care." You know that we both care, we are just too lazy or indecisive to come to a decision, which is usually why we wind up ordering chinese take-out...(not that there is anything wrong with that, just don't ask 50% of Americans' digestive tracts...)

LUCKILY...
I just downloaded the Urbanspoon app to my smart-phone!
This thing is awesome. Even though we "shook" it at least 30 times, which was very satisfying, it reminded me somewhere in there about this amazing restaurant I have forgotten about over and over again.
Tyler was skeptical at first, and we actually decided last minute on sushi, but I missed a turn (this happens often..) and he suggested we just go to Brandy's,
and I very happily accepted.

When we got in there, there were only two other tables seated, but it smelled incredible, and we were both starving. Their dinner menu was a lot larger than I expected it to be, since they open so early, and apparently have separate menus for each meal. I had a very hard time deciding, because everything I read sounded delicious. I finally decided on their version of "Beef Stew"
and Ty ordered one of the pasta dishes they had on special for the night.

I'm not sure if I was just incredibly hungry, or whether it was out of sheer excitement, but when the food came out of the kitchen I found myself saying "Oh my GOSH!" and literally giggling and giddy. My crap-tastic cell phone camera gives this dish NO justice! It was the most beautiful red-orange color, brimming with fresh spinach, freshly sauteed vegg, and melt-in-your-mouth beef tenderloin. Not to mention, this was all piled on top of a mound of tasty mashed potatoes, which the menu referred to as a potato cake. It was amazingly delicious, and the poblano peppers that are mixed in with the veggies create a
lovely southwestern flare, which is actually a theme of the dinner menu.

I'm not really sure what else I can say about this but GO TRY IT!
Oh, and it was only $15.99...
I had absolutely NO problem forking out less than $20 for a dish made with beef tenderloin,
because that is normally the minimum you would pay for something like this.

Ty's pasta was only $11.99 and was piled high with artichoke hearts, veggies, grilled chicken, and a delicious cream sauce. I can't go into much detail because after I took a bite of his,
I couldn't leave mine alone anymore!
He loved it though, and actually looked forward to eating the leftovers.
Tyler doesn't usually even take his leftovers home, if that says anything for ya!

Somehow, we had room for a (perfectly made) latte and desert, which was...get ready for this...Chocolate Bread Pudding Fruitcake with Banana Cream and fresh fruit compote.
I thought this was 3 different deserts until it came and was one fabulous little concoction.
 The "cake" was moist and had the feel of a dense bread pudding, the banana (whipped) cream was fabulous
and had JUST the right amount of flavor, and the compote was the perfect balance.

The desert didn't last long enough to snap a picture...That says a lot!

I have a feeling that Brandy's Bakery & Restaurant
will become a dinnertime staple....
I want to go back for the 10 other things on the menu that made my mouth water!

Gold Dust Woman

Phoenix, Arizona

First of all...Stevie Nicks is one of my all time favorite female vocalists. She was flawless at her show on Friday night with Rod Stewart. Rod...Well...All I can say about him is that he sure can dance for being 70!
Of course we had to travel to Phoenix to see a show of such caliber,
so I get to enjoy (or not..) some grub along the way!

For lunch, we walked down the street to a lovely place that I, of course, had never heard of:
Duck & Decanter. I couldn't decide for the longest time what I wanted to order, but eventually settled on The Genoa, which consisted of genoa salami, italian herb cream cheese, roasted tomatoes, and fresh spinach. It was delicious! The only complaint I had was that the bread was so crusty, all the sammie innards were slipping out of the other side with each bite. Whatever, not everything can be perfect, and the bread was great. I also ordered the 5-Mushroom Soup, not only because I love soup (yes, even in the 85 degree Phoenix weather...) but I also love love love anything with mushrooms in it. It was oddly familiar tasting, resembling (to a T) the lovely mushroom soup at a local eatery here in Flagstaff, Mountain Oasis. This leaves me wondering...is there some sort of gourmet soup supplier that they buy these soups from, or do you just happen to have incredibly similar mushroom soups?
I think this will remain a mystery...
I do have to say, they had some pretty awesome and random kitchen items including
the most beautiful ($160) french press I've ever seen!

NEXT ON THE LIST.....Dinner @ BRICK

I was incredibly excited when we walked into this place. The decor was modern, yet still inviting, and the smell coming out of the front door was mouth-watering. They had lost our reservation, but were more than apologetic and sat us right away. On the way to the table, however, there was a young lady that seemed to be in a rush and when we were led in front of her, she seemed to get frustrated, so I apologized. She said "Its OK," very quickly and scooted around us. When I was sitting at the table, I noticed that she was actually a waitress! None of us had any idea, because the waiters and waitresses were all in free dress. You couldn't tell any of them apart from a normal, daily restaurant-goer.
Why have such a classy atmosphere if you can't even tell who works there because they're wearing casual dress that doesn't match whatsoever.
Anyway, their cocktail menu was rather impressive, and I fell in LOVE with my drink,
the 44th & Huck. It was made with huckleberry vodka, peaches, and the last ingredient slipped my mind after my entree was presented to me. It was fresh, delicious, and had just the right amount of sweet and tart. Would absolutely recommend!
I went ahead and ordered their Lemon Parpadelle pasta, and almost sh*t my pants when I saw that it cost an extra $6.00 to add chicken. Really? $6.00? I better be getting a whole damn roasted chicken! Of course I didn't add the Royal Chicken to my pasta, and was very sadly disappointed when it arrived and literally....just had pasta. There was my tiny little $12.00 mound of parpadelle pasta with a sprinkling of parsley on top. I thought to myself...this better taste damn good. Well....it was rather bland. I could hardly taste the lemon, and the sauce itself was lacking flavor...salt, even. My mother let me finish off her INCREDIBLY DELICIOUS cobb salad, so I wasn't as upset as I originally was. That is another thing...their salad was amazing, and my Aunt's burger was HUGE (and apparently rather tasty). SO...My mistake for ordering the wrong thing, but it makes for an interesting review!
We had two Groupon coupons and they graciously let us use them both,
which is normally against their rules.
We were very thankful for that, and went along our happy little way.

Lesson learned...
If you want to order the $12 pasta, make sure there is more than noodles involved....
you'll be a lot happier.

In the end, we were incredibly stoked to see Stevie, she most definitely made my April...and Rod's band member inspired me to play mandolin and fiddle!
We'll see how that goes...

Leftovers.

.POSOLE.

Tyler, my boyfriend, rarely surprises me. One day, however, we were standing in his kitchen and he was proudly showing me everything he got at the grocery store. We came upon the freezer, which is normally packed to the brim with four twenty-somethings' Red Baron Pizzas and Michelina's Mac & Cheese Wheels, and he pulls out roasted green chiles and a bag titled "posole". I admit, I was surprised. Ty has always loved Mexican food, but I never expected him to buy the ingredients to make some from scratch!

A few days later, we bought some more ingredients...Chicken, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, bacon (for the pork flavor) and various spices including cumin, chile powder, thyme, mexican oregano, etc. Oh, not to mention our secret ingredient, Chiu Chow Chili Oil. I know, I know, not Mexican. Delicious nevertheless, and packed with dried chiles, fermented garlic, and YUMMINESS. Who can blame me? I will say, that huge heaping spoonful of the chili oil made it quite the sinus clearer! So, you might want to nix that and use it for extra heat with all the fresh toppings that go along with, and make, this comforting and simple dish.

We did our thang with that posole, let me tell you! It was uber-delicious. Topped it with thinly sliced radish, queso fresco, fresh squeezed lime juice, cilantro, and last but not least, homemade fried corn tortilla strips. That was about a month ago, and tonight we are taking the leftovers out of the freezer and recreating the gloriously spicy experience. Aren't you thankful for leftovers? We sure are, especially after a long day at work. Whats easier than throwing a frozen chunk of delicious into a pot and letting it heat up? Well I just can't think of anything.

I will upload a photo later, and you will be jealous.

Ok, ok...Don't be jealous, just make it!

Posole Verde con Pollo

1 pkg. frozen "posole" kernels *Do not get "hominy"*

1 lb. freshly roasted green chiles or 1 pkg. frozen diced green chiles

2 lbs. chicken, skin on bone-in

1/2 pkg. bacon, diced

1 lg. onion, chopped

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

4 cloves chopped garlic

Mexican oregano, thyme, salt, & pepper to taste

Toppings:

Thinly sliced radish

Queso Fresco (or another mild white cheese)

Freshly squeezed lime juice
Chopped fresh cilantro
Fried tortilla strips

Render bacon in large pot, set aside. Sear chicken on both sides until brown and the skin is crispy, set aside. Saute vegg and garlic together until onions are translucent. Shred chicken, toss it and the bacon (optional) back into pot. Add green chiles, posole, and enough chicken broth to cover all ingredients in pot. Bring to boil and simmer on medium low until posole* is tender. Serve with toppings and enjoy!

**"Posole" is the UNcooked version of "hominy" which is precooked. Try looking in your grocer's freezer section, as "hominy" is usually canned.**

NEXT TIME I will use my nice camera and make it look at good as it tastes, I PROMISE!