OMG!!!!! o_O

Ummmm......Happy almost mid-year??  o_O

I had every intention to post this right after the new year!!!  (sigh)  But after Tough Mudder, I got a bad cold and then we started to do more running events......  I will not update you on that yet!!!

Time for me to get back on track!  So with that said - please (pretty please!!!) read on to see why I've been behind getting my blog updated.

Thank you SO much (from my heart) for continuing with my blogging journey!  I really appreciate it!!

My very best!

~ AZGEMFOODIE

Happy New Year my dear readers!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and happy holiday and has started the new year with a bang!

I know I last blogged in October letting you know that my blog is still very much alive and I promise it is!!  In fact, I did go to a foodie event today with a friend and will be posting that as soon as I get my others finished.

In the meantime though, I wanted to share what I have been doing that has slightly taken time away from my blog.

This started in August of last year.  My best friend, my pea, wanted to do Tough Mudder in February of this year. We had talked about this the year before and we didn't do it.  I told her if she registered for a team that I would sign up and we would do it.

Most of you, I believe are familiar with Tough Mudder or have at least heard of it.  But those folks who are not....it's a totally insane 10-12 mile obstacle (20-25) course designed by British Special Forces.  Did I mention that there is mud, water, ice baths, fire, walls, monkey bars and electroshock to just name a few???  OH!!! And the best part, an awesome orange headband and beer at the finish line!

Since she created the team, we've had 13 peeps brave enough or totally bonkers join.  So we started training.  We've done everything from hiking, yoga, bootcamps, running trails, cross fit and 5K's.



In October, a few of us signed up for the Zombie Run 5K.
Who knew that in October that it would still be in the 90's (degrees!!).
That WAS certainly an experience.


I've learned a lot since that first run. Things like read to see if they give details of the terrain/course and if it's not mentioned to email the event to ask.  I wore my Nike Flex and I had wished that I had worn my trail running shoes as we ran through the desert!  OUCH!!

In November , a few of us signed up for the Color Me Rad 5K.  Which was fun and messy.  We all started clean and finished rainbow colors!

While running on the course people (runners) were throwing color bombs at other runners to give them more color and there were color stations where the staff would bomb you with color!

If you've not done Color Me Rad before -you should!
It was a blast!

Then we saw a deal for MudFactor.  We thought that might be a perfect intro as to what to expect for Tough Mudder, just a mini (ok super-mini) of what Tough Mudder would be like. LOL!!!

This was their first time out to Arizona so we really didn't know what to expect.

5K obstacle runs can be challenging and by that I mean the wait can suck depending on how many participants. But we still had a great time!









In December, a few signed up for the Hot Chocolate 5K. It was friggin COLD that morning!!  This by far was the coldest run we had done so far.

I don't know about the other girls but I had to remind myself that I would warm up and there was a REWARD at the end!!!

Mug of chocolate goodies was worth it!
Will run for chocolate!!!  LOL!!!

And last weekend we did the PF Chang Rock'n'Roll  Mini-Marathon (5.4 miles).  The Mini-Marathon is new to the Rock'n'Roll series. Not all the cities have this and the distance varies as well.

We figured "eh, we've been doing 5K's what's another 2.3 miles...  o_O

We had a blast.  It was SO much fun and was the most put together event that we've done so far.







I wanted to share the craziness that has been going on ~ training, hiking, 5K's that have kept me from sitting down and working on my blog.  It not only takes a physical toll but for me a mental one as well.

But things should and will start settling down.  I do have several blogs in draft but I don't feel that they sound like the me that you all have read before and if it's not good enough for me...then sorry folks, not good enough for you either.

This has been such a crazy amazing journey.  I've made some new friends and have grown closer to old ones.

We did decide or at least started talking about possibly doing a 1/2 marathon and have our sights set on the PF Chang Rock'n'Roll New Orleans 2014!!!!

We have one more 5K race in a few weeks and then.....Tough Mudder!!!  AAAHHHHH!!!!

***** UPDATE -




Well, you didn't expect me to leave you hanging until I got all caught up did you??!! Did you??!!     o_O

So after PF Chang I mentioned that we had one more 5K race and then the mother of it all Tough Mudder.  That was the D-Backs Race Against Cancer.  That was totally cool as some of the players and coaches ran that too!

We got our picture taken with Luis Gonzales a.k.a. Gonzo!!  He's so humble and such a sweetheart.  That was the highlight of the run and what a way to end our day!

And FINALLY we come to Tough Mudder!!!  OMG!!!  Can I just tell you that was....well not sure how to explain what that was!!  It was awesome, it was crazy, it sucked (but in a good way), it was mentally and physically challenging.

But we set out to do this and we poured our blood (literally for some), sweat and tears (truly) into this.

Our team was amazing!  We had two friends come from other states to do this with us.
(Thank you Jeff and Zee!!!)







I can honestly say that I've never in my life experienced ANYTHING like this.  The worst obstacle for me was "Walk The Plank" (middle picture).  It was 15 feet tall and the water was 12 feet deep.  That was more a mental challenge for me.  Did I tell you the water was friggin COLD?!?!?!

The first obstacle was the Arctic Enema (picture on the lower left corner) also know as the ice bath.  The initial jump into it wasn't as bad as I thought ~it was diving into and under the divider to get to the other-side that SUCKED!!!  And getting out was worse cause we were FREEZING!!!






Fire Walker (picture on the top right corner) was no picnic...jump over flames only to land in 4 feet of muddy water and try and wade your way to the end only to claw your way out.

The doozy, frustrating most annoying was Everest (picture on the lower right corner).  Kinda looked like a skateboard ramp.  The funniest part was the DJ that was doing the MC at this obstacle kept telling people "Don't run AT it, run UP it."  People would get a running start and then hesitate as they got right up to it.

And we get to the crème de la crème...the grand finale.  The Electroshock Therapy (picture on the upper left corner). HOLY CRAP!!!  I'm not sure what was worse.  The fact that you could hear the current pulsing in the live wires or getting zapped!!!  I got zapped on the neck and had to take a knee - I think I may even had black out for a second, I'm not sure.  But I got through it and I finished with my pea.  After we crossed the finish-line we proudly went to get our orange head band and well deserved BEER!!!

We found the first group by the finish area and did a head count to see who else was still out there.  There were four more teammates still out there.  We wandered back over to the Everest obstacle and a little later we saw the final four of our team.  We cheered them onto the finish-line.  Waited for them to get their prized headbands and beer and met the rest of the group.

We all started together and we did get separated into three groups but EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE on our team finished!  No man or woman left behind!!
                                 



                                          So proud of team MudderSuckas!!!  Job well done!!!

TEAM MUDDERSUCKAS TOUGH MUDDER 2013

Jimbo, Monique, Brian, Me, Jo-girl, Jeff, Dave, Loca, Pea and Zee

we are missing Brian and Jennie

(Brian had a huge gash on his leg and Jennie had a black eye-both needed tending)

and honorable mention Aaron

(Aaron had injured himself a week prior to Tough Mudder and was unable to attend) 

Missing in action ~

Hello all my readers!

Let me apologize for my absence, as I'm sure some of you were/are wondering if I had abandoned my blog.
I can assure you that I have not!

I hope everyone had a wonderful fun-filled summer.  I did!!  And took a little break from blogging.
I have SO much to share of the things that I did over the summer and I can't wait for you to read.

Things are a bit crazy right now with me catching up from all the fun I had, plus all the fun I am currently having with training for some 5K runs that is leading up to the biggest event, Tough Mudder in Feb of next year.

I appreciate and cherish each and every reader of my blog.  Sure, I can throw a blog together....but that's not my style and that's not who I am.  I want you to be able to experience the journey as if you were with me as you read.  Those of you that know me (personally) know that my writing style is how I speak...so it's almost like I'm talking/telling you my experience in person.

I THANK YOU ALL for your support!

Best,

~ azgemfoodie

Can we do dinner?

I have a few girlfriends that I get together with,
either as a group or sometimes one on one time.  :)

It had been a while since Sherry and I had gotten together for dinner and she asked if we could meet for dinner ~ of course!! How could I say no?!

We decided to meet somewhere in the middle and chose to meet at TK's Urban Tavern in the Scottsdale Quarter.

We started the evening with cocktails, of course. ;)   Sherry started with a mojito and I had a topical tropical.

We had SO much catching up to do.  I think we talked for almost 20 minutes before we even looked at the menu to decide what we wanted to eat.

I mean cocktails ARE more important....right?  :)~

We continued to talk and half paying attention to the menu that was placed in front of us.  Our poor server kept checking to see if we were ready to order (about 4 times,maybe 5), so we finally looked at the menu.





This is our AWESOME server ~ Marissa!
Thank you again for putting up with us!

She was so sweet and patient with us.  Imagine two gals that haven't seen each other since...January!  Of course we've talked, texted and emailed but.....that's not the same as seeing each other in person.

And as with most of us females....we had questions about the menu, which Marissa answered all we had thrown at her with a great attitude.  She was really awesome with us. :)





Sean, the bartender (posed here..lol) makes awesome mojito's and topical tropicals!  I think we ended up having three each.  :)  Ok, in his defense he kept moving around so much for me to get a good shot while he was in action!


Then Marissa came with our appetizers!  Yum!!  We were hungry, though we took forever to place our order with her.  ~lol






Mmmmm.....who doesn't love mac & cheese?!
Let me just tell you how creamy and velvety it was..oh wait!  I just did!  OMG it was SO yummy!

It's house made with white cheddar cheese and they use panko bread crumbs in it!  A must have!

And along with that we had the chipotle shrimp.  Made with creamed leeks, pearl onions and bacon served with country bread.

Oh! And don't let this little dish fool you because it does have a nice kick to it!  It wasn't too spicy and was perfect.





We both had the same idea in mind for dinner since we had such rich and wonderful tasting appetizers.

We ordered the grilled salmon salad on a bed of mixed greens with kale, tomato, cucumber, baby sweet radishes with a vinaigrette dressing.

The salmon was done to perfection, moist and flakey and seasoned just right.  And the salad had just the right amount of vinaigrette on it without it drowning.

I have to say it was one of the most wonderful tasting grilled salmon I've had in a while. (since my Texas trip. At Sustenio, in the Eilan Hotel in San Antonio by Chef David Gilbert)






The bar area seats about 10 and then there are 6 high tops in the bar area.  The dining room has about 11 tables and there is a patio out side that seats about 20 or so.


The staff is really nice and friendly and I think that really adds to the ambiance as it was really comfortable and relaxing to have dinner and catch up with Sherry.


Marissa came back to see if we wanted dessert and Sherry and I looked at each other and then to Marissa and started laughing.  We told her that dinner would not be complete if we didn't share a dessert.






Dessert was a tough choice ~ chocolate cake with carmel ice cream, root beer float, grilled angel food cake with balsamic strawberries and whipped cream, seasonal cobbler ala mode or ice cream ala mode.

It came down to the cobbler and the grilled angel food cake.  We decided to go with the apple cobbler and it was the best choice we made!  It was SO good.

The apples had a nice flavor of cinnamon and nutmeg and the crust was nice and flakey and not doughy and the vanilla bean ice cream complimented the spices in the cobbler.






We enjoyed our dinner as much as we enjoyed our visit.

It's always a blast getting together with friends and getting caught up on the "what's going on" in our lives.

I had just gotten back from Texas and told Sherry all about the fun Chrisie and I had on the trip and she told me about her mom's visit to Arizona.

We did wind up being the last one's out of TK's

Good food, good friends.....who could ask for more?

Dining with one’s friends and beloved family is certainly one of life’s primal and most innocent delights, one that is both soul-satisfying and eternal. --Julia Child

SSSSSSSSSMOKIN' !!!!

 

I happen to be going through some messages on Twitter and saw a message about a cooking class at Distrito, at the Saguaro Hotel.

When I clicked on the link the class was about smoking meat. Hhmm....  It made mention that you would be taught how to smoke meat, how to make a rub and how to make beer can chicken.  I had no plans for that Sunday ~ so....why not!  I asked my friend Stephanie if she had plans and told her about the class and she was excited at the opportunity!  Woohoo!!





We learned in class that for smoking meat, the right type of charcoal is needed.  Chef Michael recommends using pure 100% hardwood as shown here by Chef Ken.

People will have different opinions on what type of charcoal to use, but mesquite or hickory are the most popular.  But Chef Michael mentioned that Ono from Hawaii (which is all natural) and Binchotan from Japan (white oak) are also great as they are not pressed from other woods.





The first thing Chef Michael showed us was how to make the beer can chicken.  He used a 4 pound free range chicken, rinse the chicken and then make sure to pat it dry.  This is VERY important to get the skin crispy.

Then Chef salted the chicken - all over and let the chicken sit while he showed us how to make the Adobo bbq spice rub and this allows time for the salt to sit and pull the moisture out of the chicken so the rub will stick.





While the chicken was waiting in the wings, (lmao!! ~ sorry fowl humor!!)  Chef Michael then combined all the ingredients needed for the Adobo rub.  He mixed it all up to make sure it was done well.  Once that was completed, he generously coated the chicken with the mixture.

Make sure the chicken is coated well.  He mentioned that you also want to make sure that you coat the inside too and to shake off any excess.




He then took a beer can and poured out half (usually he would drink it but since he was teaching he didn't feel right about it) and took some sliced lemon and oranges and put in the beer can.

Once that task was done Chef brought the chicken back so he could place the chicken on the can or is it the can in the chicken??  lol

I'll let you decide......

You'll let the chicken with the rub set for about 30 minutes before you put it on the grill.

One tip that Chef told us was that you'll want to make sure you tuck the wings into the neck.  The reason ~ it's one of the ways you can tell that the chicken is done.....the wings will pop out.  Make sure that the chicken and can are secure.

Cooking time for your chicken will depend on how many pounds but Chef recommends not going larger than 4 pounds and figure about 20 minutes a pound at 375 degrees.

                                                                               

One of the things that Chef Michael told us is that when you light your grill, you want to make sure that the center burner is off.  Only use the side ones.  Or if you are using charcoal ~ make sure the charcoal is on one side. 

You will place the chicken on either the non-charcoal side or the burner that is off.  

Here you can see Chef Ken placing the new bird on the grill as Chef Michael brings in the bird that is done.



You can see from the picture below that the wings have popped.  Oh...and don't worry about the color of the skin.  It's not burnt (cause that was my first thought).
It's from the rub and the caramelization of the sugar. (cause I don't like burnt food~and it wasn't)

Let me tell you what, when Chef brought the chicken in, I swear people were going to attack it.

That chicken smelled SO good.  And it was steaming hot!

Chef let the chicken rest for about 15 minutes before he removed the can.  Then he carved the chicken, though the meat practically fell right off and served it to us.



We were all enjoying the aroma of the sliced chicken and you could smell the adobo rub and it was amazing.

The chicken was SO tender, moist and SO flavorful.   And the skin, he just chopped up to sprinkle on top of the chicken for that added crunch texture.

I have NEVER had beer can chicken before and let me just say (per my notes for the blog -sorry in advance if I offend anyone) OMFG!!!  FIRST TIME AND LOVED IT!!





While we all chatted about the chicken and sipped on our margarita's. Chef was chatting along with us while cleaning his station to move to the next course.

From chicken we moved onto ribs.  For this Chef Michael used Tenderbelly (brand) ribs -which are Berkshire hogs.

The Berkshire breed is the most purest of breeds dating back almost 200 years and was discovered almost 100 years before that in the shire of Berks in England.





Chef also mentioned other breeds that are excellent such as Hampshire and American Yorkshire as they are higher in fat content and are very tender.

Chef started prepping the ribs by turning it over to remove the "pellicle" or membrane.  He showed us a simple way of doing that.  To score it down the middle length wise and then slide the tip of your knife underneath the pellicle to loosen.  Once you get a piece, use a kitchen towel to grip and peel off. Then turn it around and do the same to the bottom half.




Once that task was completed Chef salted the ribs and then pressed the rub into it.  He used bbq rub on the ribs ~ sadly we didn't we receive the recipe for this as it was the house blend.

Chef mentioned that if you don't have a smoker and are using a grill to make sure you leave the center burner off as you did with the chicken and place a foil packet of wood chips on one of the lit burner.

Use any chips that you desire.  The blend that was used was 40% hickory, 40% mesquite and 20% apple.

To the left you can see the ribs that Chef just got done putting love into and the two ribs to the right are the ribs that Chef Ken had just brought in.

And let me tell you, the aroma from the ribs were mouthwatering!!!  They smelled SO good!

While he let those rest, he was working on another set of ribs that he was going to cook in a different way, though the prep for it was the same that I mentioned above.






The difference with this one is that it is double foil wrapped making a pouch to add beer to it.  Make sure the top is secure and one of the ends are closed to pour in the beer.

Doesn't matter what kind of beer but for this cooking class he used Kilt Lifter Ale.  Once the beer is added make sure to seal tightly and place on the rack over the "off" burner for about 3 hours.

I'm sure you can imagine what those ribs smelled like when Chef opened the foil as the steam came out. OMG!!!

Chef Michael took the foiled ribs out of it's pouch and transferred it into the pan and poured the beer au jus over it while it cooled down a bit.

We were all focused on watching as Chef Michael and Chef Ken as they carved into the dry ribs.  And by dry I mean, no wet sauce.

What we didn't realize is that we were in for a treat.

Though we had two styles of ribs, we got THREE different takes on them.

We were served one of the ribs just as they were with the dry rub and then with the same dry rub ribs also drizzled bbq sauce on it.

And the foil cooked ribs were served as is.

Think the picture below says it all...it was terrible!!! LMAO!!!  IT WAS AWESOME!!!

What surprised me and I'm sure a few others was that Chef Michael made two different styles of ribs but by adding bbq sauce to the dry rubbed one ~ changed the taste or rather added another layer of flavor to it.

It certainly left us wanting more.  It was all SO good!

And to think if that wasn't amazing enough, Chef then cleaned up his station for the next course!!

From ribs we move to brisket.

I personally have not cooked a brisket before so it was interesting to learn about it.  

Chef used a beef brisket that was about 12 pounds.  You need to start brisket the night before as it takes about 14 hours.  So what he prepared in class would be used the next evening.

Chef recommends that if your grill is small and the brisket is too large for the grill then to use your oven.  The reason for this is when you cut the muscle, it changes the texture of the meat.

I learned that there are 3 tiers or layers to a brisket.  The bottom, top and crown.

You cook with the fat side up and when you transfer the meet for serving, you put the fat side down.

I also learned that when you smoke meat, that once the meat temperature reaches 150 degrees it doesn't get any smokier.

Again if using a grill make sure the wood chips packs are on the "on" burner, leaving the center burner off. 

Chef Michael generously puts on the adobo spice rub.  I mean he put on a lot, massaging it and pressing into the meat.  Once he felt that there was enough on there (if that's even possible) he then cooks it for 14 hours or until the brisket reaches 170 degrees.

Once 170 degree temperature is achieved, you want to take gently take your brisket and place in double foil making a pouch like you did with the ribs.

You'll add two cups of water and seal the foil and place the brisket back on the grill for 2-4 hours or until the brisket reaches the temperature of 185 degrees.

Once the brisket is done, allow to rest for 2 hours and make sure to keep the juices from the meat.

Chef Michael recommends getting whole spices instead of pre-ground dried if you can, as the whole spices have a longer shelf life.

Once the meat had rested, Chef Ken taught us how to remove the fat cap from the brisket.

He told us that you put the fat cap placed towards you where you can scrape the fat with the grain of the meat ~ never scrape against the grain.

And that when you cut the brisket, you cut it against the grain...  it's more tender when you do.

After Chef Ken removed the fat, he turned it over and started slicing the brisket and Chef Michael jumped in to help.

While they were slicing, Chef talked to us about the "smoke ring".  Smoke rings are a good thing to have on your meat.  It shows that it's been done good.

Basically the smoke ring is the pink color that's just under the bark (the crust).






A good smoke ring is around 1/4 inch in thickness.
It's the water soaked wood chips that produces nitrogen dioxide loaded smoke.

As you can tell by the picture to the right, the smoke ring on THIS brisket ~ was PERFECT.  And when the plate was passed around Chef also passed a plate of the bbq sauce for those who wanted a little something extra - but it didn't need it.

The brisket was SO tender and moist and I think the best part of it was the bark.  It was like dessert ~ it was very, very YUMMY!!






After the brisket we couldn't imagine having anymore...well, ok maybe we did.  :)-

Chef Michael pulled out some green onions.  Ok-so those that know me, know I don't care for green onions.  But I watched and listened with great interest.

Chef took the green onions and drizzled them with olive oil and sprinkled salt on them and gave them to Chef Ken to grill.




While Chef Ken was keeping a watchful eye on the onions, Chef Michael was making the pipian rojo.  And the best part was he made it using a mortar and pestle.

You can use a food processor but using a mortar brings out the flavor in the spices.  Don't worry about the pipian sauce being a bit loose, as it sits or when you refrigerate it ~ it will thicken.

When the plate with the onions with cotija cheese sprinkled on top came around I was a bit hesitant but I grabbed one and tried it with the pipian sauce.
Umm.. Chef Michael ~ I LOVED IT!




I don't know if it was due to the onion being grilled or the sauce or perhaps both....but I would gladly have more!! (thank you Chef ;)   )

We thought that was the end of class as the pipian sauce was the last on the hand out BUT Chef Michael had one last treat for us.

He made us a coleslaw with cabbage, jicima and carrots. He whipped up the seasoning for the coleslaw and added it to the slaw.




He topped the coleslaw with a julienned granny smith apples and can I just say WOW.  I'm not a huge coleslaw fan but I LOVED how Chef Michael made this one.

I think it had to do with the fact that it didn't taste like vinegar.  It was smooth and refreshing and the apple added the perfect balance to the dish.

While we were finishing our slaw, Chef Michael had one last treat for us.

They had set up a station with the spices used in the adobo rub with mason like jars for us to be able to make our rubs to take home!

It was SO awesome and fun do to.  It made the class that much more memorable....not like you could forget Chef Michael or the team that assisted him ~ Chef Ken, Chef Nate and last but not certainly least Mateo.

Chef Michael, the class was amazing and thank you SO much for taking the time.  Hope you come back to teach another in the near future!

To the team ~ Chef Ken, Chef Nate and Mateo, thank you for your hard work and making sure we were all taken care of.

To The Saguaro Hotel and Distrito ~ Thank you for putting on an amazing class and I can't wait to take another one!




                            The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sauces. 
                             – Albert Einstein