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Tag Archives: brunch

Bites of Tucson

01 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Nicole Small in recipe, restaurant review, travel, Tuesday Travel

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Tags

arizona, brunch, cocktails, farmers market, pho, restaurants, sushi, travel, travel tuesday, tucson

I went to Tucson this past weekend to visit my close friend, Jen, who recently moved there. I have only been to Tucson one time; to tour U of A and then I never returned. Ever. Except to see Matisyahu once.

Where to eat in Tucson, Arizona

This time I was prepared; I asked friends where I should eat. See, pre-college I didn’t care as much about food. It was only when
a) Food Network was my life soundtrack anytime I was in my dorm room
and
b) I had to cook for myself if I wanted home cooked meals
that I fell in love with cooking. So, the first time I went to Tucson I didn’t eat at any of the places I’m about to tell you about and that was a downright mistake. I did have a slushy from eegee’s, however, which had some redeeming qualities. I digress. Here’s where and what I ate in my 27 hours in Tucson this weekend:

Miss Saigon

Miss Saigon saved me, like a delicious superhero, from my breakfast- and lunch-less morning. I ordered Pho Ga (chicken pho) and Jen ordered Bun Tom Nuong (char-broiled shrimp over vermicelli and greens).

Tucson Pho: Miss Saigon. Where I Ate in Tucson.

Everything was so delicious; my favorite part about this type of foods is the fresh herbs, and they were plentiful. I typically never finish a whole bowl of Pho but I totally did this time and I felt as accomplished as the one single time I ever finished a Chipotle burrito, except I didn’t even have to try this time because it was so good. I actually had to stop myself from drinking the broth afterwards. They brought extra Thai basil to dress up my pho, along with cilantro, bean sprouts, hoisin sauce and Sriracha.

Vietnamese Pho in Tucson at Miss Saigon

Sushi on Oracle

Sushi is one of my favorite foods in the world, and I always get excited when I find restaurants with affordable and authentic fare. Sushi on Oracle delivered; I enjoyed Albacore with Ponzu, and Jen and I shared a Spicy Yellowtail Roll and a Vegas Roll.

Sushi in the Desert: Sushi on Oracle in Tucson

The albacore was so fresh it melted in my mouth. The Spicy Yellowtail Roll was also very fresh and had a really nice, delicate yellowtail flavor without being too spicy. And the Vegas Roll is essentially the dessert of sushi; melted gooey cream cheese with soft avocado, succulent salmon and sweet eel sauce is all I need to be sent into sweet sushi-coma submission. I was beside myself for the rest of the night, all I could keep saying was how good it was.

Sushi on Oracle: Vegas Roll

Food Conspiracy Co-op

I have a weakness for organic/local/artisan grocers, so naturally, we went to the Food Conspiracy Co-op twice in the span of a day and a half. Twice. No one was surprised. The first time I stood in the spice aisle for way too long reading every label and then gawking at the river that became 4th street when a hurricane-like storm swept through. A tree fell on someone’s car and the power flickered; panic rose within me at the thought of the registers failing and not being able to take home all the teas and spices and medjool dates in my basket.

Rain Storm at the Food Conspiracy Co-Op

Sonoran Sleep Tea from Tucson's Food Conspiracy Co-op

Don’t worry, I was able to purchase them. In case that visit wasn’t enough, I had to go back the next day to get more tea and more dates and some fresh figs because Jen had never had one and everyone deserves to eat a chilled fresh fig in the summer sunshine with one of their best friends. So we did that, and it was magical. I have tried 3 of the countless teas I bought and love all of them so far, and I am now completely obsessed with dried chipotle chili flakes. I have put them on almost everything savory I’ve eaten since I’ve been home. Jen is going to have to ship me a kilo or 10.

Cup Cafe at Hotel Congress

My sister’s friend told me I must order the baked eggs, and that it would be the culinary experience of a lifetime.

It was amazing.

Cast Iron Skillet Baked Eggs at Cup Cafe in Tucson

I got the baked eggs. It was a culinary experience of a lifetime. I MEAN WHO WOULDN’T LOVE EGGS WITH LOX BAKED IN CREAM???? Yeah, no one, that’s what I thought. This dish typically comes with ham in it but lox was an option and I can’t pass up lox + eggs, ever. It was so good and rich and creamy and good. If you are in Tucson, get the baked eggs. Also, I had my first bloody mary from a bloody mary bar and felt really fancy about it and loved the whole experience.

Bloody Mary with Cilantro, Cucumber, Artichokes, etc.

Now you are ready to go forth and eat baked eggs and buy 100 teas and eat albacore with ponzu and the yummiest pho eva. Report back and let me know if you loved it as much as I did.

By the way, if you’ve ever wanted to watch me cook LIVE now you can!! Join me on Periscope, a new live-streaming app, and watch me cook, meal prep and answer all of your questions LIVE! You can find me @TsiporahBlog on Periscope 🙂

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Surprise Mother’s Day Champagne Brunch

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by Nicole Small in breakfast, brunch, lavender, pancakes, quiche, recipe

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appetizer, appetizer recipe, baked, brunch, brunch recipes, cheese, chili, eggs, food, food blog, food blogger, fruit, gluten free, holiday, holidays, mothers day, pancakes, potato, potato recipe, quiche, recipe, recipe blog, recipe blogger, roasted, spicy, summer, summer recipe, tomato, vegetable, vegetarian

For Mother’s Day, my Mom really wanted to have a champagne brunch, but we couldn’t find one that we wanted to go to. So, instead of paying a few hundred dollars for our family of four, I paid about $30 and made some of her favorite dishes. The end result was really lovely, and she was so surprised! She said she was glad that we stayed home in the end, and everyone agreed that the food was better than we would have had at a resort. Most of these recipes are simple and could be incorporated into any meal.

moms place

table 1

prosciutto & melon

Prosciutto wrapped melon is very easy. For the most affordable prosciutto, I went to my local grocery store and had them slice it fresh instead of buying a package.

I set up a beautiful and simple mimosa bar as well. This way, everyone could make their own mimosas with either fresh orange juice, peach nectar or strawberry nectar. I really enjoyed the Cupcake Prosecco, and I would recommend it as a sweeter substitute for champagne.

champagne bar

mimosa 3

mimosa 2

The menu included:

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes
Wild Mushroom & Leek Crustless Quiche
Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary
Prosciutto & Melon
Tomato Salad with Raspberry Pesto Vinaigrette
Lavender Cookies with Lemon Vanilla Glaze

~

Chocolate Chip Sweet Potato Pancakes

pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 (heaping) cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cream or flavored creamer or flavored almond milk
1 large sweet potato, baked and mashed (about 1 cup)
Butter for cooking
Maple syrup for serving

Directions

Mix together all ingredients except butter and syrup. Heat a griddle or skillet to medium, and lightly butter it. Cook as you would normal pancakes. Serve with real maple syrup and a bit of butter.

Wild Mushroom & Leek Crustless Quiche

quiche

Ingredients

1 cup wild mushrooms (your choice of mixture)
2 tbsp olive oil, separated
3 leeks
1 tbsp butter
8 eggs
1/3 cup Parmesan Romano Cheese
1/2 cup milk
Salt & pepper

Directions

Step 1: Mix 1 tbsp olive oil with mushrooms and spread out on a baking sheet covered with foil. Sprinkle with fresh pepper and roast at 325 degrees F for about 25 minutes, until browned and slightly crisp on edges.

roasty shrooms

Step 2: Slice leeks into circles, about 1/8” thick. Save about 15 of the prettiest slices for the top of the quiche and put the rest in a metal strainer and clean very well. Let drain for 10 minutes.

chopped leeks

Step 3: In a pan, melt 1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp olive oil.  Add drained leeks, mix, and cook on medium for about 15 minutes, until lightly caramelized.

Chill leeks & mushrooms until at least room temperature (you can do this in advance).

Step 4: Mix together eggs, parmesan and milk. Add leeks, mushrooms, and pepper. Smear butter all around your baking dish and then pour the egg mixture on. Top decoratively with your reserved pretty leek slices.

quiche pre-bake

Step 5: Bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes, or until eggs feel set and a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary

potatoes

Ingredients

6 red potatoes, cut into about  ½” pieces
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Salt & pepper to taste 

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a ziplock bag and mix together. You can let this sit overnight or cook immediately. If you choose to let it sit overnight, use a slotted spoon to scoop it onto the pan to avoid extra moisture. For crispy potatoes, spread the mixture evenly across a baking sheet. For soft potatoes, put the mixture in a deep casserole dish and cover with foil. Cook at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, stirring halfway through.

Tomato Salad with Raspberry Pesto Vinaigrette

tomatoes

Ingredients

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 tbsp fresh pesto
½ tbsp raspberry vinegar
2 tsp basil oil or olive oil

Directions

Cut each cherry tomato in half. In a separate bowl, whisk together pesto, vinegar and oil. Pour mixture over tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. You can personalize this to whatever you want or have on hand- you could change up the herbs or the vinegar and make it however you like!

Note: don’t forget to cover your leftover pesto with olive oil before putting it back in the refrigerator. 

The lavender cookies will be my next post. They were so lovely, I want to savor the memory. If you are a lavender fan, you will really enjoy these, and they were so easy!

I chose to make this brunch in lieu of a gift because I feel like sharing my passion for cooking is much sweeter a gift than anything I could have bought for her. Thank you Mom for guiding us, loving us, being there, and being a “second Mom” to my closest friends. I’m so thankful that my Mom is so supportive and loving, I don’t know where I would be without her compassion and wisdom. I love you, Mom!

Happy Mother’s Day!

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