Thanksgiving Feast

We stopped by Amy’s (see below) today to make our Thanksgiving reservation.

The menu sounds delicious:

Spinach and Cheese Puffs

Choice of:

Waldorf Salad with Crisp Romaine Lettuce

or

Creamy Butternut Sage Parmesan Soup

Choice of:

Oven Roasted Organic Turkey with Cider Sage Gravy

or

Prime Rib with Horseradish Mustard Aioli

with

Oyster Brioche Stuffing or Sage Chorizo Stuffing

Dried Cherry Cranberry Relish with Cognac

Creamy Garlic Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes

Corn Pudding Souffle

Freshly Baked Brioche Rolls

and

Pumpkin Cheesecake or Dried Cranberry Creme Brulee

The cost is $35 per person (not including tax, tip and beverages). And just think, no dishes to wash, no last minute shopping to do, no “I forgot to thaw the turkey!!”. There’s also a children’s menu.

We’re planning to go to the first seating (I think there’s 3). We’d love it if you’d be there too. Call Amy to make a reservation: 480-607-0677. Please tell her that you’ll be sitting with us, then give us a call or an email so we’ll know to expect you.

Hallelujah, Amy's Back!!!!

For more than a year Amy’s Baking Company has stood empty. Periodically the faithful would drive through the parking lot at the N.E. corner of Scottsdale and Shea, craning their necks to check for signs of life. It was a pilgrimage. And finally we’ve been rewarded. We thank our friend Anna for calling us with the good news.

In the time before Amy’s closed it garnered glowing reviews from the likes of Phoenix Magazine and the Arizona Republic. Everyone mentioned the upscale decor and the friendliness of chef Amy Bouzaglo and her husband/host Samy. But mostly they raved about the food - especially the desserts. I’m more than happy to say that nothing’s changed, or maybe it’s even better. They’ve added a pizza oven and a long list of designer pizzas. The dessert case was full of cakes and tarts, some of which seem to be new recipes.

We ordered fried calamari with a pesto aioli ($10 ), and the hummus platter with wild mushrooms ($10 ). I asked Samy to take a piece of chocolate-orange-raspberry-truffle cake out of the refrigerator case so it would warm to room temperature while we ate our dinner. The calamari were tiny rounds, very tender, lightly breaded with seasoned crumbs. The aioli was delicious, I could have eaten it by itself. But the real hit was the hummus. It’s texture was perfect, and it was most thoughtfully seasoned. A very large helping of sauteed mushrooms sat atop. But what capped it off was that it was served with a pizza pan full of Italian flatbread (which is also used for the pizza crust) fresh and hot from the oven, blistered and crunchy. It would make any topping shine.

While we ordered from the antipasti section of the menu, there’s lots more to try. Salads, like Caramelized Pear ($12) and Vanilla Bean Coconut Shrimp ($16).Sandwiches: the MonteCristo ($17) is a house specialty, dipped in a French beignet batter and served with homemade raspberry preserves. Butternut squash ravioli is one of my favorites from the pasta selections. And then there’s the pizza: fig, pear and prosciutto ($16 for a 12 inch) is my next must-have. While the prices may strike you as on the high side, the portions are big enough to share and the ingredients are top quality.

Then, the cake. It’s time out of the refrigerator case had softened the buttercream and accentuated the flavors. Amy is master of the buttercream - it’s never overly sweet. The play of orange and raspberry was intriguing. We also shared a “creamy iced coffee” ($4) which went perfectly with the cake. Choosing a dessert isn’t easy. Everything looks beautiful - lemon curd tarts, cupcakes, bread pudding, cheese cake, creme brulee. Now that Amy’s back we can try all of them.

A note: Amy and Samy will be serving Thanksgiving dinner. There will be three seatings, and reservations are being taken now. You’ll find us there.

Amy’s Baking Company

7366 E. Shea Blvd. Scottsdale 480-607-- 0677

amysbakingco.com

alt="Amy's Baking Co. on Urbanspoon"

Dim Sum without Fear

A few days ago my favorite restaurant blogger, Seth Chadwick, wrote about a dim sum place with a twist - no carts. Instead you check off items on a printed menu, much like those in many sushi places, with an accompanying page of photos of the various dishes. I thought this was a great idea since I’ve always been intimidated by the servers who push the cart up to your table and try to force unwanted dishes on you.

China Chan is at the Metro Center, a place we seldom go. The freestanding building is unprepossessing, to say the least, as is the interior. A few sad lanterns hang from the ceiling. That’s about it for ambience. But the servers are very nice, and those who speak English are happy to make suggestions and give explanations of the various dishes. There are 28 dim sum dishes at $1.80 each including spareribs with black bean sauce, baked BBQ pork buns, and tripe with ginger and scallions. At $2.85 you can get steamed lotus flavor rice, pan fried rice noodles with dried shrimp, and 7 others. Next are those at $3.55; steamed shrimp filled rice noodles, beef tripe, chinese broccoli and shrimp roll steamed rice noodle. Finally, the chef’s specials, eight of them, are priced from $5.99 to $8.50. From this last group we chose roast pork and roast duck. We also selected daikon cakes (I know these as turnip cakes) at $1.80. Lastly, from the regular menu we ordered eggplant in garlic sauce. Our waitress, licking her lips, suggested we add beef to the dish and that we pour lots of chili oil on top.

The roast pork and daikon arrived first. Chunks of moist, slowly roasted pork were generously sprinkled with the cracklings of skin. Decadent. And the portion was huge. The daikon cakes, three large rectangles enough to serve 6 as part of a meal, were the silkiest I’ve had, with just enough pan fry crust to satisfy. A small bowl of hoisin was served alongside. Then the duck and eggplant were served. The eggplant sauce was quite mild (our server was right about the chili oil) but beautifully flavored and the beef slices were a great addition. Again, the serving was huge. I don’t recall how much this cost, but the dishes from the menu are remarkably low priced. The only thing not stellar was the roast duck. The skin wasn’t crackly, and there was lots of fat.

Both menus contained dishes you don’t often find, and there were lots of Asian diners, so China Chans felt like the real deal. I suggest you go there with lots of people so you can sample a great variety of dim sum. Give us a call - we’re ready to go!!

China Chan Restaurant

10227 N. Metro-Parkway Phoenix

602-331-1315

Closed Wednesday

dim sum served Monday-Friday 11-3, Saturday & Sunday 9:30-3

no website