I think I love Arizona after all...

May and June included several trips to Arizona to see the hubs. July will include 3 more trips there. And I'm pretty excited. Besides the slow drivers (yes, Arizonans do drive just as slow when in their home state as they do when on the California freeways!), overly short shorts, making me fat, oh, and this weird belly-dancer store at the mall Glenn's store is in... I like what Arizona is all about.

Things are a little slower paced in Arizona. People eat dinner late at night (to beat the heat) in Arizona. I get to lounge by the pool from 8am-9am in Arizona. Glenn has cable in Arizona, which means I get to watch all things Kardashian in Arizona. Most items are a little bit cheaper in Arizona. John McCain is the Senator in Arizona. And, most importantly, they make a mean cappuccino in Arizona.

Introducing #3 to Cucina Urbana

As you well know from this post, my new favorite food hang out is Cucina Urbana, where I hug Gabriel hello (best. server. ever.) and then have fun eating delicious foods or introducing people I love to the delicious foods. When my sisters came to town (because we went on a sisters trip to Hawaii! 3 years in the making! It actually happened! More on that later!) and Kimberly (#3) and I realized we needed to find something to occupy our Saturday evening, I instantly knew we would be going to that sweet spot on 5th and Laurel.

Our courses, in order of appearance:

Perfect summer chardonnay. Medium bodied with just enough crispness to make you go "oh yea, it is summer!" and smile as you see 150 Critical Mass bicyclists (most of them wearing little to no clothing) riding by, despite how disturbing this sight may be.

The nightly Bruschetta platter. Here we have house-cured duck prosciutto with lingonberry preserves and goat cheese, roasted tomato and home-made ricotta with basil and balsamic reduction, and French brie with house-cured coppa (I think... could be mistake on the meat) and arugula.

The burger. She prepares for her first bite.

She digs in.

She realizes it's delicious and makes this "mmm, that's good" face.

She can't stop smiling.

Moral of the story: eat at Cucina Urbana! I do have a friend who happens to also be a fabulous photographer with a big curly blonde afro who didn't love it as much as I do... he says my taste is too sophisticated for him... but I'm telling you it's DE-LISH.

BLT's

Being on my own for a little while, I've had to figure out things that are fairly simple to cook, and also cost-effective. There's nothing worse than whipping up a huge meal, slaving for hours over it, and realizing you have to then eat it and clean up the whole mess all by yourself. Enter the BLT. My Mom used to make us BLT's every once in a while, and I always loved them. Crunchy bacon, toast, fresh lettuce, and a little bit of tomato? It's even almost healthy!

Start with bacon. Good bacon. I use Boar's Head but other great brands are Farmer John and Niman Ranch. VERY IMPORTANT: do not heat up the pan before putting the bacon on it!! Lay the bacon down on a COLD pan or griddle, and then turn the heat on. This will allow the bacon to stay as close to its original form as possible, and not crinkle up into little rounds that do not work well for sandwich-making.

See how straight these bacon strips are? That's what you want.


While the bacon is cooking, place 2 piece of your favorite bread into the toaster. We want a nice crunch, but not so much that grandma loses her dentures when taking a bite.

Mayonaise is a standard on BLT's. I happen to hate plain mayo, so I chose a thin spread of ranch dressing instead. You are welcome to use any type of sauce, or omit the sauce if you are a sauce-o-phobe like my husband.

Next up, tomatoes. I like to use yellow or heirloom tomatoes to give it a little more flavor, but any good fresh tomato will do. Sprinkle it lightly with sea or kosher salt.

By now you should have been able to flip the bacon (I recommend cooking it for approximately 3 minutes on the first side, and then about 2 minute on the second. I like my bacon very crunchy because I don't like actually feeling like I'm gnawing on fat.)

Add a thin slice of crisp lettuce (I use Romaine) to the sandwich, layer on the bacon, and voila! Dinner (for one) is served.