I have a wonderful appetizer that you can serve at your next family gathering, and it will be “love at first bite”! This recipe was inspired by the Jerome Brewery in Jerome, Arizona.

This recipe is called Chef-Shea’s Artichoke Bruchetta.

Here are the ingredients you will need.
(This recipe feeds 3 to 5 people)

3 Medium to Large Artichokes
1/2 – 1 Cup of Mayonnaise
1 5oz Container of Shredded Parmesan/Reggiano
Ground Black Pepper (to taste)

First, you will need to steam the artichokes in a large pan for 40 to 45 minutes so the leaves and heart get nice and soft. You will want to add water about every 15 minutes or so to ensure that you don’t run dry during the steaming process. It can evaporate fast if you’re not watching. Cover the pan and let the steam go to work, checking every 15 minutes when you add water.

Steamed Artichokes

Once the artichokes are steamed to perfection, you can remove them from the steamer and place them on a large plate to cool for a few minutes. You don’t want to “dive right in” and begin shucking and scraping the leaves because they are piping hot right now. Let them cool a little, but not too long.

steamed for 45 minutes

Now, after a short cooling down period, you want to begin to remove the leaves one by one and scrape each leaf from top to bottom with a spoon to scrape off all the wonderful soft “meat” and then put the goodies you scraped in a bowl for mixing later. You will get a good amount of scrapings from the leaves, which you will add together with the artichoke heart, once you reach the heart of each artichoke. For each heart, all you want to do is scrape off the fuzzy part on top of the heart and cut off any of the green stem left on the bottom, so all you have left is a clean artichoke heart, like so.

Now we need to mash the artichoke hearts with 1/2 cup to 1 cup of mayonnaise, depending on how much scraping you end up with, and a 1/2 cup of parmesan reggiano cheese. Add ground black pepper to taste. Mash with a fork until creamy and spreadable.

creamy artichoke goodness!

Turn the over to 400 degrees.

Next, you want to arrange some slices of bread on a baking sheet and spread your fresh bruchetta over as many pieces as possible until the mash is all gone. You also want to sprinkle a little more cheese over each piece as well. When the oven reaches temperature, you want to place the cooking sheet in the oven on the middle rack and set the timer for about 8 to 10 minutes. Here is the end result!

Ready to eat!

My wife and I love to use a nice fresh round loaf of Italian bread. This tasty treat will delight everyone who tries it. Not all the Property Management Companies in Phoenix give away secrets like this. Enjoy!

Next, put the chicken in the oven (middle rack) and set a time for 1 and 1/2 hours. Now, just sit back, enjoy a cold drink and wait for the magic to happen. For some amazing reason, which I am truly grateful for, the Stubbs sauce breaks down during the cooking process and mixes with the oil and broth to create this amazing spicy oil-juice that you can save and use on other dishes such as “Chef-Shea’s Spicy Chicken Green Chili Cheese Enchiladas”, which I will share with you another time, I promise!

(Sneak Peak)

Spicy Chicken Green Chili Cheese Enchiladas

Once you finally hear the timer go “ding”, it is time to sample some of the best chicken breast you will ever taste!

Spicy Chichen Breast 325 degrees - 1 1/2 hours

You can serve them any way you want to, maybe with a side of veggies and mashed potatoes and a side salad, or maximize your dish and make some tasty spicy tacos or spicy chicken cheese enchiladas. The chicken is fork tender now and full of great flavor. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do, and don’t forget to save the juices in the pan for later use.

Happy Eats Everyone!

And to all of our visitors that are renting our Vacation Rentals in Phoenix Arizona or any of the premier Homes, Townhomes or Condos from Arizona Lodging Experts, we hope you too can enjoy some wonderful home cooked meals and margaritas during your stay “thanks to great blogs like these”!

I have had the pleasure of working at the Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction at Westworld of Scottsdale back in January 2007. I really shouldn’t call it working, seeing as how I felt more like a “kid in a candy store” being surrounded by so many amazing vehicles. I had to work a booth for my company for the full 7 days, and I was fortunate enough to be by the east enterance where they had the Bentley’s and some other hot rides, like this restored classic Ford truck!

Classic Ford

During my lunch breaks, I would make my way outside and enjoy Dan Pina of Griggs Racing showing off his killer drifting skills. These guys take your breath away as they come within inches of the cement barrier between you and them!

Dan Pina

Each day it seems I would find something I hadn’t seen the day before, like this gentleman driving around the venue is this cool little ride.

As an amateur photographer one of the first things I’ve learned about living in Arizona is that practically every day offers a new and unique photo opportunity. Unfortunately there has been way to many times were I’ve had to learn the hard way too always have a camera close by. One of those times that comes to mind was right after a monsoon rain storm, the desert was in full bloom, the air was crisp and clean and the sky was light blue with white fluffy clouds. I was driving to show a home in Troon North when I came across a team of wild horses galloping right down the middle of Alma School Rd. Those horses ran right past Pinnacle Peak Patio and if not for the paved roads it would have been easy to imagine being right smack dab in the middle of the wild wild west. I know it sounds like a tourist thing to walk around snapping photos but you nhever know when you may come across a once in a lifetime photo opportunity and a classic photo can tell so many stories. If you have a favorite photo from your time in Arizona email it to me along with the story behind the photo and I’ll post it up on our Arizona Lodging Experts blog. My email is spencer@arizonalodgingexperts.com

I’ll go first. This picture was captured a couple years ago. It is of a cumulus cloud that was slowly building up over Scottsdale, Arizona. After a few hours the top of the cloud hit the lower stratosphere, which tore apart the entire formation. I took the picture from the courtyard at The Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall in downtown Scottsdale.

Iridescence through a keyhole, Scottsdale Az