I have never seen stuffed Squash Blossoms before in my life. In this first picture, here is a Squash Blossom with Queso Fresco and Corn Sauce coupled with Seabass Chileno. Isn't that cool?! And besides looking cool, the dish tasted out of this world. I can't remember the last time I had fish that tender. The fish really cut like buttah.
I was really impressed with the creativity of the folks at Crescent Moon restaurant at The Four Seasons Scottsdale up in the mountains of the Troon area here in Phoenix metro. Crescent Moon food is regional cuisine influenced by the flavours of Mexico and Arizona's Sonora Desert.
Let me emphasize creativity because I really love it when I see chefs cook outside the box. But admittedly, I also do have a love affair going on with the Four Seasons Scottsdale place as I reviewed the amazing Talavera restaurant, and ate the most amazing gnocchi with garlic shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes, and basil in a lobster sauce, their dish at culinary event Phoenix Cooks.
Last week, the Four Seasons gang gathered a group of us local foodie bloggers to sample new items on the Crescent Moon menu like the Squash Blossom and Seabass Chileno, and to meet more of the Four Seasons management. I have to say, they are a really warm bunch of fun people at this Four Seasons. I am happily surprised because it's unusual to see higher ups come to these blogger events and actually mingle amongst us.
Tim Houdek, the Assistant Manager of Crescent Moon came up with the sangria recipe they served us that night using Arizona Stronghold wine, and it was scrumptious. I might add that Tim is a very entertaining guy. He had me laughing most of the time!
Here is Executive Chef Mel seasoning up the Squash Blossoms. I'm telling you, I was utterly fascinated by the uniqueness of this squash. The veggie even looked beautiful just in the baking pan.
The other appetizer that had me spell bound was this avocado tempura. First, because I've never seen anyone tempura up chunks of avocado, but secondly, see those squirt tubes poking out the side. Those tubes are filled with a sweet chili sauce.
You put the avocado bite into your mouth first, and then squirt the sauce into your mouth as you chew the avocado. It was like a fun party trick! The little kid in me went, "Squee!"
Seriously, I got that giddy over the whole squirt bottle concept and ate about 5 of these fried avocado not just because they were tasty but because I was having so much fun squirting stuff into my mouth. Okay, I'm simple that way.
Other dishes we sampled which I didn't get good photos of were:
- Guacamole with Housemade Tortilla Chips
- Camarones al Mojo which was Shrimp, a Huitlacoche Empanada with Mango-Habanero Sauce
- Mar Y Tierra – Strip Loin, Prawn, Scallop, Chorizo
And the finale for dessert were these Lime-Scented Sopapillas which you dipped into a Dulce De Leche with Argentine Honey sauce. Okay, can I just say OMG! I would have loved to also dipped strawberries into that sauce and coupled this with a nice champagne. Can you tell I'm thinking of a sexy date night here? The words Argentine honey just sounds so sexy to me.
Yes...and it is so worth it!
Oh and something I did learn, you can have a private moonlight picnic on the Four Seasons grounds and talk about romantic. I just need to find me a guy now :-D
As a treat, here I am with Chef Keith who leads the Crescent Moon culinary team. I went sepia on this photo because I felt arty. Keith is a very cool guy and also tweets so do follow him @Chef_Keith.
Here are the full menus for Crescent Moon's breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, if you don't feel like cooking this holiday, Four Seasons is open for Thanksgiving, Christmas day, and New Year's eve.
I'm telling you, check out Crescent Moon and if you get there early do enjoy the happy hour 3-6pm in the Four Seasons Onyx lobby bar because it is surprsingly cheap, like stuff for $5 cheap, and you can watch the sun set. You can find me on the patio sipping on a beer!
