Thai Fine Dining

Thai Bella

218 North 100 West
Moab, Utah, 84532

Phone: (435) 355-0555

Email: thaibella2019@gmail.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/thaibella2019/



When it comes to Thai culinary indulgence, Moab has become the new mecca with the opening of several restaurants featuring this unique cuisine.  The latest to open is Thai Bella, and if you know the owner, Bella Prucktrakhu, then you know this restaurant will have delicious food.  Bella has been involved with Pantele's Deli, Arches Thai and Arches Deli; all great successes, and this newest will also be one.

While geared towards "classic and contemporary" Thai cuisine, do not be fooled into thinking it will not be authentic Thai quality.  Bella is making sure the quality is what all her fans know, expect and desire.  The interior of the restaurant is beautiful with photos and paintings of the Moab area adorning the walls.  The overall decor blends into that classic and contemporary theme; it is fine dining without the pretentiousness; perfect for the Moab area.














Example; a couple came in the night we were there, dressed rather, well more elegant than others dining there.  At first they were unsure if they wanted to stay, considering the patrons around them were dressed very casually, even some in work wear.  Stayed they did, scanning the menu, ordering, tasting, the delight of the food lighting up their eyes, and the praises leaving their lips.

My husband and I were impressed with the artistic quality Bella put into the presentation of each dish; even the iced teas we ordered were a swirling blend of color.  On that note, let me get to the food itself.








Beginning with refreshing Green Jasmine and Thai Iced Teas,
we ordered two appetizers: Veggie Tempura and Cream Cheese Wontons.  The Veggie Tempura featured mushrooms, sweet potatoes, broccoli, onion rings lightly battered, crispy and delightful as is, or dipped into a light sweet and sour sauce.  The Cream Cheese Wontons were crispy on the outside and packed with warm, melting cream cheese; total decadence in the mouth.


Main dishes, I ordered Cashew Nut with Shrimp, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, pineapple, cashews stir-fried with a sweet chili sauce.  The vegetables were lightly cooked to keep their natural textures, the shrimp had that perfect "scrunch" and once again the sauce was tasty, yet light and not overpowering.




My husband ordered Veggie Delight with Chicken; very reminiscent of a simple chicken and broccoli dish, but packed with carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and green beans.  Both dishes came with jasmine rice and I admit, we enjoyed playing with our food as much as eating it.




While hubby ate his entire meal, I made sure to take half of mine home for a second enjoyment, but I wanted dessert!  Bella creates this Fried Banana dessert that is out of this world; light and crispy spring roll wrappers surround banana made into a sweet, rich, creamy filling during the deep frying process.  Just to die for!



Thai Bella is currently open for dinner only, but it is perfect for a special occasion, celebration, relaxing after a day of hiking, climbing, ATVing or just to spoil yourself with an awesome culinary adventure.


Mary Cokenour

Snow Equals French Toast.

Now why in the world would someone believe that when it snows, French Toast should be made?  While living in Lancaster, PA, whenever the weather forecaster predicted snow, the supermarkets would be crowded with women buying milk, bread and eggs.  Personally, I thought this was strange, so asked several of them, “Why do you Pennsylvania people make French Toast when it snows?”  Of course I got a few odd looks, but finally it was explained that it was a “rural living thing” and the habit has simply stuck.  There was that time, long ago, where going to the supermarket was very inconvenient during inclement weather, so stocking up was a must.

City living spoils one into believing that anything and everything is within reach at any time.  Suburbs were created outside of the cities to give residents more room to move into, more breathing space.  As suburbs grew, strip malls and malls developed, so what the residents ran away from (crowded city living) was the new normal.  Once again, everything within reach with hardly any inconvenience due to the weather.

Welcome to San Juan County, Utah; designation is “rural wilderness” and while I have met many a city dweller that intensely dislikes the openness of the landscape, I love it!  That’s correct, a city born and raised who loves the great outdoors, and to live in it too.  However, here is where the “long ago” of those women back in Pennsylvania comes into play; not everything is within reach at all moments in time.  Take the recent snowstorms of February 18^th to the 22^nd; over three feet dumped onto the City of Monticello alone.  Shoveling building muscles, but damaging joints; snow blowers roaring; the constant question of, “Where are we supposed to put all this snow!?!”  At a few points, Highways 191 and 491 were forced to close down and there were accidents a plenty; going to the store was definitely a hardship. 

All the hardships though are being overshadowed by one huge important factor, all this moisture will alleviate the drought.  Can I get a Hallelujah!?!  

Back to the French Toast thing which basically can be made with any type of bread, but I have two favorites: Challah and Brioche.  In New York, making French Toast with Challah is so popular, even the local IHops would use it.  My focus for now will be on Challah which is a loaf of yeast-risen egg bread that is traditionally Jewish cuisine and eaten on Shabbat, ceremonial occasions and during festival holidays (except Passover). The word "challah" is also used to refer to the portion of dough that is traditionally separated from the loaf before baking. This is looked upon as an offering or tithe, and the family would receive a blessing; similar to the offering made to the Greek Goddess, Hestia, at every meal. The plural of "challah" is "challot."; there is no dairy in the bread, and most recipes use honey instead of sugar.

Now that I have you in the mood for, what else, French Toast, here’s my recipe for the perfect bread to make it with.

Challah Bread

Ingredients:

1 packet yeast

1 and ½ cups warm water (between 105-110F)

½ cup sugar or honey

6 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

½ cup canola oil

3 large eggs, beaten; plus 1 egg for glazing

Preparation of the Dough:

In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, water and sugar or honey; set aside to proof (mixture will become bubbly).

Once yeast mixture is proofed, sift into a large mixing bowl, 4 cups of flour and salt.  Add the yeast mixture, oil and 3 eggs.  Add one cup of flour little by little until dough becomes soft and elastic. 

Knead dough for 5 minutes; adding last one cup of flour to board and hands as need; remove to greased bowl for first rising; cover with clean, linen towel.

After two hours, dough will have doubled in size; punch down the dough, re-cover and let rise for another hour.

Preparation of the Loaf:

Remove dough from bowl and divide in half.  Take one half and divide into thirds; roll out each of the three between your hands to make thick ropes; lay out these onto a floured surface. Join them at one end and make them into a loose braid.  Repeat with second half of dough. Cover the loaves loosely and let them rise at room temperature for a ½ hour.

Preheat oven to 350F; line baking pan with parchment paper; transfer braids to paper.  Brush with the remaining egg to glaze.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes; till loaves are a medium-dark brown. (High altitude: add 5-10 minutes to baking time)

Makes 2 loaves.

Note: while many recipes include topping the bread with sesame or poppy seeds, I do not, but that’s a personal taste choice.

Mary Cokenour 

Instant Pot Win-Win

Me & Clark's Market Manager, Craig Stanley

From January 10^th to 31^st, the Clark’s Market supermarket chain held the “One Pot Winter Warm-Up Recipe Contest” looking for your best one pot winter go-to recipe.  Each store selected one winner, through a voting process, to win an Instant Pot 6-quart.  For San Juan County’s Blanding store, and thank you so much to all the voters, I was the winner!  My crock pot recipe for BBQ Beef Stew will be featured in their deli; so look for the announcement on that and go buy to try!

Now I have to admit that I was a bit nervous playing with the Instant Pot.  Growing up, all I heard was horror stories about pressure cookers blowing up; so we never had one in our home.  However, friends who have been using the Instant Pot, since it came onto the market, reassured me that no nuclear explosion would be erupting in my kitchen.  To soothe my nerves more, my wonderful hubby, Roy, decided this would be a great adventure to experience together.  We made sure to read the instructions together and did the practice test that is recommended…we lived.

Our first real food cooking attempt was a slab of meaty pork ribs; we had perused many a recipe, but kept returning to the ribs.  Normally, making ribs was almost a 24 hour process; making several cups of rub which went on both sides of the ribs; letting them sit, encased in aluminum foil, for twelve hours.  Placing them inside a preheated 180F oven to cook for eight hours; then onto a barbeque grill or under the broiler for that must-have char.  The anticipation alone was enough to drive us crazy, and it just couldn’t be a spontaneous what-to-make-for-dinner decision.

The Instant Pot was going to change the process, especially the long, long waiting period.  First off, the amount of rub used went from two cups to a half cup; no overnight sitting to marinate and infuse the meat.  Our four pound slab was cut into three smaller slabs; two cups of water plus ¼ cup apple cider vinegar already inside the cooking pot.  Placed on the cooking rack, ribs were placed inside; lid sealed, digital timer set for 50 minutes and it was “thunderbirds are a go!” time. 

Half cup all purpose rub on ribs.

Cut into thirds, ribs standing up in pot.

After 50 minutes of pressure cooking.

Ready for 10 minutes under broiler

1 hour 10 minutes to delicious ribs!

 What to serve as a side?  What the heck, might as well pull out the air fryer, prep some Russet potatoes for, what I knew would become, perfectly cooked hand-cut fries.  Didn’t you recently read my article on the pros and cons of an air fryer; those potatoes are good stuff!

While ribs broiled, Air Fryer finished up on the fries.

Oh, in case you enjoy video games, the Instant Pot makes some lovely dinging, ringing musical noises as the lid is sealed or opened.  Now all it needs is a USB port, attach a thumb drive and have my favorite playlist on while cooking; that would be impressive.  Anyway, during the cool down period of ten minutes, then putting the ribs under the broiler for ten minutes; the air fryer was working on those hand-cut fries (yes, I keep the skin on).  Both ribs and fries were ready to eat at the same time; two bbq sauces of brown sugar/hickory and sweet/spicy (love using Sweet Baby Ray’s) and we were in dining heaven.

The Instant Pot ribs were perfect; meat easily off the bone; seasonings from the rub cooked through and only enhanced by the bbq sauce, not overpowered.  From start to finish, a 24 hour process for making ribs was cut down to a mere one hour and ten minutes!

I’ve started collecting recipes for more Instant Pot fun, and downloaded a recipe book, for free, on my Kindle Fire.  This fresh start year of 2019 started off deliciously with an Air Fryer and is continuing with the Instant Pot.  Now if I could win a complete kitchen makeover, there would be no telling what culinary adventures I could get involved with!  Oh no, listening to 80s music on Sirius and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” just began playing; that is foreshadowing big time!

Mary Cokenour