Bonnee Klein Gilligan is a foodie who loves eating, cooking, and going to new and different restaurants in the Sedona-Verde Valley.

Bonnee's Food Corner: Wildflower Bread Company

Great places to eat and buy food in the Sedona-Verde Valley...and new recipes

The Restaurant…. toothsome gourmet sandwiches and more.

Wildflower Bread Company
The shops at Pinon Pointe (Hwy 89A and 179)
Sedona, AZ 86336
Phone: (928) 204-2223
Website: www.wildflowerbread.com

Comfortable, busy and friendly with counter service and a scrumptious menu. Impeccably fresh ingredients, homemade organic bread and inside or outside seating with beautiful red rock views. A favorite spot of mine for lunch.

I enjoy sampling a variety of fare, so for lunch chose Wildflower Two (Pick two: soup - 6 kinds daily, salad - 3 varieties or ½ sandwich - 9 choices). My ½ sandwich: Beef and Gorgonzola… chewy, soft and piquant sourdough with moist, tender, earthy beef, crisp, astringent Romaine, sweet, smoky roasted red pepper, crunchy, poignant red onion and bits of intense, pungent, creamy Gorgonzola… oh yeah! My soup: Potato Cream Cheese… creamy and bright with pieces of potatoes and overtones of dill and ham… my taste buds are singing. The combination creates a hum of appreciation and delight.

Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner prices range from $4.19 to $7.29. I whole-heartedly recommend the Wildflower Two, Beef and Gorgonzola sandwich and Potato Cream Cheese Soup. Heavenly!

Hours: 7 days, am - close. Breakfast served until 10:30am weekdays and 2:00pm weekends. Dinner pasta entrees served from 3pm until close.

After my lovely meal I walked Uptown for desert to Sedona Fudge Company (see a great find below). Fudge wonderful fudge… I sampled 3 varieties (all were delectable), before settling on a ¼ pound of Chocolate Cream Cheese…. creamy and sweet, bright and heady, melt in your mouth awesome. People turned to look and smiled as I walked by making ecstatic yumming noises.

Recipe… Potatoluscious.

Potato, sausage and kale soup

This is one of my favorite, easy and delicious potato soup recipes. It is my version of the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden.

1 lb ground sweet Italian sausage (if in casing, remove)

1 medium onion, diced

2 strips bacon sliced into pieces

2 largish cloves garlic, crushed

10 cups chicken broth (or water and bullion cubes)

1 cup evaporated fat free milk (or heavy cream)

1¼ lb red skinned potatoes, sliced (or russets)

½ bunch of kale, rough chopped

In large soup pot sauté Italian sausage until cooked. Drain off excess fat, place on a plate, cover and refrigerate. To soup pot add bacon pieces and onion sauté until onions are translucent about 15 minutes. Add garlic and chicken stock, bring to a boil. Add potatoes, cook till soft, about 30 minutes. Add milk, when hot, add sausage and kale. If you want your kale less crisp add during last 10 minutes of cooking.

Serve hot with a fresh green salad and garlic bread sticks or a piece of crusty bread with butter.  Heavenly!

A Great Find…

If you are looking for a nice variety of rich creamy fudge made from a Mackinaw Island recipe Sedona has a great place. Sedona Fudge Company offers Maple Walnut, Penuche (brown sugar), Chocolate Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Raspberry and more, 16 varieties in all plus an assortment of chocolates. And they offer a 10% discount for local residents. Sedona Fudge Company, 257 N. Hwy 89A, Sedona, AZ 86336. Phone: 928-282-1044 or toll free 800-845-3303. Email: fudge@esedona.net.