Cuban dinner

We were inspired by watching an episode of Bobby Flay and decided to make our own version of what he made. It was a variation of a Cuban sandwich and black beans & rice. For the black beans and rice, it was pretty standard (actually I cheated and used the recipe on the back of the can!). For the pork, start with 2 butterflied pork chops. Marinate them in a mixture of lime juice, orange juice, jalapeno, chopped fresh oregano, garlic, and canola oil (set aside some of the marinade...raw pork free, to use as a finishing sauce) for about 1 hour. When you're reading to cook, put slices of deli ham and swiss cheese and then close the pork chops (so it almost looks like a sandwich). Secure it with a couple toothpicks (or if you don't have any, pieces of skewers). Now this is where the Chase luck comes into play. Originally we planned on grilling these...but when we got outside we quickly realized that our grill was out of gas, so we broiled them instead. They turned out still delicious, but would've been even better with some of that smokey grill flavor. Before serving pork, take out the toothpicks and serve with a cup of rice and black beans! All we needed was a fresh mojito, but it was a school night, so coke zero was fine too.

Chicken mole enchiladas

For this recipe, we tried to replicate the recipe from Mema's Alaskan Tacos in Ybor. They have the best tacos and enchiladas I've ever had! For our version, we cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast in a slow cooker overnight in some chicken stock. When we were ready to start making dinner, we pulled apart the chicken to shread it and added it to a frying pan along with 1/2 cup of mole sauce (we cheated and bought some) along with a little bit of chicken stock to make the mole easier to stir in. Cook that for about 10 minutes until heated through. Meanwhile caramelize 1 large red onion. When the onion and chicken mole is ready to go, you can start assembling. For our enchiladas we put the chicken mole, onions, and crumbled goat cheese inside the tortilla until we had made 6 (leftovers!). We topped the enchiladas with the remaining mole/chicken stock sauce and baked for 15 minutes. When it came out of the oven, we topped it with some more goat cheese crumbles, sliced radish, and chopped cilantro. It turned out pretty well. Even Ryan, who is not a big Mexican food fan, liked it too.

The saga of the clams...

A couple Saturdays ago, in our quest to conserve money for our vacation and therefore not eating out, we decided we wanted to make linguini and clam sauce. I hate to toot my own horn, but I do make a killer clam sauce. So we went to Whole Foods to get the produce and the clams. Well they were out of clams, so we decided to still buy everything else and go to a seafood store/restaurant (Captain Brian's) instead to pick up some clams. Well, turns out they were out of them too. So as a last resort (no offense to Publix, but the one by us has terrible seafood, so we try to affoid it at all costs) we went to Publix...but they were out of them too! We were determined to make this for dinner, so we resorted to canned clams. And you know, it was almost as good!
For the sauce, begin by cooking 2 strips of bacon until cooked and then set aside and add at the very end. In the bacon fat, start by cooking 2 large shallots and 1 clove of garlic for about 5 minutes. Next add in 1/2 pint of cherry tomatoes halved. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the juice of one lemon and 1/2 cup of champagne or sparkling wine. Cook for a couple minutes until the liquid has started to evaporate, then add two cans of chopped clams with their juices. Add however much dried red pepper flakes you like. Cook for about 10 more minutes until liquid has reduced in half. Put cooked pasta (spaghetti or linguini or whatever long pasta you like best) directly in the sauce and stir to combine. Finish with more lemon juice and fresh chopped parsley. Enjoy!
As a side dish, we had heirloom tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and basil topped with olive oil and balsamic vineagar.

Pita Pizzas

Now that basketball season has started and Ryan is busy with grad school, finding recipes that are quick, tasty, and somewhat healthy is really difficult. So I'm going to post a couple that we've made recently that I think fit all of those criteria.
The first is a real quick way to make pizza. Instead of pizza dough, we used whole-wheat/high fiber pitas. From there you can make it however you want! On mine, I put tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, ricotta, cherry tomatoes, and arugula. Ryan substituted the tomatoes and arugula for spicy Italian sausage. They both were really good! It'd also be good with herbed goat cheese and caramelized onions.

Upcoming travels

Ryan and I finally decided on our summer vacation...California! We'll be spending 3 nights in Petaluma in Sonoma County and 4 nights in San Francisco. Of course, with us, we're planning our activities around food! If anyone has any good restaurant suggestions, let us know. If we win the lottery we'll definitely go to French Laundry...otherwise, we might just have to drive by and dream about eating there!We can't wait. This trip (along with going to France or Ireland) has always been one of our dream vacations. I can't believe we're actually going to get to go!

Lettuce Wraps

Tonight for dinner, Ryan and I made lettuce wraps (trying to eat healthier!) with grass fed sirloin and rice.

For the sirloin, whisk together 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice wine vineager, 1 cup sweet chili sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, and the juice of one lime. Put the sirloin in a ziplock with 1/3rd of the sauce and marinade for 30 minutes (not any longer because the lime juice will start to cook the beef). Meanwhile, cook 1 cup of basmati rice in a rice cooker or on the stove. When the rice finishes cooking, stir in 1 tablespoon of rice wine vineagar and 1 tablespoon of butter. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Cook the sirloin 5 minutes on each side. After browning both sides, take steak out and put the rest of the sauce in the frying pan with 2 sliced scallions. Heat until boiling (will happen quickly). Slice steak and put back in sauce. Heat until steak is cooked to your liking.
Serve steak in a bowl with sauce, rice, scallions, lime wedges, and bibb or butter lettuce. If you're anything like us though, the wraps will quickly fall apart and you'll have to resort to using a fork! But it's just as tasty. Have a great week!

Homecooking..

So after all of our wonderful travels and all the awesome places we ate over my birthday weekend (Epicure, Columbia, Mosaic), it was nice to cook a homemade meal. My Nana bought me this incredible basket full of amazing cooking and ingredients (olive oils, sauces, pastas, rice, etc.). Using insipiration from some of those, we made bolognese with bison and ricotta. Using incredible, quality pasta helped make it a really good dinner (and leftover lunches for a few days!).
For the sauce, start by browing 1 pound of ground bison (available at Whole Foods) in a sauce pan in about a tablespoon of olive oil. Once meat is browned nicely, take out and set aside. Add 1 chopped sweet onion and cook until slightly caramelized. Add 2 minced cloves of garlic and salt/pepper. Once onions and garlic are cooked, add the bison back in. Add 1/2 bottle of dry red wine and cook for about 10 minutes or until it's reduced by about half. Add 2 cans of San Marzano crushed tomatoes, a bay leaf, and a tablespoon of dried Italian herbs. Bring to a boil and then reduced to low, put the lid on, and cook for a couple hours.
When you're ready to eat, cook the pasta until al dente. Serve sauce on top of pasta, with a scoop of ricotta cheese, grated fresh parmesan, and chopped Italian parsley. Keeps really well for a few days and makes for an awesome work lunch!

Thanks Nana for the gift!

Burger Bar and Sensi...last meals in vegas

Isn't the last day of vacation so depressing?! I hate that feeling when you wake up with dread, knowing that it's over. This time was especially hard since we also had to say goodbye to Paul & Helena. We had such a great time! In the morning we went to Mandalay Bay to the Shark Reef aquarium and then lunch of Burger Bar. It was really good! We all felt like we needed a nap afterwards though! We all created our own burgers and Ryan and I added a milkshake (why not, diet starts after vacation haha). It was good, although I really like BLT burger, maybe better.
Before heading to the airport at night, we went to Bellagio to Petrossian for some last Bellinis and then Ryan and I went to Sensi for a light snack before leaving. I wish that we hadn't have waited until then to go to Sensi, it was unique and delicious. They have a very interesting fusion concept. Ryan had a lobster sushi roll and I have beef carpaccio. Both were extremely different, but both were absolutely delicious. Both had a really interesting flavor palate, but very balanced. We will be visiting Sensi when we go back. Also, we will visit the Cosmopolitan...extremely cool and fun place to go!

http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/sensi.aspx

http://www.bellagio.com/nightlife/petrossian-lounge.aspx

http://www.mandalaybay.com/dining/casual-restaurants/burger-bar.aspx

La Cave

La Cave is a newer place that's opened up in the Wynn. We stopped there before stuffing ourselves at the Wynn buffet (it was free for Ryan and I), and I wished we would've just stayed there for a few hours. It was the most beautiful restaurant I've been to in Vegas. It's not fancy by any means, but it is so relaxing and unique. It's divided into several rooms: one looks like an actual wine cave, one is a cool lounge, and one (where we were) was outside overlooking the Wynn pool. We sat there for about 2 hours just enjoying cocktails and beers. Next time, I will definitely eat here (maybe several times). The menu is more of tapas and small plates, but really good looking ones!

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/dining/la-cave

I heart Red Rock Canyon!

If you are in Vegas, go to Red Rock Canyon. It will be the best $7 you ever spend! Although the best part might be Paul's souvenir chipmunk hat. Classic. I was even able to hike in my uggs and a skirt. Next time Ryan and I have agreed we're going to hike properly and spend a day there.

Second best breakfast

Having such good luck at Bouchon, we decided to give Tableau a try. It had a similar menu and feel to the restaurant. It was at the Tower Suites in the Wynn and the restaurant itself is worth a visit for nothing else than its beauty. It reminds me of an old drawing room in a mansion, and it overlooks the pool and beautiful grounds of the Wynn (old Steve knows what he's doing). For breakfast I had the breakfast plate with eggs, chicken & apple sausage, potatoes, and toast. Ryan had pancakes with apple cinnamon compote that were really good (and he wanted me to add diet coke in a glass bottle). It was good, although seemed a bit overpriced for some eggs and sausage, but hey, you're in sin city...nothing is cheap anymore! The lunch menu sounded really good too.

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/dining/tableau

Craftsteak...wow

This is our 3rd time going to Craftsteak, and it was the most delicious and most expensive trip yet there! We did the Wagyu beef tasting menu, and it really is the way to do it there. It is an insane amount of food, but worth every penny (and it was a lot of them!). We also did the wine pairing (not sure I'd recommend it, might have been cheaper to just do 3 wines by the glass). The first course came with caesar salad, grilled prawns, kobe beef tartare, frisee salad with lardons, and the best ever porter house rolls. This in itself would've been a meal! Next came the main course with Wagyu rib eye and filet (holy cow...no pun intended!), wild mushroom risotto, roasted asparagus, and roasted mushrooms. The risotto and beef were other wordly they were so good. The risotto gave the beef a run for its money as far as how delicious it was. We were so full for dessert, but still forced it down anyways. It had a monkeybread that Ryan loved (not a fan of nuts myself but it looked good). I was in heaven with the blod orange sorbet. There were other desserts, but honestly I was so full I don't even remember eating them! It is quite an experience to go there, and makes me have a lot of respect for Top Chef!

http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/craftsteak-steak-house.aspx

Lunch throwdown with Bobby Flay

This seems like it's the 100th time Ryan and I have eaten at Mesa Grill...but it is so darn good for lunch it's hard not to go back! Both Paul and I started with the cactus pear margarita, which was awesome and Helena's bloody mary was too. I had the prix fixe lunch (a good deal at $30) which came with the blue corn pancake with barbeque duck (amazing!!), lamb cobb salad, and an expresso pot du creme (one of the best desserts I've ever had!). The salad was a little disappointing, as was Ryan's 16 spice chicken salad. On both of our salads, it was like they forgot to wash the greens, they were very gritty. Helena and Paul had the spicy beef tartare to start that was really delicious. Paul's prawns were good as were Helena's pork tenderloin sandwich. This wasn't the best trip as far as the food, but it was a blast being there. It is a beautiful restaurant too.

http://www.mesagrill.com/las-vegas-restaurant/

Bouchon...best breakfast in Vegas

We were fortunate to eat at Bouchon last June, and have been thinking about returning ever since. Neither Ryan or I really eat breakfast when we're traveling, so for us to get up and ready is a big compliment to Bouchon! It is in an absolutely beautiful part of the Venetian (the Venezia tower), and so classily decorated (almost a Belle Epoque feel). Once again I had the french toast and Ryan (after being totally jealous last time of my meal) ordered the same. We also split some potatoes and bacon and Ryan had a banana nut muffin. The french toast was just as delicious as I remembered. This will remain a must-do everytime we're in Vegas. It is a perfect way to begin a day!

http://www.venetian.com/Las-Vegas-Restaurants/Fine-Dining/Bouchon/

Society Cafe

Our first night, we at Society Cafe at the Encore. The four of us were completely exhausted, so figured it'd be best to stay close. It was rated by Esquire as one of the best new restaurants. We had reservations for 9, but once we got there we realized that there was no need for reservations, it was pretty dead (actually the whole town was that week). We started with some ahi tuna tartare tacos that were really delicious! I wasn't too hungry for dinner, so I had philly cheesesteak dumplings. They were just okay. Ryan had filet which was good...although we were all jealous of Helena, because she ordered the best thing on the menu: scallops on cauliflower puree. It was outstanding. If I were to go back I'd get the tuna tacos again and the scallops. Our cocktails were delicious (any cocktail with champagane gets my vote!). For dessert Ryan and I split homemade donuts with caramel and chocolate dipping sauce. I was expecting them to be the best donuts ever, and they weren't stellar or anything, but pretty good. On a grading scale, I'd give it a B-. Hard to justify a trip back when there's so many amazing places in Vegas, but perhaps!

http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/dining/society-cafe-encore

Vegas 4.0

I have been a royal slacker when it comes to writing! Ryan and I got back from Vegas several weeks ago, but I haven't had a chance to write about it. We had an unbelievable time. We were fortunate enough that Ryan's brother, Paul, and his wife, Helena, came with us. This was the best trip so far...our only complaint was that it was too short. Somehow Ryan managed to score 3 free nights at the Encore...so we had extra spending money (for food of course!). We got to visit the Hoover Dam, hike in Red Rock Canyon, do a tad of gambling, see a shortened version of Cirque's Ka (technical difficulties cut it short after about 20 minutes), hang out at some awesome bars and clubs, eat at some of the best restaurants, but the most fun was being with family and laughing our heads off. Some of the restaurants we've been to before, but I thought I'd include them in our blog as a refresher. Our biggest question now is: do we visit Vegas again this summer or wait until winter break?? If you ever go, we have tons of restaurant recommendations...maybe we should just move there!

Valentine's

Valentine's day is kind of like New Year's, total pain trying to go out and total amateur night. Especially with Valentine's being on a Monday, I decided to surprise Ryan with a feast at home. It began with freshly squeezed blood-orange juice mimosas. We had pototoes dauphinois and beef wellington for dinner and a homemade vanilla cake with chocolate frosting for dessert. It was really delicious! It took the three hours Ryan was at the middle school volleyball game to prepare. Here are just a few pictures of our special night. Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's day!

PS. 2 weeks until we're in Las Vegas!