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