You "MESA" with me?

Of course not, you can't mess with Bobby Flay or his restaurant Mesa Grill in Las Vegas! I'm a Food-Network-holic. . .I have a serious problem, I know! But the only way to cure the problem is to go to the Food Network chef's restaurants and inject their creation into your bloodstream! As you know, we were in Vegas last month and I was dying to go to Mesa Grill. It must be all those Bobby Flay Throwdown matches I've been watching lately. I must say that the food and service at Mesa Grill was magnificent! Everything was delicious, I was on a Bobby Flay food high as was my husband and the whole gang we were with. Fabulous food, fabulous times!

My husband and I shared the Goat Cheese Queso Fundido, Smoked Chicken & Black Bean Quesadilla, the Sixteen Spice Crusted Chicken and for dessert Profiteroles. Oh and I can't forget the 2 Margaritas that I washed dinner down with, whoo-hoo were they GOOD!

Here are some pictures of the quesadillas, of the gang, and of us acting silly :)


Bobby Flay's food rocked our world!

Viva la France, Viva le Buffet!

You can't go to Vegas and not experience at least one buffet. Buffets are a dime a dozen in Las Vegas, they're taking over the city! Ha! Seriously though, there are many and they appeal to every size wallet. On of my favorites, Le Village Buffet at the Paris Hotel, is $17 buckaroos for lunch, it doesn't exactly break the bank and that's a good thing :) Considering I've been back for three weeks already, this post is a little late, but when have you known me to blog on time? Hee,hee!

For my main lunch course, I loaded my plate with (clock wise starting from the top). . .Pesto Penne, Garlic Broccolini, scalloped potatoes, cauliflower mash, turkey with gravy, Apple wood sausage (My Favorite!), creamed spinach, pork something, and 1 ravioli (since I'm on a diet), J/K! See the lovely non-retouched pictures below.

As you can see above, my dessert plate was about the same size as my main course, no little dessert plates for me! I'm a baker with a sweet tooth, can't help it! Again (clock wise starting from the top), you'll see I had a lemon filled macaroon, a cheese blintz (Which I didn't like and didn't eat all which is so rare for me!),a generous portion of bread pudding with fresh whipped cream, a mini creme brulee, a delicious cannoli, and last but not least . . .a chocolate chip cookie.

Everything other than the cheese blintz was fabulous! If you're ever in Vegas and don't know what buffet to choose, give Le Village Buffet a try, you won't be sorry.

What happens in Vegas, STAYS in Vegas. That includes calories :)

Sweet Cuban Pork Loin, Que rico!

I wrote this over a week and a half ago. . . before we left on our trip, but things got so crazy at the last minute, that I wasn't able to upload this delicious post! So, here it is, a little late, but better later than never, right??? Without further adieu, I give you Sweet Cuban Pork Loin!





I've been trying to post this all week, but I've been a busy little bee and tomorrow morning I'm off to Las Vegas and then to Napa Valley, I can't wait! Since we're not going to be in town for Easter, I made a lovely dinner for my family that consisted of stuffed pork loin , homemade black beans, avocado and tomato salad, and rice. My Mom brought over her "hitachi" rice cooker and made the rice for me since we don't have a rice cooker because we almost never have rice at home unless I'm making risotto. I can't tell you how GOOD my Mom's rice is! Lordy! That's a whole other post one of these days! It's fantasic all on it's own!

I got the recipe for the pork loin from a Throwdown with Bobby Flay episode that was recorded here in Miami :) How appropriate! On the show, it was actually made with pork shoulder, but I had a pork loin and that's what I was gonna use no matter what! I made Roberto Guerra's recipe and I can see why this Cuban recipe could not be beat by Bobby Flay. Here's the recipe = Stuffed Pork Shoulder "a la caja china"

I made some changes, I used guava paste instead of the shells and used proscuitto since it was the only type of ham I had on hand.
The pork was MUY RICO!!!!!!!!!!

Enjoy!

Feta Chicken

I originally posted this on the group blog I belong to (Butter & Love), it's so yummy, that I just had to add it here too! I hope you enjoy, it's very good!


Baked Chicken Breast with Feta

2 Thin boneless skinless breasts of chicken ( I pounded the heck out of them, great if you're stressed)

1 pkg. Atheno Feta Cheese (8oz) ( I only used ½ of the package and bought the crumbly kind)

Lots of butter (I omitted this, you'll see why later)

Grated Parmesan cheese (½ to1 cup)Two Eggs, beaten ( I only used 1 egg)

Real bacon bits (I used "real" bacon, 4 slices cut up into little pieces and some of the fat removed, the why I added no butter)


Preheat oven to 400-425. Pound chicken breasts till very thin. Dip chicken breasts in melted butter dip in eggs and dip in Parmesan cheese. Slice pieces of feta cheese to cover each breast, sprinkle bacon bits on top. Melt MORE butter (1/2 a stick for about 4 breasts) in the baking dish add chicken breast cover with tin foil and bake for about 20 minutes.


*Okay, here are my TWEAKED notes to the preparation:
Preheat oven to 400-425. Pound the heck out of your chicken breasts till very thin. Beat your egg and add any desired spices, I used a little Sazon Completo (note, don't add any salt, the Parmesan/feta will add enough salt to the dish). Dip chicken breasts in the beaten egg and dip in Parmesan cheese that you've sprinkled on a plate. Place the Parmesan covered chicken breasts in a oven save dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle pieces of feta cheese to over each breast, then sprinkle bacon pieces on top. Popped it into the oven UNCOVERED for 25-30 mins. I cooked it a lot longer than the recipe calls for because the feta releases a lot of liquid and if I follow the directions above I would be too watery and not appealing. My way though, is right on the money! Once the 30 mins have passed, I turn on the broiler to high and keeping a watchful eye, broil the chicken for another 5-7 mins. I like the bacon to get crispy and the cheese to brown a little :) Ovens differ, so just keep your eyes on it during the "broil" stage. Take it out and let it sit a minute or two, you don't want to burn your mouth on your first mouthful!

We enjoyed this with a nice side salad and I hope you enjoy it any way you'd like! :) FYI: This is low carb as well, so any of you on low carb diets can get your eat on!

Chocolate Chip Cookies! Anyone? Bueller?

I was so in the mood to have a GOOD Chocolate Chip Cookie yesterday afternoon, that I got home and went straight to baking, still in my heels from work!!! LOL! Baking in heels, can you believe it? Ha! Goes to show how much I really wanted to bake them cookies.



Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 egg
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour*
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 package semisweet, (12 ounces)
chocolate chips
*If using self-rising flour, omit
baking soda and salt.


Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugars, margarine and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt (dough will be stiff). Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop dough by 1/4 cupfuls about 3 inches apart onto un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are set. Cool completely; remove from cookie sheet. ABOUT 1-1/2 DOZEN COOKIES; 360 CALORIES PER COOKIE.

My comments: Of course, I didn't want to make too many (Yeah right!), I am on a healthy kick after all! I cut the recipe in half and it was just perfect. For the egg, I couldn't exactly cut in half, so I just used 1 egg. It was totally A-OKAY, the cookies were fabulous! I used 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks and 1/2 cup white chocolate chips. So divine! For the nuts, I used un-salted almonds. Oh and I took all the pictures myself :) Some with my little pocket camera and the others with one of my Husband's professional cameras. You'll notice in the pictures on the very top, that there's one that shows HUGE cookie and a smaller one next to it. I made that big'ol cookie for nieces, who just happened to call me as I was writing this up to say how "delicious" the cookie was and to thank me :) What perfect timing! Happy Baking!

Scallion Pancakes

If you have never heard of Scallion Pancakes, please stop what you are doing right now and get to your nearest airport and hop on a plane to New York City!!!! Come on . . . hurry up! Upon arriving in New York, tell the cab driver you want to go to the "Excellent Dumpling House" in China Town.
It's located at 111 Lafayette Street and the quicker you get there, the happier you'll be, I PROMISE! The dumplings are "excellent" thus the name . . . and the Scallion Pancakes are out of this world. On a recent trip, I took my hubby there for the first time and he too is in love with the place. I haven't attempted to make Scallion Pancakes just yet, but I found the picture today and knew I just HAD to blog about it! Here's a recipe I found courtesy of the Food Network, if you're so inclined to make them, come back and tell me how they turned out :)


Scallion Pancakes with Ginger Dipping Sauce
Recipe Courtesy of Ming Tsai

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup sliced scallions
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 cup canola oil
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup ginger dipping sauce, recipe to follow

In a bowl, sift flour. Slowly add water in a steady stream while mixing with a wooden spoon. Keep adding water until a ball is formed. With the same procedure, one can use a food processor with a metal blade. Let ball of dough >relax for about 30 minutes and cover with damp cloth.
On a floured surface, roll out dough into a thin rectangle. Brush on oil mixture, cover with scallion and season with salt and pepper. Carefully roll dough like a sponge cake. Cut into 4 pieces. Take one piece and twist 3 times. Make a spiral out of this and roll again and flatten to achieve a 5 to 6 inch pancake. In a hot non-stick pan, coat with canola oil and pan sear both sides until golden brown. Cut into wedges and serve immediately with dipping sauce.

GINGER DIPPING SAUCE:
1/4 cup thin soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese chinkiang vinegar
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients.

Cooking Class @ The Biltmore Hotel Miami

This post is ridiculously long over due! It's been a pretty busy month and I have not had time to even eat! Ha! Yeah Right! Me? Not eat! Never! Yet, it's been very busy and blogging unfortunately fell on the back burner . . . pun intended! ;)

In January we were invited to take a cooking class at the Biltmore Hotel. It was such a fun and exciting learning experience . . . not to mention that the champagne was flowing relentlessly during the entire luncheon class. Needless to say, I was not complaining! Cooking and champagne, what could be better??? The guest chef was Willy Hernandez of Caramelo Restaurant in Coral Gables. The menu consisted of Shrimp Tamarind & Avocado Salad, Risotto al Porcini topped with Herb Crusted Lamb Loin and a Molten Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Whipped Cream and Cream Anglaise. Chef Willy taught the interactive luncheon from the stage while a chef at each table helped us as well. We seriously had a wonderful time and although I'm allergic to shrimp (I know, poor me!) I loved the Avocado Salad sans the Tamarind Shrimp, we made the dish for a family gathering the next day and everyone absolutely loved it! I've included the recipe below, and some pictures of my husband making the Shrimp Tamarind.

Avocado Salad with Shrimp Tamarind

For the Avocado Salad
6 ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼" cubes
4 TBSP fresh lime juice
2 TBSP cilantro, chopped
2 medium red onions, chopped
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped into ¼" cubes
6 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

For the Shrimp Tamarind
16 jumbo shrimp, cleaned and deveined
4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups Tamarind Paste
2 small red sweet peppers, thinly sliced
2 small green sweet peppers, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste.

In a medium bowl, toss all of the ingredients for the avocado salad and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil, once hot, add the garlic and shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Add the peppers and Tamarind paste and cook over moderate heat. Stir for about 3 minutes until shrimp is pink.

Place a ring mold in the center of a 10" plate and fill the ring mold with the avocado salad, carefully remove the ring mold. Neatly place 2 of the Shrimp Tamarind on top. Serves 8.