Onion Soup

Last Sunday Michael and I began making a dish we've been wanting to make since last month when we had it in the restaurant: Thomas Keller's onion soup! We had it at his Bouchon in Las Vegas, and couldn't get it out of our minds since.

Thus, we opened our copy of the Bouchon cookbook, and read through the 6-page recipe. We grabbed the ingredients around lunchtime, and sat down to the finished soup at 11:00pm. What took so long? Making the beef stock from bones, caramelizing the onions for 4 hours, among other things.

The product was an exact replica, and was incredible! Enjoy these photos!

Beef bones from Central Market (free!)

Onions, sliced juuuust right.

The finished product, complete with toasts.

Nose to the Grindstone - In Other Words, "Happy June!"

June has been the month of insanity. From applying for federal grants to cramming in work before going on vacation, June has been jam-packed.

I thought the summer would bring a break, but no such thing has happened.

My blog has been horribly neglected, but I hope to pick things back up after going to Las Vegas next week! Michael will be there for a conference, and Jamie, Mom and Dad and I (me?) are tagging along. It should be a good getaway, with hopefully tons of winnings. And awesome food. Ahh, the food.

More soon! Stay cool!
(This library is most certainly NOT cool. I need to find another hiding place that isn't 80 degrees.)

Business and Pleasure

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a good weekend - I did! Michael was gone on a business trip on Thursday and Friday, so when he got home on Friday night, I was ready to see him! I made him a fabulous dinner of Chicken Delmonico (panko-breaded chicken with a mushroom-cream sauce) over garlic mashed potatoes. A friend of mine mentioned making this dish as a 'welcome home' for Michael, so I took the idea and ran with it. I didn't have a recipe, but I'd say it turned out just fine.

That night Michael mentioned seeing regular and river boat casinos while in the Shreveport area, and we decided to take a trip to the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. (http://www.winstarworldcasino.com/) It was a blast! Once we got inside the casino, I almost forgot where we were! Recently, WinStar remodeled the inside and outside of their casino to include sections modeled after the cities of New York, Vienna, Cairo, Paris, Beijing, Rome, Madrid and London. We played video poker and animated games while having drinks and talking about past trips to Las Vegas. It almost makes me want to cancel our travel plans this year for a trip out to Nevada.

On that note, I meant to write about our choices for travel this year. (Since it's half over!) We're planning on going to Fredericksburg and Enchanted Rock State Park in early August. No, we won't be camping (how hot!), but we'll be staying in a bed and breakfast, hiking, and strolling about the town.

Later, in October, we will be going to San Francisco. Michael has been wanting to go to SF for years now, and we're finally doing it. Suggestions are welcome, but we'll of course be going to the touristy things for Michael to check out. Also, we'll get to see Jamie while we're there!

Then in January, we'll be going to Boston for my birthday. I am SO excited! I love that city, and I can't wait to get back. Especially during a season we haven't be able to experience. I'm hoping to break in some snow boots, try to ski/snow board, and eat delicious warm foods. What a birthday present, eh?

Anyway, I need to quit typing away and get to the rest of my errands before Michael gets home.

Mesa Grill!

Third post for the day! I bet you're wondering which one to comment on...comment on all three! :)

Michael and I had reservations for lunch on Wednesday at Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill (http://www.mesagrill.com/lasvegas/). Even though you can see almost the same thing on the website, I took a photo of the side entrance to the restaurant.

Michael ordered the famous organic/agave nectar margarita.

Blue corn pancake with duck (Ashley):
Roasted pepper & cilantro cream soup (Michael):
Photo of our entrees: Michael's diver scallops and my Mesa burger. I knew I would never make it to Bobby's Burger Palace, so I decided now was the time to have one of his burgers!
Finally - Dessert! We got the banana & caramelized hazelnut ice cream-stuffed puff pastry with whipped cream and crunchy caramel bits. So pretty and delicious!

Colorful and interesting atmosphere. I forgot to take a picture of the inside of the restaurant. It was a sight! I just wish Bobby would have shown up!

Freed's Bakery

THE bakery in Las Vegas according to Rachael Ray, and other Food Network and Travel Channel stars.

I dragged my parents and Michael to both locations: the original that had been open for nearly 50 years, and the brand-new one that's twice as large and with a gallery.

Crappy picture of the original location:
Wedding cake (Classic) at the original:Chanel purse at the original location:The treat counter at the new location:Louis Vuitton purse at the new location:A photo of our treats! I got the tiramisu cake and Michael got a red velvet cupcake. It was all so good! I'd definitely recommend this stop on your next Las Vegas trip!

Vacation Recap!

Warning: This will be a long post with many pictures!

Las Vegas was great - and better than last time! Michael had a good time, and we both came home with money in our pockets. Amazing, huh? I'll just hit the highlights with the photos I have.

The first (of MANY) casinos we visited was Paris. We ate brunch there and gambled for a while. Great view from the top, too!

We all went to In-and-Out burger, and all "they" say is true! I love In-and-Out.

Also, you HAVE to know that the buffets at the casinos are amazing, so we had to got to a ew of them. We went to the Main Street Station (downtown) and the Bellagio buffets. Of course you couldn't take pictures in the Bellagio's banquet room, so I took a picture of my dessert at Main Street Station. It's a lemon bar, napoleon, and a chocolate-covered confection. Yum!

Then, later on in the week, I got two 4 Aces and a three! Thanks to those winnings, I got to have a shopping spree (a small one!) when I got home.
Since I am a food-oriented person, or foodie if you will, I HAD to stop by Mario Batali and Wolfgang Puck's restaurants. I just looked into B&B (Mario's) in the Shoppes at the Venetian, and it looked very nicely decorated (http://www.bandbristorante.com/). Had I the stomach-room I would have eaten a little something. At MGM we went to Puck's Bar & Grill, which was delicious (http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/restaurants/fine-dining/3910)! We invited my parents to come with us, and we all had a wonderful time. My dad got a calzone (wood-grilled, of course), my mom got a grilled pasta dish with heaps of fresh basil and garlic-rubbed bread, Michael got the veal ravioli (no comment), and I got the prime burger. We shared a pinot noir, which was so smooth. Great dinner!

I'll post about Freed's Bakery and Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill here in a minute. Lots of picture with that too!

Vacation Soon!

I'm excited. I have less than 45 hours until we go to Las Vegas! I made reservations to go to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill for brunch/lunch one of the days, so that could very well be the highlight of the trip.

Also, Michael, who cannot keep a secret, "surprised" me with tickets to Cirque du Soleil, Mystere! I have ALWAYS wanted to go see one of their shows, and what better than to see their first show ever!

I'm thinking I will also stop by all of the celebrity chef restaurants (Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Emeril, etc.) and also check out CraftSteak! (http://www.craftrestaurant.com/craftsteak_lasvegas.html) Some of you may remember Michael took me to CraftDallas for Valentine's Day dinner - and it was amazing. I love being a foodie!

I'll try really hard to take a ton of pictures - unlike last time I went to Las Vegas. Stay tuned!

P.S. - Big news when I get back!

Not Even 5 Months

After I bought it, my Jetta's battery died! Of course, it could be due to the owner running it down... Apparently there's a cooler/icebox in my console that you can turn on and off from the inside. I had my GPS charger cord plugged into the cooler outlet (which I didn't realize was turned on), for the whole weekend. So, this morning when I went to the parking garage to go to work, my car didn't start. Yay. Long story short (too late), it's at the dealership getting a new battery. Poor Jetta.

I'm going to get her back soon, probably on Michael's lunch hour. And who knew I had such a great husband!? He was so helpful and calming through the whole ordeal.

At the end of the day though, I will have a completely scratch-free, brand-new battery, clean and happy Jetta.

Only 3 weeks until Las Vegas! Would someone be able to watch Giada and Ina? Or at least make sure they have kibbles?

Break!

Is it the weekend yet?
I need a BREAK!

Las Vegas in exactly 1 month tomorrow!

Antique Chairs

I finally am posting pictures of our new chairs my grandparents gave us.

Barrel Back Side Chair

Club Chair (with Ina on top of it)

The club chair just needs a good cleaning, since it matches our decor (Navy blue and creme), while the side chair needs to be totally redone. It needs new springs, cushions and fabric. We're thinking a nice grey or green-based pattern. We're currently researching upholsters, and have found a few. I don't think we're going to have it done until after we go to Las Vegas!

At the family reunion (April 4th), my parents asked if we wanted to go to Las Vegas with them sometime soon. We talked, and we're going to go June 21-27th. It will be Michael's first time to go, so I'm sure we'll be doing a lot of sight-seeing along with losing our money! I hope we get to stay somewhere nice! Tomorrow we're going to Sherman for my uncle's birthday, so hopefully get some details then.