viva las vegas

lets just state the obvious here. it's been a little while since we've posted something. catk and i have been getting some pretty humorous messages regarding the lack of posts, such as:

-foodisstale

-i've been checking your site daily, and all i get is brownies =\

-when is the next blog??? i'm hungry! there are at least 460 others who are hungry as well...

good to know our readers are hungry for a new post (no pun intended). my excuse...i have senioritis. i have been so busy this summer with weddings (i kid you not, i attended 6 weddings this summer and i still have 3 more to go this fall), bridal showers, baby showers, milestone birthday parties and not to mention, my one year wedding anniversary. which is a great segway to the real content of this post...VEGAS EATS!

for our one year anniversary, my husband and i went to las vegas to celebrate. since the traditional year 1 anniversary gift is paper, we thought we go make some papers in vegas. lucky for us, vegas has become a culinary mecca for rockstar chefs (not to mention where this season's Top Chef is being taped). so we made a game plan of all the places we wanted to check out. after hours of research, recommendations and reading reviews, the result came to this...Daniel Boulud, L'atelier Joel Robuchon and Bouchon.


Daniel Boulud Brasserie (Wynn)

3131 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89136

(888) 320-7110

started off with the shellfish plateau

onion soup (guinness beer, gruyère cheese, beef shank)

the original ny db burger: sirloin burger stuffed with braised short ribs, foie gras, and black truffle on a parmesan bun

L'atelier de Joel Robuchon (MGM Grand)

3799 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89109

(702) 891-7925

amuse bouche....poached egg

eggplant, anchovies and peppers

mediterranean vegetables layered with buffalo mozzarella (zucchini, eggplant, sun dried tomatoes and buffalo mozz)

crispy langoustine fritter with basil pesto

braised pork belly with confit sweet onion

selection of imported cheese

selection of gelato/sorbets

selection of tarts

compliments from the chef: triple chocolate

Bouchon (Venetian)

3355 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109

(702) 414-6200

how happy was i to see this sign? answer: uber bliss

seasonal homemade jam: cherry

croque madame

roasted chicken and bacon/chive waffle

served with tahitian vanilla bean butter, sauce chasseur (bacon/mushroom), and maple syrup

we took the beignets to go

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for those of you who are planning to go to vegas for the long weekend, check out some of the great deals during vegas restaurant week.

bon appétit~!

dulce de leche brownies

recently jDub gifted me w/ this jar of dulce de leche from argentina.

i remembered seeing a recipe for dulce de leche brownies on david lebovitz's blog (one of my favorites!) so i decided to whip up a batch. being david's recipe, i knew they'd be fail proof. and fail proof, they are!

i doubled his recipe and used a bigger pan. i also added some instant coffee and salt.

dulce de leche brownies
inspired by David Lebovitz
makes one 13x8 inch pan
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
12 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (i used chips)
1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
6 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1-2 cups dulce de leche

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

line your baking pan (mine was 13x8 inches) with one sheet of aluminum foil that covers the bottom and reaches up the sides.

melt the butter in a medium saucepan. add the chocolate pieces or chips and coffee powder and stir constantly over very low heat until the chocolate is melted. remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder and salt until smooth. mix in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sugar, vanilla, then the flour. (note: i transfer the melted chocolate & butter mixture into the bowl of my kitchen aid and did the rest of the steps w/ my mixer)

pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. take one-third of the dulce de leche and drop spoonfuls, evenly spaced, over the brownie batter, then drag a knife through to swirl it slightly. spread the remaining brownie batter over, then drop spoonfuls of the remaining dulce de leche in dollops over the top of the brownie batter. Use a knife to swirl the dulce de leche (as pictured below).

bake for 30-45 mins. the brownies are done when the top is set and the center is just slightly firm.

note: david's recipe says to bake them for 35-45 mins. i set my timer for 35 mins because as with most recipes, i find that i like baking things on the lower end of the time limit because 1) i believe things continue to bake even after you take them out of the oven and 2) i'd much rather have a slightly under baked and moist cake than an over baked and dry one. i found that at 35 mins (even though i doubled the recipe) the brownies were a little more done than i would have liked. next time i make these, i think i'll bake them for only 30 mins. hence i wrote the baking time as 30-45 mins...knowing everyone's ovens are different!

remove from oven and cool completely before cutting them up. david noted that these brownies are even better the next day and i have to agree! so if you can, wait! or make them the day before you plan to serve. obviously, store them in an airtight container or covered very well with foil.

bon appetit~!

where every man walks out an animal...

unassuming store front, minimal decor on the walls, a splatter of a few tables on the restaurant floor. a very understated restaurant at first glance. yet to much surprise, their menu packs the punch with every animalistic dish they serve. the restaurant has its own napoleon complex of sorts, but an attitude that's rightly justified by what it offers.

for everyone on south beach or atkins, this is the place to be. with the hero of their menu being protein, you'll find everything from pork ears and veal brains to rabbit loins and the ever-so delicate spam. the waiter will tell you to order everything that contains pork belly and foie gras. at first you think it's a ploy to get you to spend all your money, but you realize that he was genuinely looking out for your best interest. every bite increases your carnivorous desires and makes you hunger for more and more. midway through the meal, the waiter brought out a plate of vegetables which helps calm the animal instincts at first but is soon overcome by your overbearing need to feast on more meat.

in the end, you're glazed over from the high you just got from all that you have just consumed. despite the few scratches and bite marks you got from your hungry peers, you walk out satisfied and empowered knowing that you that you are the shit of the animal kingdom. cheers to the circle of life.

the carnivorous adventure... animal

crispy hominy w/ lime

pig ear, chili, lime, fried farm egg

bbq pork belly sliders w/ slaw

foie gras, biscuit, maple sausage gravy

poutine, oxtail gravy w/ cheddar

braised pork shoulder ravioli, porcini, sage and brown butter

foie gras loco moco, spam, hamburger and fried quail egg

zucchini, tomatoes, pine nuts and parm cheese

balsamic pork ribs

halibut, king crab, corn, gold rice, tabasco butter

tres leches cake w/ dulce de leche

panna cotta w/ cherry jam

its no wonder vinny and jon won food & wine's 2009 best new chefs award. well deserved.

animal
435 n. fairfax ave
los angeles, ca 90036
www.animalrestaurant.com
(323) 782-9225


bon appétit~!